The Canary Wharf Project(s)

Bathroom Renovation Canary Wharf, London

Back in June, we were approached on Facebook by a client who was looking to have their bathroom tiled. They were renovating their whole apartment and naturally wanted a brand-new bathroom to fit their aesthetic. The apartment was in Canary Wharf, a part of London I had never visited before, but I found it very easily and commuted via train.

We started with a consultation visit, where the client showed me the space they wanted tiled and asked for my advice. The bathroom was 2.2m by 2m and the space to be tiled was 24m² in total. The tile they had chosen was a lovely 60cm x 60cm grey porcelain tile from Italy with a thickness of 8mm. The bathroom had some corners that I knew would be incredibly difficult but not impossible. The client originally wanted trims but I advised them that mitering (a process where a 45 degree angle cut is made) would look better - they agreed.

The bathroom was empty, which made my job a lot easier – the toilet, the sink and the shower had all been removed. Plasterboard was on the walls, and all the plumbing and electrics were sorted but not finished (this is finalised after the tiling). The clients had already primed and waterproofed the walls, so it was all ready for tiling.

I started with the floor, using flex adhesive to secure the tiles. I used a manual level for the floor, and a Sigma tile cutter to mitre the corner edges; the job involved cutting a number of precise angles. For the walls, I used a laser level to ensure precision and that all the lines were cleanly linked. As part of the job, I tiled a shower niche for the storage of bathroom essentials and toiletries, and also created a beautiful cover for their shelving unit.

For the shower drain, they requested a discrete cover to match the tiling (a 'tile insert linear shower drain') and the floor of the shower had to be angled to allow the water to run down to the drain. I was able to do both of these and I mitred the edges around the drain to ensure the best fit.

Our clients were so pleased that they requested my services twice more after this.

For the second project, I tiled their other bathroom in a beautiful blue colour. They had chosen 60cm x 120cm tiles with 8mm thickness from Italy. The room was 1.90m x 1.40m, meaning 14m² of tiling. Again, the floor and walls were prepared and ready for me to tile. The bath was already fitted, so I tiled around it. Instead of a side bath panel, I tiled it and added a hidden access panel to allow access to the pipes. They had a hidden toilet cistern that I tiled around, making a handy shelf.

Following this, I was asked to tile their hallway and utility room (floors only), which I happily did. This was our first major project for a private client in London (we do a lot of subcontracting work) and both the client and I were thrilled with the final result.