Bathrooms in the old town were built before a separate shower area was normal, so most of this work is enclosing a wet area for the first time. The rooms are usually a reasonable size and the walls are usually solid. What varies most is whether the floor drains where it needs to.
Deciding where the wet area ends
In a bathroom built as one open room, water goes everywhere and the household has arranged itself around that for years.
Putting in an enclosure means deciding for the first time where the wet area stops, and it has to match where the water actually goes.
So we ask which way the shower points and where the splash currently reaches, and mark the footprint on the floor. Sometimes that is not the obvious corner, and getting it right is what finally keeps the rest of the room dry.
Floors that were laid before anybody drew a shower
An older bathroom generally has one floor drain, and it is often not close to where the shower ended up.
Seal an enclosure around an area that does not fall towards that drain and you have made a tray.
So we check the fall with a level before deciding anything. Where it runs the wrong way we either move the footprint to where the floor cooperates, or deliberately leave the base open at one point so water can escape. Both work; guessing does not.
Fixing into solid old walls
Walls in these houses are usually thick and genuinely solid, which is good for a fixing — there is real material to anchor into.
The fragile part is the tile rather than the wall, because older glazed tile chips outward if a drill wanders at the start.
So we begin holes slowly without hammer action until the bit has bitten, then switch. It takes longer per hole and it is the difference between a clean fixing and a chipped tile somebody looks at every day.
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.
