What does it mean to strip a bathroom or kitchen "back to the brick"?

In a full bathroom or kitchen renovation, demolitionDemolitionKnocking down or stripping out whatever has to go before a renovation: walls, tiles, render, bathroom fittings, old floors or old insulation. is the first step. The tiles, the bathtub or the units, the fixtures and the old renderRender (plaster)A layer of mortar (sand, cement or lime, and water) spread over brick or concrete to give a wall a straight, sound surface ready for paint or tiles. come out until the brick shows. In the bathroom with the green bathtub, all of that went before anything new was put in.

Why go that deep? Because new tiles need straight, sound render underneath, and because the new water and drain pipes run inside the walls and the floor. On old, hollow tilesHollow (debonded) tilesTiles or slabs that have come away from their base. They sound hollow when tapped lightly, and often rock or crack. or crumbling render, the new work has nothing solid to sit on.

Stripping out also shows what was hidden. In one kitchen, the old pipes and the damaged parts of the wall appeared behind the old tiles and units. That is why the full picture of a job often only becomes clear once the walls are open.

It does make a lot of dust, noise and rubbleDebris (rubble)The waste that comes out of demolition and building work: broken tiles, render, bricks and concrete. It is collected in bags and has to be disposed of legally., though. Before it starts, the water and power are shut off where the work will be, and furniture and neighbouring rooms are covered. The rubble is bagged, as in the flat that got a new floor, and has to be disposed of legally.

Keep in mind: stripping tiles and render doesn't touch the building's structure. Columns, beams and slabs are never cut into, not even to run a pipe or a cable.