Comparing bathroom vanity units

IvyFlood

What should one be wary of when choosing?

I am a big fan of the wooden floating variety and this is what I'd like in our new bathroom but I'm doing some research first!

I've found one online that fits the brief. It has two drawers and is handless (you pull from the groove in the wood). Its £318, comes ready assembled and is made from MFC Textured Woodgrain which I think is ok in a bathroom? Obviously I don't want it to get damaged by the humidity. Comes with 5 year guarantee.

The other option is from a brand, Phoenix Bathrooms, that the showroom our fitter uses stocks. You have to choose your size, drawer options, finish, worktop and handles. I don't want handles but all my other choices (2 drawers and plain worktop) come to £671. Its made from wood (oak) effect laminate.

I've been reading about the differences between MFC and MDF which I'm assuming is what the laminate is and MFC is coming out better. 

Not seen either unit in the flesh as the second option is all from a brochure, they don't have them in the showroom.

I'm inclined to go for the more expensive one as the fitter uses them and they are only down the road incase there's any issues. But on the other hand, I feel like I could be paying double unnecessarily and I prefer the look of the cheaper one anyway! But obviously I don't know its true quality until it arrives!

EDIT: I've since found out the manufacturer of the first option is 'Hudson Reed' and on their website said vanity unit is actually £682 yet its advertised as £318 on website Heat & Plumb! I'm confused!

BUFF

the carcases will almost certainly both be mfc & the worktops probably both hpl. Without knowing exactly the supplier & seeing the quality of the construction it's very hard to give an opinion. Tbh the doors are probably what are most likely to go depending upon how they are made/sealed.

 Bear in mind that you can buy 2x the one that you prefer for the cost of the other & if you buy mail order with a CC you will have pretty good consumer protection.

IvyFlood

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80026820#Comment_80026820

I hadn't thought of CC protection at this moment in time! Though when the time comes and if it were that one we were ordering we're likley to pay on CC but thanks for the reminder :)

ChilliBob

Take a look at how they are constructed in terms of joins - some the joins are in places where it just seems obvious water will get in, others are better.

Having replaced three bathrooms and vanity units in the last year I've looked at a fair few! Crosswater do a nice one, flute I think it's called - wooden floating vibe and the way the vaneer wraps around is good.

I think it depends on how much abuse you think it's going to get too. We have two children so the one for our family bathroom is a bit more bombproof than the en-suite.

I had a rhoper Rhodes one before which sigh careful use, and before children, started to split and show problems, after 18 months or so. Rhoper did give us new doors, but the same thing happened

mi-key

Neither MFC nor MDF will hold up well to water ingress. Both will swell and turn to mush. But, unless you are going for solid wood bespoke cabinets then they are all going to be made of this, so pick the one you like the design of most

They are generally splash proof, but not actually waterproof as such.

jennifernil

When we had our house built in 1988, my OH made all the bathroom units himself using mfc, as the sizes needed were not standard. We had solid pine doors made to fit, and he made tiled countertops with inset basins.

He must have done a good job as when we refitted 2 bathrooms recently, all the units were as good as the day they were made and we reused all the ones in our en suite, fitting new countertops and plinths in Iroko.

We did not find any deterioration due to steam, we have good extractor fans, or a problem with splashing water, but none of the units were near a bath or shower.

Could not have afforded to fit all new units as there is a lot of storage in that bathroom! We did consider getting different doors/drawer fronts, but as we like the original ones we just kept them. They would be easy to change in the future if we ever wanted to.

IvyFlood

mi-key said:

Neither MFC nor MDF will hold up well to water ingress. Both will swell and turn to mush. But, unless you are going for solid wood bespoke cabinets then they are all going to be made of this, so pick the one you like the design of most

They are generally splash proof, but not actually waterproof as such.

It wouldn't be getting drenched. Its more the moisture in the bathroom getting to it.

mi-key

IvyFlood said:

mi-key said:

Neither MFC nor MDF will hold up well to water ingress. Both will swell and turn to mush. But, unless you are going for solid wood bespoke cabinets then they are all going to be made of this, so pick the one you like the design of most

They are generally splash proof, but not actually waterproof as such.

It wouldn't be getting drenched. Its more the moisture in the bathroom getting to it.

It depends really how humid the bathroom is and what ventilation you have. They will probably be fine, buy it's often moisture getting under the veneers can cause them to start to lift or split

benson1980

The problems arise when cabinets are left in standing water. I had the smallest of leaks behind our en suite units (caused by me not tightening up the concealed cistern flush pipe properly so completely my fault) and it blew what were quite expensive units where the plinth/base unit came into contact with it at floor level. With a floating cabinet you've eliminated most of the issue, and then just need to keep an eye on the pipework underneath the sink.

It is all much of a muchness. I bought Calypso furniture for the first bathroom I did. Second one I'm doing now is Eco furniture (as Calypso is ridiculously expensive now), which was almost half the price and having drilled/cut various holes in it, it is all pretty much the same apart from a couple of the finishing touches. Nothing you'd really notice though.

I'd be inclined to go to the showroom to see if they'd recommend any other (cheaper) manufacturers perhaps. If it helps as well I've ordered some stuff from heat and plumb before and they were good. In fact I ordered a shower screen from them and cancelled the order the next day as I changed my mind. Got through on the phone line straight away, they refunded immediately, still sent the shower screen out to me, and then didn't even want it back when I told them!

IvyFlood

benson1980 said:

The problems arise when cabinets are left in standing water. I had the smallest of leaks behind our en suite units (caused by me not tightening up the concealed cistern flush pipe properly so completely my fault) and it blew what were quite expensive units where the plinth/base unit came into contact with it at floor level. With a floating cabinet you've eliminated most of the issue, and then just need to keep an eye on the pipework underneath the sink.

It is all much of a muchness. I bought Calypso furniture for the first bathroom I did. Second one I'm doing now is Eco furniture (as Calypso is ridiculously expensive now), which was almost half the price and having drilled/cut various holes in it, it is all pretty much the same apart from a couple of the finishing touches. Nothing you'd really notice though.

I'd be inclined to go to the showroom to see if they'd recommend any other (cheaper) manufacturers perhaps. If it helps as well I've ordered some stuff from heat and plumb before and they were good. In fact I ordered a shower screen from them and cancelled the order the next day as I changed my mind. Got through on the phone line straight away, they refunded immediately, still sent the shower screen out to me, and then didn't even want it back when I told them!

That's really good to know thank you! I just cant understand why its half the price on Heat & Plumb than it is on manufacturers website and you still get the guarantee and everything - seems very strange!

benson1980

IvyFlood said:

benson1980 said:

The problems arise when cabinets are left in standing water. I had the smallest of leaks behind our en suite units (caused by me not tightening up the concealed cistern flush pipe properly so completely my fault) and it blew what were quite expensive units where the plinth/base unit came into contact with it at floor level. With a floating cabinet you've eliminated most of the issue, and then just need to keep an eye on the pipework underneath the sink.

It is all much of a muchness. I bought Calypso furniture for the first bathroom I did. Second one I'm doing now is Eco furniture (as Calypso is ridiculously expensive now), which was almost half the price and having drilled/cut various holes in it, it is all pretty much the same apart from a couple of the finishing touches. Nothing you'd really notice though.

I'd be inclined to go to the showroom to see if they'd recommend any other (cheaper) manufacturers perhaps. If it helps as well I've ordered some stuff from heat and plumb before and they were good. In fact I ordered a shower screen from them and cancelled the order the next day as I changed my mind. Got through on the phone line straight away, they refunded immediately, still sent the shower screen out to me, and then didn't even want it back when I told them!

That's really good to know thank you! I just cant understand why its half the price on Heat & Plumb than it is on manufacturers website and you still get the guarantee and everything - seems very strange!

I think that is par for the course as everything listed in the manufacturers brochure will be discounted when you actually buy from the retailer. Must be some marketing logic to it- presumably makes customers feel that they are getting a better deal. For example the QX shower enclosure I'm installing at the moment is listed in their brochure as being £1100 but cost just over half that from what I recall. The plumbers merchant I normally use told me that as a rule of thumb take 40% off the price listed in the brochures they gave me, when picking out stuff we wanted to order.