Redoing bathrooms - tips and things to avoid

[JustOneShake]

We are finally renovating bathrooms and I've been to a few showrooms to get a feel for function and aesthetics of showers, enclosures, etc. I have to say, I am totally overwhelmed with the choice out there, for all budgets, so just wanted to know if anyone has done recently, anything you wished you had known beforehand, any particular brands that are brilliant for product and after sales, anything you wouldn't do without. Any tips or anything that we should definitely avoid.

Don't get slippery and shiny tiles for your floor. Unless you like falling over. Matt is the way to go. Don't have a plain white floor or a black floor. The first shows up every hair and the second every tiny drop of water.

Vinyl low slip flooring - no grout to worry about.
Wall hung loo & sink.
Niche in shower cubicle - measure your tallest / widest bottles.
Digital shower - I’ve got a Mira.
Motion detector night light.
Electric point inside wall cabinet - hide & charge toothbrush etc…
Ask fitter to box in pipes but with a hinge mechanism so you can get to pipes.
Hidden storage at ends of bath - I use mine for cleaning stuff, loo brush etc…
Extend up from the toilet cistern to create a flush wall & more storage.
Underfloor heating & an on/off rad.
An override on/off switch for the extractor. I switch mine off when I want a peaceful bath.
Main spots but also separate switched lights over sink. Again, good for a relaxing bath not to be dazzled by the overheads.

If you haven’t got one already and can, put a window in!

Storage, storage, storage

I agree with not getting shower doors. And I wish our counter wasn't black granite. I just don't like it.

We went for white metro tiles which are cheap as chips but look really smart in a herringbone pattern with dark grey grout. Inexpensive black and white patterned floor tiles too. The money saved on the tiles meant we could splash out (ha ha!) on really good quality fittings.

We went for a walk in shower and were thinking of tiling throughout but the builder advised that the floor of the shower would get grimy easily and be slippery sonwe went for a tray instead and are glad we did.

Lots of storage.

Underfloor heating. Lovely underfoot on winter mornings and helps everything dry out, avoiding mould.

I'd worry about wall hung toilet and loo being sturdy enough!!

If you're replacing everything (including pipework) get the pipes to your towel rail running under the floor by the sink. We couldn't afford underfloor heating but have a nice warm patch underfoot when brushing teeth in the winter!

We have a corner shower enclosure with sliding curved doors in ours (fitted prior to us moving in). It's utterly crap. Too small and you can't bend over without your bare bum touching either cold tiles or cold glass. My advice - go see one in a shop and make sure you can bend over in it!!

Another one - if you have a free standing sink a shelf for creams extra that don’t go on the sink itself.

I don’t know how much difference this makes, but don’t have the towel rail close to the toilet. Avoids all shit splashes landing on the towels.

@AuntyFungal

Vinyl low slip flooring - no grout to worry about. Wall hung loo & sink. Niche in shower cubicle - measure your tallest / widest bottles. Digital shower - I’ve got a Mira. Motion detector night light. Electric point inside wall cabinet - hide & charge toothbrush etc… Ask fitter to box in pipes but with a hinge mechanism so you can get to pipes. Hidden storage at ends of bath - I use mine for cleaning stuff, loo brush etc… Extend up from the toilet cistern to create a flush wall & more storage. Underfloor heating & an on/off rad. An override on/off switch for the extractor. I switch mine off when I want a peaceful bath. Main spots but also separate switched lights over sink. Again, good for a relaxing bath not to be dazzled by the overheads.

If you haven’t got one already and can, put a window in!

Storage, storage, storage

@AuntyFungal you're describing my perfect bathroom! I was thinking of putting some hidden storage at the end of the bath too, as I've got a good foot or so of unused space. Can I ask how it works? Does it open from the top or from the side? I was worried about water getting in if I had a bath...

We’ve got a digital shower, I really like it. If you get a fixed head shower put a hand held one in too to help with cleaning. Don’t get shiny white gloss tiles, they show dirt so badly.

Decent fan.

@FinallyHere

Think about where the shower controls go.

It's too late for me, I have to reach through the stream of water to turn off the shower. No biggie, but a day or two after our new shower room was finished, we were away for the weekend in an Airbnb where the shower controls were way from the shower head. Genius.

^^ This

and built in shelves or alcoves for shampoo etc, but make sure they don't collect water

Wow, I went to watch Bake Off Final last night, went to bed and woke up to some fantastic ideas. Thank you all so much.
We are getting rid of baths and will only have showers in three bathrooms....not planning on selling anytime soon nor are there likely to be grandchildren in the near future - main reasons why some friends/family think we are mad - so we are going to go for it.

I have been stung with loo seat not fitting so will definitely consider that and going for wall hung everything where possible to help with cleaning and generally looking more spacious.
I also like concept of having controls away from shower head if not ridiculously expensive but depends on plumbing.
And having electric towel rads to be able to use in summer.
So many great ideas from everyone on here.
Anyone with electric underfloor heating - how is this on costs, and I've read that this takes longer to heat up so you have to leave on for longer....we may go for posh lino if UFH is not going to be feasible.

@FinallyHere

Think about where the shower controls go.

It's too late for me, I have to reach through the stream of water to turn off the shower. No biggie, but a day or two after our new shower room was finished, we were away for the weekend in an Airbnb where the shower controls were way from the shower head. Genius.

We did this - put the shower controls on the rear of the side wall in the walk-in shower. It’s the absolute best tip. We’ve done the house bathroom and starting en-suite next week. Walk-in showers in both, no bath, three quarter tiling, underfloor heating and mood lighting.

Re UFH we’ve asked for a simple on/off, low/medium/high system for the en suite as the all-singing, all-dancing wifi app enabled one is too complicated to use.

We’ve got ufh, it’s on a timer, it’s cheap to run, small bathrooms, lovely underfoot, and it dries the bath mat. It comes on for a bit in the morning and a bit at night.

@Justcannotbearsed

Love our low profile shower tray with a big glass screen. Asked for a built in alcove for shower gel etc and they forgot. Heated mirror on wall unit. We went for tiles and wish we’d got Lino instead. Underfloor electric heating is lovely. Get a towel tail that you can switch on by electric in summer.

That’s interesting - I’ve just had Lino and wish I’d tiled. So much so, I’m thinking of getting it taken out and tiled. Why do you regret the tiles ?

We have a Sensori SmartTouch shower controller. It was fitted on the wall behind where the stream of water is and has been a nightmare. We are now onto our third control panel as it had a mind of its own, even activating during the night. It might be more reliable if kept completely away from the water, but one would expect a shower controller to be able to function with water splashes. I would avoid this one until it has been developed further.

@AwkwardPaws27

I LOVE your mirror (the whole bathroom actually.) You've done a great job.

Get the biggest shower cubicle you can comfortably fit in the room.
Position it, if possible, where the sun/daylight won't shine on it and show up every single water mark.
Stainless steel shower baskets/soap holder - they don't hold water and they don't rust.
Matt wall tiles also don't show water marks.
Household occupants should all sit on the toilet (not together!) before you decide where to position toilet roll holder.
Go for practicality rather than aesthetics - you have to live in it - if you can get both, brilliant.
If you get curved, sliding doors, take your cleaning products into shower with you and clean inside shower, after use, while you're still in it and naked.
Dry shower cubicle after every use if you have hard water.
Think about future maintenance.
Keep all paperwork for future reference/maintenance/spare parts etc.

@incognitodorrito. easier to take up if something goes wrong, or replace. The glossy white tiles show every speck of dirt. Lino warmer when ufh not on. Less clinky.

Don't use mosaic tiles, they cost a bomb and the grouting is a nightmare to keep clean. Floor and wall tiles that have a grain pattern collect aaaalllll the limescale, pick something totally smooth or one of those wall panels. Alcoves in the shower area get mouldy and mildewy you're better off with a nice basket. Make sure you can access bath plumbing without ripping off all the tiles. Those twist up fitted bath plugs are shit and always break. More storage than you think you need but get drawers not cupboards. Think about where you'll store bulky loo roll. Wet room style showers anywhere that's not a ground floor are a nightmare that will flood your kitchen. If you're only tiling halfway up the wall make sure the tiler knows what edging to use before he finishes the job. Fancy textured tiles are a nightmare to cut cleanly and will look shit no matter how skilled your builder. MDF cupboards will save you money but will swell and warp. I hate my bathroom, can you tell

@INeedSixEggs thank you! I love the mirror too - its from Drench and was a bit pricey but it doesn't steam up & the light is great.
I leave it on at night as its the perfect amount of light to pop to the loo without blinding yourself at 3am

After having lived with both pure black & pure white floor tiles (both a nightmare), I chose white & grey marble effect.
They are VERY good at concealing the odd bit of grub whereas the others never looked clean for more than 2 minutes