New bathroom

[Inatightsqueeze]

In the new year we're looking at having our bathroom replaced, going back to brick and starting all over again.

This is the first time we've had money not to have to bodge something together.

What sort of things should we look out for

No idea but watching with interest as I'd love a new bathroom

Get the layout worked out & confirmed early on. Rough rule of thumb is usually easier & cheaper if you don't need to move pipework - so keeping toilet / sink / bath / shower in roughly the same place. But if you want to move, work that our early in the process.

Think about detail early too ... the built-in shelves (for shampoo / shower gel etc) in shower areas in a tiled / aquapanel area, much easier & cheaper to design in than do at the end, especially if you want lighting in them. I have a towel rail on the side of the under-sink drawers ... didn't put it on right-hand side as I thought that was too close to the shower cubicle ... so it's on the left, but that's too close to the toilet!!

We had a bathroom done recently!

Heated towel rails that keep the towels warm but don't heat the bathroom
Bluetooth mirrors that you can link a playlist on your phone to - we got one but sound is poor
Baths that are quite small or narrow - try the bath out in advance
Mixer taps that run very slowly

Did this in 2023. Make sure you get someone who is experienced would be my advice. Research all your sanitaryware, fittings, fixtures and finishes before work starts. Same for layout - make sure you understand it. Changes once work starts are expensive. Try not to move the foul if you can avoid. If you have a wet heating system, get acdual fuel towel radiator so you can use it to dry towels in summer when main heating is off. I have Roper Rhodes furniture, can recommend it. Look at Zinsser paints - they do an anti fungal paint for bathrooms. Get a heated and back lit mirror.

Sorry- this is long! We've just renovated a derelict property, and had 4 bathrooms to do! My tips:

• A door opening into the hallway or a sliding door saves 1m2 in the room. Its also safer if someone collapsed on the other side of the door.
• Mixer taps on the sink. I have no idea why some UK properties still have separate taps? Who wants to clean the sink out, then fill it with warm water just to wash your face?
• Get a water softener. It makes such a difference- no stains on mirrors or glass panels, no furred up shower heads etc
• If you get a softener, pipe in a hard water feel to your ensuite, so you can get a drink at night without having to go downstairs
• We got rimless, soft close toilets which are comfort height. They are just slightly higher than a 'regular' toilet seat, but its so much easier for someone with mobility issues with just a few cm's taller. Ours are off the floor too, so very easy to mop underneath.
• Get really large tiles, even in a small bathroom. Less grout to clean and will make the room look larger
• We went to the usual high street retailers, but ended up at an independent bathroom/tiling shop. They let us bring tiles home to check the colour in different lights, gave multiple ideas and suggestions and also came to the house to measure and give advice.
• Our tiler was fantastic and refused to install tiles if people had bought them from say top tiles/B&Q etc. She said that often they are not completely square, but also warped and not flat! The tiles from the independent shop we went to only buy from Italy and Spain. Less breaks and less wastage over the cheaper tiles.
• Metro tiles might be 'in' (well there were a few years ago) but we avoided them. I think they will date quickly, have too much grout and be a PITA to clean. Also don't get textures tiles for the same cleaning issue.
• Traditionally, when you open the bathroom door, the toilet shouldn't be straight again in full view. Obviously, in some rooms you have no choice.
• I agree with someone that suggested a shelf in the shower to put shampoo bottles on

I regret not putting undersink drawers in all the bathrooms. We have undersink cupboards elsewhere and I hate bending down and foraging at the back to find things!

These are fab, Thankyou.
We're thinking of moving the washing machine into the bathroom as it's just too loud in our kitchen (tiny semi, with downstairs bathroom)
Does anyone have an experience of doing this.

Sorry, me again! You'd need to check with an electrician whether a washing machine could go in your bathroom at all! I know electrics and bathrooms have different 'zones' and plug sockets can't be within X cm's of a sink/shower. It might be possible with a wired in machine or some sort of specialist plug socket where you can't remove the plug?

How old is the machine? Was it always that loud? The bearings might be going if its got louder. You can buy sound reducing pads to sit it on which 'might' help.

It's only 2 months old, we replaced it as the bearings had gone on the previous. It is still loud and ideally would like to move it. Thank you for bringing up the electric being a problem. Is not really thought about it as all the washing machines in bathrooms I'd seen had been on the continent or America and of course they have different safety controls

Here is some info on it. The socket would need to be 3m away from the sink or shower, so unless your bathroom is massive, may not be an option. I did read that having it inside a cupboard might be a work around though.

https://www.checkatrade.com/blog/ask-a-trade/is-it-legal-to-fit-washing-machine-in-bathroom/

'It's not illegal to have a washing machine in a bathroom in the UK, but there are some things to consider:

Building regulations
In the UK, plug sockets in bathrooms must be at least three meters away from the shower or bath. If your bathroom doesn't have enough space, you might need to install stud walls to accommodate a washing machine.'

We went for fully tiled walls and floors and a matte pvc ceiling - no painting to do ever again!!

Under sink drawers for storage, sink and toilets are wall hung so easier to clean under

Avoid lit/bluetooth cabinets which beep every time you turn them on!

Large tiles so less grout

Light switch on outside of room, with dimmer