Bathrooms and toilet facilities are the most expensive part of a renovation per square metre of any part of a house or commercial premises.

This is because all the trades are required to be hired to complete this type of renovation and this can be very costly and difficult to co-ordinate so the project is finished in a timely manner.

Today there are many options available to restore existing bathroom fixtures and fittings instead of replacing them with new items. Of course, you can replace them with new items and there are a plethora of suppliers in the market you can choose from.

Another solution, however, is to keep the fittings and use them again. On close inspection, you may find that the quality of these items is quite good and the only reason you are considering replacing them is because the colours are dated or they no longer match the rest of the renovated room.

Bathtubs, basins, shower bases, wall tiles, vanity benchtops, cubicle partitioning, and outlets can all be easily restored to new without the hassle and expense of replacing them.

This is done by applying a new enamel coating over the existing surface, and it can be done in any decorator colour you like – some companies can even match to an existing colour scheme if required.

This is a great option for office buildings that require the male and female toilets to be upgraded.

The cost and time savings are considerable in doing this type of makeover as opposed to a ‘rip out and replace’ renovation.

There is no need to disconnect plumbing, remove tiling, or any of the mess and inconvenience involved in removing and replacing toilets, urinals, shower bases, wall tiles and basins.

Best of all, you don’t need to find a plumber, tiler, painter, carpenter, electrician as all the trades are involved in a ‘rip out and replace’ renovation.

The work is done quickly and the inconvenience to the office workers that use the facilities is kept to a minimum.

This option saves costly removal of bathroom fixtures and fittings, rubbish removal and disposal, re-plumbing and then retiling.

And it is good for the environment too, as all these items usually end up in landfill. This way, they are all given a second lease of life for at least another 15 to 20 years.

When choosing the company to do this work for you, make sure the enamel they use to resurface bathroom sanitary ware is epoxy based and not a polyurethane (which contains dangerous isocyanates). Epoxy coatings are much safer to use and are usually tougher and long lasting.

An added benefit is that you can always change the colour again if a few years time if trends change and you are looking for an update. It is an easy job to recoat the surface again in a modern decorator colour of your choice and the work is done in half the time of the original job.