A practical mum has revealed how she put together her own outdoor bathroom area in just four days – and how it saves her family valuable cash by having it outside.
Stay-at-home mother and business owner Kate Carter, 38, from Brisbane, said she doesn’t have a bath inside her home, and knew it would cost her thousands to have one installed in her bathroom, so she decided to put one outside instead.
‘I found a fibreglass bath on Gumtree for just $300 and it spiralled from there,’ Kate told FEMAIL.
‘No tradies were used for this build, just myself and a friend. It took us four days to finish and while it was hard, it was 100 per cent worth it.’
A mum revealed how she put together her own outdoor bathroom area in just four days – and how it saves her family valuable cash by having it outside (pictured)
Stay-at-home mother and business owner Kate Carter (pictured), 38, from Brisbane, said she doesn’t have a bath inside her home, and so installed an outdoor setup
All up, Kate spent just $664 on the items for her renovation. Indoor bathroom renovations cost upwards of $10,000 (Kate’s child pictured in the bath)
‘We have a small courtyard that we don’t use off our deck below our kitchen windows, that I knew would be the perfect place for plumbing,’ Kate said (copper shower pictured)
Once she had the bath, Kate started thinking about where she would house her outdoor bath and shower.
‘We have a small courtyard that we don’t use off our deck below our kitchen windows, that I knew would be the perfect place for plumbing,’ she said.
‘I bought the plumbing system from Bunnings Warehouse for just $90. It’s a copper system that is designed to go inside a bathroom wall.’
The thrifty mum also picked up outdoor brass taps from the outdoor tap section of Bunnings for around $6 each.
‘It’s so much cheaper to buy outdoor taps and finishes than it is indoor,’ she said.
While Kate said she isn’t a plumber, within about six hours, she managed to put together the tap system and do the plumbing to connect her water into the kitchen (pictured)
When it came to the shower, Kate said she found a copper rain shower head from eBay for around $30.
‘I’m not a plumber so it took a while to figure out how to put it all together, but putting together the tap system and doing the plumbing to connect it into the kitchen took about six hours all up,’ Kate said.
‘We added some backing onto the pipes by using some decking from a local house build.’
Finally, she fitted the bath with a discarded pool cleaner hose so that it drains into her garden.
‘We don’t allow any harmful soaps in the bath so I knew it would be fine,’ the 38-year-old said.
She also added decking around the bath with tiles from IKEA, in order to stop the bath from filling up with gumnuts from her garden gumtree.
Kate said she spent $664 on the bathroom.
A budget bathroom renovation in Australia costs upwards of $10,000.
Kate (pictured in the bath) estimates she spent well below $1,000 on the renovation – while the standard budget bathroom renovation costs around $10,000
Since they finished the outdoor bathroom area, Kate said she and her family have been enjoying the space hugely (plumbing area pictured)
Since they finished the outdoor bathroom area, Kate said she and her family have been enjoying the space hugely.
‘One of the best parts of the bath is when we have friends over everyone can be on the deck or in the yard while the kids bathe,’ she said.
‘No parent has to be separate from others to watch them, and it’s so social and lovely.’
After Kate shared photos of her makeover online, others were hugely impressed with the results.
‘This is my dream to have exactly that! Lucky you,’ one commenter posted.
‘I absolutely love this!!! I have a free standing tub out the back I use as my pool in summer,’ another added.