Laundry Makeover

In just under a week, i turned my retro junk heap into a clean and functional laundry.

What you'll need

Electric drill & drill bits
Cordless drill
Circular saw
Caulking gun
Bucket
Electric plane
Hammer
Handsaw

Stud finder
Sawhorses
Screwdriver set
Spatula
Spirit level
Squeegee mop
Utility knife
Quikgrip clamps x 2

Jigsaw
Cordless drill
Measuring tape
Paintbrushes
Paint roller
Pencil
Pinch bar
Hole saw

STEP 1

Demolition Time
I completely stripped out the old laundry, including the tub, wall tiles, cupboards and doors. This has become one of my favourite parts of DIY renovation – ripping out the old stuff. I just let all that pent-up frustration fly! A particularly satisfying effort in this room: no more rotting cupboards, rusting laundry tub or daggy wall tiles.

STEP 2

Sugar soap walls, ceiling and floors
Now to clean up the mess I’d made. Armed with gloves, goggles and a couple of bottles of sugar soap, I took to the walls, floors and ceiling for a good, old-fashioned scrub. I think 30 years of laundry scum ended up in my buckets, but I could actually make out the original wall colour. Amazing!

STEP 3

Prep for painting - fill holes, cracks and gaps
There were plenty of cracks, gaps and peeling paint in this room, so it took a fair amount of time to get it ready for a decent paint job. I used a spatula laden with filler to get a nice flat surface again. Then I gave the walls a light sanding all over, and it was ready for the undercoat.

STEP 4

Paint walls, trims, ceilings and doors
I gave the walls a quick undercoat and used British Paints’ All-in-One ceiling paint to help save time and the effort of painting a ceiling twice. I opted for a strong wall colour, to give the room some oomph. Darker colours may require an extra coat, but the result was definitely worth the effort.

STEP 5

Measure new vinyl flooring
I had to cut the vinyl flooring out of one piece, which meant measuring carefully. I drew up a detailed diagram of the area, with every possible measurement, and then marked it all out onto the vinyl with a pencil. For the tight areas around toilet and doorways, I used a cardboard template, then cut it to shape with a utility knife, using a spirit level as a straightedge.

STEP 6

Install new vinyl flooring
The Gerflor Texline flooring was a great time-saver. It can be laid directly onto the original ceramic floor without preparation work or hardboard underlay. It’s perfect for wet areas, too. So, with a little help, I carried the cut-out piece into the room and sighed with relief when it slipped into place, needing only a few trim-ups with a utility knife.