Compiled by Megan O’Connor, with technical input from Drakensberg Boys Choir and Patrick Gordon, technical manager, Splashworks

In 2025, the Drakensberg Boys Choir School’s main auditorium underwent a complete revamp of the public toilet facilities for the first time since its construction in 1995 – from the plumbing finishings to the decorative finishings like mirrors.

The original hand-washing area.

The original hand-washing area. All images supplied by Drakensberg Boys Choir School

The Drakensberg Boys Choir School is a non-profit company, managed by an executive headmaster and professional teachers and staff. The school has a well-established choir, with many old boys excelling in music, sports, and business. Their ethos is this: “The mission of the Drakensberg Boys Choir School is to prepare boys for life and leadership through excellence in music, academics, physical development and social enrichment in a Christian environment.”1

The brief for the project included the following requirements:

  • Renovating the bathrooms in the auditorium
  • Installing new basins, toilets and urinals
  • Replacing all damaged tiles

From start to finish, the project took around nine months to complete. Patrick Gordon, technical manager at Splashworks, recalls being contacted at the end of January 2025 about the project, supplying the products at the end of May 2025, with the project reaching full completion in November 2025.

The starting point

The bathrooms of the main auditorium of the school were built in 1995 and had not been changed or upgraded since its original build. The client wanted the old toilets, urinals and basins to be removed, the damaged toilets to be replaced, the old stainless-steel urinals to be replaced with new ones, as well as a modernisation of the hand-washing area.

The original toilet stalls.

The original toilet stalls.

 

The process

Over the course of the nine months of the project, the following steps were taken from start to finish:

  1. First, the old toilets, urinal and basins were removed from the bathrooms.
  2. Next, the damaged tiling on the floor was removed.
  3. The new wash basin counter was built.
  4. The new toilets, urinals and basins were installed.
  5. The areas that had been affected by the removal of the old products as well as the installation of the new products were then tiled.
  6. Finally, the new lights and mirrors for the bathrooms were installed.
The original urinal.

The original urinal.

The challenges faced during the reconstruction

The biggest problem faced during the revamping of the bathrooms was the tiling. Because the tiles were installed in 1995 when the bathroom was built, matching new tiles with the existing ones proved difficult, as the new Johnson tiles that were chosen did not match the size of those installed in 1995. Finding the correct fittings for the new urinals also proved difficult, as well as financing to pay the contractor to start the work and having an accurate bill of materials (BOM) for the suppliers.

By working through these challenges, the new bathrooms for the main auditorium for the Drakensberg Boys Choir School were completed in November 2025.

Reference

  1. https://dbchoir.com/ – Drakensberg Boys Choir School
Spashworks’ involvement

Patrick Gordon recalls, “One of our previous employees has a child that attends the school, and they approached us and explained their need for material such as basins, toilets, mixers, etcetera. Splashworks agreed to donate all of the products that were needed to do the finishings – anything outside of the wall. Drakensberg Boys Choir, in reviewing the project, wished to add, “Thank you to Splashworks for their generous donations and for their patience in waiting for the project to be completed.”
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