Your bathroom refurb stories! What would/wouldn't you do again?

[sezrah25]

Our bathroom needs a complete overhaul!

We're in a Victorian terrace. The bathroom is at the back of the house and the toilet is separate - we want to knock through to create one big room.

Last year we knocked out the chimney breast (creating a LOT of mess in the process) but have just left it since then - so the walls are naked plaster, the floor is naked floorboards and the fittings are ooooold.

We're lucky as it's a biggish room so there is space for a separate bath and shower, plus the washing machine - but it also feels like a bit of an overwhelming job and we don't really know where to begin.

So hit me - what are you pleased you spent more money on, where do you wish you'd economised? Where are good places for tiles and fittings? Favourite floors? Any advice at all!

We don't have kids at the moment but would love to in the next few years, if we can, so assuming that practicality and ease of cleaning are good priorities to have...

We're in SE London.

Thank you! xxx

As you’re having the washing machine in there I would avoid a tiled floor as the vibrations could cause cracking. Nice vinyl (eg Harvey Maria or Karndean) might be your best bet, or perhaps bamboo, but no personal experience.

If it will be a kids’ bathroom, choose a built in bath, not freestanding, to have places to put toys and to avoid splashes down the sides/back. You might want a bath filler not a bath spout or they will whack themselves on it. Build in lots of storage. Choose a non slip floor.

I prefer a wall hung loo and sink/vanity for easier cleaning, though a wall hung loo does mean you need to build a false wall for the frame, so depends if this works with your layout.

Lots of good tile and bathroom shops in London but do shop around as the same item is sometimes sold for very different prices!

For bathroom fittings I would suggest starting with an independent bathroom store that offers a bit of design help so you get a picture of what you want. Then you can shop around online (although the stores will often price match). General recommendation is to spend more on your brassware especially the bits that move like taps and shower controls. Then save on sanitary ware, loos basins etc.

Avoid black/dark grey anything as you will get limescale build up, unless you have a water softener.

Are you wanting to move the loo from its old location - if so you will need to think about the route of the soil pipe, again something a bathroom shop can advise you on but it will be useful to know which way the joists run in the room (opposite to floorboards) and where the outside soil pipe is.

Ps Look up the “bathrooms lessons learned” threads on MN.

Thank you so much, this is all really helpful! Definitely wouldn't have occurred to us re floor tiles and cracking so that's a great shout.

The loo will indeed be moving but it's already on the outside wall and will just be shifting further down the same wall, so shouldn't be a problem with the soil pipe - can go straight outside.

Great shouts on children re toys, nonslip and generally bashing themselves too! I'll look up the other thread now.

Thank you, again

Same as kitchens, deep drawers are better than cupboards for storage.

Really big shower tray, and a decent extractor fan.

There's a lot of colour choice in grout and silicone sealant. We've used cream in our bathroom and it looks really good.

If I had the option of keeping the toilet in a separate room/space then I would.

It's not such a relaxing bath experience once you have kids and the 6 year old always needs a poo just as you have got comfortable.

Niche!!!! I never knew how much I needed one until I got one- game changer! Nothing I'd do different with mine. It was a 'cheap' reno- but still bloody expensive. Don't scrimp on the shower head, bigger tiles, lowers tile costs. May not be to everyone's taste- but I have a non leaky bathroom.

we decided to go for separate Victorian-style taps. Which now means that DD can't take a shower by herself (she's 9) which she would be able to if it was a single mixer tap (our shower is over the bath).

So, I would recommend single mixer taps!

@SD1978 what's a niche?

I wouldn't buy Aqua Lisa again. Our plumber recommended an electronic shower that controls water temperature and flow but it's pretty useless. The processor overheats after one shower and then it needs to be reset and left to cool down even during winter so is terrible for family use.

The best things about our new bathroom are it's simplicity (we set out to achieve 'no moving parts') and the absolutely massive storage drawers that the sink sits on, they swallow all the junk!

If you have a fixed shower screen make sure you also have a tap in the centre so you can run a bath from the middle

Have a shower attachment on the taps for hair washing or bath swilling or washing the dog

At least a double headed shower if not triple

Love our blue tooth mirror

We have space for a large cupboard and bath shelf for easy reach stuff

I wouldn't have bath taps on the side of the bath - it does look more modern than at the end, but when you top the bath up with hot water it comes down just where you are sitting.

I also would not have very pale floor tiles as every little speck and hair shows and I end up having to wipe it every night.

@FaceLikeAPairOfTits- the recess thingy built into the wall for your shampoo and conditioner.

Ooh, fancy.

@GreenTulips i had never heard of a bluetooth mirror but it is now on my bathroom wishlist!

I love the Fired Earth catalogue for tile ideas and I second bigger tiles for less grout cleaning!

We've got a fab bright blue rubber floor on the kids bathroom floor and I love it.
I am definitely a fan of minimising tiling to wet areas only and paring with a good bathroom paint.
Make sure you sort out the ventilation , add a good extract or clean the one you've got (they do tend to get gunned up with dust when building work is done)
Simple clean lines, date less and are easier to clean, fussy and bathrooms don't for me mix.
Spend money on plugs, taps, showers and flushes (the bits that break - go for good brands gerberit, grohe, armatige shanks etc ) and save money on the actual porcelain.

I think it may be difficult to have a washing machine in a bathroom. Something to do with water and electricity.

If thinking about kids, hand held shower over the bath is a must have for hair washing. Quick fill bath and toy storage. High level cupboard for medicines, creams etc once they reach toddler stage.

My WM is in a cupboard in my bathroom. Works brilliantly. If you have space I would recommend that. If I could I would look at a washing machine tray to capture any leaks - apparently these are common in Europe but not here.

Also when fitting shower don’t put the taps on the far side of the unit so you have to drench your arm in cold water to turn it on.

With kids definitely need a bath and handheld shower, helps to have easy access to taps if leaning over - so taps in middle work well or folding shower screen. Also be careful with anything glass that its not breakable by kids - friend rented a holiday cottage with glass shower screen and her DS broke it and was a hospital visit as lots of glass went into her DD.

With your bath taps think very carefully about where you put them. Our are in the middle, against the wall. And yes, as Pp said when you top up it hits you rather than your feet.

More importantly, if you need to change your taps at any point in the future you cannot.... unless you pull the entire bath/(tiled in) out too. And end up almost needing a whole new bathroom.

I disagree ^

Our middle taps have a flexiable hose and you unscrew the tap fitting remove the flex hose and replace taps

CalamityJune

You can also get a mirror that ‘turns into’ a TV!! Bit a bit pricey

I wish we had laid amtico or karndean on the floor rather than tiles

We have off the floor WC had basin - basically floats so makes it easier to clean the floors

I'm also changing my bath panel soon for one which has a sliding door in it so you can use underneath the bath for storing cleaning products etc - it's lockable for safe for the future kiddies - genius idea

Do you already have a second toilet? If not I’d very much advise you to keep the bathroom and toilet in your current separate configuration. Having grown up in a house with only one toilet, that was in the only bathroom, I can tell you it was a big pain - for both the person wanting a leisurely bath, and for the person banging on the door who needed the toilet!

keepingspiritsup
I wouldn't , we had one very poor quality , had it replaced that was the same. Not fit for bathrooms water gets into the frame and you can't open the doors. Ended up going back to a normal bath panel.