Fitting new bathroom - things to consider?

geek84

Hi Folks

I am thinking of having my old bathroom including the tiles,stripped out and replaced by a new fitted bathroom/shower.

Can someone please give me an idea of what things to considere.g. pipework when replacing the old bathroom?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

drummer_666

i'm in the process of fitting my new bathroom.

bare in mind, don't tile all the way down to the floor until the pipework has been done. otherwise you'll have trouble lifting the floorboards, as they'll be under the tiles.

if you're having wall hung basin, remember you'll need to put the hot and cold pipes in first and then tile over them.

if you'll be having vinyl flooring, do all the tiling and grouting first. put vinyl in last.

common sense really.

geek84

Thanks drummer

Would any of you kind folk out there know of any cheap places in the West Midlands that do bathroom fittings?

Melaniep101

geek84 wrote: »

Thanks drummer

Would any of you kind folk out there know of any cheap places in the West Midlands that do bathroom fittings?

We've just refurbed our bathroom and were impressed with Victoria Plumb. Fast delivery and really inexpensive for the quality. We also bought some things from B & Q, but most items had to go back (broken loo twice and massively overpriced taps).

geek84

Thanks Melanie

I presume you bought all the stuff yourself and just paid for the labour?

Thanks

fras23

Most bathrooms have a 'wet wall' where the plumbing resides, if you'd like to re position services keep in mind the routing of plumbing and in particular drainage. In order to be effective drainage needs to drop a certain amount over a certain distance, if the angle isn't enough you'll run into problems.

Keep in mind bathroom electric zones. The closer you are to a water source the more likely you are to need low voltage lights/fans. There's a number of guides for this on the internet.

WD1234

My tip is to make sure you install isolating valves to the toilet system. If you ever have a problem with the system simply turn off the valve. Good save a big expense with any problems in the future. You can of course fit them to the pipes feeding the sink shower etc but not really necessary.

geek84

Thanks for your advice so far, folks.

nicka99

we redid a bathroom last year. other things to consider :

• carefully consider layout e.g. can you reach the towel rail on exiting the shower / position the towel rail/radiator so you dont get burnt on the toilet !
• if you can afford it, get a soft close toilet seat
• if you can afford it, get a mist free (heated) mirror
• ensure adequate ventilation
• ensure adequate heating - remember towel rails do not output as much heat as a similar sized rad.
• put in a shaving socket even if you dont need it currently
• use bathroom paint for any outside walls so there is less likelihood of mould growing on cold surfaces.

evoke

I did this a couple of years ago. Here is what worked for me (overlaps with suggestions from previous posters):

1. Take accurate measurements of every wall, nook and cranny and draw them out on several pages. This will help you design the new layout. I found this to be the most important thing I did. My new bathroom matches my drawings exactly!

2. Walk into your present bathroom and visualise where you WANT things to be. Transfer these images onto your drawings/plans.

3. You are likely to need plumbing rerouted and the the waste pipes rerouted too. This can be a bit of an issue so be aware of this.

4. Pay attention to good lighting (it will need to be rated for bathroom use). I have a lot of bright white lighting and it looks fabulous.

5. As others have said, ventilation is extremely important. Ensure you have a good extractor fan rated for bathrooms. It's best to get this wired in with your bathroom lighting. It will need to run for up to 20 minutes after the lights have been switched off. During the daytime you can just switch the lights on and off to activate it.

6. Again, as others have said, use proper bathroom paint. This will save you a LOT of headaches! It is more expensive but much cheaper than having non-bathroom paint stripped and repainted when it all goes bad after a year or two.

7. Use good quality silicone sealant and flexible grout.

8. Pay attention to heating. Bathrooms need to be at the right temperature at the random times you want to use them. Consider underfloor heating if you can afford it.

9. Plan where to put hooks and towel rails. Again, a detailed drawing of every wall will help.

10. Consider the position of mirrors.

11. Consider the distribution of wall-mounted and floor-mounted storage. I used a combination of bathroom cabinets, floor-mounted units and wall-mounted units.

12. Consider doubling up the toilet with a storage unit. This saves a lot of space and hides the cistern. It also looks good.

13. Consider access to the cistern, pipes, plumbing in case things go wrong in the future. How much work will be required to put things right?

14. You'll need to think about privacy glass for the windows (i.e. frosted glass) and blinds/curtains.

pimento

NEVER fit a bath with the taps around the back.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4523925