Obiaks Blog

London builders: bathroom installation. Part two.

Tiling is made right after the pipes installation, mounting the bath and the door. If the bath panel is finished with tiles, this bath panel is sometimes equipped with a door for having access to the bath water drain. But it is more preferable to make a removable hatch, using magnetic nabs as fasteners (rather strong ones and not less than four pieces of them).
If there is bathroom equipment in the room already, it should be covered with covering sheets, carton etc. The bath is usually covered with plywood (10-15 mm thick) or a woodchip board, to preserve it from accidental fall of rubbish and for having support for a bucket with adhesive solution, tools, or tiles. If the floor is already tiled, it is necessary to cover it, too. It is better to have a wet duster with you for cleaning dirty tiles or hands.
Seam size (between the tiles) depends on the tile quality (edge roughness) and aesthetic needs. Seams are usually 1,5-3 mm wide, for ceramic large-size tiles - 5 mm. Using tile spacing pegs is helps you to maintain even spacing between the tiles. Do not tile the whole wall in one day, as it should have time to fasten strongly to the wall.
If you are planning to use various additional decorative details, such as borders or insertion of the tile with patterns, it is important to define its place on the wall. For finishing of outer and inner corners special plastic angle bars can be applied. They make corners look more attractive. Flexible bar insures perfect conformity with wall or floor tiles. When buying plastic angle bars, one should select them so that the groove size would exceed tile thickness.
Mounting of new walls: brick, moisture-resistant gypsum-plaster, or foam concrete. Arrangement of ventilation. Wire bonding, water and sewer pipes layout, replacement of the towel drier (it is recommended to make a parallel by-pass path to have the possibility of emergency shutoff from the hot water main and setting a ball lock valve in case of breakdown). Set separate valves on the hot water pipes, going to the flush tank and a washer. Mounting of the false ceiling with the built-in lighting fitting. Waterproof coating. Plastering. Walls tiling. Installation of the bath. Installation of the bathroom equipment. Floor tiling. That is all. At this point the bathroom remodeling is finished.
For a small bathroom it is possible to choose the specially developed programs, mini bathroom equipment, occupying less space. There is a special doll's house effect, when everything seems larger relative to the diminished objects.
Work quality criteria.
Tiles must be paved strictly vertically, all tile blocks should be situated at the same level. Overhanging or sinking down of one block edge comparatively with another is intolerable. There should be no hollow spaces under the tile blocks. Space between the tiles should be equal everywhere. The tile seams should fit one another and form a straight line (strictly on the level). Tile patterns should be matched. Space between the tiles should be properly grouted.