How the Structure of your Home Affects your Bathroom Renovation

Many homeowners don’t realise the importance of understanding the structure of their existing bathroom and how it plays a key role in determining their renovation limitations. So what do we mean by “the structure of your bathroom”. The structure of your bathroom refers to what your bathroom is made up of, typically the rest of the home has the same make up of these same materials but for this situation it is strictly the bathroom that is affected by the Structure when it comes to renovating. The structure is within the walls and beneath your feet under. As well as the structure that holds all the plumbing and electrical and supports your tiles, taps, vanities and so on. It’s important to know the structure or “Bones” of your bathroom when considering a bathroom renovations as certain structures will affect price, layout, and design. So, what are they? Below we will explain the different types of structures you may come across when renovating your bathroom.

Block Walls

Block walls, they are the king of strength when it comes to structure, but they have their pros and cons. Block walls are particularly difficult when it comes to renovating a bathroom. Typically, in a bathroom with block walls you will have a few layers of material before you reach the block walls itself. These are made up of tile, tile glue, cement sheeting or plasterboard. Metal, or wooden battens, and then finally the block walls themselves. Some cases in older bathrooms the layers before the block wall are only, Tile, Glue then the block walls. In Both cases block walls pose a few challenges and here is why.

Plumbing and Electrical

Moving plumbing locations becomes particularly difficult since you must cut and chisel out a valley for the plumbing to sit in. You could imagine that if you’re moving all the water points in your bathroom to suite a new shower head and mixer, a new toilet, a new vanity, and bath, it becomes a labour-intensive job. Not to mention the dust it creates and the mess. Holding the plumbing in place is also not a quick job as each bracket and screw must be drilled in with a concrete hammer drill, a wall plug installed and then the bracket screwed in place for the plumbing to be mounted.

After this the valley is then back filled with cement to cover the exposed plumbing, this is to stop the plumbing rattling and banging inside the walls once the outer layers of the bathroom are installed. This is the same when it comes to the electrical. Adding electrical points for back lit mirrors and new power points and light switches, is the same process. Due to those facts, you could expect to pay more in plumbing and electrical labour if you have block walls. If your budget is tight, we recommend designing the bathroom in such a way, were you keep as much of the plumbing and electrical in its original position. This can save you thousands.

Demolition

Another factor with block walls that will affect the budget is demolition. Demolition with a block wall structure is more labour intensive as you cannot remove all the layers on the walls in large sections. Instead, each tile must be chiselled off the wall bit by bit, often coming off the walls in fist size pieces or smaller. The glue and residue left behind is then ground down with a diamond blade stone on a grinder to remove the glues. It’s a dusty time-consuming job and it is one factor that will cost more and can’t really be avoided, so expect to pay a little extra in demolition costs. But it is not all bad news. Having block walls often means no carpentry is involved and so you can expect to save money on carpentry expenses like re sheeting walls with cement sheeting and framing costs.

Apartments / High-rises

Apartments are the most challenging when it comes to bathroom renovations due to their structure. An apartment or high-rise is typically made up of core filled block-work or solid concrete walls. So, the plumbing, electrical and demolition are all a bit more labour intensive and will cost you more than a timber framed home. The difference here though is that most will have certain plumbing, such as floor wastes and water inlet points, fixed in place permanently.

What does this mean? It means that the drain for the shower, bath, vanity, and toilet cannot be moved. This is because all these drains will drain into a stacked system that the entire building is draining into.  And often the drainage of your bathroom is only accessible from the apartments ceiling below your bathroom. So, you can image that you would have to be very friendly with your neighbours below to ask if you can rip down their bathroom ceiling to access your drainage to move your shower from one end of the room to the other. Often it is not possible to change the locations of drainage in apartment buildings without going to great lengths, so it is something to consider when you are designing the bathroom.

Timber Structure

A timber structure is the most common structure and is by far the best to work with when it comes to re-locating your plumbing and electrical points. It is extremely easy to move plumbing or electrical through a timber fames, allowing for a lot of creativity when it comes to your design and layout. There may be a little extra involved in the carpentry cost although it is not a budget breaking expense. So, be sure yo get creative with this structure type!

Concrete Vs. Timber Floors

Now beneath your feet in your bathroom you will either have a solid concrete slab or a Timber joist floor. A concrete slab will be the most common in colder climates and you will almost certainly have a concrete slab in apartments and high-rise buildings. We have found that a concrete slab is most common. A Timber joist floor is typically found on the first floor of a home or in hotter climates or in homes that are on a hillside or rough terrain. They both have their pros and cons, and we will run through them below.

A concrete slab is harder to run plumbing through just like having block walls. Moving drainage is not an easy job. So, planning the layout to avoid moving the drainage is a good idea if you are on a tight budget. If you live in an area prone to termites it is often a building requirement that a termite barrier is installed inside the slab cut outs to ensure the termites do not find their way into the bathroom and eat the timber walls. The Pros in having a concrete slab is that waterproofing lasts longer and if there ever happens to be a failure in the waterproofing of the bathroom, it won’t go on to cause a major amount of damage to the structure beneath and throughout your home.

With a timber floor, just like timber walls, the benefit is that it is extremely easy to change plumbing drainage locations and so you can get very creative with design and layouts. The downside is that if you have any type of waterproofing failure, it often does a lot of damage to your structure and so in any case it is extremely important to have your bathroom waterproofed by a professional.

To find the information on your properties structure, look on your home insurance documents or on the documents from the purchase of the property. Alternatively if you want to find out more about the condition of your home you can arrange a building inspection to be completed by a professional. A building inspector will provide you with a thorough report that will include all details and information relative to the structure and condition of your home.

As you can see there are a few factors to consider when renovating your bathroom and understanding the structure is key to pulling off the perfect renovation without running into unexpected surprises. Now that you know how important it is to understand the structure of your bathroom before renovating, see if you can go and identify what type of structure you have in your home and how it may impact your bathroom renovation. You save yourself from some costly mistakes!