How to renovate a bathroom: your full guide

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How to renovate a bathroom

So, you want to renovate your bathroom? Exciting! Although, we’d be lying to you if we said it’ll be easy but get it right and you can enjoy a dreamy oasis in your very own home. So, how do you get it right? Lucky for you, that’s what we’re here to help with.

We’re Bayliss Bathrooms and Kitchens, and we’ve been designing and installing bespoke bathrooms since 1929, so we ought to know a thing or two by now. Nothing makes us happier than sharing our passion with people like you, so we put together this handy guide on how to renovate a bathroom to help you get started.

Now we’ve been introduced, let’s get stuck in! Just remember, if this is all seeming a bit much at any point, and you want some in-person advice, just give us a call on 0121 362 1800 to find out more about our bathroom installation service.

How to renovate your bathroom

As with a lot of DIY projects, there’s a proper order to tackling your bathroom remodelling to save you time and prevent you from having to redo work. So, pay attention, stick to the plan and you’ll be just fine.

This 10-step guide covers everything you need to renovate your bathroom, from initial design to finishing touches. 

Step 1 – Layout 

Before you can get stuck into the meat of your renovations, you need to decide on your layout. If you’re happy with your existing layout, and all you want is a redesign, then this step is easy. Although you should still draw out your plans just to make sure you’re happy with the way they look.

If you want to rearrange your layout, sketch it out with measurements for how you want everything to fit. It’s easy to get carried away with the coloured pencils and let your imagination run wild, but make sure that what you draw out is physically feasible with the space you have.

These drawings will form the foundation of your bathroom remodelling and can be a huge help if you decide to hire a contractor. 

Step 2 – Shopping!

This is probably the bit you’ve been looking forward to the most – it’s time to pick out everything you need for your new bathroom!

To help make sure you don’t forget anything, here’s a general shopping list:

  • Sinks
  • Taps
  • Flooring (tiles, wood etc.)
  • Walls (tiles or waterproof paint)
  • Shower (incl. enclosure, showerhead and taps)
  • Bath
  • Toilet
  • Lighting
  • Cabinetry
  • Mirror
  • Heating (radiator, towel warmer or underfloor)
  • Extras including loo roll holder, towel rails, shelves, additional storage, decorative items and toothbrush holders

It might sound like stating the obvious but consider your overall design and vision and select items that will work together cohesively when everything’s installed.

Step 3 – Hammer time

Before the new can go in, the old must come out. There’s an order to this too and removing the wrong things first could leave you without something important later on, you know, like a toilet. If you’re renovating your only bathroom, it might be worth checking with friends or neighbours whether you can use their facilities for a day or two.

Electrics

Before going anywhere near anything electrical, make sure to turn off the mains supply for your bathroom. Once everything’s safe, begin disconnecting and removing any electrical fittings. Seal off any loose wires using quick connectors or terminal blocks.

Furniture

Once the electrics are tackled and made safe, strip out any bathroom furniture you don’t want to keep, like old cabinets, railings, shelves or mirrors.

Plumbing

Finally, you can make a start on removing all the sanitaryware and plumbing fixtures. Disconnect each one from the water mains before working on it and make sure that the drainpipes are left in place until last, just in case of any mishaps!

Begin with the taps, then take out the porcelain units themselves, making sure to also trim away any remaining sealant.

It’s worth remembering that not everything you take out will need to be thrown away – some items could be recycled or even sold second hand if they’re in a good enough condition.

Step 4 – Walls and floor

By now, your bathroom’s probably looking a bit sorry for itself, but that’s progress, we promise. With everything out of the way, you can turn your attention to your walls and floor. Any old tiles or wallpaper will need to be removed. If you have a carpeted bathroom, we’ll reserve our judgements for now but advise you to also strip that out and put it right in the skip where it belongs.

To remove tiles:

  1. Take out the skirting boards or any tile surrounds
  2. Find a tile that feels loose or sounds hollow
  3. Hit it with a chisel or drill into it
  4. Use your new opening to work away at the rest of the tiles
  5. Clean away any remaining grout and dispose of your old tiles

Remember that before you reinstall anything, all surfaces will need to be cleaned and prepared. Tidying as you go can be a huge help.

Step 5 – Plumb

If you’re keeping the same layout for your bathroom, you can mostly skip this step. However, for you ambitious types taking on a whole new design, it’s time to fit some pipes.

Before we get started though, some general information:

  • Make sure you’re using the right type and size of pipes for what you’re installing, don’t assume you can reuse old piping
  • When installing pipes vertically, fit the cold on the right and the hot on the left, and when horizontally, put the cold below the hot – this helps anyone working on the pipes in the future and prevents heat from your hot pipes warming your cold water
  • Turn off your water supply at the mains to avoid a soaking

Refer carefully to your plans, make sure to precisely measure before fitting anything and gather all your tools beforehand. Start by removing any old pipework back to a point where you can install the new fittings and then introduce your new pipes.

If you need to turn the water back on after this point but before your new sanitaryware goes in, make sure to securely cap any pipes to prevent water escaping.

Step 6 – Wire

The next step in how to renovate a bathroom is one to be considered carefully – wiring. Electrics in the UK are tightly regulated for safety reasons, especially when it comes to bathrooms. So, any electrical work you undertake yourself needs to be done with the legal standards in mind and will then need to be inspected by a certified electrician before it can be used.

Alternatively, you could hire an accredited electrician to handle this step for you, potentially saving you a lot of hassle and stress.

If you choose to take on the wiring yourself, make sure to use the right types of cables and connections and approach any existing wiring with caution, particularly in an older property. Once again, disconnect your electrics at the fuse box before going anywhere near your wiring.

Step 7 – Walls

With your wiring sorted, it’s time to decorate your walls! This is the point in your bathroom remodelling where your new design will start to take shape.

Before you begin, make absolutely sure that your new wall coverings are suitable for a bathroom. They’ll be exposed to a lot of moisture and need to be waterproof. For example, you can buy special bathroom paint.

If you’re tiling, this step is a little easier, as your tiles will hide slight imperfections in your wall surfaces. Although, you should take the time to plan your tile placement to avoid having too many little offcuts and half tiles.

If you’re painting, however, you’ll need to make sure your walls are properly sanded and smoothed for a nice, neat finish.

Step 8 – Floor

With the walls sorted, it’s time to tackle the floor. If you’re installing a new shower tray or a or a panelled bathtub, you should get these installed first to save any complications later on.

Start by preparing the floor surface. Depending on whether you’re having tiles, wood, laminate or vinyl your preparation will look a little different, but it’s important to make sure your new floor has a suitable base to sit on. Once the surface is ready, begin fitting your new floor covering.

If you’re opting for a tiled shower floor, don’t forget that it will need to be graded to encourage water to flow towards the drain and a waterproof membrane will have to be fitted underneath your tiling to prevent water seeping through.

Step 9 – Make it a bathroom again!

This is the point in your bathroom remodelling where your room becomes functional again: installing your new sanitaryware.

Consider where each item will go to help decide which to install first. From a practical point of view, you may want to get your toilet installed first, for example, but if it then makes installing your shower more difficult, maybe reconsider.

Begin by fitting the porcelain items before attaching your new taps and running new pipework to the relevant points . We’d suggest plumbing in your new drains before connecting taps, just so any accidental leaks have somewhere to go.

Once everything’s fitted and plumbed in, turn your water supply back on, check for any leaks and test all your drains. If you spot any leaks, turn the water back off, check all your new fittings and maybe whip out the silicone where needed.

Step 10 – Decorate

With the serious stuff handled, you can put in the finishing touches. This is where you can add any decorative items you want, from stylish storage to wall hangings. Just make sure that everything is waterproof and won’t go mouldy after a few showers.

This is the cherry on top of your bathroom-shaped cake, and the final step in how to renovate a bathroom! If you’ve made it this far, well done, you’re officially a bathroom boss.

Why choose Bayliss as your luxury bathroom designer?

If this all sounds like a lot to handle, that’s because it is. Remodelling is incredibly rewarding and tackling it on your own can be a good way to save on the cost of bathroom renovation, but it’s a lot of planning and hard work to face alone. You’ll need at least basic DIY skills, a pretty big toolbox and a lot of time on your hands.

If you’re not 100% confident in how to renovate a bathroom on your own, give us a call. At Bayliss, we have almost 100 years’ experience in creating stunning luxury bathrooms for clients across the West Midlands.

We employ expert teams of designers and fitters with all the skills and equipment to transform your bathroom, and work with some of the world’s leading suppliers of bathroom furniture, sanitaryware and plumbing to deliver a complete, bespoke solution. See how we’ve helped clients just like you achieve their bathroom dreams in our gallery. 

Where does Bayliss offer bathroom renovations?

Bayliss is based in Sutton Coldfield, just outside of Birmingham, and offers luxury renovations across the second city and the wider West Midlands.

Wherever you are in the Midlands, we can help transform your bathroom, bringing your dream design to life and taking the hassle out of your remodelling.

We offer bathroom remodelling in:

Where to visit our bathroom designers?

As one of the region’s leading premium bathroom designers, we operate a beautifully curated showroom in Sutton Coldfield. Here, you can view all of our products, get inspiration and speak to our expert designers in person.

Our Birmingham showroom is conveniently located just 20 minutes from the city centre and a short drive from major motorway networks.

For more information on how to renovate a bathroom or our services, call us now on 0121 362 1800, email us at enquiries@baylissinteriors.co.uk or fill out our contact form.