Bathroom renovation checklist — what to decide when

A bathroom renovation rarely fails because of bad taste — it fails because of a scrambled sequence. What gets decided when, what gets ordered first and where not to economise: this is the checklist we would give a friend.

Step one: plan on paper. Measure the room and draw the walls with everything on them — toilet, basin, shower or bath, radiator, mirror, sockets. The most expensive decisions are relocations of water points and drainage; make them now, deliberately, not halfway through the works.

Step two — and the most important on this list: choose the concealed products before any work begins. The WC frame, the concealed mixer bodies, the shower's linear drain — these determine where the pipes will run and at what height the outlets will be set. The visible parts — ceramic, handles, flush plate — can wait; the concealed ones cannot.

Order early. Premium sanitaryware often ships with a lead time, especially in finishes beyond chrome and in more particular ranges. Nothing stalls a renovation as helplessly as a crew waiting for a concealed body. The rule: everything that goes into the wall must physically be on site before the plumbing work starts.

Step three: demolition and rough-in. The new supply runs and the drainage go in according to the drawing; the WC frame is anchored; everything is pressure-tested before a single wall is closed. The pressure test is not a formality — it is the difference between peace of mind and breaking open brand-new tiles.

Electrics run in parallel: lighting circuits, sockets in the safe zones, a feed for an illuminated mirror, ventilation — and if there is to be underfloor heating, it goes in now. Every 'it would have been nice to have' costs several times more after the tiles.

Step four: waterproofing. The invisible step that is never skipped. Wet zones are treated across the floor and up the walls, with particular care at the corners, around the drain and around the outlets. Respect the curing times — the renovation calendar bends to them, not the other way round.

Step five: screed and tiles. The tile layout is planned around the elements — the height of the flush plate, the niches in the shower zone, the symmetry around the basin. Order tiles with a sensible reserve for cuts and future repairs; sourcing two missing square metres months later is a lottery.

Step six: installing the visible sanitaryware. After the tiles come the ceramic, the mixer trims and the shower system, and the flush plate goes on last — from the same system as the frame in the wall. The shower glass is measured after tiling, because it is made to the exact dimensions.

Step seven, the finale: accessories and the mirror. Hooks, holders and shelves are drilled once — so decide the positions calmly, thinking about who reaches where. The small details carry the sense of completeness that sets a good renovation apart.

Think of the budget as a structure, not a sum: one part goes to the hidden works — plumbing, electrics, waterproofing, screeds; another to tiles and labour; a third to the sanitaryware you see and touch every day. The temptation is to economise on what is hidden — resist it. Opening a wall is expensive; changing a mixer is easy.

The most common mistakes we see: visible products chosen first and concealed ones at the last minute; a flush plate from one system on a cistern from another; a skipped pressure test; zero time reserve for curing and deliveries. Every one of them is avoided with a week of planning.

Finally: give the renovation the time it asks for. A realistic schedule is measured in weeks, and curing times are non-negotiable. If you are putting together your product list, write to us — we will help you get the sequence right before the first swing of the hammer.