Bathrooms here are typically being redone rather than built, and the enclosure is usually chosen last, after the tiles and the sanitaryware are already decided. That order causes most of the problems we see, because some tiling and layout choices quietly rule out the enclosure people had in mind.
Choosing the enclosure before the tiles are fixed
Tiling decides where the fixings can go, how flat the wall will be and whether a niche interrupts the glass line.
If the enclosure is chosen after the tiling is finished, all of those are already settled and some options have gone.
So the useful moment to involve us is when the bathroom is stripped and before the tiler starts. A ten-minute conversation then often saves a compromise later, and it costs nothing because we are quoting anyway.
Where a niche or a shelf interrupts the glass
Recessed niches are popular and they frequently end up exactly where a fixed panel wants to land.
Glass cannot pass in front of a niche without leaving a gap behind it, and it cannot stop at a niche without an awkward junction.
So the niche position and the enclosure line have to be agreed together. Where a niche is already built in the wrong place, we can usually shift the enclosure rather than the niche, but the layout narrows. It is worth raising before the tiler sets it out.
Large format tiles and where the fixings land
Large tiles have fewer grout lines, which looks better and makes fixing harder.
With a big tile, the fixing has to go through the middle of a tile rather than near a joint, and a crack there ruins a large visible area rather than a small one.
So we drill these slowly with the right bit and set out the positions to avoid the edges. Where a tile is very large we would rather move a fixing a few centimetres than risk it, and we explain that at the time rather than afterwards.
How the job works
- Tell us about the jobSend a few photos, rough sizes and what you need. Use WhatsApp or the form. For a repair, a short video of the door moving helps a lot.
- We call you back in about 2 minutesWe confirm what you need and a time to visit. Where we can, we give you a rough price on the call.
- We come and measureWe measure the opening and check the walls, floor and ceiling around it. Anything made to size is made to these measurements, so they must be right.
- You get a written priceIt lists each item, with GST as its own line. If anything about the job changes, we tell you before we go ahead.
- We fit itYou approve the price and pay the advance. Our own team fits the work, checks that every door and window opens and closes properly, and clears up. Most jobs are done in 3 to 4 days.
