Bathroom renovation

Type 5: 1960-2000

Industrialised multi-storey housing was also groundbreaking in its solutions for prefabricated installations, including bathrooms. At the beginning of this period, all fixtures such as ceramic tiles and sanitation, etc. are retrofitted on site, but by the end of the period turnkey modular rooms are being supplied, with all of their fixtures being ready-fitted at the factory and connected to the finished building as plug-ins. The experimental use of materials such as PVC and fibreglass for bathroom fixtures was also trialled during the first half of this period. However, experience proved relatively quickly that these materials were difficult to clean and often had short and problematic lifespans.

It was often necessary to renovate these bathrooms after several years of use – either as a result of damage to surfaces and fixtures or because the needs and preferences of their users had changed. There are basically two options for renovating: the removal of all fixtures and the installation of new surfaces, sanitation and other equipment using normal workmanship practices on site, or the use of prefabricated ready-assembled solutions, delivered as sub-elements and installed inside the bathroom once the existing sanitation and pipe installations have been removed. The latter process is typically the most efficient, and the finished result is often identical regardless of the method and quality of workmanship.

Photos: sbs/Graves Simonsen