Please explain to an idiot what I need to buy

[belimoo]

Hello, I'm having a new bathroom done for the first time in my life and I'm finding it so difficult to choose everything as I'm pretty clueless.

Could anybody please tell me what components I need to make this: A bath with taps (obviously), plus a rigid shower rail with both a large overhead shower and a hand held shower attachment. I don't want any of it to be concealed, so that it's easy to repair (the whole reason I'm in this situation in the first place is stupid concealed broken pipes...)

I can't seem to find a product/set which includes all of these components. Do I choose the taps separately and then also look for a shower riser? How do I know they'll work ok together? Apologies if this a stupid question.

Even better, if somebody could point me in the direction of what I need, ideally in a mid-priced range with a largeish round shower head (chrome) then I would be ever so grateful. TIA!

You can either get a set where there is a set of bath taps connected to a pipe which goes up to an over head rainfall shower with a diverter for the hand held shower, so all one unit. Or you can buy totally separate bath taps, and a seperate shower part. In both cases you want to look for an exposed thermostatic valve shower with either 3 (for bath) or 2 (shower and hand held) outlets. Bathstore might be a good first place to look and see what the different options are.

It sounds like you need a plumber!!

many online bathroom retailers offer a complete bathroom suite if that's easier

These are budget bathroom suppliers, so I cannot guarantee on the quality but it's just to give you an idea

www.victorianplumbing.co.uk/turin-b-shaped-complete-traditional-bathroom-package?sku=TBSCBP-LH&categoryId=50771f4a-68d2-43b2-8492-ebd48b896c99-2E07:en-GB

Is your shower electric or thermostatic? We went with this type and are pleased with it

www.bigbathroomshop.co.uk/milano-nero-modern-thermostatic-bar-shower-valve-with-round-shower-head-and-hand-shower-black-107356?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIleuh4dP5_AIVj-vtCh1f3QRaEAQYAiABEgLzW_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Thanks so much for the replies. I agree I need a plumber! They've asked me to choose what I want though and I can't get hold of them to ask exactly what I'm meant to be looking for at the moment.

@tallrectangle your shower looks great! Does that sit above your bath? The thing I can't figure out is whether I can just choose any shower riser, even if the image shows it in a shower cubicle rather than over a bath.

I went to a specialist bathroom/plumbers merchant and they talked me the what I needed and made sure everything was compatible

We also went to a plumbers merchant with bathroom showroom attached. They'll know exactly what bits you need and will spec it for you.
They should give you a printed quote with all the items on. Sometimes they factor in extras that you may or may not need - ask if they're refundable if not used.

Thanks all. Looks like I need to stop being lazy and get to a showroom!

I've just bought new bathrooms. In the family bathroom I bought a double ended bath which will have the taps in the middle of the bath. I've bought a traditional bath shower mixer tap with a handheld shower attachment. Then I've bought a traditional looking exposed shower with rain can head, I didn't get a separate handheld because we have the bath shower mixer tap.

Just look online and find something you like.

Most showers should be suitable for a bath

it doesn't matter whether the shower is above the bath or in a shower cubicle, it's the same principle

It might be too technical but this is how it's set up ukbathroomguru.com/how-to-fit-bar-mixer-shower-pipework/

You may need to make sure you have the waste and traps too - they don't always come with them.
If you are getting them for a basin don't get a flip waste as they are prone to easy failure and can get stuck with the tiniest bit of grit or sand, go for a pop up, the can get stuck too but much easier to fix if they do.
As a beginner I would say the best value and advice would be from a plumbers merchant rather than a retail bathroom showroom.
So plumbnation, woseley or Google for a local one - so for example Newcastle Crossling are fab, Darlington have JTM - they aren't very shiny slick showrooms but they will give you good advice and make sure you get what you need.

Thanks so much for the additional comments and helpful suggestions!

@tallrectangle That link is very helpful, it makes so much more sense now! Thank you! Is there ever a case where you would/should have a pipe which goes all the way down from the shower head to the bath tap externally rather than concealed? That's what I thought the plumber was recommending so that I wouldn't have to smash the tiles if anything ever went wrong with the pipework. I'm wondering if he just meant one like in your example now though and that's why I haven't been able to find what I thought I was looking for!

yes, there showers like that, basically a shower pipe attached to the taps

www.bathroommountain.co.uk/lismore-round-chrome-shower-riser-kit-23007?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI96S_46f6_AIVQrTtCh3IkgfjEAQYAiABEgLOufD_BwE

www.bathroom-house.co.uk/venice-matt-black-modern-round-bath-shower-mixer-tap-3-way-round-rigid-riser-rail-kit

www.bathroom-house.co.uk/charlton-bath-shower-mixer-tap-with-3-way-round-rigid-riser-rail-kit

again, links are just to give you an idea, I can't speak for the quality of those
Good luck!

We just renovated our bathroom, I went with Victoria Plumbing (not Victoria Plum, these are 2 dif.companies). The customer service was amazing, I was changing my order a couple of times, asked to reduce price on discounted goods, they were great. The materials are average, you get what you pay for. I ordered everything online, my plumber purchased separately the stuff for plumbing (pipes, connectors etc).
Their bathroom units are at competitive prices, the towel rails were more expensive, so I ordered elsewhere with a 30% lower price tag

Thank you so much @tallrectangle! Really appreciate all of your info and the links. So they do exist like that! God knows how you found 3 so quickly, I looked for hours and just got more and more confused!

I used Victoria plumbing. they had sets already made up. taps, waste bath etc.. have a look at their website!

I went to B&Q and got one of their sales people to spec everything up for me with a view to getting them to fit it... then gave them a timeframe I required it fitting in which they couldn't meet (I didn't know they had such a long lead time!) Because of this he gave me the design and parts shopping list.. I don't know whether that would help you?