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The project

The owners of this lovely 1920’s bungalow in Unley Adelaide, were concerned about water leaking from behind the shower tiles. They called Ken Hall Plumbers and arranged an inspection.

We discovered the source of the problem and were able to fix it, but the leakage had been occurring for some time. It had already caused damage to the walls behind the shower tiles and the vanity, as well as dampness on the exterior walls of the house evident by the efflorescence on the bricks.

This type of leakage can potentially cause great damage to the structural integrity of a house and its foundations, resulting in large repair costs to the owners. Leakage through blocked drains or pipes should always be attended to immediately.

We discussed the options with the client and considered repairing the wall and replacing the old tiles of the shower recess, but the tiles were no longer available. The owners planned to live there for many more years so they decided on an entire bathroom renovation.

The customer’s criteria

The bathroom had to suit the traditional style of the home, while still being a modern result. The bathroom was a long and narrow room with a vanity, toilet and shower. The lead lights were a key feature of the bathroom and allowed subtle natural light in, and they bridged the old traditional style of the home with the new modern bathroom. We chose subtle colours that made the windows the main feature of the bathroom.

Prior to starting a bathroom renovation, we do an extensive consultation process with our clients about the style, fixtures and fittings that would suit their needs and the style of their home. We take measurements and agree on an approximate budget. After this consultation, we narrow down the shopping list and provide a shortlist of fixtures, fittings and tiles. We provide options for low, mid and high range pricing scales depending on the client’s budget which we determine during our consultation. We pride ourselves on being able to source the best value for money in each of these categories.

During a bathroom renovation we occasionally need to do additional building work to complete the room. In this case we repaired wall cracks and one of the original cornices that had fallen apart. Our aim is to walk away from each project with a complete bathroom renovated to our high standards.

The products

We replaced all the fixtures, fittings, tiles and shower screens. After the consultation process, we presented the client with a handful of choices for each product, and they chose:

• A semi-frameless shower screen – to suit the wide shower recess at the back of the bathroom
• A water-saving toilet with a 3.5 litre cistern – Australian standard now require us to install water-saving fixtures in bathrooms where possible
• A floating vanity – with lights inside the draws and in the pop-up bin. Floating vanities give a sense of more space in bathrooms and ideal for smaller spaces.
• Lights at the top of the mirror
• New wall and floor tiling

People often think they need to replace all the piping when they do a new bathroom renovation, but this is only necessary of the piping is old and deteriorated. We are mindful of not costing our clients any more than we need to, so in this case, the original drainage was still structurally sound by today’s standards. This saved our client money which they were quite happy about!

The time frame

The bathroom renovation took four weeks from start to finish. At the end of the job, we visited the client and made sure the work was to their liking. We demonstrate how to use the fixtures, make sure the customer is familiar with them and hand over warranty information. We do a final clean up and leave knowing it is to our client’s satisfaction and looking spick and span.

Give Ken a Call – complete bathrooms renovations in Adelaide

Do you need bathroom repairs, partial or total renovations? Call the experienced team at Ken Hall Plumbers on 8364 5855 for a free no obligation quote to start designing your new bathroom. With more than 37 years experience, you can leave the details to us while you have peace of mind knowing your bathroom is being renovated by qualified and experienced tradespeople.