I want the nitty gritty on having my bathroom done

So the time has come for us to have our bathroom redone and we are hoping to do it early in the New Year...so I am looking for some advice.  I want a brand new spa bathroom, without moving any of the existing plumbing...so that should make it a bit easier. I reckon we will spend £4k (ish) and I am dreading the whole thing. I live in a 1 bathroom 1930's semi. Yes, I said 1 bathroom.

So I am looking for some experiences from anyone else with small children who has had a bathroom refit. How horrible will it be?? Go on, tell me the truth.

we just did a bathroom overhall... we did....

My partner is a painter/decorator and did the following work:
Chipping off all existing tiles
Filling all holes & sanding down
PVA the walls
Pulling up existing carpet
Tearing off skirting boards

We are purchasing the following items:
Articulating Glass Shower Scree
Towel Radiator
Wall Tiles (limestone brick size times)
Floor Tiles (Large Tiles

A general handyman did the following work:
Remove existing Bidet
Install Glass Bath Screen
Remove existing Radiator & replace with Towel Radiator
Tile all walls- floor to ceiling
Tile floor

A seperate plumber
Removed existing Electric Shower
Installed Mixer Shower
Will be installing auxillary pump for more shower pressure.

We kept the sink, loo & corner bath where they were.
We purchased all the tiles from a discount, discontinued tile place locally.

All in, this cost about £2500. 

Tricks?  Suggestions?  We have a downstairs loo & my in-laws live nearby.  We (I say we, but it really was the boy, i cleared up & made tea) stripped the bathroom a week before we were do to go on holiday.  We showered at his mother's for that week.  When we returned (2) weeks later- viola!  Done.  But, we know the guy who was doing the work, he knew exactly what we wanted, and we trusted him in our house.

Do you have another loo?

I'd plan a trip if I were you.

In our old house Rich had our bathroom done while we were in the US getting married.  Saved a lot of hassle.

I've had friends do it and it sucked!  They ended up staying with In-laws for a few days.

Do you have another loo?

Gulp. No, just the one. I think I might just have to take the boy off to New York to see my parents for the week.

I live in a 1 bathroom semi as well.  We haven't had our redone (though it needs it), but do you have in-laws or friends that you may be able use their bathroom while yours is being done?  My in-laws had theirs done a couple years back and they would go to SIL's house to take baths while there's was being redone...

I agree with Stacey - going on a trip sounds good!   

If it's your only bathroom, definitely schedule a trip out of town or stay in a hotel during that time.  When we bought our house, we had a guy come in to do some tiling and install a shower in our upstairs bathroom (I STILL don't understand why a brand new house wouldn't have a shower!  ) and he was here for three days.  If we didn't have a downstairs loo, it would've been a nightmare!

Hmm, had my bathroom replaced in a one bedroom house a couple of times in the last few years. A plastic washing up bowl is a good standby - or two or three for various washing or elimination needs . Living near a shopping centre, or a B & Q etc. can be helpful. Swimming pools and gyms offer showering facilities. Maybe invest in a potty even if your kids are beyond that normally for emergency use - you can always dig a hole in the garden to dispose of the evidence. Best advice though is try to have your toilet connected as long as possible. Longest we went was 6 weeks without a toilet so it can be done ( 4 kids under 10) but you do need to be creative and drop a few standards. To be honest I found having my kitchen replaced far more traumatic - had this done twice recently and the first time I had a 2 week old baby to deal with and no sink, no cooker, no dishwasher, no laundry facilities and the contents of my old kitchen in my lounge - for 4 months. That makes me shiver to remember it. 
Melly

hiya

Slightly surprised at Melly's experiences of going that long without full bathroom facilities !

When we had our initial house refurb the bath, sink and toilet were all 'replaced' on a single day if i remember correctly (early morning piping & system drained, throughout the day old stuff removed and new stuff installed and connected) . we did have a downstairs one to use, but seeing as there's only one room in this OP's scenario it does become different.
I can't beleive you'd need to be without full functional bathroom for more than a week if properly planned.

If it means you have no carpet/floor tiling, no wall tiling, no functional shower, lighting even - a good tradesmen/plumber could 'swap' out a toilet and bath and sink within a day even working on his own. So that means you can at least use the facilities carefully (ie may not be any silicone sealant on the bath and taps etc etc) whilst the rest of the elements are installed.

I'd suggest ringing up a few local bathroom fitters, plumbers etc get them to take a look and estimate roughly how long it'd take them to finish the job start to finish and then ask them about which day in specific they'd do the toilet, bath and sink so that you can maybe arrange a hotel or something that day (or the above suggestions)

four - 6 weeks without a kaazi is unnaceptably long in my opinion - maybe the guy installing it was going to day college to learn how to do it or something?!!

Good luck! DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Well, what happened was my husband decided to rip out the old bathroom before we even booked a plumber - then we couldn't get one for a week or two and then when the plumber tried to install the new toliet it was damaged so we had to wait for a replacement to be delivered. So it was a combination of our inexperience and some unforseen problems that resulted in such a long wait. Second time around I think we were without the loo for only 2 or 3 days.

We've been shopping around for a workman to fit our new bathroom. We can get everything done including the tiling, plumbing, electric (shower), floor etc. for about £5500 and the plumbing would all be sorted the same day. I've known lots and lots of people who have had their bathrooms redone and none of them had to leave their house! If they couldn't do the plumbing in one day I would find someone else!

Thanks for all the positives! I think we will find our bathroom fitter and speak to them, if its too much for me and the kiddy to be in the house, I might use it as a good excuse to take my son to NY to visit my family!

I agree with Dennis about the time factor.  If you are digging up a concrete floor and running new sewer lines it will take a little longer, but if you are keeping the toilet in its existing position the actual changeover time when it's completely out of action should be quite short.   Everything else can be removed around the pan in preparation, then once the new pan is fixed in place and sealed to the waste pipe it can be used, even if the cistern is not connected (you can always flush it with a bucket of water).   With proper organization, you'd only be completely out of action for a couple of hours.

I've known lots and lots of people who have had their bathrooms redone and none of them had to leave their house! If they couldn't do the plumbing in one day I would find someone else!

i had a new bathroom fitted 2 years ago.  It took 2 days... the removing and fitting was done on the first day, and the tiling on the 2nd, but the water was switched back on when they left on the first day, so we werent without access to bath & toilet.