New en-suite - what would you do?

[teacoffee1]

Hi,
I am getting an en-suite built in an attic conversion. It's the first time I'll have ever picked anything 'from scratch' and designed something to just the way I want it.
I was looking for experiences on anyone who has renovated a bathroom or en-suite - what are your must haves or would you do anything differently?

I was thinking of making it a wet room, large tiles so less grout to clean, cut outs in the shower wall for shampoo etc

Thanks

I have boards rather than tiles and they are fabulous! So easy to clean. They are 4 years old and still look brand new .

in addition to the shower niche build in storage for toilet rolls, toiletries and cleaning products. An inset cabinet or under sink drawers are helpful. The freestanding units people add afterwards never look as good as properly designed storage.

shower screens and cubicles prevent water travelling everywhere, without them the toilet and sink area will be wet and unpleasant to use afterwards. Floating sinks/toilets and wall mounted taps need to be planned in early so decide if these are things you want in advance. Underfloor heating is lovely in bathrooms.

look on Pinterest and get ideas for what styles you like and go from there

I'd think long and hard about the practicalities of a loft wet room.
A leak would be a nightmare.

Primarily I wanted something easy to clean, so the bath is tiled in and the sink and toilet are above the floor. I also kept style simple and used towels and things to bring in colour.

Oh, also, i had those toilet shower douche spray things put in.

If it's your forever home think about how you will fix it when it goes wrong. Discovered this issue with previous bathroom where every thing was totally tiled in. Couldn't avoid having to take tiles off to fix it.

I wouldn't put a wet room in a loft, or anywhere except ground floor.

As others say storage is really key, so are lighting and mirrors and ventilation.

Mirrored over sink cabinets can be great. I've also seen some nice mirrored tiles.
For low level storage look at how far any doors or drawers open.

What is important to you? Have you stayed in any hotels where you loved the bathroom? Or hated it!
I am not keen on wall mounted toilets, just feel like they could fall off.
If trying to save space an old fashioned toilet with high cistern can look great if it fits with the general style.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions!
Some things there that I didn't even think of (like if there was a leak in a top floor wet room it would be an absolute nightmare!)

Going to go to some bathroom shops and have a browse as have plenty of time to decide on items before the build.

Thank you

We have a wet room shower in one bathroom and a low profile shower tray in the other. From a cleaning point of view I far prefer the shower tray, and we have a cleaner!

Shower niches offend me (we have wooden stools for soap gubbins) but agree, you want to carefully plan out where absolutely everything will go. Wall hung sinks and toilets will make a small space feel bigger. We offset the controls for both showers, so you can avoid the first cold few minutes - I’d do that again.

We found it impossible to find mirrors we like so ended up having some made. It’s the one decision I left for later, as didn’t think it’s be that difficult, which delayed things.

i put independent side jets in as well as a large shower head as i dont want to wash my hair everytime i shower

I did loft extension few years back with tiny en-suite, first time I ever had a bathroom to myself.....bliss😌afraid I had shower put in over a bath, despite never using one, due to friends having leakage issues with upstairs shower leading to dry rot and having shower cubicles leaking in the past myself. As another poster I would only have a wet room on a ground floor. Mine had an awkward bulkhead over new staircase so the builder cut down a kitchen unit and I picked a bowl to go on top, like a built in vanity unit. It's been so good, can store towels, toilet rolls etc so loads of storage basically despite being tiny and as I'm tall the higher basin actually suits me, saves aching back bending over it.

@LondonNQT jumping on this thread, did you go for a digital shower like Aqualisa?

I would go shower tray with shower boards tbh. Less chance of leaks and easy to clean.

Ooohhh, very fancy @Stemmingthetide! We went for a plain old dumb shower controls from Crosswater as I’m rather fond of burn my kidneys! The closest style wise to what we have, which enables offset controls, would be this Aqualisa: https://www.victorianplumbing.co.uk/aqualisa-visage-q-smart-shower-concealed-with-fixed-head?categoryId=11533fe8-73d6-428b-a642-4550b3d5c6af-3C6F:en-GB

Agree with PP - how will you
Change taps
Turn off/isolate taps
Change the shower
Fix a leak.

You can get showers which are "exposed" so all the pipework is accesible.. (like this https://www.screwfix.com/p/aqualisa-visage-hp-combi-ceiling-fed-single-outlet-chrome-thermostatic-digital-shower/620PG?kpid=620PG&ds_rl=1241687&ds_rl=1245250&ds_rl=1245725&ds_rl=1245250&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6cKiBhD5ARIsAKXUdyYbuMwtFd8yWB5uDZrTwiLc19JdYTs27POZ3idQF7bEnYXyMBQeRNIaAjZ9EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds.which means when it dies after 5-7 years it is an easy replace. Also, digital - means it premixes the water so it won't suddenly go cold if someone turns a tap on.

And yes, storage.
And where will you dry towels?
How will you hang the sink hand towel? Be wary of hand towel rails/rings. Have seen so many (and got one) where the holder gets loose from the wall. We have 2 sinks with towel rails under the sink - solid as anything 10 years on - would highly recommend https://www.bigbathroomshop.co.uk/milano-elswick-white-modern-600mm-x-420mm-rectangular-wall-hung-basin-with-chrome-towel-rail-90119?gclid=Cj0KCQjw6cKiBhD5ARIsAKXUdyZUUDCLZAWPv7tGDjxD5nFz3u9vY4PPJiiXreMzpPEcVcRiKW_3MMkaAiiKEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Light grey or beige grout rather than using white grout. And definitely not a wet room on an upper floor.

@LondonNQT Thank you, really helpful.

Also, you can get recessed bathroom cabinets - especially useful if you are building from scratch - so it fits in the gap between the joints - so the cupboard is in the wall - but the mirror is just proud of the tiling - if that makes sense? Can look very sleek - like this
https://www.rubberduckbathrooms.co.uk/anthracite-trio-recessed-cabinet-with-mirror-and-shelves-by-abacus-direct?source=googlebase&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6cKiBhD5ARIsAKXUdyaKrMt2tiwbx9dFyb6KZPwm5Ngu2qOEaF6q4--gM7Ox41RmNoreRIYaArraEALw_wcB

I can't stand wet rooms (might just be personal taste ?)

I would use the panels rather than tiles - no grout to keep clean

Make sure the taps have long enough {don't know the name of the bit the water comes out of} so they are far enough away from the back of the sink. There seems to have been a fashion for making them really short so the water is coming out too close to the sink.

Long low profile shower tray - so bath sized, you can walk in from one end and have a fixed shower screen with a short hinged bit at the end. Wall panels instead of tiles.

I have a wet room, will absolutely have a low profile tray instead next time.

I had an en suite built in the attic conversion. I bloody love it, but you need to consider if you need a water pump to get the hot water that high. Mine was all done and then only cold water reached the shower!! I had to shell out another £500 to have a pump installed.

Definitely do not have a wet room. Nothing worse than getting wet feet when going for a late night wee.

I went for a large shower cubicle and grey tiles with grey grout. I also got a demister mirror so that it doesn't steam up when the shower is on. I have amtico on the floor in my other bathrooms which looks gorgeous even after 10 years but I couldn't afford it for the enshite but paid for a good quality vinyl instead.

Ive got a rain water shower for washing my hair and a smaller one for when I don't want to wash it.
I bloody love it all.

Panels (sometimes called wet wall) much better than tiles as no nasty grout to clean. Had them for over 3 years now and the best thing for us.

Just jumping on as in same position…
anyone have any experience with floor mounted free standing taps over a free standing bath? Thanks!

Priorities for me would be:
Access to pipes and fittings and joints.
Ventilation
Underfloor heating.
Comments, Recently we had to break tiles to get into a cistern that was boxed in. There is a hatch for maintenance but the input pipe was weeping. So hammer and chisel.
Remember that the 'rubber' in Flexi pipes will not last forever.
Wet-Room in attic? you must be joking. Enclosed shower cabinet? Yes.

Some brilliant suggestions here. Thanks everyone! I’ve a lot to think about that I wouldn’t have even thought of previously.. great to hear others’ opinions on what works well. Thanks again!