DIY bathroom renovation tips

In detail: DIY bathroom renovation tips from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

Repairing an apartment is a troublesome and difficult business. Sometimes, in the process of transforming our home, it seems to us that everything is going well, and when we start settling in a new nest, it turns out that there is a mistake, there is a defect, here something has not been thought out. We have prepared for you a list of 10 mistakes that can be made when renovating a bathroom. Think of it as answering pre-exam questions.

Popular wisdom says: there are never too many outlets. There are times when people forget about outlets in the bathroom, make few of them (only for the washing machine), or just think that they do not need them, and then wonder how to dry their hair with a hairdryer, shave with an electric razor, or where to charge an electric toothbrush? To avoid such questions, make at least two sockets.

The sockets in the bathroom must be protected from moisture (with a cover that covers the connectors).

When installing the bath, check if it has a slope. Plumbing pipes should run to the drain at a slight slope. If you do not think about it in time, it may turn out that the water will not drain well and the unpleasant smell of musty water will spread in the bathroom.

My friend and her husband recently finished renovating the bathroom, and it turned out that the heated towel rail is not heating up. And all because it was placed higher than the water distribution pipes are located. As a result, there is not enough pressure, and hot water does not rise to the heated towel rail. Conclusion: you need to very clearly control the plumbing work, especially those that will disappear in the end (they are the most difficult to change).

Video (click to play).

This item is relevant both for the bathroom and for the toilet. Unfortunately, in older houses, soundproofing and hoods leave a lot to be desired. Take care to immediately install a forced extractor hood, which starts working when the light is turned on (for the toilet) or when the button is pressed (for the bathroom). The extractor hood in the bathroom will help the room "cool down" and ventilate faster.

This item includes the dimensions of anything: a shower stall, a door (it can be so narrow that a washing machine will not work), equipment. The owner of a one-room apartment in Maryino complains about independent redevelopment:

In addition to ceiling lighting, the bathroom needs local light sources, at least in front of the mirror. Choose warm lighting: firstly, it flatter the appearance, and secondly, it seems that the bathroom is warmer than it really is. And, of course, for reasons of comfort.

The bathroom is a rather traumatic place: you can fall both in the bathtub itself and on a smooth wet floor. Either you shouldn't choose glossy surfaces for flooring, or if your heart is breathing unevenly towards smooth porcelain stoneware, lay a soft rug on top of it to help you stand firmly on your feet.

Very often, when making repairs, we are guided by the thought: "Oh, how beautiful it will be!" and completely forget that you need to store shampoos, creams, towels, household chemicals and you never know what else! It is worth considering the organization of storage space in advance. Firstly, you can choose some kind of furniture (for example, a sink) already with built-in drawers, and secondly, at the end of the repair, you will not expect a situation that there is nowhere to hang a hairdryer or there is nowhere to put spare shower gels. We wrote in detail about storage systems in the bathroom here.

This is a story from my personal practice. A year ago we decided to change one shower stall for another.The cab was chosen by my dad (he is not a thin man for me), and he did not think at all that the doors of the rectangular cab should open in the middle, since in our small bathroom there is a sink close to one side, and a washing machine on the other. He also bought a cabin, the door of which opens from the side and moves completely to the other half. As a result, dad barely squeezes into the gap between the sink and the shower door. Well, who's to blame?

Quartblog wishes you that your renovation will bring you only joy and not bring any hassle! And as a last resort, like in school, you can fix your mistakes and get an A.

To make a quality bathroom renovation, you don't have to have big finances. Indeed, if you wish, you can significantly save money.

For example, you can refuse the services of a designer and yourself come up with a style in which the renovation will be performed.

You can also save on the construction team and do everything yourself.

But in order for the process to be established and the result achieved, it is necessary to draw up a detailed plan of action in advance.

So, you will need:

Come up with a design;
Stock up on the necessary materials and tools;
Make an estimate;
Calculate the exact dimensions of the bathroom and the dimensions of the plumbing;

When choosing a design, you need to pay attention to the area of the room. Owners of a small area should take into account that a small space is less functional.

Light colors in the interior and large mirrors on the walls will visually enlarge the room.

You can refuse to install a bath and give preference to a shower cabin. Thus, there will be more space in the room.

For hygiene products, instead of bulky floor-standing cabinets, you can hang compact hanging cabinets.

After you have decided on the choice of design, you need to draw up an action plan. After all, in order for the process to go on continuously, all actions must be performed sequentially.

Neglecting previous work can significantly affect the final result.

This is a very important stage in the renovation. An unpleasant moment may be that if the calculation is not correct, there may not be enough tiles, panels or other building materials.

Indeed, in the process of cutting and masonry, some of the material can be damaged. To avoid such an incident, you should initially purchase building materials with a margin.

To remove tiles from walls and tiles from the floor, you need to stock up on a hammer and chisel. However, it will be easier to cope with the work with a punch or drill. There are two options for dismantling: gentle and emergency.

The first is done with a hammer and chisel. First you need to soak the grout, and then carefully separate each tile from the wall or floor.

The second option is much faster, but more “dusty” and “noisy”. To do this, you just need to demolish the coating with layers using a perforator.

First of all, a screed device is installed. If the installation of an additional "warm floor" system is not provided, the height of the screed will be 1-1.5 cm. The height will be 3-4 cm if the floors are further insulated.

There are several types of "warm floor" system: water, film and electric. Any of the systems preserves the microclimate in the bathroom well, at the same time it has a low cost and is easy to install.

Today on the market there are materials for the bathroom for "every wallet". First of all, it all depends on the finances that you have. Most often, tiles are laid on the walls.

But you can pick up a more budgetary option, for example, plastic panels or special moisture-resistant plaster. At this stage of the repair, everything depends on your imagination and finances.

When repairing the ceiling, it is worth starting from the materials that were used on the walls.So, for example, elastic vinyl film looks very nice with tiles and plastic.

If you plan to make a ceiling with different transitions, then use a special moisture-resistant drywall. However, there is also a more budgetary option: plastic panels.

After all the finishing work has been completed, you can install the bath, furniture and plumbing. DIY repair is not easy, but very informative. Plus it can save you money and make the design exactly the way you want it!

Many home craftsmen do not know where to start repairs in the bathroom and in what sequence to perform such work. We have prepared detailed and understandable instructions.

The room in which we receive water treatments is considered to be very specific. Serious humidity and temperature fluctuations are constantly present here; water pours in large volumes. It is clear that for the repair of such a room, it is necessary to select special materials that are able to withstand all negative influences. To decorate the premises of interest to us, they usually choose:

plastic panels;
porcelain stoneware;
tile (for wall and floor decoration).

These materials have the required qualities, allowing them to be used in a room where there is steam and high temperatures.

Bathroom decoration with plastic panels

In addition, the bathroom should have a special atmosphere conducive to human relaxation. This means that you need to competently think over the design of this room and choose the right color scheme. Most often, bathrooms are performed in pastel colors that do not irritate a person, but, on the contrary, soothe his nervous system after a busy day. Professional designers recommend finishing sanitary ware with products of beige, blue, peach, blue shades.

Thus, bathroom renovation should begin with drawing up a design project, selecting and purchasing the required materials. At this stage, you will need to foresee a lot of little things and purchase a lot of different products, ranging from sewer pipes and glue for installing tiles to valves and a heated towel rail.

Now you need to decide on the scope of work and draw up a plan for their implementation. The sequence for self-repairing a bathroom is usually as follows:

Preparing the room for renovation activities.
Analysis of the condition of the existing flooring and the choice of technology for its restoration or complete replacement.
Floor repair, insulation and waterproofing.
Installation of sewer and water pipes.
Laying of electrical wiring.
Plastering of ceiling and wall surfaces, covering them with the selected material and insulation.
Installation of an efficient ventilation system.
Installation of sanitary equipment.

The given sequence will allow you to spend a minimum of time on giving the room for water procedures the ideal look.

Where to start preparing the described room for its complete transformation with your own hands? Of course, from the dismantling of all plumbing fixtures installed in it, as well as furniture (if any), lighting fixtures, mirrors and hanging structures. If you're doing a major bathroom renovation, be sure to remove your faucets and faucets. Image - DIY bathroom renovation tips

Removing old bathroom tiles

After that, proceed with the removal of the old finishing materials. Remove the cladding from the walls and ceiling, knock down the ceramic tiles (along with the layer of glue that held them), rinse off the paint. If you have a punch, the preparation of the bathroom for a good repair is much faster - boldly knock down everything that leaves the ceiling and walls. Your task is to get to the brick or panel masonry and floor slabs.

After such actions, it will be necessary to align the walls in the bathroom, which you "bared", and carefully treat them with primers.You should choose them wisely. Do not forget that now there are a variety of primers - bioprotective, hydrophobic, contact, increasing adhesion, strengthening. If you do not know what kind of composition you need to purchase, be sure to consult with a specialist. Real help in this matter is often provided by consultants of good construction stores.

The next step in preparing the bathroom is to revise the flooring. When the old screed showed itself exclusively from the best side during operation (for example, you forgot to turn off the water, it flowed for a couple of hours, while a drop of moisture did not seep to the neighbors below), leave it. If the tie has clearly served its purpose, it must be removed.

This operation is performed with a perforator with a chisel. The old cementitious tile backing can also be removed with these tools. An important point! If you will not touch the old screed, it is better to clean the substrate with a grinder equipped with a grinding cup-shaped wheel (usually called a diamond cup). The cost of such a device is quite high. But it will always come in handy for the master who does all the housework with his own hands.

Now you can sweep out all the dirt and debris and proceed directly to the repair work.

It is recommended to make the screed with a solution consisting of the following components:

sifted quartz sand;

cement M500 (you can also take M400);

PVA emulsion;

water.

The ratio of cement to sand is 1 to 4. You need to mix the same amount of water as you do cement. It is most convenient to form a screed with your own hands using marker beacons. The mixture is applied in a layer of about 4–5 cm, rubbed with a building rule, after which it must be carefully smoothed with a polyurethane foam or stainless steel polisher to an ideal state (no cracks, swells and other defects). Very important! A made screed based on sand and cement must not be touched for 40 days. During this time, no work in the bathroom must be performed. Image - DIY bathroom renovation tips

Create a new concrete floor screed

Waterproofing a room with high humidity is best done with polyester or aquaizol materials. Do not use ordinary waterproof film for this purpose. Lay the waterproofing material as carefully as possible, the joints between its individual parts are connected in two ways:

Building hairdryer.
By gluing mastic with a special composition.

The waterproofing is installed on the walls by 25-30 centimeters. Note that in the corners of the room, the presence of cuts in the moisture-proof film is not allowed. Better fold the insulating material, make folds. But never cut the film.

It is almost impossible to see open sewer pipelines in apartments these days. Such communications spoil the whole look of the bathroom, nullify all the tricks of the designers. Shtrob the walls in order to hide the pipes is also not an option. This procedure is very tiring, dusty and really time-consuming. Image - DIY bathroom renovation tips

Installation of piping in the bathroom

For this reason, sewer pipes are now most often installed according to a special technique - they are launched along the bottom in a bundle, and then masked with galvanized slopes. The latter can then be easily glued with silicone tiles (facing). The silicone composition is used for fixing the slope from the floor surface and to the wall.

Unfortunately, repairs in the bathroom cannot be done without shading at all. In any case, you will need to make two grooves for cases when a separate mixer is installed on the washbasin, or one if a common mixer is used. One thing calms down - the length of the strobes will be minimal. In addition, they are positioned vertically. It is relatively easy to punch them with your own hands, which cannot be said about horizontal strobes.

For a heated towel rail, it is advisable to install metal-plastic pipes.You shouldn't even look for other options these days. Such tubular products are ideal for use. They can be easily folded down and sloped using transition fittings.

But for the cold water supply system in the bathroom, polypropylene pipes (PPN) are more suitable. They are easily welded into a solid and reliable monolithic structure, and then hidden in the walls. It should be said right away that it is advisable to purchase fittings for such pipes from solid plastic. It is impractical to use metal reinforcement elements. They can leak at any time. But the sealed plastic will never let water through.

The installation of the pipeline should begin with the installation of sewer pipes. Using sealant and seals, you will spend no more than one day assembling them. After that, feel free to install polypropylene products for cold water and solder them. Be sure to blow out the pipes in the grooves with polyurethane foam. This will ensure that the pipeline does not fog up. And the heat loss in this case will be significantly reduced. Follow the recommended piping sequence and your bathroom repairs will go faster.

Electrical wiring is carried out with a cable protected by a double insulating layer. It is desirable to place the wire in a metal or plastic corrugation. It is better to use a metal sheath as it shields the wiring perfectly.

Having dealt with the communications, proceed to the processing of wall surfaces. Plastering of the walls is carried out in two compositions - starting (it has increased tenacity) and finishing. The latter perfectly levels the treated surface. Plastering is necessary from the ceiling to the floor. Image - DIY bathroom renovation tips

The following stages of repair work:

Ceiling insulation and cladding. It is recommended to perform thermal insulation in the form of a cake, consisting of two glass-magnesium sheets and a heater placed between them. The cladding can be made with clapboard (plastic) or laminated boards, which are fixed to the ceiling with construction silicone or strong assembly glue.
Laying tiles on the floor. The sequence of the operation is as follows - mount the products with glue, starting from the door, tap each tile with a hammer (rubber). All trimmed rows should be installed last and after the adhesive under the remaining rows has completely hardened.
Wall covering. It is produced with plastic panels, porcelain stoneware, ordinary tiles.

That, in principle, is the whole step-by-step plan for self-repairing a bathroom. You just need to start implementing it and after a while enjoy the new look of your room for water treatments.The bathroom is one of the smallest rooms in an apartment or private house in size. But, despite this size, this room is considered the most difficult from the point of view of architects.Bathroom renovation, where to startThe first difficulty is that this is where all the layouts of engineering communications are concentrated. Any unskilled intervention in the wiring diagram will have very negative consequences for the entire structure. We will tell you how to competently solve problems with engineering communications in the article a little below.The second difficulty is that the operating conditions for building materials, plumbing equipment and special furniture are the most difficult. Constant high air humidity, frequent direct contact of architectural elements with water and high temperatures require special materials and construction technologies. This is the only way to ensure the reliability and durability of the premises.As with all construction work, bathroom renovations should start with planning. There are two reasons for the need to renovate the bathroom, there is a big difference between them, respectively, and the planning methodology is not the same.The bathroom was damaged by flooding or fire. Such situations cannot be foreseen, and the consequences should be eliminated as soon as possible. Accordingly, there is no time for calm planning, decisions have to be made very quickly. Image - DIY bathroom renovation tips

The flood always happens unexpectedly

Another major problem is finance. If you have time to carefully prepare for scheduled repairs and save money, then the consequences of the accident must be eliminated as quickly as possible.

The aftermath of the flood must be dealt with quickly

How to act in order to eliminate the consequences of emergency situations in a short time and with minimal losses? How to plan your bathroom renovation correctly?

Make an audit of the condition of equipment and building elements. Take this stage very responsibly, the more you notice the problems, the more complete the purchases can be made. And this means that there will be no need to go back to the store for every missed trifle and waste precious time.

Make an audit of the condition of equipment and building elements

Buy materials with the most similar properties

Make a work plan

When the preparatory planning stage is completed and materials have been purchased, you can begin repair work.

The situation is much calmer, there is time to think over and weigh everything in detail. What is recommended to consider when planning a renovation?

Consider your financial capabilities. At the same time, add up the price of all materials and the cost of their installation. If the repair is major, then you need to calculate the number and cost of re-equipment or installation of new engineering networks. The list of works includes the dismantling of old equipment and finishing materials (in the case of a major overhaul), preparation of wall, floor and ceiling surfaces, installation of water supply and sewerage, electrical wiring, installation of plumbing equipment and surface finishing. The specific list largely depends on the selected building materials and technologies.

Assess your financial capabilities

Consider the cost of plumbing or construction services

Draw a sketch of the room

Check the condition of the walls and choose materials for leveling, finishing

Only after clarifying all the questions, you can proceed to the direct repair of the premises.

The scheme of actions may change slightly, taking into account the peculiarities of the repair and the condition of the room. But for most cases, bathroom repairs need to be done in this sequence.

Step 1. Dismantling of old wall, ceiling and floor cladding. Use an electric hammer drill or manually remove the wall cladding. Don't try to preserve old ceramic tiles. Firstly, it is unlikely that it will be possible to reuse it due to its very unsightly appearance. Secondly, you can never predict how many pieces will remain intact and how many will have to be broken. Thirdly, the time spent on neatly knocking down old tiles can be used more rationally.

Step 2. Dismantle old plumbing and sewerage systems.

Important. If personal knowledge in plumbing intricacies is not enough, then we strongly recommend consulting a professional. Unskilled intervention in the installed heating, water supply and sewerage systems can completely disable them.

Cut metal pipes with a grinder, put the waste in one place. If the rest of the rooms are residential, then take measures to prevent the spread of dust. Always close the door, prevent drafts, cover furniture with plastic wrap.You will have to wear a respirator in the bathroom.

Step 3. Find out the location of the old wiring. This is not as difficult as it seems, but only if the wiring is laid in compliance with the PUE. Knowing the hidden wiring diagram will allow you to avoid many unpleasant situations during wall chasing or plaster removal.

How do I find the wiring in the wall?

How to find out the location of the wiring under the plaster?

Find the wiring box on the wall, it should be under the ceiling. In the wiring box, several conductive cables converge, it has holes for their output. Modern boxes are made of plastic, in old houses there are iron ones.
Find all switches and sockets on the wall, and on the ceiling where you connect the lighting fixtures. One of the main rules for installing electrical wiring is that all cables should be bent only at right angles, in direction they can only be vertical or horizontal.
Draw vertical lines from sockets and switches, draw a horizontal line under the ceiling from the distribution box. There should be wiring in the plaster along these lines. To be sure, deviate from them by 5-10 cm in each direction. The fact is that not all electricians are conscientious about their duties, in order to exclude damage to cables, it is better to make a margin.

Thus, you will find out where you can hammer the plaster safely, and in which places to be extra careful. But in any case, before starting work, you should turn off the machine in the bathroom.

Work on the installation of electrical wiring

Step 4. Install new wiring, sewerage and water pipes. We strongly recommend placing all pipes under the wall cladding. The work is much easier if the walls are finished with different slabs.

Important. Before installing pipes and electrical wiring on the wall, you need to indicate the location of switches and sockets, the connection points of the sink and bathtub. It is advisable to know the dimensions and features of plumbing, taking into account these data, you can accurately calculate the height of the location of water sockets and drains. Due to this, installation work will be accelerated, and the reliability of fixing plumbing will increase.

Step 5. Start leveling the ceiling, walls and floor. For the floor, professionals recommend using cement screeds, they have the highest performance indicators. If you plan to make a heated floor, then you need to take into account the total thickness of the cake and mark the position of the tiles on the wall from it.

For leveling, you need to prepare a container, a spatula, a level, a tape measure

The leveled walls are moistened during the drying period of the mixture

Step 6. After the screed has completely hardened, start laying the partitions. Their location should take into account the size of the bath or shower stall, the layout of the room, the presence of additional architectural elements, etc. merits.

First, beat off the position of the first row of blocks on the floor, check all dimensions and angles. Be sure to control the position of each row of blocks, it is better to lay them under the rope. To increase the stability of the partition through the row, tie the blocks with a perforated metal tape, fix it with self-tapping screws of the appropriate length. Use the same metal tapes to fasten the blocks to the main walls of the bathroom.

Step 7. Begin the installation of sewer pipes. If you are doing a major overhaul of a room, then you should study the purpose of each existing branch, otherwise you can turn off other rooms of the apartment or house. It is better to use plastic pipes. Connect them into a socket, for sealing all additional elements have rubber gaskets. The pipes are fixed to the wall with special clamps.If finishing plastering is planned, then walls need to be grooved under the pipes. The location of the electrical cables, drawn earlier on the wall, increases the safety of the work.

There are many reasons to start renovating a bathroom: plumbing equipment has broken down, the bath has lost its original shine, old tiles have fallen off, and mold has started in the corners.

As a rule, one attempt to change something in the interior brings with it a number of design ideas, and as a result, light cosmetic touches turn into a global overhaul. Let's try to put everything on the shelves and understand the nuances of the repair work.

There are two ways to create a design project. You can contact the bureau and order a bathroom project, providing the dimensions of the room and choosing one of the fashionable styles. The company's specialists will make calculations and, taking into account your wishes, select several options for a possible interior design.

Get ready that the fantasies of designers will have to be paid for, and remember: the more famous the company, the more expensive the finished project.However, there are no guarantees that the proposed options will suit you - you may not be satisfied with the color, the choice of plumbing, the price range of materials for repair, or the recommended style.Thanks to the abundance of information in magazines, books and the worldwide Internet, you can independently draw up a sketch of the future bathroom, study the characteristics of modern plumbing, and choose the wall cladding to your taste.And most importantly, you will be able to draw up a project based on your own style preferences. Cold hi-tech, strict classics, luxurious art deco, sophisticated rococo - reflect any ideas first on a sheet of paper, and then in life.

Do not forget that some of the tiles may be damaged during cutting and installation, so add 5% to the total. In the same way, count the number of floor tiles, ceiling panels, decorative items.

Prices for plumbing equipment, furniture, finishing materials can be found on the websites of trading bases and stores, but keep in mind that the product you have chosen is not always in stock, so take care of buying it in advance.

It is necessary to carry out repairs in the bathroom in stages, that is, start by dismantling the old finishes - ceiling panels, flooring, wall plastic or ceramics. It seems easier to break than to build, but this is far from the case.

If the tilers tried their best, the tiles from the walls, and even more from the floor, given the quality of modern glue, will not be easy to dismantle. At best, you will need a hammer and a chisel, but most likely a drill or hammer drill.

There are two ways to dismantle: gentle and emergency. In the first case, you carefully soak the grout, scrape it out and carefully, using a hammer and chisel, try to separate each element from the wall. In the second - take a hammer drill and much faster, but with noise and dust, demolish the entire finish in layers.

As you can see, both methods have disadvantages, so experts recommend saving time and effort for repairs by calling a team (or one foreman) for dismantling. Within a few hours, your bathroom will be completely free of old finishes and ready for renovation work.

Home communications usually mean:

sewerage;
water pipes;
electrical wiring;
ventilation.

The ventilation shafts are not touched during the repair, but sometimes the outlet grille is changed, as it must correspond to the surrounding finish.

The most difficult thing will be for the owners of old apartments and houses in which cast-iron pipes are installed. We'll have to completely dismantle them, and construct the sewage system and water supply from plastic pipes. It is necessary to make an eyeliner to all points of water intake - a bath, a washbasin, a washing machine.

To work with pvc pipes, you need special soldering equipment that can be rented.

In order for the water to drain freely, the sewer pipes are laid as low as possible. For this reason, for shower stalls with a low descent, it is necessary to install a podium - the minimum angle of inclination of the drain should be at least 5 degrees.

You should also consider a method for masking pipes: you will have to groove walls or equip drywall boxes. In addition to pipes, I also lay electrical cables into the walls, having previously drawn up a diagram of the location of all electrical appliances, lamps and sockets.

Repairing the bathroom floor begins with a screed device. Its height depends on the method of insulation. If additional thermal insulation is not provided, only the thickness of the tiles should be taken into account - 1-1.5 cm. When installing the "Warm floor" system, the screed resembles a cake, the middle layer of which is the heating system.

In this case, the total thickness of the screed is at least 3-4 cm.

we process the base (concrete slab) with a deep penetration primer;
we install beacons with an interval of 60-80 cm, using the level;
we dilute the sand-cement or concrete mixture with water;
fill the floor areas between the lighthouses with a solution, level them;
at the end, remove the beacons, wipe the irregularities;
cover the floor with plastic foil and wait for it to "ripen".

Insulation materials are used to insulate the floor. Modern mineral wool is not suitable, since it has a property that is not necessary for a bathroom - high hygroscopicity. However, sometimes it is used, carefully insulated from moisture. Styrofoam (expanded polystyrene) perfectly resists water.

Usually it is laid on a concrete base in front of the screed device, reinforced with a reinforcing mesh. Elastic and flexible penoplex performs similar functions.

A more comfortable option is the "warm floor" system. It has several versions, here are the main ones:

water - a flexible system of plastic or metal pipes, heated by centralized (boiler) heating;
film - infrared design with electrical wiring and thermostat;
electric - assembled from heating elements powered by electric current.

Any of the listed systems improves the microclimate in the bathroom, while it has a low cost and is easy to fit.

Traditionally, tiles are used to decorate the bathroom - ceramic tiles made of fired clay, but often the process is made cheaper by covering the walls with plastic panels or plaster for painting. Before you do your own bathroom renovation, consider the pros and cons of the listed options.

The variety of tiles allows you to choose any option - from budget to exclusive.

In building supermarkets, you can find monocotture, bicottura, mosaics, monoporose and majolica for interior use, as well as durable porcelain stoneware, which is equally good for finishing a bathroom, and for facing stairs or building façades.

The cost of a tile largely depends on the manufacturer. The highest quality and, accordingly, expensive tiles are produced by Italian brands: Gardenia Orchidea, Fondovalle, Roberto Cavalli, Rex Ceramiche, Vitrex.

The Italians are not inferior unless the Spanish manufacturers. Cheaper tiles are made in Poland, Russia, Belarus, Lithuania.

Before laying the tiles, it is necessary to plaster the walls so that they are perfectly even, and then prime them and cover them with waterproofing mastic. Then they act as standard:

lay the tiles on glue according to the pre-applied markings;
remove excess glue from the seams;
fill the joints with grout.

Along with the familiar classics, seamless tiles are also actively used. All elements of the seamless collection do not have a chamfer at the edges, so the wall covering visually looks monolithic.

A democratic alternative to tiles is plastic panels designed specifically for rooms with high levels of humidity.Along with traditional snow-white products, there are many options in a variety of colors: monochromatic and “stone-like”, with geometric shapes and floristic compositions, with bright ornaments and metallic coating.With plastic panels, walls can be clad in just one evening. If the walls are perfectly flat, then the panels are fixed with liquid nails or staples, but the most acceptable option is mounting on a profile. First, a profile frame (crate) is installed, and the panels are already attached to it, alternately "picking up" them.You may have to cut off part of the product in the corners, so buy 1-2 more pieces. In addition to the panels, you need to buy a guide profile, a plastic corner for masking gaps and fasteners (self-tapping screws).Modern art (decorative) plaster perfectly tolerates humid air, the effects of detergents and chemicals, therefore it is suitable for decorating walls in the bathroom.The main condition for its correct application is perfectly smooth walls. For leveling, do not use ordinary mortar, a sanitizing plaster with waterproofing properties is required.The Venetian is in great demand - smooth plaster with a wide range of shades and a glossy finish. It does not absorb moisture and retains its original appearance for a long time. It can be contrasted with structural plaster, the texture of which traps water droplets.It will look flawless for a while, but the lime or iron impurities in the tap water will sooner or later ruin the aesthetics of the wall covering.The design of the ceiling largely depends on the wall decoration and the overall style concept. Simple plaster is used less and less often, since it limits the possibilities for the lighting device, and, on the contrary, suspended structures are very popular, which can be divided into the following types:Ceilings made of plastic panels are chosen by those who want to save money. The slats and the profile on which they are attached are inexpensive, and the installation of the ceiling takes a minimum of time. Despite the low cost, some types of panels look very attractive - they have a mirror or colored surface, are decorated with gold or silver plating.The shape of the panels also differs: in addition to narrow and wide strips, rectangular and square plastic modules are used.Plasterboard suspended structures allow you to build multi-tiered ceilings and experiment with the placement of fixtures. It should be remembered that the levels are good where there is a lot of space and there is no possibility of a strong decrease in the ceiling surface.For work in rooms with high humidity, a special moisture-resistant type of drywall is produced, the surface of which is painted green.The stretch vinyl used for stretch structures is also suitable for bathroom ceilings. And although the installation of the coating steals 7-10 cm, the gloss visually "lifts" the ceilings up.Unfortunately, traces of condensation are clearly visible on it, while the matte surface hides dried moisture and goes well with tiles and plastic.When the finishing work is completed, you can install a bath, furniture and connect equipment. As you can see, self-repair is a difficult task that requires certain skills, but, nevertheless, it is interesting and informative!You can watch the filling of the finished refurbished bathtub in this video: