Repair in the bathroom with your own hands: the sequence of work

The correct sequence of work is important for any repair, regardless of its complexity. Repairing a bathroom and a toilet with your own hands requires especially careful adherence to the planned order, since if the stages of work are not completed on time, you can ruin what has already been done. It is impossible, for example, to produce a fine finish of walls and floors, and only then think about replacing wiring and pipes.

The specificity of the repair of the bathroom, firstly, in the small size of the room, and secondly, in a large concentration of various appliances and communications. Repairs in the bathroom and toilet are less common than in residential areas, but usually more thoroughly. Experts recommend starting a major overhaul from the bathroom, because this is often the dirtiest part of all work. That is why the most important step, which in no case should be neglected, is the preparation of a detailed repair plan.

Making a bathroom renovation plan

The first thing to do at the planning stage:

1. Decide on the design and style of the future bathroom and toilet, choose a color scheme. Traditionally, the bath is finished in pastel colors, two shades will look the most successful, for example, green and olive, beige and peach, blue and blue.
2. Decide what types of materials will be used in the decoration. Most often, tiles, plastic panels, porcelain stoneware, and mosaics are used to decorate the bathroom.
3. Inspect plumbing and, if necessary, decide on replacement options. When shopping for new plumbing fixtures, be sure to make sure they fit.
4. Measure the parameters of the room (height, width, length) and calculate the area. Consider the location of plumbing fixtures and other necessary details and draw a detailed plan. It is necessary to decide how and where the bath or shower, sink, toilet, mirror, heated towel rail, washing machine will be located.

Tip: when planning, you need to take into account that after plastering the walls, the dimensions may change slightly. This should be taken into account when buying everything you need, and if you are not sure about the size, postpone this item until the rough finish is ready.

The scale of do-it-yourself repairs in the bathroom depends on various factors: the degree of wear of pipes and plumbing, the obsolescence of finishes, the desire to update the design of the room. Consider the sequence of actions during a major overhaul, which involves the replacement of electrical communications and plumbing, plumbing fixtures and redevelopment of the premises.

Important! Before you redevelop the bathroom, for example, demolish the partition between the bathroom and the toilet, you need to get permission from the BTI.

An example work plan would be as follows:

1. removal of plumbing and all interfering objects;
2. dismantling of old coverings, doors;
3. demolition of partitions (if necessary);
4. dismantling of plumbing and electrical wiring;
5. floor leveling;
6. replacement of risers and pipes of water supply and sewerage;
7. installation of electrical wiring;
8. finishing floors, walls and ceilings;
9. installation of plumbing fixtures;
10. installation of doors and electrical equipment.

Now let's look at each stage of the repair in more detail.

We dismantle and remove all unnecessary

At the dismantling stage, the following work will have to be done:

1. Remove the door along with the jamb. It is advisable to complete this item in the first place, since through a free doorway it will be easier to take out the garbage and bring in materials and tools.If the door is not planned to be changed, it is still better to remove the door from the hinges and remove it so that it does not interfere, and also to avoid damaging it.
2. Dismantle and remove old plumbing. Even if you are not going to change the sink or toilet, it is better to remove and take them out during the repair. If this is not possible, you need to reliably protect them from chips and cracks. Foam rubber, rags or polystyrene can be laid on fragile objects and covered with a film, securing it with tape.
3. Demolish barriers. This is necessary if you are expanding the bathroom or making a combined bathroom.
4. Remove old coatings: ceramic tiles, paint, loose plaster from walls and floors. The tile is easily beaten off with a perforator.

Leveling the floor and walls

The floor in the bathroom should be smooth and even. You can make it this way in a variety of ways.

• "Sealed floor" - a self-leveling screed based on gypsum or cement. Sold as a dry mix, suitable for do-it-yourself styling. The diluted solution is simply poured over the floor and rolled with a spiked roller.

• The use of a gypsum-based plaster mixture and, additionally, a water-repellent mixture, especially in the bathroom. Waterproofing material must cover not only the floor, but also part of the walls located near the bath or shower.
• If necessary, a concrete screed is made after the waterproofing device. If it already exists, before finishing it, you need to apply a waterproofing mastic on it and use a waterproof adhesive for the tiles.

Walls can be leveled with plaster or sheets of moisture-resistant drywall. The latter material has a number of advantages over plastered walls.

1. Firstly, drywall is great as a base for tiles.
2. Secondly, when finishing the walls of the GKL, the work of laying electrical wiring is greatly simplified, since the wires can be placed in the frame of the wall structure.

Water supply and sewerage

Old pipes must be removed to the riser itself. The water and sewer risers should also be replaced at this stage, as this will be difficult to do later. This work requires a certain qualification, so it is better to invite a master to carry it out.

It is quite possible to do the internal wiring of pipes with your own hands.

Work is carried out in the following sequence:

• the risers are given the necessary configuration;
• hidden pipe wiring is laid to the water intake points;
• a heated towel rail is installed in the bathroom;
• filters are installed;
• emergency water shutoff valves are installed;
• if necessary, a water heating system is integrated.

Useful tips for do-it-yourself repairs

1. The hot water pipe must be placed above the cold pipe.
2. With a large number of water intake points, it will be more convenient to have a collector connection system, which involves running a separate pipe to each point.
3. The paths for the passage of sewer and water pipes are marked directly on the walls.
4. It is customary to install a bathroom faucet 10 cm above the side of the bath, the optimal distance between the pipes that go to the faucet is 15 cm.
5. It is necessary to mark the place where the cold water pipe for the washing machine passes, the pipe outlet should be at a distance of 50 cm from the floor.
6. Sewer pipes are located at an angle for draining.
7. Risers can be closed with a metal profile box and moisture-resistant drywall, which is then plastered.
8. Do not forget about the technical hatch on the box for access to the meters and the tap.

Wiring

In order not to damage the final finish, electrical wiring is preliminarily installed. If you hide the wiring in metal pipes, then in the future you will not need to open the walls to replace it, you can simply pull out the wires.

Due to high humidity conditions, wiring must be installed strictly according to the rules:

• sockets and appliances must be grounded;
• switches, lamps, sockets and cables must be protected from moisture and high temperatures;
• You can connect sockets and the lighting system only after the repair is completed.

Determining the location of future outlets, marking electrical wiring, as well as pipes, can be done directly on the walls. After that, strobes are made along the marked lines with the help of a perforator, into which the cable will be laid.

Finishing with facing materials

After completing the rough work, you can proceed to the finishing of the floor, walls, and then the ceiling. For convenience, finishing work is also best done in a certain sequence:

• First you need to prime the walls and floor and make sure that all surfaces are level and that no wires or pipes are visible anywhere.
• Then the floor tiles are laid out. It is necessary to ensure that during the laying process there are no voids between the tiles. Seams must be cleaned and rubbed.

Tip: if you are going to install a bathtub with a closing screen, you can not lay tiles on the floor that will be hidden under it to save material.

• After the floor, the walls are lined with the selected material.

• At the end, the ceiling is put in order.

There are many options for finishing the ceiling:

1. coating with water-based paint;
2. installation of a stretch or false ceiling;
3. installation of plastic panels.

Installation of plumbing

Toilet, sink, bidet, shower or bath, faucets are installed after the completion of finishing work. This will help not only to avoid damage to plumbing, but also to ensure the availability of all surfaces of the room.

Installation of electrical equipment, doors and accessories

After finishing the installation of plumbing and a washing machine that requires a free doorway, you can install the door.

Now you can safely start installing sockets, switches and lamps. In addition, it's time to take care of ventilation, which is best made forced by equipping the duct with a fan.

It remains to hang mirrors in the bathroom, hooks for towels, equip shelves, do not forget about the paper holder in the toilet.