Armrock Constructions

Gold Coast Bathroom Renovations

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Bathroom Tiling

Tiling in Your Renovation Project

Gold Coast Renovation Tiling
Gold Coast Renovation Tiling

When it’s time to undertake a bathroom makeover, tiling is one of the most important parts to get right. Tiling considerations include tile styles, tile budget, and professional tile installation for an outstanding result. Armrock Constructions specialises in bathroom renovations on the Gold Coast, and we are here to help make the tiling aspect of your project a cinch. Read on to learn more about tiling in your renovation project, or book a free renovation appraisal and quote with our team today.

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How We Can Help

Armrock Constructions provides a comprehensive bathroom renovation service – including tiling. In this article we take a look at the main considerations for our clients – tile selection process and budgeting for tiles. We take care of the rest.

Tile Selection Process

When it’s time to select your tiles for your renovation, we are here to help. We work with a diverse range of design approaches and we are familiar with strategies that yield a great long-term outcome.

We can guide you to our local tile distribution (Gold Coast) who will be able to help you organise the tiles for your project. It’s always best to look at tiles when they’re laid out (rather than looking at small samples) so you can get a proper appreciation for how they look when they’re occupying a larger space, such as a wall.

Mosaic Wall Wrap Tiling

Budgeting For Tiles

Tiles come in a wide range of sizes, qualities, and prices. From the point of view of budgeting for your renovation, it’s important to carefully consider your choice with tiles and how this will impact your total renovation costs. We can help you connect with local providers who provide great prices for tiles – just ask our team for help with this.

Tiling in Your Bathroom Renovation

Armrock Constructions specialises in bathroom renovations in the Gold Coast QLD and tiling is an important part of all of our projects. Get your renovation off to a great start with a team dedicated to achieving great outcomes for our customers.

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Are Concrete-Look Tiles ‘The Look’ For You?

Could concrete-look tiles be the solution for your Gold Coast bathroom renovation? This is a popular style and can bring interest and value to your design in part or whole. In this article we’ll explore some practical applications of concrete-look tile style for bathrooms, with examples from recent Armrock bathroom renovations. Book a free appraisal and quote with our team for your renovation, or read on to learn more about using concrete-look tiles in your renovation.

What are Concrete-Look Tiles? 

Tiles come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, colours and designs. Since tiling is included in practically all bathroom renovation projects, the style of the tiles you select can make a big difference to the finished result. Concrete-look tiles are tiles that simulate the look of concrete. In combination with the discrete selection of other bathroom elements, concrete-look tiles can help create a range of different looks.

What’s Special About Concrete-Look Tiles?

From the design point of view, concrete-look tiles add texture and tone that, generally speaking, creates a more interesting variety of contrasts and aesthetics than plain surfaces. Using concrete-look in design is an industrial style, so-called because they showcase structural & functional elements that were previously hidden out of sight. You can read more about industrial design on decoist.com. Using concrete elements in your design is one way to access this style, and it’s special because of it’s unique design strength, disposition and texture.

Advantages of Concrete-Look Tiles

There are quite a few advantages when you consider working with concrete-look tiles. Here is a summary of the ones we think are most helpful:

Can be implemented in part or whole

Like any tiling work in a bathroom renovation, concrete-look tiles can be added in part or whole – meaning you can make them a feature or use them to define the bathroom on a broader scale.

Combine well with other bathroom elements

Successful bathrooms are achieved by the combination of elements that work together, and that relate to each other in the right way. A sincere advantage of working with the concrete aesthetic comes from its natural grey tones – grey is a fantastic bridging colour between other common bathroom colours such as gloss-white and silver, and thus easily fits into any bathroom renovation situation.

Versatile Colour Temperature

Concrete come in a wide range of finishes, and the same is true of concrete-look tiles. With the ability to adapt the colour temperature of your tiles to suit your needs, the presence and sense of warmth, or cool in your bathroom can be affected by the tiles you choose.

Easy to Keep Clean

Maybe most importantly – unlike white, concrete greys are easy to keep clean and disguise dirt and grime. Naturally, this wouldn’t be a feature of much interest to the average Australian homeowner – after all, who doesn’t love cleaning the bathroom!

Polished Concrete Bathroom Niche
Concrete-Look Tiles with Bathroom Niche

Concrete-Look Bathrooms

A successful concrete-look bathroom includes a juxtaposition of styles. Used exclusively, the concrete look can be overbearing, but when combined judiciously with timbers, glosses, metallics such as silver, and plants or natural accessories, a rich experience is revealed. 

Concrete-Look For You?

If you’re considering the concrete look, and you’re based on the Gold Coast QLD, talk to our team. We provide a free measure and quote, and our team are experts at solving the design challenges of bathroom renovations and achieving outstanding results.

Six Things to Know Before Choosing Tiles For Your Renovation

Choosing Tiles for Your Bathroom Renovation
Choosing Tiles for Your Bathroom Renovation

Looking for the perfect bathroom tiles? It won’t take you long to realise there’s more to choosing tiles than meets the eye. The world of tiles can appear complex, confusing and expensive. 

The style, functionality and cost of your tiles need to be mapped to your renovation objectives in order to achieve a great result, and since tiles are so popular in kitchen and bathroom renovations, a little research and know-how goes a long way. 

We’re here to help. When it’s time to renovate, we can guide you through the options and help you locate the right tiles for your project, working with reputable local suppliers to achieve great results. 

To help you get started, here’s a list of 6 Things to Know Before Choosing Tiles For Your Renovation. 

1. Tile Delivery Cost

When purchasing tiles, you need a plan to get them from the supplier to the renovation. Tiles are heavy and if you’re ordering in large quantities, may be impractical to handle yourself. 

If you’re planning to have your tiles delivered, enquire about delivery costs and factor these into your budget. Depending on the supplier, this may incur an additional expense. 

2. Tiles Come in Boxes

Tiles generally come in boxes. While there are exceptions to this rule, it means you need to be aware of how many boxes to order. This is how your figure it out:

  1. First, calculate how many square metres of tiles you need. 
  2. Increase this by 10% (for cutting & breakage)
  3. Order the smallest number of boxes of tiles to achieve this amount

In other words:

Tiles come in boxes, and you need to order enough boxes of tiles to cover the area to be tiled, plus 10% extra. 

3. Tiling Extent Possibilities

Tiling is a practical way to finish bathrooms, but can be done to different extents. This is a way to balance the style of your bathroom with the cost of tiling. 

Examples of popular options include:

  • Floor Only
  • Floor and Half-wall
  • Feature Wall
  • Splashback

4. Quality Considerations

Just like anything, tiles come in different grades of quality. Just because two brands of tiles look the same doesn’t mean they perform equally well. Our team is here to help – just ask and we can point you in the direction of reputable, local tile suppliers. 

5. Tile Availability

Need tiles tomorrow? You could be out of luck. Depending on the type and quantity of tiles, sometimes the supplier may need to order them in. 

Tiles need to be organised well in advance of the renovation to make sure they’re ready to go when the time comes. 

6. Tile Styles are Faddish

Tile styles change from year to year. Like fashion, some styles never age, whereas others rapidly tire and vanish. Choosing tiles should be a long-term decision – ask yourself, “will I still like these tiles in 5 years?”

Tile Insert Strip Drains

Considering using tiles for a drain? Learn more about this popular option on our bathroom drains page: Bathroom Drains.

Tiled Bathroom Niches

A popular application for tiles is in a tiled bathroom niche. Learn more about this option here: bathroom niches.

Tiles – A Renovation Essential

Tiles are an essential for any kitchen or bathroom renovation. They’re hard-wearing and great-looking, and are available in water resistances appropriate for applications in both bathroom and kitchen renovations. Learn more about the benefits of tiles in this article.

Why Tiling is a Great Solution for Kitchens and Bathrooms

If you’re thinking about using tiles in your bathroom or kitchen makeover, you’re not alone! There are many reasons why tiles are such an enduring solution for both types of rooms. Used in part or whole, tiles bring a strength of presentation and character to practically all of our Gold Coast bathroom renovations. 

In this article, we discuss the reasons why tiles are such a great solution for kitchens and bathrooms. 

Brought to you by Armrock Constructions – Gold Coast Kitchen and Bathroom renovation specialists. 

What’s Involved in a Tile Solution?

Tiles are just one part of a tiled solution. The other components include the bond or adhesive which connects the tiles to the wall or floor, and the grout, which is the material between the tiles. This combination of elements (tiles, bond, grout) are brought together by workmanship to create a tiled solution. 

That’s important to keep in mind, because from a design point of view, the tiles work together with their grout to create different types of aesthetics. 

Protection from Water

A requirement for both bathrooms and kitchens is to contain the use of water. Failure to contain water creates a risk to timber structures which deteriorate over time when they’re exposed. 

Tiles are a great option from this point of view. The right tiles, professionally installed, create an external layer to control and limit the spread of water – an essential consideration in kitchens and bathrooms. 

Predictable Underfoot

Given the nature of bathrooms and kitchens as wet areas, it’s important to implement a surface which is predictable underfoot whether it is wet or dry.

The safety of flooring is important and with modern, purpose-designed flooring tiles it is straightforward designing a suitable solution. 

Design – Connecting The Room

Fridge and Microwave no grid
Fridge and Microwave no grid
Fridge and Microwave with grid
Fridge and Microwave with grid

Both kitchens and bathrooms include a variety of elements which may have little in common. Sizes, shapes and sometimes styles in fixtures and fittings will always be acquired for an optimal result, but within a given room they may need to work hard to achieve something in common. Tiles can help. 

When tiles are laid they create a grid which can be very strong or barely there – but either way, a grid is created. This grid has an important effect in the room because it creates a subtle framework to connect different items. 

This creates a sense of unity in the room which would otherwise be absent. Here is a simple example illustrating this in action:

Irrespective of any functional role, the ability of tiles to connect different items is a helpful attribute in styling kitchens and bathrooms. Tiles bring rooms together!

Design – Aesthetic Depth

Tiles have a wide range of looks and styles. Texture, depth, pattern, colour – all of these can be varied when using tiles. This gives renovators access to a library of options that can’t be achieved any other way. 

There’s a tile for every situation, and sometimes there are too many choices to make. Our team is here to help. We know what works and can help you select the best tiles for your project.

Cues for Room Flow with Tiling

Whether you opt for square tiles or rectangular tiles, the room will still be the same size and shape. However, it may not feel the same. Tiles create patterns which have an impact – especially when you’re considering how a room should flow. 

This consideration is especially relevant in rooms with more than one entry. Tiles can be used to describe movement patterns within the room. 

Tiled Bathroom Niches

Armrock Constructions specialises in bathroom renovations on the Gold Coast QLD. A tiled niche is a great addition to a bathroom that adds functional value to the design. In our recent Gold Coast bathroom renovations, we’re finding tiled bathroom niches to be a popular addition. In this article we’re going to explore this option, with examples from our projects. 

What is a “Niche”? 

Bath with Hexagonal Tiled Niche
Bath with Hexagonal Tiled Niche

A ‘niche’, ‘cavity’ or ‘recess’ is a step into the wall that basically works as a shelf. In a shower, this shelf may hold common items like shampoo and soap. A niche is a built-in attribute that forms a sturdy and practical shelf on which to place items. 

Advantages to a Bathroom Niche

Niches perform the function of storing items in bathroom walls, but they’re not the only solution. Other popular methods include:

  1. Built-in niche
  2. Built-in shelf
  3. Removable holder / shelf

Niches have advantages over all of these. Unlike a shelf, niches don’t extrude – they’re set into the wall. Temporary solutions, on the other hand, are either hung or fixed with suction caps. Despite manufacturing promises, these plummet to the ground at the most inopportune moments, sending soap and shampoo flying – or coffee and beer, when misused by certain family members who insist on consuming these while showering.

LED Illumination

A popular trend is LED-illuminated niches, as can be seen from this recent bathroom project. These offer a designer-flavour to your Gold Coast bathroom and are a fantastic complement to Armrock’s tiled niches. Because our team includes all of the bathroom renovation trades, our builder-led team can handle your tiling, your tiled niche, and your LED illumination – as well as everything else too.

Tiled Inset Niche with LED Lights
Tiled Inset Niche with LED Lights

Types of Bathroom Niches

Bathroom niches come in three variants – prefabricated units, custom-made niches, and tiled bathroom niches. Prefabricated niches are purchased ready-made and come in a variety of designs. Custom-made niches are made to order. Tiled bathroom niches are a custom-made niche that’s made with tiles. 

Tiled Bathroom Niche Design

First and foremost, the advantage of a tiled-bathroom niche is in the design. It’s an opportunity to create depth and interest in the bathroom. The niche itself makes a design contribution, which can be enhanced by the type of tiles used. These may be the same as the rest of the wall or a subtle, or significant contrast can be created. 

There is also the opportunity to echo themes present elsewhere in the bathroom. 

In the above example of our Gold Coast renovation work (Hexagonal Tiled Bathroom Niche) we’ve used hexagonal tiles within the niche which reflect the same pattern on the feature wall for repetition and continuity:

Tiled niches are fast becoming an Armrock signature. They’re a popular, practical option. A tiled niche creates a feature from an everyday item and because the niche is drawn from the same tiles as rest of the wall, an inherent compatibility is created so that the feature comes from the wall and is of the wall. 

That means the niche looks like it was meant to be there, while at the same time giving more interest to the bathroom as a whole. 

Niche Location Options

Tiled niches can be placed anywhere they are useful in the bathroom. We generally install them within the shower or next to the bath specifically for the purpose of holding shampoo, soaps, sponges and other bathing accessories. 

Tiled Shower Niches

Tiled shower niches create interesting effects. Set into the grid created by the existing tiling, the result is three dimensional. Even when the same tiles are used, as is the case in this example, the tiled shower niche makes for a more visually interesting impression. 

Hexagonal Tile Niche Bathroom Renovation

Grey and White Bathroom Design
Grey and White Bathroom Design

In this Gold Coast bathroom renovation, Armrock Constructions worked with our clients to achieve a fresh look for the revamped room. Features of this renovation include: 

  • Hexagonal-Tiled Niche
  • Hexagonal-Tiled Feature wall
  • Simple, classy colour scheme
  • Free-standing bathtub
  • Tile Insert Strip Drain
  • Single to double vanity plumbing enhancement

Tiled Bathroom Niches

Bath with Hexagonal Tiled Niche
Bath with Hexagonal Tiled Niche

Tiled bathroom niches are an increasingly popular solution storage solution for common bathing items adjacent to showers and bathtubs. Our Gold Coast projects frequently feature the addition of a niche (or two) because they work well and look fantastic too. If you’re interested in tiled niches, please visit our page on tiled bathroom niches to see some of the different solutions we’re putting in place. 

Hexagonal Tiled Features

Free Standing Bathtub with Grey Tiles
Free Standing Bathtub with Grey Tiles

What makes this bathroom a standout is the discrete application of some tiled variations to create visual depth, interest, and integration in the room. The walls are predominantly a gloss-white rectangular tile (300x600mm) which is enhanced by a feature-wall of gloss-white tiles with a hexagonal impression. It’s a subtle distinction, but its enhanced by the addition of two tiled niches with stainless-steel framing and marbled hexagonal tiles with high-contrast grout-lines for a couple of complimentary features. 

Here’s how it was achieved:

Design Principal: Repetition

Repetition – it’s all about repeating elements through your design to create relationships. Every time you think about incorporating a new element (fixture, fitting, etc) pause and consider how it relates to other elements. Repetition can be used to different extents to guide the visual flow of the room. 

Simple, Classy Colour Scheme

Grey and White Bathroom Design
Grey and White Bathroom Design

This bathroom utilises a winning colour scheme in grey and white tones. This combination is suitable for any modern bathroom, and it’s popular in many of our Gold Coast projects. By using this simple colour scheme, you can accessories with towels, plants, and lighting to create a variety of colourful and interesting effects, if you wish. 

Free Standing Bathtub Option

Free-Standing Bathtub with Tiled Feature Wall
Free-Standing Bathtub with Tiled Feature Wall

A real feature of this bathroom is the effect of the free-standing bathtub. Although this bathroom is not especially large, this free-standing tub solution creates the impression of visual space. It’s a functional addition that’s easy on the eyes.

Tile Insert Strip Drain

Long Tile Inset Strip Drain
Long Tile Inset Strip Drain

These are popular with our clients and there’s a good reason why. In a tiled floor there’s no reason to make a feature out of the waste. In this beautiful bathroom renovation, we used a rectangular tile inset strip waste for the shower and a similar square effect for the main bathroom waste. Seamless style means you can focus on the parts of the bathroom you really want to.

Double Vanity and Plumbing

Double-Basin Prefabricated Bathroom Vanity
Double-Basin Prefabricated Bathroom Vanity

In this renovation, our clients opted for a pre-fabricated double-basin vanity. Because the previous plumbing structure was built to serve a single basin, this renovation included advancement of the plumbing water & waste for the double option to work. The plumbing is neatly tucked away inside the vanity.

Toilet Renovation

Cistern Renovation
Cistern Renovation

Renovating this toilet we have kept the same theme going with 300 x 600 tiling on the floors and walls. The wall-mounted vanity is a great way to create some extra space in this small room. To make this happen we needed to move some plumbing, but the functional result is an independently operable toilet. Topped off by some gloss-white venetian blinds, who wouldn’t want to spend some time in this room?

Bathroom Shower Solution

Shower with Hexagonal Tiled Niche
Shower with Hexagonal Tiled Niche

Completed Renovation

Grey and White Bathroom Design
Grey and White Bathroom Design