Marble Bathroom

The client — a local Estepona resident — had a clear constraint: a fixed budget and a three-week window while they stayed with family. The existing bathroom was functional but depressing: small mosaic tiles with near-black grout, a low-pressure shower with a plastic curtain, no natural light, and a pedestal basin that wasted floor space. Our project manager's assessment confirmed the slab below was solid, the wall substrate (100 mm concrete block) was in good condition, and the existing drainage was correctly positioned for a new layout. The only structural change needed was removing the low shower tray and its step — the floor would be wet-room level throughout, with a linear drain running the full width of the shower zone. This single change — eliminating the step — makes the bathroom feel dramatically larger and more contemporary.

Technical Specifications

The showroom session for this project was deliberately fast — one hour — because the client's budget was defined and the shortlist was tight. Three large-format tile options were presented on the showroom wall: a plain white 60×120, a dark grey stone-effect 60×120, and the Porcelanosa Calacatta Blanco 60×120. The Calacatta was chosen immediately: its grey veining on a white background adds visual interest without the maintenance concerns of real marble. The key value specification choice was using the same 60×120 cm tile on both the walls AND the floor — cutting to 60×60 cm for the floor section. This gives the bathroom a completely monolithic stone look while using a single tile, reducing material cost and avoiding the visual complexity of mixing formats. The Roca Meridian wall-hung sanitaryware was chosen from the showroom's working display bay, and the client selected the Roca Raindream dual-outlet shower column in chrome — a cost-effective specification that nonetheless delivers both a large overhead rain head and a separate hand shower on a slider rail.

Technical Specifications

The bathroom was fully stripped in one day — mosaic tiles removed using an SDS chisel, pedestal basin, shower tray, and all fittings disconnected and removed. The concrete block wall substrate was found to be in excellent condition throughout. Before any tiling, a full wet-room waterproofing system was applied: the entire floor and all walls to full height received two coats of Mapei Mapelastic Smart (a flexible two-component waterproof slurry), with reinforcing fabric at all floor-to-wall junctions, corners and around the drain outlet. The drain was set at this stage: a Schlüter Kerdi-Line A linear drain (700 mm wide, matte black cover plate to match tapware) was set into the screed at the entry edge of the shower zone. The shower floor tiles drain toward this linear drain at a 1:80 fall, achieved by screeding with a wedge screed (Mapei Topcem Ready-to-Use), so there is no visible change in floor level between shower zone and the rest of the bathroom.

Technical Specifications

The Porcelanosa Calacatta Blanco 60×120 cm tiles were installed using Mapei Ultralite S1 white polymer adhesive on all walls, starting from the largest uninterrupted wall plane and working toward the corners and openings. All cuts were made on a wet diamond-blade tile saw to ensure the large-format tiles had perfectly smooth, chip-free edges. The grout used throughout was Mapei Ultracolor Plus White at 2 mm joints — wide enough to accommodate natural porcelain calibration variation but narrow enough to appear as fine lines rather than prominent joints. The frameless 10 mm toughened glass shower screen (fixed panel + hinged door, clear glass, chrome channel) was installed after tiling was complete and cured. The Roca Meridian WC and basin were hung on the Geberit Duofix frame at the specified heights — WC at 40 cm floor to seat, basin at 85 cm floor to basin rim (slightly higher than standard to suit the client's preference). The Grohe Lineare matte black mixers and the Roca Raindream shower column were plumbed and pressure-tested before any final decoration.

Technical Specifications

Lighting in a compact bathroom is critical: the wrong position or colour temperature can make even a well-tiled bathroom feel clinical or dingy. The design uses two light sources: a recessed ceiling GU10 grid (4 × Philips CorePro 4 W 2700 K in IP44 housings, dimmable) providing general warm light from above; and the Roper Rhodes Insight backlit LED mirror (800×600 mm, 3000 K, anti-fog, touch control with dimmer) providing focused task light directly at face height when using the basin. The two colour temperatures — 2700 K ceiling, 3000 K mirror — are close enough to read as the same warm family of light. The matte black Grohe Essentials accessory range was specified for all towel bars, toilet roll holder and robe hooks — four items, all in matching matte black to create a coordinated palette with the tapware. The final item was a small recessed niche (400×200×100 mm, formed in the wet room tanking layer) tiled with the same Calacatta tile and positioned at arm height in the shower zone to hold shampoo bottles — eliminating the need for any shower caddy or shelf bracket.

Technical Specifications

Every Magnum Reformas project begins with a free site visit from a dedicated project manager — no obligation, within 48 hours of enquiry. We provide a fully itemised fixed-price quote: every line of work is listed, nothing is hidden. Once approved, our team manages every trade on site so you never coordinate subcontractors yourself. A dedicated WhatsApp group keeps you updated with photos and videos throughout. At handover, we walk you through every installation and leave you a full documentation pack.

Technical Specifications