Making the Complex Simple
If you are going to do a complete DIY bathroom remodel, there are several steps to go through - too many to mention them all here. But here are some of the more practical and complex bathroom remodelling projects which you may not have thought were suitable for DIY projects for anyone but experts, but which really are.
The Need for the Waterproof Membrane
Where the waterproof membranes are useful in bathrooms in particular is the way in which they protect your sub-floor from damage caused by the inevitable moisture in this room.
Usually, sub-flooring is made of concrete or wood. Whichever of these two you have, you won't want damp building up on it. With concrete, damp will just sit there indefinitely and make it a great breading ground for mould, which you definitely don't want in your bathroom. Mould causes unpleasant smells and even potentially serious health problems. Wood can also get mouldy, but it may rot, too. No, you definitely don't want a damp sub-floor so a waterproof membrane is a great idea and should be one of the first things you consider in your DIY bathroom remodelling project.
You may also want to consider installing a trench drain. They have two advantages over other types of drains - they are safer and give easier access. With trench drains, used in the most modern and trendy of all DIY bathroom remodelling project, the wet room, you do away with potentially hazardous shower trays with their raised edges. That does away with a trip hazard. This will be particularly good if anyone using the remodelled bathroom is elderly of has a disability. A trench drain is a great DIY bathroom project to get around this problem. It will also prevent your bathroom from flooding.
Linking the Waterproof Membrane into the Trench Drain
If you're going to have a trench drain, you must have a waterproof membrane in your bathroom. It is meant to be fitted between the sub-floor and the flooring. Ideally, you should have the waterproof membrane extending under the entire bathroom floor and going approximately four feet up the walls. You are more likely to get leaks around your drains, so pay particular attention to installing the waterproof membrane around these areas.
It makes total sense. Drains, whether they for sinks or toilets, are holes right through your bathroom floor. Where better for water to collect? That's why you need a waterproof membrane to do a good job of your DIY bathroom remodelling project, especially if you are making a wet room.
You need to get the correct membrane for your needs. A toilet drain needs upturned sleeve but a trench drain requires a membrane clamping collar (including leakage holes).
How this works is that your drain goes straight through your bathroom floor. With trench drains, you will have a coupling attached to a short PVC pipe. Then the membrane clamp is fitted around this pipe and connected to the drain. The membrane is then secured with a clamping collar.
So, you have your bathroom or wet room waterproof now, let's have a look at how to set up the lighting so that you can easily do all you need to in the bathroom.
DIY Bathroom Lighting
Electrical work is a specialist job and as such please consult the rules in your country before conducting any electrical work in the house - especially around water!
Having the correct lighting is also vital for a bathroom, as you need some overhead lighting and also some task lighting for things like shaving and putting on make-up. A good option for flexible lighting needs like in a bathroom is track lighting.
A track light, often called as a track fixture or a track head, is a light fixture that is mounted on a metal track which is electrified. Later, you can move the lights on the track according to your need. Flexible track lighting has become really popular, because of it can adapt to its environment easily. Track lighting fixtures is offering an opportunity to be creative and make an aesthetic statement in any room.
The flexible track lighting enables you to arrange your lighting system in various ways. It is the main feature of track lights. You can get the desired atmosphere in your bathroom by hanging the decorative pendants from the track or selecting lamp positioning and specific lamp styles.
Once the track lights are installed, you are able to change the
presentation by changing the angle of the light, or removing and adding
fixtures. The individual track fixtures can be placed anywhere in the track, be
rotated to change direction of the light. From this you able to change your
lighting design whenever you want. Most people think they aren't qualified to
install track lighting, but the process of installing is actually quite a lot easier
than it looks. It is really safe and easy to install the track lights if you
follow the instructions of the manufacturer and the common safety rules.
If you want to install the track lighting, it is really important to have a
plan before you buy the kits and install them. First of all, you need to buy a
kit that includes track, end caps, mounting plates and canopies. You have to
choose the bulbs and lights when you are buying the tracks. You can place
different types of bulbs on the same track. But, if you use the same
manufacturer's bulb, it will be more compatible.
If you buy a flexible track light normally the kit includes tracks, metal or glass heads, low voltage transformer, halogen bulbs and all necessary hardware. Most of the tracks are hand bendable. So, you can make your desired shape that will enhance the bathroom's beauty. Track lightings use halogen, fluorescent, incandescent, or metal halide light sources.
The next thing we will consider is installing a shower stall.
Shower stall installation
People tend to get scared when one mentions installing a shower stall as a DIY bathroom project. They just don't think they can do it without professional help, but this simply isn't true.
Well, first there are a few issues to consider. Do you just want a shower? What about a bath and shower combo? If you have very limited space, a shower stall may be your only option. What about material - do you want a unit, one that is all plastic? Or, do you want custom bathrooms shower stalls in your house. If the bathroom you are working on is part of a renovation, the space available may be oddly shaped. Maybe you are going to end up with a wedge-shaped or triangular shower. In that case, going with a tiled shower stall is probably the best bet; you can tailor it to fit the space you have.
Then there are the fixtures you can put in all of your bathroom shower stalls. Some people like the idea of a bench to sit on. If you or a member of your family is handicapped, grab bars are a good idea; as is a handheld shower jet. Of course, these days you can get your bathroom shower stalls outfitted with a whole lot of jets. Standing there, you will feel like you are a plate in a dishwasher as you are deluged from all sides. Along with that are the shower heads with the massage style heads. Oh, after a long, hard day's work there is almost nothing as relaxing as a massage shower. There are a wide variety of shower heads and attachments. Some people like the idea of a main jet, and then an optional handheld unit. Then your bathroom shower stalls have the best of both worlds.
So, there is a lot to a whole DIY bathroom remodelling project. There's not doubt about that, but if you take it step by step you can do it and save yourself a lot of money you would otherwise have spent on employing professionals to do a job no better than you could have done it yourself. Now we have looked at waterproof membranes, lighting and shower pan installation, which are some of the most complex parts of a bathroom remodel, and shown you how you can do these yourself, you should be able to approach your whole DIY bathroom remodelling project with a lot more confidence.