17-12-2013, 11:24 PM
Hi Jingjok,
Welcome to the forums!
I'm going to be really critical now and I’m sorry for that
I understand this is in your own home so always a good place to start but if you are going to branch out then a few things could have been done slightly better mate.
Firstly the positives, overall it does look nice and you always have to be a bit clever to make such small spaces work, let alone try and work in! So you certainly have one up on your mates
I find small bathrooms often take as long, or longer than ones that are twice their size. The other downfall with small spaces is that space saving suites often cost more than their full size counter parts but then I suppose they don't sell as many hence the increased cost. You've chosen a nice glass sliding door which takes up little space and looks nice, so another plus point. Although my personal choice would have been a glass pocket door. Similar sort of cost but not quite as much on show. Less is more so to speak. Sometimes this is not possible but seeing as no plumbing was present in the stud wall, it was an option.
I know you're a plasterer by trade and the temptation is always to apply your best skill in your work, however plastering bathrooms when they are to be fully tiled is not the best way forward. Firstly with regards to tile limits. Skimmed boards are rated lower than bare boards, 32kg per sqm for bare, 20kg for skimmed. The tiles you've used are relatively small by current trends so no real problem there, but I notice you used moisture resistant boards in the shower area, all well and good but by skimming them you have rendered that element null and void.
That said I wouldn't use moisture resistant boards at all anyway for a number of reasons, they are not good to skim on. They are not good to tile on and they aren't good enough in a wet area on their own. You are much better off using tile backer boards which are cement coated and do not break down in wet conditions. If you don't want to go to that expense then the other option is to use normal plasterboard and then tank it with a paint on solution such as BAL WP1, Mapeigum or Ardex WPC which is what I use in wet areas (Unless going the wet room route in which case it's a mechanical waterproof system such as ditra or dural)
In small rooms leaving space can sometimes give the impression of more space! But whilst your choice of shower enclosure does leave a little bit of extra floor space visible, the down sides are too great to do that. I'm guessing it's next to impossible to clean the glass or tiles on the left hand side of the enclosure? I'm going to guess that you went for a 900x 900 quad? You would have been better going for a 900x 900 square, or better still a 900x800 to give that extra elbow room as you walk in.
The tiling whilst looks good in the finished photos, there are a few faults I notice in the ungrouted pictures. Firstly the small square cut to the right of the mirror. This should have been an 'L' cut and part of the tile below, I’m sure you know this but thought it easier to do as you have done. Again fine in your own bathroom as you can live with it but poor in someone else’s bathroom where they have paid for a professional tile job. A pro tiler wouldn't have done that I’m afraid. Again whilst it looks OK in the photos, I notice in the unfinished pics that your cuts are slanted as opposed to straight, I’m going to put this done to maybe a cheap tile cutter, but again, all cut gaps should be equal to your grout lines, You also have tiles where your grout lines don't meet up (namely 2 tiles below the mirror)
Lastly with regards to the toilet. It could have been centered a little better although you may have done that on purpose to give wider access to the shower. The feed outlet for the cistern does look very unfinished. Not sure if you have anything planned for this? So won't bash it up too much.
Sorry mate, it does seem as though i'm slagging it off. I'm not, just trying to point you in the right direction. Sorry
Welcome to the forums!
I'm going to be really critical now and I’m sorry for that
I understand this is in your own home so always a good place to start but if you are going to branch out then a few things could have been done slightly better mate.Firstly the positives, overall it does look nice and you always have to be a bit clever to make such small spaces work, let alone try and work in! So you certainly have one up on your mates
I find small bathrooms often take as long, or longer than ones that are twice their size. The other downfall with small spaces is that space saving suites often cost more than their full size counter parts but then I suppose they don't sell as many hence the increased cost. You've chosen a nice glass sliding door which takes up little space and looks nice, so another plus point. Although my personal choice would have been a glass pocket door. Similar sort of cost but not quite as much on show. Less is more so to speak. Sometimes this is not possible but seeing as no plumbing was present in the stud wall, it was an option.I know you're a plasterer by trade and the temptation is always to apply your best skill in your work, however plastering bathrooms when they are to be fully tiled is not the best way forward. Firstly with regards to tile limits. Skimmed boards are rated lower than bare boards, 32kg per sqm for bare, 20kg for skimmed. The tiles you've used are relatively small by current trends so no real problem there, but I notice you used moisture resistant boards in the shower area, all well and good but by skimming them you have rendered that element null and void.
That said I wouldn't use moisture resistant boards at all anyway for a number of reasons, they are not good to skim on. They are not good to tile on and they aren't good enough in a wet area on their own. You are much better off using tile backer boards which are cement coated and do not break down in wet conditions. If you don't want to go to that expense then the other option is to use normal plasterboard and then tank it with a paint on solution such as BAL WP1, Mapeigum or Ardex WPC which is what I use in wet areas (Unless going the wet room route in which case it's a mechanical waterproof system such as ditra or dural)
In small rooms leaving space can sometimes give the impression of more space! But whilst your choice of shower enclosure does leave a little bit of extra floor space visible, the down sides are too great to do that. I'm guessing it's next to impossible to clean the glass or tiles on the left hand side of the enclosure? I'm going to guess that you went for a 900x 900 quad? You would have been better going for a 900x 900 square, or better still a 900x800 to give that extra elbow room as you walk in.
The tiling whilst looks good in the finished photos, there are a few faults I notice in the ungrouted pictures. Firstly the small square cut to the right of the mirror. This should have been an 'L' cut and part of the tile below, I’m sure you know this but thought it easier to do as you have done. Again fine in your own bathroom as you can live with it but poor in someone else’s bathroom where they have paid for a professional tile job. A pro tiler wouldn't have done that I’m afraid. Again whilst it looks OK in the photos, I notice in the unfinished pics that your cuts are slanted as opposed to straight, I’m going to put this done to maybe a cheap tile cutter, but again, all cut gaps should be equal to your grout lines, You also have tiles where your grout lines don't meet up (namely 2 tiles below the mirror)
Lastly with regards to the toilet. It could have been centered a little better although you may have done that on purpose to give wider access to the shower. The feed outlet for the cistern does look very unfinished. Not sure if you have anything planned for this? So won't bash it up too much.
Sorry mate, it does seem as though i'm slagging it off. I'm not, just trying to point you in the right direction. Sorry
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