buying new bathroom from b&q, getting it fitted by local builder

[CurlyhairedAssassin]

Hi there

We're looking to replace our bathroom as it's a DIY nightmare (not us, previous owner). We have a recommendation for a fitter as heard B&Q charge rip off prices for installation, but wanted to use B&Q for suite as they're offering interest-free credit till March!

Which way round do I do it - get the builder to come and have a look at our bathroom first or use the design service at B&Q first?

Also, we are looking at shower baths. Are they a good idea if you don't have room for a separate shower enclosure?

Thanks

We did this. We decided what we wanted, planned it out (using graph paper) to check it would fit, then ordered the bathroom. Once we knew when it would arrive we contacted the fitter we wanted to use and showed him what we wanted, gave him a list of what we'd ordered and fixed a date for him to start. We also ordered the tiles we wanted through him as it worked out cheaper.

We have a shower bath and it's very nice :)

We did this last year and are very pleased. Started with the design service. I have an extra wide bath and put in the spa bath jets as an extra. I got a separate shower for on the wall, rather than running th e shower from the combi boiler.

We got three separate quotes from builders and made sure we knew what was included.

Thanks, guys. I'm not too confident I could plan it out on paper without any help, so will go and see the design people at B&Q first, I think. I think we need to have a better idea of the look that we want though - keep veering from very contemporary to a more 30s look (we live in a 30s house) as we're worried that a very contemporary look will look dated ina few years time. As for all the options like what to do with walls i.e. fully tiled, partially tiled, tongue-and-groove options blah blah, I am really stuck with what to go for so I think DH and I need to sit down and work out exactly the kind of look and colours we want.

I envy people who know EXACTLY what they want in projects like this, I haven't got a clue what I like best!

Can I ask one more question? What are the options for current pipework? At the moment we have the toilet waste and some of the piping covered by a tiled pipe box which is actually quite handy for storing stuff on! But a fair bit of it is just exposed piping at floor level (from the mains to the bath) and looks unsightly - can it be moved to under the floorboards or is it better to have it where you can get at it if need be?

if the pipes run crossways to the floorboards, they will be parallel to the joists. Sometimes pipes can be run between the joists, under the floor. In most cases they can't (shouldn't) be put through the joists by notching or drilling, since this weakens them. You can do it with small copper or plastic pipes but not waste pipes. Notching is particularly bad. If you have a loft above, you can also run supply pipes up, then along the loft, then down again. Obviously in the unheated loft space they must be very thoroughly insulated.

If you are going to tile or laminate the floor, you will be very distessed when access is needed to underfloor pipes.

You might consider having the skirting spaced off the wall on battens, and pipes run between the battens. If the plaster is taken off first, the skirting need not stick out much. The skirting can be attached to the battens with a few short screws so easy to take off.

Plumbers are not usually very good at woodwork.

Ok so it's probably not a good idea to have them put under the flooring. Thanks! But how do people hide the unsightly ness of them? In any design magazines I've seen I haven't noticed any visible pipes at skirting board level. Will it have to be some kind of pipe box then?

I have mine under the floor

but the joists run that way and I took care to lay floor panels for access

p.s.

I meant you can hide the pipes behind the skirting. Easier with 15mm pipes if you have high pressure water, e.g. from a combi or megaflow

Thanks!