(edit title) Bathroom Conversion Question - Tradesmen? Carpenter or Tiler? Options

[Puffin]

It's certainly not a small town thing as I did not buy a package and hired separate contractors when i did my bathroom and this in a tiny town of 5000 people - although in retrospect it might have been a lot less coordination work between the carpenter, plumber, flooring specialist and electricians

You need to be very confident it you decide to do a DIY job - it may not be a problem in a newer property but if it is very old you should perhaps take advice - I knew someone who had to replace a house wall because leaking tiles rotted the supporting beams

[007]

You need to be very confident it you decide to do a DIY job - it may not be a problem in a newer property but if it is very old you should perhaps take advice - I knew someone ... (show full quote)

You need to be very confident it you decide to do a DIY job - it may not be a problem in a newer property but if it is very old you should perhaps take advice - I knew someone who had to replace a house wall because leaking tiles rotted the supporting beams ... (hide full quote)

a basic competence is what is necessary though you're right that many people lacking that competence think they can do it anyway. and you can't cut corners (the little weave cloth that you need to put around the drain cost is ridiculously expensive, but not using it will cost so much more.

the sealing stuff is pretty much liquid rubber, so only not putting on the prescribed layers will make it leak. it's really not rocket science.

[John.Smith]

I built a shower (actually a wet room) in the basement this Summer myself, i.e. new concrete floor, drains, plumbing, wiring, sealing, tiling etc... My DIY skills are pretty good. But for this job I want to go for tradesmen as ant potential leak would be VERY expensive! The shower room in the basement if it ever leaks (unlikely) would have little or no impact other than the hassle of fixing the leak.

@Puffin
Yeah I know, I wasn't saying that I was only limited to package jobs, just that the two bathroom suppliers in town *only* offer package deals
I have no problem with the coordination side of things as most tradesmen here know each other anyway and we will probably ask the tiler if he can recommend a plumber.

[SimonDMontfort]

I got p1ssed off with some builders/contractors in my area - both with their attitude to us as customers, and with the standard of their work (for the price they were asking)

I took on a lot of work myself (except for areas in which I had no competence and where legislation governed how something should be done).

My tip: photograph all work you've done yourself in case there is any future query about materials and techniques used. Good to have a record if and when you come to sell the property

[yorkswede]

Hi!
I have my own tiling company in south sweden, normally the tiler will waterproof and then do the tiles, the most important thing is the fall to the brun! This has to be done correctly! If you ever sell the place the besiktning man will come with his golf ball and roll it around the floor to see if the fall is good enough! If not then it could cost you a few Kr.
If you check BKR website for badrum construction they will give you all the details.

[John.Smith]

Thanks for the feedback guys!

[arpita mudit]

Hi

Best of luck for your work. Meanwhile can you forward a few contact details of tradesmen who help in fixing broken floors and cupboards?

[John.Smith]

What area? They normally only stick to one geographical area/town. I live in a remote and small town up North, not sure my contacts will be of any help to you.

[billyjoseph]

I think you should search on internet for this you will get many companies or websites that offer a remodeling of bathroom. We had remodeled our bathroom and installed vanities and flooring. We had searched on internet, visited various stores and then finally made the step towards remodeling.

[Yorkshireman]

I built a shower (actually a wet room) in the basement this Summer myself, i.e. new concrete floor, drains, plumbing, wiring, sealing, tiling etc... My DIY skills are pretty g ... (show full quote)

I built a shower (actually a wet room) in the basement this Summer myself, i.e. new concrete floor, drains, plumbing, wiring, sealing, tiling etc... My DIY skills are pretty good. But for this job I want to go for tradesmen as ant potential leak would be VERY expensive! The shower room in the basement if it ever leaks (unlikely) would have little or no impact other than the hassle of fixing the leak. ... (hide full quote)

Hope You checked Your insurance! Many insurance companies will not cover the kind of work You did in the basement unless it was done by an authorised professional. Especially since there is risk of damp. Are You an electrician? If not, then you certainly are not covered by insurance for any damage coming from the wiring, and if you drew the cables yourself, you broke the law!. One cannot draw new cables yourself, you can only change say switch or socket on an existing cable, however if it is earthed, then You are supposed to get an electrician!

Additionally, With the "wet room" in the basement, when You come to sell the property it is highly likely that a surveyor will spot that it wasn't done by an authorised professional ... could cost You a few bob in the valuation.

[entry]

You must do 12 years of residency and then enter into the witness protection program to become a tiler in Sweden.

[billyjoseph]

You can follow some of these tips for remodeling your bathroom:

1. Find several antique stores in your area. At these places you could find Gorgeous bathroom vanities with different styles and shapes.

2. You could check local newspapers listings to check about the sales. You can therefore find a number of good stuffs at some very low cost.

3. A majority of pawn shops simply love to collect furniture as they have a good resale value even when you find them as old. A pawn shop could have the possible options for you which you could be looking out for.

[skogsbo]

One cannot draw new cables yourself, you can only change say switch or socket on an existing cable, however if it is earthed, then You are supposed to get an electrician!A ... (show full quote)

One cannot draw new cables yourself, you can only change say switch or socket on an existing cable, however if it is earthed, then You are supposed to get an electrician!

Additionally, With the "wet room" in the basement, when You come to sell the property it is highly likely that a surveyor will spot that it wasn't done by an authorised professional ... ... (hide full quote)

I don't precisely what you can and can't do, as my Swedish isn't good enough to dissect the regulations fully! The key is to know a good electrician, who doesn't mind you doing some of the work yourself or helping him, that way you learn (if you aren't incompetent). I've renovated and re-wired a few UK houses, but would always ask advice of electrician friends it now sure of anything or when the regs changed (annually), then I would pay one of them to check the whole system at the end and issue a certificate.

But, I did spend a bit of time as a youth too as builders helper so I start young in learning how to do proper neat building work. Yeah, if it doesn't look good then anybody will spot it's a botched job. If you don't do your wire runs neat etc. then the chances are the work in junction boxes and switches etc will be poor too and that is where the fire risk begins.

Ironically the UK is much further ahead than Sweden in the use of split consumer units, RCBOs, mains wired smoke/fire/Carbon Mon detectors etc. I'm sure they'll catch up, but it's annoying when to comply with Swedish regs. you can fit an inferior system! Especially when you look at the age of the rural housing stock and fire risk. The only good thing in Sweden is the armoured 3core single phase wire, for use in certain places.

[entry]

Years ago, two town administrators confronted me on my property in New England with drawings and told me that I should be aware that I built a two story addition to my home without a permit or approval. So not to be rude in this post I will state that I went right up to them in my driveway and said "So". If you are a betting individual you would be pretty safe to bet that I said more. After our brief dialog the two of them came to the conclusion that they would go back to town hall and issue me a building permit which I never actually filled for nor did I pay a fee. There was a nice little handwritten note on the permit asking me when it was convenient to post the permit in my front window.

You cannot win but you sure can fight city hall. (useless busybodies that have nothing better to do but tell you how to live your life)

http://youtu.be/9_3CypCwp_8

[John.Smith]

Hope You checked Your insurance! Many insurance companies will not cover the kind of work You did in the basement unless it was done by an authorised professional. Especia ... (show full quote)

Hope You checked Your insurance! Many insurance companies will not cover the kind of work You did in the basement unless it was done by an authorised professional. Especially since there is risk of damp. Are You an electrician? If not, then you certainly are not covered by insurance for any damage coming from the wiring, and if you drew the cables yourself, you broke the law!. One cannot draw new cables yourself, you can only change say switch or socket on an existing cable, however if it is earthed, then You are supposed to get an electrician!

Additionally, With the "wet room" in the basement, when You come to sell the property it is highly likely that a surveyor will spot that it wasn't done by an authorised professional ... could cost You a few bob in the valuation. ... (hide full quote)

I checked with my insurance company about the work beforehand. They said that if all 'wet work' and electrical work was done by a certified trades-person that it is covered. However any DIY work would have to be backed up with photographic evidence that the installation was performed to standard including materials and workmanship. So if a claim was to be made then I would need to provide proof that I followed the regulations at the time.

With regards to the electrical cables: you are in fact allowed to draw cables by law. It is any major connection to a fuse box and/or mains junction box that you are not allowed to touch (i.e. must be certified). You can draw cables to your heart's content so long as you adhere to the right regulations and use the correct materials. In fact even in a new build you can draw cables so long as the electrician does the actual connections and wiring to the fusebox.

My wife's nephew is an electrician here in Sweden and it was he who clarified what I was allowed and not allowed to do.

There is a huge amount of Urban myth surrounding laws about what you are allowed and not allowed to do. However if you go into any hardware or builders suppliers you will find pamphlets giving advice on this. I would reckon many of these myths are perpetuated by the tradesmen themselves.

Before I had my new kitchen installed this Summer the old kitchen was a disaster with regards to plumbing. We had a major leak occur under the sink when the cold water connection to the tap failed. The thread on the tap connection failed (i.e. broke into several pieces) and the water gushed for a whole day while we were at work. Our insurance covered this even though the previous owner of the house had installed the tap himself a few years previous. The rationale was that he followed regulations and had the right materials. It was not our fault that the 'right' material had a manufacturing fault... They paid out with no hassles.