Bathroom tiling in Rainham and Wennington. Walls and floors tiled properly, wet areas tanked before a tile goes up, grout and silicone finished clean.
Rainham is a mix - interwar stock toward South Hornchurch, older cottages out at Wennington, and newer building near the river. The bathrooms vary as much as the houses do, so the honest answer on a quote usually starts with getting the old tiles off and looking.
The newer houses and flats near the river at Rainham usually have plasterboard walls and a shower tray fitted by the builder, and the most common tiling job there is replacing that finish with something better. The board behind a builder shower is checked first, because a slow leak there has often been soaking it for years.
Wet areas sealed with a tanking membrane before tiling. In a house near the river that already has damp to deal with, a shower leaking behind the tiles makes it far worse.
Rainham walls vary from old cottage plaster at Wennington to new plasterboard near the river. Each is made flat and primed in its own way before a tile goes near it.
Tiles set out so the pieces you see first are whole, with the narrow cuts tucked under the bath where nobody looks.
Mould-resistant grout and silicone, run neatly into every corner. In a damp riverside bathroom this is the detail that dates the room fastest when it is done cheaply.
Original builder tiling removed, the board checked for water damage, and the wall tanked before the new tiles go on.
Always, and near the river we are fussier about it than most. Adhesive and grout are not waterproof - the membrane behind them is - and in a house that already has damp to contend with, an untanked shower makes it considerably worse.
Two to three days for walls and floor in most Rainham bathrooms, longer in the Wennington cottages where the walls need more preparation. You are told which before the work starts.
Yes, and Elm Park, Upminster and across to Hornchurch. Rainham itself is a small patch, so we work the wider area rather than pretending otherwise.
Often, yes. Builders usually fit basic tiles on untanked plasterboard, and the first retile is a chance to tank the shower properly as well as change the look.
Loose or hollow-sounding tiles, grout that keeps cracking, a musty smell or staining on the ceiling below are all signs. The tiles have to come off to check the board and repair it.
Send a photo or a quick video of the room on WhatsApp. Or ask for a free fixed quote with no obligation. We will tell you straight what it needs.