Bathroom mistakes & non negotiables

[Iceache]

We’re planning our new bathroom and am in the market research phase! Some things I learned doing our last bathroom:

Heated towel rails don’t heat the room

White grout and small tiles looks crisp and clean but you will be in the shower with a toothbrush and bleach for the rest of your days

Teracotta tiles are great for hiding dust & dirt

What would you do differently? Do you love or regret anything? Our bathroom will be a decent size (approximately 3.5 x 2m) but not enormous (plenty of space for a large walk-in shower & bathtub).

Soft close toilet seat and lid (no excuse for anyone to not put the seat /lid down when all you have to do is give it a little nudge and it closes)

A stool in the shower is a bit overkill in your late 30's, your bathroom will need replacing a couple of times before you should need to think about one of those!!
My shower screen isn't wide enough for the force of water that comes from the shower head. I wish i'd stuck with a good old basic shower curtain.
The only light in my bathroom triggers the extractor fan to come on and it runs for ages after the light is turned off. The old bathroom had a small shaving light above a mirror which could be used when nipping for a wee in the night to save the extractor running and waking people up. It's only the guest bathroom but if it was used several people daily it would drive me nuts!!
There seems to be increasing trend for square toilets and they're horrible! Not at all comfortable to sit on.

use epoxy grout for your tiles. It’s actually completely waterproof (unlike cement grout), it is fantastically harder wearing and easier to clean as well. Price difference (depending on the size of your bathroom) should be around £300 extra. A bag of cement grout is around £20, the epoxy grout is around £80/tub and also needs a special chemical cleaner after installation. You need about 2-3 tubs for the equivalent volume to a bag of cement grout.

It is proportionately very expensive compared to cement grout but it’s VASTLY superior.

Oh this is FANTASTIC advice!!! I’m going to speak to my plumber about this on Friday!

The shower stool is also because I like to sit down to shave my legs and I like the look of them with a little plant on top 🤣

My dad recommended underfloor heating but my plumber advised against it. I need to do some more research here: it would save radiator space but I’ve heard it’s costly and inefficient.

Re tiles, I’m going stone-effect (terracotta). I tried a sample of actual terracotta and it set my teeth on edge 🤣). I had similar in my last bathroom and they looked as good after 8 years as they did the day they were laid!

We always go separate switches for fan & lights. My dad was an electrical engineer so he’s always advised this.

We currently have the ugliest 1990s bath but my goodness it’s the most comfortable bath I’ve ever been in, so I will be testing out baths before I buy!

Don’t buy any sort of spa bath, they break so often!
We have a little motion sensor on the ceiling that switches a really dim light on automatically which is great for in the night toilet trips

Not read the other replies but we opted for a vertical radiator with towel rails fitted across so get proper heat output but still somewhere to hang / dry the towels.

Large porcelain tiles to reduce grouting areas and shelves built into the wall.

Heated mirror so that you can use it after a shower/ bath.

UFH comes in two types- wet and dry. Wet UFH essentially turns your floor into a radiator like your normal wall radiator and is connected to your central heating. Provided the floor has the depth appropriate to install it is the superior option.

dry UFH uses rolls of wire matting with resistors in it. It is the same as using an electric heater and can be very expensive to run. It also takes longer to warm up.

other advice: if you don’t have wall insulation already, then sacrifice 1 inch of internal wall space and ask the builder to use 1 inch insulation backed plasterboard or tile board on external walls. It will help prevent cold walls in winter which will help increase the comfort of the room

Have proper radiators and fit towel rails above them.

Fit a towel rail, ring or hook by the entrance to a walk in shower so you don't have to dump your towel on the floor. Same for by the bath.

Agree re: storage. DP tried to stop me from putting extra in our new bathroom! It's easier to open drawers and find things than to bend down to open cupboard doors. If you're fitting a vanity unit, make it one with drawers.

My dad recommended underfloor heating but my plumber advised against it. I need to do some more research here: it would save radiator space but I’ve heard it’s costly and inefficient.
Re tiles, I’m going stone-effect (terracotta).

I presume your plumber is thinking of wet ufh. I would suggest electric underfloor heating, not wet. Wet isn’t worth the substantial installation cost in a bathroom. Electric however is pretty cheap to install - more costly to run, but you only need it a few months of the year and only at the times you use the bathroom (get a timer). But you may not need either. It really depends on how cold your bathroom gets, if the floor is freezing this is worthwhile but if it stays pretty warm even in winter (like if the bathroom is above the kitchen) then it’s not necessary.

Re terracotta effect tiles - sounds nice. But don’t get ones that are pitted or rough textured or they will be a veritable bugger to clean.

Tank the entire floor, and make sure tradie uses waterproof board in shower (not all do, even though they should). Large tiles and a stainless steel niche. Lots of cupboard space. Radiator AND towel rail. Digital shower with remote control. Rimless loo.

For keeping grout white - Astonish Mould & Mildew Blaster. At the slightest tiniest black spot squirt it on, leave it as per instructions and the next day it'll be gone. Game changer.

Things we’ve learnt between doing bathroom one and two

• If you’re having a separate shower and bath get the biggest shower tray option you can! We’re both shower people and it makes such a difference not being cramped
• Agree with controls away from the water
• you cannot be too specific on tiling - draw out the pattern, triple check it with the tiler, if you have three joins (eg walls into floor corners) talk about how the tiles are going to be cut
• I wouldn’t have a full tiled room again, for this time around we’ve gone with mostly painted and tiles in key wet areas and it looks so much nicer
• incorporate plants

Do not have your head turned by a fancy bathroom cupboard that is mirrored on the inside.

You will be polishing glass on the inside and outside of the cabinet for the rest of your days.

Some great ideas on here but a shower stool for future proofing ? Unless you are very unlucky then you are unlikely to need this for the next 40 or 50 years, by which time you will have likely done your bathroom up at least a couple more times.

My bathroom light also triggers the extractor, so I have a little nightlight thingie plugged in to the shaver socket (which is never used). It gives enough light to wee by and I just leave it plugged in 24/7.

I'm in the planning stage too and need to move a few bits around. Currently have a bath with shower over and curtain. Switching for a big walk-in shower. I want a studded part- wall instead of all glass shower screen, upto shoulder height (glass above it) for privacy (it's a family bathroom and others sometimes are bursting for the loo). Also to create hidden little niches for all the bottles.
As the shower would be at the other end, I'd need the on/off for the shower near the entrance. I've always hated getting soaked whilst the shower warms up.

Add to that, loads of storage, a big light up mirror and fixed plug for toothbrush. Matt plastic ceiling panels.

DH wants the wall panels for easy cleaning but I've not seen any that blow me away.

Fit a nice big mirror in front of the washbasin. Glass shops will make one to size for you and bevel the edge. Without a frame, the mirror can be stuck to the wall tiles, no need to drill wall or mirror.

Big ventilation above the shower too. Our bathroom gets soaked and the teens love a late night shower meaning it's still damp in the morning.

If you have a separate shower, you still need a hose over the bath. It's such an arseache to rinse the bath out without and you can't wash your hair if you want a bath.

I'd advise using unobtrusive fittings tbh. If a mirror is stuck to the wall it can often be extremely difficult to remove without breaking it should the need arise.

Maybe already been said but :

Don't put sinks in front of windows. There is nowhere to put a big mirror.

larger tiles - less grout.

Square sinks may look great but don't drain as well as curved ones. So all the bits of crap you extract from your teeth will remain in the sink rather than get swished down.

Fit a big extractor fan.

Shower niche or shelf - essential and they are difficult to fit retrospectively and the self adhesive ones never work.If you keep your stuff in the corners it will attrach mould behind it.

Some sort of power socket. These days there are lots of appliances that use power or need charging.

A towel rail above a radiator makes a great heated towel rail substitute.

Storage people. Consider a wide mirrored cabinet instead of a flat mirror.

Washbasin should have good vanity unit storage - pull out drawers is much easier than a cupboard.

I'm also anti underfloor heating. Ours also takes too long to heat up and too expensive. We never turn it on.

I hate pop-up wastes. Actually, any fancy wastes. They fur up in our hard water area, corroded and always getting stuck. We rarely use the plug in the sink so we replaced them all with old fashioned type wastes and plugs but keep the plug and chain in the cupboard under the sink rather than attached to the sink.

Don't pay the final balance until you've been given all the paperwork. We never got our electricity certificate 😡

Get a toilet seat that can be tightened or replaced easily. We've got one that is really loose and can't tighten it as the screws are kind of enclosed inside the toilet