Costa Tiling
"How long will it take?" is usually the second question we hear, right after "how much?". A bathroom is the room most people find hardest to do without, and if you are renovating a holiday home you may be planning around flights, guests or the rental season.
Here is how a typical full bathroom renovation unfolds, phase by phase, and what can move the dates.
Before work starts
Before the clock starts on site, a few things get settled:
- Enquiry. You send a message, a few photos and an idea of what you want. We reply within 24 hours.
- Site visit. We come the same week, free of charge, to measure, check the walls, floor and drainage, and talk through layout and materials.
- Fixed written quote. The scope of work is spelled out in writing, so you know what is included before anything starts.
- Materials and paperwork. Tiles, sanitaryware, taps and the shower screen are chosen and ordered, and a start date is booked.
On paperwork: in most towns, a bathroom renovation counts as minor works (obra menor) and needs either a permit application or a responsible declaration (declaración responsable) submitted to the local ayuntamiento before work begins. Requirements and processing times vary from town to town, so check early and agree who is submitting it. In an apartment, the community of owners may also have rules on working hours, noise, lift use and rubble.
The renovation, day by day
These are working days for an average-sized full bathroom: walk-in shower or bath, new sanitaryware and tiles floor to ceiling. Some phases overlap, and a small en suite can be quicker.
Days 1–2: protection and strip-out
We protect the route through the house and anything that stays, isolate the water and remove the old sanitaryware, tiles and, where needed, the old screed. Rubble leaves in bags or a skip, depending on access. This is also when the room tells the truth: hollow screeds, old pipes, damp or badly out-of-true walls all show up here.
Days 3–4: first-fix plumbing and electrics
New supply and waste pipes go in, with positions set for taps, the shower valve, a wall-hung toilet frame or a niche. The electrician runs cables for lighting, the extractor fan, a heated towel rail or a lit mirror. Pipework should be pressure-tested before anything is covered. If you are not on site, ask for photos at this stage: once the walls are closed, nobody sees these pipes again.
Days 4–7: screed, boards and waterproofing
Floors are levelled and, for a walk-in shower, given a gentle fall towards the drain. Walls are rendered or boarded to give a flat base. Then comes the waterproofing: a membrane across the shower area and usually the whole floor, with reinforcing tape in the corners and around every pipe and drain.
This phase looks quiet, but it should not be rushed. Each coat of liquid membrane has to dry before the next, and screeds need time before they can take tiles. Fast-setting screeds and levelling compounds shorten the wait considerably; a traditional sand and cement screed takes longer.
Days 8–12: tiling and grouting
Tiles are set out from carefully chosen starting lines, so cuts land in sensible places and the pattern lines up around the niche, the window and the shower. Grouting follows once the adhesive has set. Large-format porcelain, patterns and handmade tiles such as zellige take longer: more preparation, more care with levels and, for zellige, sealing before and after grouting.
Every change of plane, such as wall to floor or around the shower tray, gets silicone rather than grout, because those joints need to flex.
Days 13–15: fit-out and handover
The vanity unit, toilet, taps, shower screen, mirrors, lights and accessories go in. Everything is tested for leaks and drainage, the room is cleaned and we walk through it with you, including how to look after the tiles and grout. Then the bathroom is yours again.
Free site visit along the Costa del Sol, and a reply within 24 hours.
What can push the dates back
Most delays come from a short list of causes:
- Surprises in older villas. Under the tiles of a house built a few decades ago you may find hollow or crumbling screed, old galvanised pipes, improvised drainage or damp. These need fixing properly before anything new goes on top, and that can add days.
- Special-order tiles. Handmade zellige, some large formats and certain colours are not always in stock. If the tiles are not on site when tiling is due to start, the whole job waits.
- Moving the drainage. Relocating a toilet or turning a bath into a walk-in shower may mean new waste runs, opening up the floor or raising it to get the right falls. In an apartment, connecting to shared downpipes can involve the community.
- Changes mid-way. Moving a niche or a tap after first fix, or switching tiles once work has started, knocks on to everything after it.
- Drying and curing. Screeds, membranes, adhesives and grouts all have minimum times. Cutting them short is how problems start later.
How you can help keep it on track
Much of the schedule is decided before the first tile comes off the wall:
- Decide before you start. Tiles, sanitaryware, taps, screen, vanity and lighting chosen and confirmed before strip-out.
- Get materials on site early. Ideally everything arrives before tiling starts, with spare tiles for cuts and breakages, and a few more for handmade tiles and patterns. Check quantities and batch numbers on delivery.
- Sort the paperwork in time. Permit or declaration filed, and the community informed if you live in an apartment.
- Keep one point of contact. Someone who can make decisions quickly, especially if the owners are abroad.
- Plan for a few weeks without the room. Arrange another bathroom if you are living in the house, and keep the work area clear.
If you are still choosing tiles, our article on zellige vs porcelain for a shower may help you decide sooner.
After handover
Give grout and silicone the curing time the manufacturer specifies before heavy use; your installer will tell you when the shower is ready. Keep a few spare tiles and a note of the product names, because they make any future repair much easier. And if something does not seem right in the first weeks, such as a slow drain or a drip, say so straight away.
You can see completed rooms on our bathroom renovation page and in our projects. When you are ready to plan yours, ask for a free site visit: we come the same week, look at what you have now, talk through a realistic timetable and send you a fixed written quote. Book your site visit.