DIY Grandad Helps Granddaughter Save THOUSANDS On Amazing Bathroom Renovation
- Rachel Green, 27, was reluctant to spend up to £7,000 on a new bathroom
- Her grandpa Michael, 80, a dab hand at DIY, stepped in to help her
- With the family of her family, Rachel got her dream bathroom for just £2,500
If your bathroom is in need of a serious overhaul, take inspiration from this stunning space, which was created by a multigenerational family team on a budget.
Rachel Green, 27, a midwife from the West Midlands, and her partner Ben, 33, created the bathroom of their dreams on a budget - with a little help from her grandfather Michael, 80, a retired TV engineer.
The family turned a dull-looking bathroom into a gorgeous monochrome vision, each taking on different tasks, such as painting, woodwork and plastering, to save over £4,000 on the cost of a builder.
Rachel, who shares her DIY tips on Instagram at @number14_renovations, told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: "I get a lot of inspiration from Pinterest and Instagram. I also browse through some home magazines but I generally pick out bits I like from lots of different places and think about how they can all work together.
"I have always loved traditional styling and period homes so I knew that our new bathroom would have an element of this. As soon as I saw the sink on Victoria Plum I knew instantly that’s what I wanted.
"We then selected the set which we thought was going to most work for the rest of the bathroom. The set chosen from Victoria Plum was The Orchard Dulwich stone grey washstand suite with a straight bath.
"We originally loved the idea of a freestanding bath but with the size of the room and the cost we decided against it. But with the wood panel effect on the bath I felt like this was a nice touch that seemed to soften the appearance.
"The suite cost about £1,600 which included the suite, taps and fittings. We chose a slightly more expensive shower head only because I’ve dreamt of having a large luxurious shower head!
"Myself and my partner completely stripped the bathroom back to brick and started fresh with bathroom type plasterboard and fresh plaster.
“We primed the walls, and then started with new tiles including a small section of border tiles as I didn’t want the whole bathroom tiled.
"I chose to paint the remaining walls in bathroom paint that I got colour matched through Valspar in B&Q to the same grey as the toilet seat and bath panel.
“I originally painted it in a paler grey but I just didn’t like it so I ended up picking something darker to help with a bit of contrast against the tiles and white suite.
"The white subway wall and patterned floor tiles were from Topps Tiles. The border tiles we ordered from a local tile shop called Tile Land via the original style Winchester collection booklet, all costing about £400 in total.
"Buying samples in different sizes to place in the room really helped to picture what we wanted.
"We chose the white subway metro tiles for the wall with black grout as I just love the contrast it gives. I’m a little bit obsessed with black at the moment!
“I thought having the black grid style shower screen, it would really work well together and we were super pleased with how it turned out.
"The shower screen was from Plumbworld costing a bargain of £89.97 including postage. I searched for ages trying to find one in the style I wanted that didn’t cost the earth.
"The Victoria Plum black grid shower screen was over £250 which I just couldn’t justify. The quality of the one we have from Plumbworld is lovely, it’s a real statement piece and we’re really pleased with how it looks.
"I feel like the slightly more contemporary screen complements the traditional elements really well.
"We also changed the layout of the room to help with space, meaning we had to move the toilet waste pipe and also accommodate a radiator. Due to our ceiling being sloped on one side and the style of shower head we wanted, we had to put the shower on the opposite side of the wall due to the height.
"Other materials such as grout, adhesive, boarding for the floor, black trim, tile spacers, architrave for the door and the skirting boards were all bought from either our local tile shop or B&Q.
"Tools wise, my grandad had everything we needed so luckily we didn’t have to buy any of those.
"If you know someone who has tools this is a massive help on costs too. Befriend your handy friends!
"My grandad, even though he is 80 years old, did basically the whole bathroom himself with a little help from us.
"My grandad didn't want us to have to spend a huge amount on getting it done when he knew he could do it just as well as they could.
"He's a perfectionist and so am I, which is why I knew that we could work as a team to get things sorted.
"He knows I am super picky about things so I reckon a bathroom fitter would have got sick of me and left!
"I always have a really strong vision for what I want, so he's very patient and accommodating, which is why we get on so well.
"I have huge amount of respect and pride for the work that he does and him doing this for us as a moving in present is more than I could ever ask for.
"Myself and my partner Ben stripped the bathroom, did half of the plaster-boarding and a small amount of tiling. He is my absolute go-to for anything DIY.
"He’s done countless amounts of DIY, decorating, plumbing and so on. He’s always fixing or faffing with something in the garage.
"You’ll never find him without something to do. You name it, he knows something about it!
"We had a plumber come in to fit a radiator as when we moved in the bathroom didn’t have one and we also had a plasterer for the walls but that was it.
"We were very lucky to have free labour and can’t technically take much credit for any of the actual hands on work. However, I did paint all the woodwork and walls.
"I have promised my Grandad a meal out - or five - as a thank you!”
Rachel is over the moon with her gorgeous new bathroom, and has lots of handy tips for pulling off your own bathroom renovation on a budget.
"We are super relieved it’s now done,” she adds. "It’s taken us a long time to get it right- nothing is ever straightforward.
"We were lucky enough to have a wet room downstairs that we used while the renovation took place, so the time pressure to get it done was a bit more leisurely.
"The only things we have left to do are to pick out some new towels and other little bits of decor like plants and storage.
“My top tip would be to do your research on where you can get the best deals but also be mindful of the quality of what you’re buying. You buy cheap, you buy twice!
"Read reviews of the products you want and always have a buffer for if things don’t go to plan and set yourself a budget for what you need.
“I Googled before we first started and it says the average cost of a small bathroom being done by a professional is between £5,000 and £7,000.
"The total cost for everything in our bathroom was under £2,500. Our whole house needs renovating so being able to do anything and everything on a budget is crucial!
“Things don't have to cost the earth to look good. We are super grateful and lucky to have someone like my Grandad who dedicated his time to make our bathroom look so good.
"One thing I do recommend is that if there is something you are absolutely in love with and you really want, do some searching on the internet for the best price but ultimately if it’s something you really want, get it (within reason, of course)!
“You will only probably end up changing it again in a few years if you’re not completely happy or in love with what you’ve created.
"Your home should be your safe space and somewhere where you can relax, so create somewhere you love and somewhere you’re proud of.”
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, comments: “It’s no surprise that getting builders in to renovate your home can cost thousands and thousands of pounds.
“If you’ve never so much as painted a wall before, you might be nervous about trying such a big project on your own.
“But Rachel, Ben and Michael have proved that by combining forces and skills, you can work as a team and achieve massive goals all together.
“Speak to family and friends to see how you can help each other out - and maybe you can overhaul your homes together, not just getting beautiful interior design results, but spending quality time together too."
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I love what Rachel and her grandad have done to her small bathroom. It looks amazing and I would like to borrow her grandad to do my tiling 
