Walk me through how you plan to renovate a bathroom please!

[singthing]

For whatever reason, I've never done it before, only cosmetic decoration...

I know approximately what I want:

• Remove bath*, replace with walk in shower in same place.
• Keep existing toilet and sink (ideally), but I'm not emotionally attached or anything.
• Replace all tiling (with new large tiles or those acrylic wall panels, mainly to reduce limescale issues).
• Swap existing heated towel rail for a proper radiator in same place.
• Replace flooring (probably just fresh lino).
• Probably a final paint job on rest of room.

Where do you start? Find my ideal shower and go from there? Does one person/firm do it all? Is it easier from one place or makes no difference? How should the work be structured? (I have a downstairs loo and sink but no other proper washing facilities)

I'm in no massive rush, which is probably why I haven't done it before now!

(*Re the bath removal: I don't like them, have not had one for 30-odd years, have no intention of having one and will be living here for many many more years to come)

Start by ringing round some bathroom fitters for some quotes. Bathroom fitters aren't painters so plan to do that yourself or get someone else in. Ditto lino/vinyl, usually needs someone else.

In the meantime start looking up showers, shower trays and cubicles (with your measurements to hand) so you can show them what youre thinking of and check they think it will work.

Ask them acrylic panels vs tiles, but do some looking around for those too.

Have a contingency plan in case loo or basin dont survive being taken out and put back (it should be fine but you never know).

Expect to be without a bath or shower for a few days and resign yourself to strip washes at the sink and or popping to the gym/family/friends/neighbours 😀

Would fitters be ok to give a quote knowing I don't have anything firm?
I only have evenings and weekends to look at stuff and it's so... boring!
I guess if I can find at least the style of shower I want, that would be something! For the past few years I have been At the moment I am just vaguely dithering about...

(There is a place in my town that seems to do the whole lot, but their showroom makes it quite plain that my league is about 20,000 lower than their preferred customer 😆)

Would fitters be ok to give a quote knowing I don't have anything firm?

So long as you have a firm plan to do the bathroom, then that's fine. You'll probably find they have a long lead-in time (before they can start) which gives you time to plan.

I only have evenings and weekends to look at stuff

Well, that's true for most of us. You dont need fancy bathroom stores, just bob along to a good-sized B&Q.

For shower stuff, I like Mira. Online look at Screwfix, Plumbworld as well as B&Q. Definitely walk in a few shower cubicles though to feel the space.

Once you've selected things, run them past your chosen bathroom fitters to check they dont see any problems.

The hardest part will be finding a bathroom fitter so crack on looking now for some to call on Tuesday.

Thanks! Great tips and I shall bear all in mind!

Ideally you would find a bathroom fitted through word of mouth recommendation. In my experience, if the don’t know you then the costs they estimate reflect more about how busy they are , so maybe not an ideally way to screen them.

im not saying its ideal but ive found it works to get a recommendation, have them look around and convince them you want to wait till they can fit you in.

they gives you a couple o months to start planning in earnest. And you can run the dirt if things you want past them to check they are ok with it. For example I wanted a hanging rather than floor standing loo., thru insisted I buy the structure from one particular supplier they knew would work ok.

dont be surprised if it takes them a week to reply to these ideas. If there are bust, They will probably be answering this kind of question only at the weekend.

good luck, hope it goes well for you.

I will ask for some recs from F&F for sure. Is there a popular time to get work like this done (or conversely, is there a "low season") - or are good fitters just in demand all year round?

I was looking at my bathroom again last night. The tiling goes all along the bath walls and then also behind the sink and loo. Obviously that doesn't make it impossible to remove, but it could mean I end up replacing them as well.

I’ve had good experiences buying from Easy Bathrooms. Good range and they do tiles too. I didn’t use their fitting service, but they do have one.

Agree with a PP on Mira showers. They are great, and the shower is the one area not to skimp on. Remember to locate the shower controls at the opening end of your cubicle/ shower area so you don’t get soaked with cold water switching it on.

The usual flow would be more or less like thar: strip everything out, do plumbing/electrics first, then walls and tiling or panels, then floor, and finally install shower, toilet, radiator etc. I'd start not with picking the shower itself but with a rough plan of the whole room and how you want it to work. Even a quick sketch or something in apps like Interiorbox 3d helps a lot, just to see the possible layout, sizes, where things go, that kind of thing.

After that it’s much easier to talk to builders. I personally think it would be simpler to use one company that does full bathroom renovations. They can handle plumbing, tiling, electrics, everything in the right order, and you don’t have to coordinate different trades yourself. Also yeah, think about small stuff early like ventilation and storage, it always matters more than it seems at the start.

It would be easier and sleeker to remove everything as the work is done. Personally I prefer fully tiled and we opted for future proofing by having wall hung vanity and toilet with the toilet at comfort height. Makes cleaning so much easier as well.

Thanks for the extra tips!

Will def add Mira as a shower brand to check out.

I have also potentially found a local firm who get very good reviews and who project manage everything so maybe that is a sign from the universe!

I don't like fully tiled (I have done everything in my power to cosmetically cover up as much of the current tiling as possible!), and I admire your faith in wall hung loos - I am way too paranoid 😆