Well, as we're now two weeks into the bathroom refurbishment, I thought it was time for an update.
So far I can't fault the people doing the work, they are very attentive to minor details and spend a lot of time with us discussing all the fine points. Most of the work is being done by a single fitter who has been fitting bathrooms for the company for over 18 years - so he knows his stuff - he calls in additional people/trades as he requires them. It seems to work well as he is in overall control of the job and can schedule additional labour or visits from their electrician etc. as required They also have an overall project manager who monitors a number of jobs ensuring that they're on schedule and the correct equipment/products are delivered in good time. We had one minor hiccough when the bulk of tiles turned up and they were the wrong colour - turned out the PM had ordered the wrong colour code - but it was spotted immediately and the correct ones ordered.
There's also been a fair amount of additional work that is 'hidden', e.g. we installed a new condensing boiler and megaflow hot water system in the attic a few years ago and, during severe winters, the condensate pipe from the boiler is subject to freezing where it runs under the eaves to discharge into the drains - we've had this re-routed so it now runs internally and connects into the bath waste.
The room ended up being stripped back to bare brick, the ceiling was plasterboarded, holes cut for the new lights and the electrician hung temporary lighting in place so that the fitters could see what they were doing
The hall-facing cupboard was demolished and reconstructed to the correct size for the new layout, adding a radiator recess
Then the rest of the room was boarded out to give a decent surface for tiling and all joints filled/sanded
Ceiling has been skimmed and coving added. A nice touch was the addition of some marine ply at the top of the wall edge of the coving which will allow the top row of tiles to slide behind and give a neater finish
The wall by the door was plastered in a more traditional way to ensure that it was square to the other wall and could finish flush with the door carcass
Cutouts for shower controls and pipework for the rain shower and pencil shower heads
Boarding up the cupboard and radiator alcove
Initial installation of shower controls and pipework. Central temperature control and separate flow control for each shower head
Initial installation of bath controls and pipework - same control set as the shower with a central temperature control and separate flow controls for bath and pencil shower head
Bath in place and boarding around controls. The silver thing in the corner of the bath is the holder for a pull-out pencil shower head
There we are, halfway through, we're 'coping' by having showers at work/friends/family but pleased that it's only another two weeks and the end is in sight
By the seaside...
