Sustainable Refurbishments

Hotels need to keep up with changing design, wear & tear and customer demands but Apex show that refurbishments can be done sustainably.

The Apex International Hotel in Edinburgh is currently going through a bathroom refurbishment with the help of their architect in charge of sustainable hotel design to carry it out sustainably by re-using materials and installing energy & water efficient products.

Please see below some of the actions that are being implemented in this refurbishment to show how the hotel is recycling, re-using and saving consumption.

Recycle/Re-use:
WC, WC seat and bracketry for cistern cleaned, retained and re-used.
Shower/bath screens cleaned and reused with the seals replaced.
Light fittings retained, lamps and transformers replaced with new LED equivalent to make substantial energy savings.
Basins were initially considered for retention but when installed in 'mock-up' bathroom they looked dated and chipped and as they wouldn't reach guest expectations they were donated to a local charity.
Granite vanity top recycled in all bathrooms.
All fittings high quality stainless steel with the majority of stainless steel being recycled.


Water Saving:
Aerators installed to taps to reduce water consumption.
Introduced new low volume cisterns with dual-flush action.
Showers were replaced with new thermostatic valves surface mounted for ease of maintenance.
Showers fitted with 'flow regulators' to control water usage.
Baths were removed in 50% of bathrooms in the refurbishment at the Apex European Hotel and changed to shower only.
Baths were removed in around 10% of the bathrooms at the Apex International Hotel and changed to shower only.
Bathrooms/shower rooms completely tiled with large porcelain tiles. This reduces the area of grout and creates a highly durable, easily maintainable surface finish.

Energy Savings:
Thermal insulation was upgraded to the existing bathroom pipe work to reduce heat loss.
Shower flow regulators result in less hot water being heated and drawn therefore saving in gas consumption.
Transferring lamps to LED reduces the energy consumption.