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Modern Cloakroom
Do you have a cloakroom that needs cloaking? A downstairs loo that needs some love? Or perhaps a WC that should be flushed? Then read on ...
Forget the terrible introduction, this is how we took a 1970s cloakroom in Ammanford, South Wales, and modernised it. I'm fairly pleased with the results, as are the owners. Read on to find out what I did.
Outdated WC in Ammanford
You've seen from the first picture that the downstairs cloakroom looked a bit dated, and that's quite often the case ... the smallest room in the house, that no one really uses, and guests never really see. It's surprisingly common that these are the last rooms to be thought about.
With the rest of the house in great shape, the cloakroom was really the last thing to tackle, and while it looks like we've done a complete overhaul, we've cheated slightly, just to keep the costs down.
The original tiles were properly 70s, and to replace them would be quite expensive - removing tiles is always a big job, then you have to prep the walls, and actually fit the new tiles, which of course comes on top of the purchase price ... this could easily run in to the hundreds, depending on tile choice.
We decided that instead of replacing the tiles, we'd coat them with a specialist paint, specifically designed for tiles. It gives great coverage, still allows for any texture to show through, and is hardwearing, once it has hardened off (which takes about a week).
The tile paint costs about the same as a single box of tiles. A big saving.
Chrome Pipework
We'd discussed the options for the pipework - cheapest option is to modify it once the new corner basin and close-coupled toilet are installed, but wouldn't look great, the next option is to replace the entirety with new copper and standard white waste, or, as we decided here, funk it up a little with chrome pipework, and chrome waste.
I personally really like this choice, although being honest, it's the more expensive, especially if you choose the chromed waste (which is still plastic). To finish it off properly, I used chromed "School Board" clips to hold the copper. Contrary to what you may think, the chrome copper is similar in price to standard copper, it's the chrome waste that's ridiculous.
All pipework that's visible was replaced with chrome copper, the stuff that isn't visible was replaced with just standard copper - not so much from a cost point of view, although it does help, but because the normal copper can be soldered, the chrome needs compression fittings.
Close Couple Toilet
The customer supplied a new close-couple toilet, which was a *HUGE* pain to fit. (Don't worry, I'm on good terms with them, and they know the problems!).
We were limited as to how far back the pan would go (because of the original soil pipe), and even using clever pan connectors, it still needed spacing away from the wall, which then needed to be boxed in.
The decision was taken to leave the lower part of the wall exposed, for a future project!
Finishing Touches
With the tiles painted (and one missing one replaced with some wood that I'd shaped to suit - I bet you can't spot it in the photo above), new corner basin fitted, new toilet, replaced pipework, a tile border fitted, the only thing left to do was the flooring.
New tiles were laid, and the job finished. See what you think to it all. Any comments? Let me know.
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