Bathroom replacement - top tips

[whenshallwethreemeet]

We'll be re-doing our ensuite (bath, shower, toilet, sink) and the family bathroom (again, bath, shower, toilet & sink) in the next few months and, having had some brilliant ideas off a MN thread before we did our kitchen a few years ago, am hoping for the same. I'm particularly interested in tips for the family bathroom as the DC are hitting the teenage years and are showing much more interest in various moisturisers and other pots & potions than DH or I ever have so I think we'll need storage, lighting, mirrors to maximise that.
I imagine that this is a fairly common request so a link to previous threads would also help. I've searched but not had much luck.

We have bought an old sideboard and adapted it to be a double sink unit. Loads of storage and it looks really posh.

Shaver sockets for charging toothbrushes.

Rather than leave the underneath of the bath an untidy pile of rubble and concrete dust, tile it properly, build in storage and fit a solid tiled bath panel which opens on hinges: then (and especially if everyone uses different ones) get everyone into the habit of putting away their shampoo/conditioner/exfoliating scrub bottles after their shower or bath so you don’t have a load of bottles perched on the edge of the bath or crammed onto a shelf.

Following as we are doing our family bathroom, which only ds (14) uses.

I want a free standing bath and DH wants a whirlpool one (we don't have a bath in the ensuite).

I think we are going to get one of the units with the toilet and hand basin and probably drawers for all ds toiletries and spare loo rolls etc).

A mirror with a light and a shaver point.

Other than that I'm hoping the 2 companies coming next week will have great ideas.

Don't tile your bath in so that it's hard to get to the trap to clear out hair. Have something you can access easily. Especially if any of your teens have long hair.

Wall hung WC and basin with storage. Use panels instead of tiles - no grouting and quicker to fix. Lighted mirror with shaver socket. Karndean floor is good too.

Keep tiling to around bathroom furniture only and try to avoid linking the tiling, because then if you need to change e.g. shower you can swap it out without fucking up the whole room.

Be very wary of snazzy (or boring) taps coming out of the furthest side of the bath.....when you need to replace them as they have furred up from limescale you need to be able to access them without cutting a hole in from under the porch #bitter

Access to the trap is a key priority in the whole bathroom design! The current shower has a 6ft long flat pipe before it gets to the down pipe & the bath has about 4ft. Complete nightmare for long hair Playmobil pirates and accessories

@gingercat02 don't get whirlpool baths. I moved into my house a few years ago and every. Single. Bath is a whirlpool (four in toys).

I LOVE baths and thought I'd love the whirlpools but when you see the gunk that comes from the jets when cleaning, you'll vomit. Plus the cleaning liquid is expensive!!

Think about how you and your family use stuff within the bathroom.

Do you need to be able to reach shampoo/conditioner/soap from within bath. Do you buy extras on 3for2 and need to store those somewhere(?!)
Have to hand on a surface an array of face washing stuff or would that be ok in a cupboard?
Where would you charge toothbrushes, shavers etc?
Do you need to store spare loo roll and cleaning products in there?
What's the lighting like? Especially in front of mirrors for make up and plucking eyebrow type stuff.
Can you reach your towel from the bath?

We had special cleaning lights put in which are really bright so you can see all the gross bits.

An electric toothbrush charger built into the wall.

Don’t get textured tiles. Fluff and hair and dust sticks to them.
Don’t tile the bathroom from floor to ceiling as you’ll never clean the tiles that don’t get wet so they’ll look dusty all the time and steam condenses on them and runs down the wall in streaks.
Do tile behind the toilet cistern or you get patches on the paint where you clean the cistern.
Don’t get a square loo seat - they’re impossible to replace.
Don’t box in the cistern or you’ll have to cut open the wall when the flush stops working.
Yacht varnish on oak plywood makes a nice bath panel - waterproof and warm and not plastic - do varnish both sides.
Underfloor heating does not radiate - it will only be warm where the element is so don’t be stingy under the sink and toilet.
Do get a separate handheld shower for a rainwater shower head so you can clean the bath.