New bathroom must dos and don’ts- ideas please!

[AnotherDeadSparrow]

We are about to convert a small bedroom into a shower room with toilet, sink and shower. There’s no plumbing etc there so it’s a blank canvas. Would primarily be for a teen girl but also any guests.

Any things you wish you had or hadn’t done in your bathroom?

Teen would like a decent rain shower (they all fight over our en-suite), and for it not to be too cold. We are thinking of maybe LVT for the floor as warmer underfoot, and plumber has suggested shower panels rather than tiles.

I’m rubbish at interior design and Pinterest etc so thought I’d ask mumsnet instead! Thanks in advance 😊

Make sure your toilet has a LARGE TRAP. This means it will easily handle a Large Poo without the poo sliding down the side of the pan leaving shit streaks everywhere.

I speak from bitter experience, and I'm the only user of said loo. What a teenager could do to it makes me feel quite faint.

I would get a couple of slim shelves properly screwed to the wall on the inside of the shower area. Love a proper place to put things down. It doesn’t have to be a niche.

I wouldn’t get a comfort loo (higher one) unless the main people using it are really likely to need one. It’s better (unless you have mobility issues sitting down on a low down seat) to be in a lower sitting position and tbh also a footstool to raise knees up a bit for #2 visits - much better for positioning, as it were.

So yes - no limescale around taps/toilet pan inside etc. The only thing I haven't noticed but a friend has is - a slight 'dust' around taps which wipes off. ie no scrubbing, literally a wipe with a damp cloth. I don't get that though. We are in a very hard water area too.

I spend a disproportionately unpleasant amount of my life unblocking toilets thanks to one of our teens 🤢

Definitely getting a fan. Teens are physically incapable of opening windows. Fact.

That would be amazing. The discoloured limescale we get in our loos is horrendous, they never look clean unless I’ve soaked them with citric acid

TBH, I'd never really noticed where the water comes from, but it seems to come from both sides at the back, washes to the front then falls into the bowl.

We don't have children or any short people visiting. DH's mum is maybe 160cm (5'3'') and loves the added height. You might be able to try the height at a showroom. They can also be adjusted up or down to suit your family.

I do agree with @Talipesmum that being in a squatting position is better for the bowel, as it straightens it. Even a 'normal' height toilet doesn't put you in the correct squatting position though. We have a fold away stool (no pun intended) to raise our feet when needed.

Oh gosh, I do hope if you get one it works for you! The company I bought it from were so helpful though, so I'm sure they would answer any queries you might have. It's not a cheap outlay but hopefully it'll be right for you. I do know - since I bought the expensive one I have seen them in plumbing supply shops for a lot cheaper , but of course I have no idea if those ones work as well! Mine was about £600 but I've seen them online - just had a quick look - on plumbing supply places for much less. Not sure if I can post a link but I saw this one for example - gives you a good idea of how it slots on to an existing pipe easily too. Make sure you buy the right one for your pipe size!

https://www.bes.co.uk/inta-activflo-water-conditioner-15-22mm-compression-26916/

What kind of panels are everyone talking about?

Sorry, you must think I work for these people but I don't - the Halcyan one we have gets great reviews on TrustPilot so you could check those out as they seems to think it's as good as we do!
https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.halcyanwater.com

Storage with doors. Including space for toilet brush, loo roll, cleaning products and toiletries. We had 2 doors into our bathroom. Removed one and filled the space with storage. Space for everything.
Under floor heating. A mirror that demists.
A quiet fan that only works if it is steamy.
Mandarin stone are great for tiles.

OP- to add further about toilets! We also have a Japanese style one in our en-suite. I'd never used a bidet previously, but really like it. The lid automatically opens up and the seat is heated. You can use it like a normal loo, but there is also a remote control to wash warm water at your bits if wanted.

Also get soft close toilet seats- nothing worse than someone slamming it shut at night.

@JDM625 I’m not sure I could cope with the squabbling if this toilet became the best toilet in the entire house 😁

I love the tall ladder radiator/ towel racks in our bathrooms. As PP said, the anthracite stays cleaner and crisper looking than the chrome.

We also got them wired so that when the central heating is off they can be turned on by an electric switch just outside each bathroom. A godsend on chilly summer mornings.

If you won’t have a niche in the shower, some kind of organising system for DD’s many bottles would be nice. You can buy floor to ceiling tension poles for the corner of the shower that have several wire shelves for bottles, etc and don’t take much horizontal room. The better ones look quite nice.

A hook on the back of the door and one by the shower are more helpful than you know until you have them. If you don’t get a ladder radiator, towel racks so the towels will dry properly - the scarcity of these in UK household is a mystery to me (I am not British).

I hope you and DD enjoy this project

Thank you - after this thread and a visit to a bathroom showroom/ designer, I do feel much more excited about it! It was quite intimidating before.

yes to hooks, for dressing gowns and towels.

We have the big ladder radiators in our other bathrooms but TBH everyone just hangs them on the corners and don’t fold them over the racks.

Our existing towel radiators all seem to be linked to the hot water rather than the central heating (literally only worked this out when plumber came round to give us a quote!) which does mean they work all year round.

To combat the noise of an extractor fan in the middle of the night if someone pops to the loo and puts the light on, our extractor comes on with the main light, we had sensor lights fitted so the main light doesn’t need to be pulled, sensor light stays on long enough with dimmed light to see what you’re doing etc.

I would go with chrome taps only. Even with a water softener it is difficult to stop black/gold/other bathroom taps etc from being damaged from limescale remover chemicals.

I loved having underfloor heating in my old bathroom. I also has cabinet with countertop and loads of storage made it so much easier to keep clean as everything was put away.

I loved my shower panels. Except the fitter didn't. This meant that they weren't installed properly and have blown (they are laminate). There are many other issues with the bathroom - we had it tanked and it still somehow leaks into the hallway below (there are many, many, other issues). Do your research on your supplier and/or fitter.

Anyway, I'm following with interest as my 2 year old bathroom will need to be sorted in the next 12-18 months.

I agree with PP - if you get a drench shower, get one that also has a handheld shower head as I can't imagine trying to clean the shower without one.

PLEASE learn from my mistake and remember to plan where the loo roll holder will be. We completely forgot in our family bathroom, there is nowhere sensible to put one where it wouldn't get drenched, and so it has to live on a free standing holder has to stand almost in the middle of the room and is always in the way.

Large drawers (not knickers!) as well as cupboards, to hold all the little odds and ends. We have one at the end of the bath. "Counter" tops near the mirror, to put things like make-up down on. A built-in ledge/seat in the shower is very useful when you want to look closely at a foot! Don't have just a rain shower or you have to wash your hair every time you have a shower, which not everyone wants to do.

Make sure you put mirrors above the sink. In my gaff some idiot put the sink against the windows.

Also as someone else said, make sure the pipework is accessible for repairs so you don't have to smash a wall of tiling to get to it when it breaks.

Yes, definitely hand held too. I don't like being forced to wash hair when showering and need a hand held one to wash other 'bits '😁

We were looking into having a water softener system, but what put us off was the fact you need to have a separate tap for drinking, which meant instead of having one entry point into the house it was going to be extremely complicated and not support multiple appliances. I'm interested with this conditioner, does this mean you can drink the water? Is it relatively new technology? I'm surprised the plumber hasn't mentioned it...