OT: Buying Bathrooms... tips/advice?

[Fab Foodie]

After years of barracking from Mrs FF, we're finally taking the plunge and trying to get the rest of Foodie Towers into some kind of reasonable shape. Bathrooms are next on the Agenda. We've found somebody to do the job for a reasonable price, got some dates (mmm yummy) and now need to start to order some kit.

1 Family Bathroom; P-shaped bath, Aqualisa digital power shower, toilet and basin, tiles.

1 En suite; Quadrant shower, Aqualisa digital Power shower, toilet and basin, tiles.

1 Downstairs Cloakroom, toilet, small basin, tiles.

Taps and all the bits for the above...
All rooms are about as small as is physically possible.

Problem is there is sooo much choice. I think the shower, bath and taps are worth spending good cash on, with some savings on the Chinaware. There are 3 girls in the Foodie household, so bathrooms are important places!

We've identified some bits we like and a few local retailers who do some good prices. Gonna spreadsheet all the options and costs.

Looking for people's experiences of such tasks really!

 

[Aperitif]

Water pressure is the No1 - for all your showers Fab.
I am doing much the same with room even smaller than physically poss!
When I used to do it for a living and trying to squeeze a quart into a pint WC I would look at the Ideal Standard 'Space' range - for the quirky corner bogs and basins which are neat solutions.
Aqualisa stuff was always good because the shower cartridge could be replaced easily if there was a hiccup.
Nowadays there are more manufacturers hawking the sanitaryware around. B&Q for example have a good bundle deal on a push button WC, P bath, taps and basin etc 500 squids or something like...I'm just procrastinating but at least the B&Q means you get to stand around in the product at one of its stores..!ie: try it for size. At the mo, I am thinking 'Well, if what I'm getting is a bloody sight better than what's there - I'll change it.' The other half of me says 'Well, if I'm going to do it I want it to be a top solution with as much versatility and forethought as I can muster...'
I'll probably end up with a combo of stuff as I have a difficult area to deal with. Semi pedestals and wall hung WCs give the illusion of greater floor space but the framing/cistern units for them can cost an arm and a chain.
The other point that really gets on my stopcocks is that all the stuff available in rip off GB is 'off the shelf' at far lower prices at Castorama or Bricoman - particularly, just across the channel.
Maybe get a fixed head with a diverter and flexible shower head too - a cyclists preference!

 

[rich p]

I fitted a new bathroom at rich p mansions last year. The power shower needed the help of a plumbing friend - positioning in the system being critical apparently. The rest was easy enough. Make sure you get the tiled walls within the shower true as the straight sides of the quadrant butt up to them and need to be very waterproof. A quarter inch gap is hard to fill efficiently.

We bought our kit from The Bath Store. The steel bath was £99, the basin and pedestal £50. The shower stuff was the dearest bit, plus the heated towel rail. It's pretty good value for what seemed to me to be good quality stuff.

 

[Baggy]

Our sanitaryware and taps came from Bathstore.com, http://www.bathstore.com/ it's quite pricy but really good quality. They also produce smaller sinks etc and we got a really good deal on stuff in their sale.

If they have a showroom near you they are happy for you to sit in their baths etc!

Our tiles came from Topps tiles which has an overwhelming choice, but we had an idea of colour etc before we went, which helped...

 

[Baggy]

Oh, as Rich P says, tiling is important - we had a tiler in after the plumber had finished and he did an amazing job, all the tiles are true and really well fitted which is no mean feat in a Victorian house.

Our plumber started off really well, but his "lads" (i.e simian things who had barely evolved) who finished the job were terrible. The most important part is to have a plumber who knows what they are doing and will actually do it himself instead of letting his team of 17 year olds run riot.

 

[Speicher]

When the small bathroom in this house was refurbished, I decided to go for a Steam Cabinet, which looks like a shower cabinet, only more rounded. This gives you

overhead "rainfall" shower head
hand held shower head with a flexible holder jobby
pointable needle jets,
and the steam option.

You can set the temperature, and enjoy a hot steam for ten minutes or so, or however long you like, and there is a seat as well. When you cost up a "normal" shower cabinet, power shower, tiling, etc it might work out as almost the same as a complete unit as described above. Then you just choose tiles for a small area around the sink etc. You need extra venting for the steam to leave the room, but I think that is a bit like a tumble drier hose into the attic and out the side of the house.

The plumber doing the rest of the work was able to fit it, and he then said he would like one himself.

 

[Mr Pig]

I'd strongly recommend buying the stuff from a local supplier, a 'trade' supplier and not one of these designer rip off merchants. When bits arrive cracked or damaged you want to be able to get it sorted fast. Ask for a BIG discount, like 40% off. I'm not kidding.

Do NOT use a fitter/tiler unless you know people who have used him before, there are more clowns than ringmasters.

I like Roca stuff, I don't like Shanks. Large floor tiles can look fantastic on bathroom walls!

 

[peanut]

suggest you measure your existing wc pan from the wall and then sit on it and allow sufficient space in front and to sides for knees etc.Stand and pull ya strides up and check how much room that needs without smacking your head on the wall . Nothing worse than finding you can't sit on ya loo comfortably without having your chin on your knees and your radiator burning your arms . WC pans are always the last thing to be squeezed into the design

I really like those showers that have a vertical pipes with multiple spray nozzles from head to toe on two sides or maybe those massive shower heads like sunflower size

try and open a `cash account' borrow a trade business card and you should get up to 50% or more `trade' discount

 

[Jonathan M]

I'd strongly recommend buying the stuff from a local supplier, a 'trade' supplier and not one of these designer rip off merchants. When bits arrive cracked or damaged you want to be able to get it sorted fast. Ask for a BIG discount, like 40% off. I'm not kidding.

Do NOT use a fitter/tiler unless you know people who have used him before, there are more clowns than ringmasters.

I like Roca stuff, I don't like Shanks. Large floor tiles can look fantastic on bathroom walls!

I'd agree with this. Mrs JonathanM wanted a new bathroom earlier this year. the never ending sale at the Bathstore seemed promising, so we checked out what we wanted, priced it all, and it came back in the region of £1400 - everything (we thought) inc towel rails & shower screen etc.

Aged parents suggested trying a small independent bathroom place locally, first impresions small & crowded, but it was an Alladins cave - better kit than the Bathstore, but came in at £1100, free delivery. What was even better is that when we read the Bathstore qoute they hadn't included a toilet! So the bathstore would have been coming in at a minimum of £1500 or more. The plumber was so impressed with the prices that he took the details of the shop, he'd not used it before, just outside his normal geographical boundaries for use.

Plus I note the Bathstore has "another" sale on. They were stupidly pushy too, almost daily phone calls were we ordering, had we booked a fitter etc.

Fitting, we relied on reccomendations from friends & family for the plumber & a tiler. The plumber was superb, did lots of little extra bits for the qouted price. The tiler was doing a foreigner for us, so that took a bit longer than might have been expected, but again prices were good, and quality excellent.

The other option would have been someone to do everything - but they seemed to charge a premium, and the ones we had qoutes from had an uncanny ability to tell us their prices were a minimum, and would increase according to "whats underneath".

 

[Victoria]

We redid our ensuite shower room last year. Kit was mostly from Bathstore, and we had a friend (who happens to be a bathroom fitter ) fit it all. It still looks like new.

A couple of suggestions - make very sure your water pressure is good enough for your choice of shower rose. I wanted a rainfall type rose, and so needed a pump fitted. On the fitter's recommendation we chose a Watermill BP100D pump, which was not cheap but is powerful enough to power more than one shower, should we need it in the future. Also, if you've a small room, consider replacing as much painted woodwork as possible with stained/varnished wood, or UPVC or even stone. The steam wrecks paintwork in no time.

One more thing - whatever you choose, it's well worth while investing in a couple of decent drying cloths and wiping the shower glass and tiles down after every use. It always looks sparkling and the grouting stays white and fresh!

 

[Over The Hill]

I quite like "Trade Depot" www.trade-depot.com it seems to be good stuff at a fair price. You can go and poke around there and see the units. they also do a good tile range.

My only concern with your spec is the "P Bath, they use up lots more water than a standard bath so apart from the cost of heating the water you need to ensure the tank has enough capacity to store however many baths it needs to or the first bath will use up all the water.

I am in 3x girls household and have recently added second bathroom to cope.

I quite like ordinary electric showers as they get over the water storage issue and really are efficient as you only heat water when needed.

Oh and make sure you have lots of places for the endless bottles of coloured liquid girls seem to need in bathrooms. I have one bottle of shower gel that I use for everything but there are about 12 bottles of other stuff in there. In the new bathroom (which is small) I have set some shelves into recesses in the wall so that it is all tucked away and not littering the place.

 

[Jonathan M]

I quite like "Trade Depot" www.trade-depot.com it seems to be good stuff at a fair price. You can go and poke around there and see the units. they also do a good tile range.

My only concern with your spec is the "P Bath, they use up lots more water than a standard bath so apart from the cost of heating the water you need to ensure the tank has enough capacity to store however many baths it needs to or the first bath will use up all the water.

I am in 3x girls household and have recently added second bathroom to cope.

I quite like ordinary electric showers as they get over the water storage issue and really are efficient as you only heat water when needed.

Oh and make sure you have lots of places for the endless bottles of coloured liquid girls seem to need in bathrooms. I have one bottle of shower gel that I use for everything but there are about 12 bottles of other stuff in there. In the new bathroom (which is small) I have set some shelves into recesses in the wall so that it is all tucked away and not littering the place.

A distinct advantage of the need to reduce the old carbon footprint is the number of shared baths that have occured between Mrs Jonathan M & myself over recent months. So big baths have certain advantages........

I'll get my bike

 

[Fab Foodie]

Thanks for the great info.
We've found a good discount/trade place this weekend with great prices, problem is that many items they recommend we can't see, so we might have to take them on trust... (which is a worry), but they are very well recommended and seem very knowledgable. May use them to get all the bits we can 'see'.
The P-bath will use more water, but, shared baths are fun for all the family. Also having a decent shower 'end' should mean that people are more inclined to have a shower in the bath rather than a bath.

OTH... I know what you mean about girls and bottles, it's bloody unbelievable what they 'need'. I'm a one bottle in the shower guy. Also I can use a disposable razor sveral times over rather than the girls once and chuck

 

[sjb]

Thanks for the great info.
We've found a good discount/trade place this weekend with great prices, problem is that many items they recommend we can't see, so we might have to take them on trust... (which is a worry), but they are very well recommended and seem very knowledgable. May use them to get all the bits we can 'see'.
The P-bath will use more water, but, shared baths are fun for all the family. Also having a decent shower 'end' should mean that people are more inclined to have a shower in the bath rather than a bath.

OTH... I know what you mean about girls and bottles, it's bloody unbelievable what they 'need'. I'm a one bottle in the shower guy. Also I can use a disposable razor sveral times over rather than the girls once and chuck

Make sure you try out baths before you buy! We recently spent a couple of happy days searching all the bathroom emporiums of huddersfield, sitting in baths and feeling complete idiots doing so....but the difference between two baths of supposedly the same size was huge, both in terms of internal size and shape (e.g. angle of back slope).

Ended up getting the bath from an independent place and the rest from Bathstore - had to exchange one of the loos and sinks as they were distinctly wonky when we got them out of the box, but they didn't quibble about the exchange and the replacements are fine.

Good luck, and get someone in to do the grouting at least