Can we do a bathroom lessons learned thread?

[dontcallmemam]

My Pinterest and Houzz are full of gorgeous bathrooms but thinking practically are there any good tips?
It seems a decent extractor & an open window are important.
Good flooring?
Adequate storage?
Any tips gratefully received.

and, Billy, I tend to only have people staying over in my house that I like! it's these potential "buyers" down the line who might be odd about it. ANd have people they hate over to stay regularly.

bumping for more supertips....brilliant thread. Thanks everyone.

I meant from the point of view that some people only have one bathroom. Shocking but true!

Can anyone recommend online place to buy towel ralls?

see if Plumbworld have anything you like.

This thread is really helping me - thanks!

I have finally had the combi and rads put in. Yay.

Now to focus on the bathroom and the most important decision I need to make is which shower to buy. I have a Worcester Combi 30si, I will be having a shower with a shower rail (rather than a fixed head). I had thought about an Aqualisa but they are £££ anyone know any others that are good but not as expensive or should I just suck up the cost?

there are not many really good brands, and none of them are cheap. Aquilisa is my preferred brand.

Please have a surface-mounted mixer than can be taken off when it goes wrong without having to rip tiles off and demolish half the wall.

Having just tried to eliminate chrome taps et al from my house I can honestly say it was a complete arse-ache. I sourced the taps in antique brass as well as the sink pop up plugs. However the pop ups don't fit UK wastes and everything to do with a shower will come in chrome - so I have been experimenting with spraying all chrome plugs and glass holders by hand. I wish I had just gone for brushed chrome instead. I hate watermarks and feel chrome really dates everything (makes it look 90's IMO) but it was a lesson leaned, that is for sure!

chrome is however much more durable than any of the alternatives (except brushed stainless, which AFAIK is not available for taps). Pop-up wastes leak.

Oh and Worldstores on ebay had th steel bath I wanted really cheap but only after I paid did they say they didn't have it in stock and it would take 8 weeks to send it out!!!
Also had a bad experience with qssupplies - had to send a letter after calling CAB when they pretended they had attempted delivery and then said half of the items were suddenly out of stock and would only be available in 4 weeks time minimum. Funnily enough after the letter they managed to et it all delivered within 4 days! A lot of stress though, so avoid!

*they pretended they had attempted delivery and then wanted to charge £90 for re-delivery charge!

Don't place a spa bath (needs lots of water) over the most structurally unsound part of the house (uPVC front door replacement + heavy bath = cracked lintel and dodgy brickwork)

Don't get a spa bath! I'm still shuddering at all the gunk that came out o the jets the first time I used ours (installed by previous owner)

P shaped bath + shower screen + no shower on bath taps = bloody nightmare to clean!

Electric showers are wank

OH big no no is tiled floors, unless properly laid (ie all floorboards thoroughly nailed down to joists - movement causes cracking apparently, and is also a nightmare for people like him (electrician) to access wiring.

Make sure toilet seat hinges are easy to clean if you have boys

Our electric shower is not wank. It's a triton one - I love it. Mind you, I'm not a lover of power showers- grew up with one. Noisy pump, drained the hot water tank really quickly, sometimes felt needle-like on my skin etc etc

Yes, yes, agree about tiled floor. Our old bathroom floor had a crack along all the tiles from one wall to the other. The bathroom fitter said the new tiles would be fine as long as the floor boards were prepared adequately first. He even put another layer of wood boards on top to try and level it out even more.

All was ok at first then a faint crack appeared in one tile but two years later it has spread and also become more obvious. It is in exactly the same place as where it was on the old tiles so it's clearly the shifting floor. Next time we're having something more pliable. Tiles were a mistake.

Mirrored cabinets are multitasking demons! And WCs with storage behind. A radiator can double as a towel rail. Try seeing the lighting you choose switched on, before choosing. The wrong hue can change the look of the bathroom!
Agree on non white grout for floors.

Our Aqualisa shower is not wank! Our bathroom chap said Aqualisa were £££ but the best. We found lots of places online that sold for about 30% below the RRP.

I'm bumping this fantastic thread for any more bathroom-lessons-learned! I'm going to be doing a shower room and a bathroom in the next few weeks.

One question - is a built-in cupboard in a bathroom always going to be damp?

Get a thermostatic bath tap. We have a grohe one.

It is amazing. Just turn it on and you get a bath at the right temp. When the kids are starting to bathe themselves they can run a bath easily. You never manage to run one that is scolding ( or cold ) and if they turn it on mid bath they don't get burned.

Good thread Has anyone seen any original/modern bathroom storage that is a bit different? So many look like they belong in a first aid room and look rather clinical. I need a tallish floorstanding slimline cupboard. I was wondering if it would be possible to customise a plain one with some fretwork or something. Actually that probably sounds a bit mad

don't build in the cistern of the loo so that the plumber can't access it when it breaks.

don't have a loo with a flat, push-button flush in the walls - they need a strong push so children and elderly visitors can't flush the loo.

have a heated shaving mirror

Agree re white grout on floor. Builder tried to warn me but I insisted - said I'd clean it every day, only two people using it most of the time etc - it gets filthy and needs regular bleaching.

White floor tiles also hard to keep pristine.

Mirror cabinet v useful. Storage for towels, loo paper, cleaning products is essential.

Came with the house but I wouldn't choose a curved sliding door shower enclosure again. My god I've cleaned some tricky things in my time but I dread that one. It's the door runners - they get gunky with soap and gunge but no way to get it out. I think the only way to do a thorough job would be to remove the doors.

Good idea for a thread! I've done two in recent years and my list is:

Don't buy a sink where water can "pool" round the plug hole as it just creates constant limescale build up. Ditto bath.

Dont buy taps where you can't lean over the basin to rinse your face without taking your eye out!

Dont buy a loo with button flush. Agree re children and elderly.Also check shape of toilet bowl for stupid extra nooks and crannies that hold limescale.

Dont buy special glass for shower cubicle that claims to stop limescale build up - it is just the same as normal glass but much more expensive!

Do go for storage. Do go for the best shower head you can afford. Get a pump to increase shower pressure if it is not good enough on its own. Get non slip flooring.

Do get things as fitted as you can with no pipes showing etc. Much easier to clean and looks tons better.

This is a very personal preference but in my biggest bathroom, I didnt tile it all over, I've already re decorated and enjoyed the change of colour. I know the fashion is for fully tiled and I'm happy with that in the smaller bathroom.

keep a squeegee in the shower : if you squeegee all tiled surfaces and mirror straight after the shower or bath, the limescale never builds up and the tiles stay shiny without needing loads of scrubbing.

LOTS OF STORAGE
we have half recessed basins in long runs of cabinet so there is space on either side of the basin for hairbrushes and stuff, but then it all goes away in the drawers or cupboards leaving the room looking uncluttered