Bathroom Renovations in Newlands

Yes. We work across the whole suburb, from the mountain-side streets below Kirstenbosch and the forest edge down through the older residential blocks towards the sports grounds, as well as neighbouring Claremont, Bishopscourt, Rondebosch, and Kenilworth.

We will not, and you should be wary of anyone who offers to. Tiling over damp hides it for about two years and then it comes back through the grout, the paint, and eventually the tile adhesive itself — at which point you are paying for the whole bathroom twice. We establish where the moisture is coming from first and deal with that, then tile.

Very often from outside the room entirely. A lot of Newlands houses are a century old and were built without a damp proof course, so moisture rises through the wall from the ground. Add the highest rainfall in the country and enough oak shade that the outside face of that wall never really dries, and the bathroom simply happens to be where you notice it. It is not always a plumbing leak, and treating it as one wastes money.

Because the room gets very little help from the sun. In a bright suburb a bathroom dries itself out between uses; under this much shade it does not, so every shower leaves moisture that lingers in the paint, the grout, and the ceiling. We size the extractor for the actual room, duct it to the outside rather than into the roof space, and run it on a timer so it keeps going after you have left.

It raises the stakes on the waterproofing and, in an older Newlands house, on the floor itself. Upper floors here are usually timber, which moves, and movement is what cracks a rigid waterproofing layer. We check the floor structure, use a system that tolerates some movement, pay particular attention to falls and upstands, and give it proper curing time before tiling.

A single bathroom usually takes three to four weeks on site, and five to six if the layout or plumbing moves. Where we find damp that needs treating at source, allow a little more — that work has to dry and cure properly, and rushing it defeats the point of doing it at all.

Most full bathroom renovations fall between R40,000 and R150,000 depending on size, finishes, and whether the layout changes. Damp treatment and upgraded ventilation add to that, but they are usually the difference between a bathroom that lasts and one that looks tired again in three winters. We quote after a site visit.

Get in touch to arrange a free site visit. We assess the room, check the walls and floor for moisture, discuss layout and finishes, and send you a written quote covering the full scope — including any damp or ventilation work, itemised so you can see what it is for.