Where to start for a new family bathroom June 2022

Wildsound

Hello,

We are starting to consider having a new bathroom put in to our home.

Standard semi-detached with 2.5 bedrooms and an upstairs bathroom. No other bathroom/toilet in the house.

Current bathroom is a fairly standard box room, currently holding a standard bath, corner shower unit, toilet and sink. Very little space for storage cause of the layout, apart from an under sink furniture unit we got from B&M a few years ago plus some waist high narrow draw units in some small narrow spaces.

We are not skilled enough or have the time/inclination to do it ourselves. We would rather delegate that time cost to someone who can.

Is there somewhere we should start with regards this project? Certain retailers we should explore other than the usual ones you see plastered all over the telly?

We were thinking of maybe getting one or two of those "free home visits" (if such a thing still exists) just to spark some inspiration on layout/design before then exploring elsewhere for somewhere cheaper.

I don't necessarily want the cheapest tat at bargain basement prices which is going to fall apart in 2 years, but I do want value for money even if I'm paying a bit more for something I actually want.

Appreciate the help

Wild

Brie

Are you talking about replacing what is there or adding a 2nd bathroom?  If so where? How many people are in the family?  Could you just redo the bathroom and add a toilet downstairs somewhere??  Those are the things that need to be decided initially.

When we needed/wanted a new kitchen a number of years back there was still the home visit thing and we got out a upmarket company who gave us some great ideas.  We took those ideas and got B&Q to do the job.  It worked ok but we hadn't realised that they only do so much.  So old stuff ripped out, new floor, tiles, cupboards and a big hole left in the ceiling as that wasn't something included.  I don't know if it was simply a case of the sub contractor didn't have time to do it and was telling us porkies or not.

More recently we had our bathroom redone by Wickes (no home visit) who again subcontract out the work.  They sorted out the plans and sent a chap round to ensure measurements were ok but it was obvious he didn't know his head from his elbow.  Called W and they sent a second guy who was superb - he looked at the plans, looked at what was there and eliminated about 30% of the cost. 

So it really depends on how good the person is that is actually hired to do the job.  If you got recommendations locally for a good plumber then I would be tempted to try that.

Wildsound

It's to replace the existing bathroom that is there. 4 members of the family total with 2 very young ones.

Brie

Is a separate toilet a possibility somewhere?  Maybe in a closet downstairs?  With 4 people (including 2 increasing in size!) having a 2nd toilet would be a bit of a blessing I would think.  Even if it's just a toilet separate from a bathroom (maybe with a tiddly sink?) makes life easier.  

If you are simply going for something bigger or doing nicer "bath" room with a separate toilet upstairs where are you going to get the space from.  And what walls might have to be re/moved to achieve this?

Sorry I seem to just be asking questions rather than giving lots of helpful advice!

gwynlas

If you cannot extend the space in any way eg taking a slice of a bedroom then there is little that you can do except replace current fittings.If it is the only bathroom in a family house you need to retain a bath but perhaps you could have a shower over it rather than a corner unit which will give you a greater area to shower in and increase floor space. Please do not use P or L shaped bath as these date quickly. There are many ideas for decorating and storage for small bathrooms on line but keep things fairly neutral and timeless for future sale.

Wildsound

For the avoidance of doubt, we are not looking to build a new room/extend or put a new room somewhere else in the house. We are just redoing the existing room. Essentially ripping everything out and putting something brand new in the same space.

benson1980

We're currently redoing our bathroom- albeit DIY. Just take measurements of all of the dimensions in the room, where the door/window is etc, and take this to a local independent plumbers merchant who has a decent showroom. You'll normally get some advice re: what will/won't look good and we've been pretty happy thus far with this approach versus buying all online or going to one of the bigger chains. They'll probably be able to recommend a fitter as well if you want to go down that route, and they'll also advise you on what ranges to look at to suit your budget.

I compared pricing of a few bits versus what we could get them for online and it was broadly similar.

koalakoala

Howdens will do you a plan. Their cupboards are quite nice, although you have to source the white goods. A joiner and plumber required who will help you with this

markin

Its usually not practical to change the layout and its unlikely to magic up new storage space if you can't think where it would go in the current room.

So its just picking a style and the tile and wall color out, And then finding a good plumber that does entire bathrooms.

Silvertabby

Wildsound said:

For the avoidance of doubt, we are not looking to build a new room/extend or put a new room somewhere else in the house. We are just redoing the existing room. Essentially ripping everything out and putting something brand new in the same space.

Do think about fitting a downstairs loo first, if at all possible.  You won't know how you managed without it, especially when the children are older.

Plus, when a friend had her bathroom refitted the builders were very considerate - old loo last to be ripped out, new loo first to be fitted - but  they still had to resort to a bucket in the garage for a couple of days.

katejo

Silvertabby said:

Wildsound said:

For the avoidance of doubt, we are not looking to build a new room/extend or put a new room somewhere else in the house. We are just redoing the existing room. Essentially ripping everything out and putting something brand new in the same space.

Do think about fitting a downstairs loo first, if at all possible.  You won't know how you managed without it, especially when the children are older.

Plus, when a friend had her bathroom refitted the builders were very considerate - old loo last to be ripped out, new loo first to be fitted - but  they still had to resort to a bucket in the garage for a couple of days.

I stayed in a budget hotel near work just for 1 night when there wouldn't be a useable loo.