If you are looking for a better bathroom solution than the one you have now, or you are converting an existing bedroom to make an extra en-suite bath or shower room, it is a good idea to sit down with a pen and paper, pour yourself a drink and give yourself enough time to really think out what you want from your new bathroom, before ever going to a showroom or calling in a bathroom installer
There are a few things that you should be aware of before repositioning things in your better bathroom, mainly for getting rid of waste water etc, as this is almost certainly going to rely on a gravity flow to empty your bath, basin, shower and wc suite, pumps are possible, but best avoided if at all possible.
Moving a wc suite can be awkward and costly, because that normally is sighted on an outside wall and utilises a 110mm diameter soil and vent pipe, a waste from a shower can also be awkward because it also needs a gravity flow to the nearest drain and as a shower is the lowest item in the bathroom it can necessitate to build up a base to the shower to give enough fall.
Here are some tips to help you on your way to a better bathroom.
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1. When you set a budget that is reasonable for your requirements (and wallet),and you set out to buy products for your new bath/shower room, remember that the overall installation costs of your bathroom will likely take up up around 50% of your costs.
2. Get all of your prices together, put aside an extra 15-20% of the cost to cover unforeseen problem, for instance: a steel beam under the floorboards. Or the plaster or the wall coming away when removing the old tiles, electrics unsafe for modern standards, etc, etc, because many of these things cannot be seen when they are hidden.
3. . What are you going to be able to fit into your new bathroom and what products will offer you the best use of space? Do you need to consider a wall-hung bathroom vanity and wall-hung furniture to free up the floor area and make the bathroom look bigger?
4. Have a think about who will be using the space. Family bathrooms, for instance, have to cope with a lot of traffic. This may affect the finishes you choose. A carpeted floor with a young family may not be the best choice if there is likely to be a lot of water splashed about, in this case a non slip vinyl or a tiled floor would be a good choice.
5. If you choose a ceramic tiled floor it will be cold for much of the time so having an under tile heating panel fitted to keep it warm, (alongside your normal heating) will make sure the room has a welcoming feel and has the added advantage of drying off small water spills, that could otherwise be slippery.
6. Make sure that the shower and bath etc that you select can be easily cleaned without the need for special maintenance products or lots of elbow grease, there are many foreign imports, some excellent and some not so good, so before you buy make sure that they are suitable for your type of plumbing system, don't rely on a salesman, call in a trained plumber to make sure before you commit yourself.
7. Ensure your ventilation, heating and insulation are up to the job of minimising moisture build-up and condensation on the walls and ceiling, have your electrical installation checked and make sure that anything metal is adequately earthed, water and electricity don't mix very well!
8. Install an extractor fan of the right capacity for the room size and vent it to the outside.
9. Sometimes mishaps happen, even in the best of bathroom! Someone leaves a tap running and goes to answer the phone and the overflow pipe is blocked or just won't take the volume of water, or it could be a leaking waste pipe, or even a burst pipe, and could cause hundreds if not thousands of pounds of damage. So it may be worth considering an emergency floor drain to take the worse of the water to discharge via a large overflow pipe to outside the property.
10. If you live in a hard water area make sure that you protect your new bathroom system (and the rest of the house plumbing) my investing in a water softener.
