Author Topic: Pimp my bathroom  (Read 40515 times)

Mrs Pingu

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Pimp my bathroom
« on: 03 January, 2017, 09:02:07 pm »
It's time! I think the roof is fixed now (touches really huge piece of wood) so hopefully I can get the bathroom done this year....

Thing is, I have absolutely no idea what is considered good in the world of bathing. No plans to move at the moment so let's assume this is a bathroom built for my exacting tastes rather than something cheap, shiny & sellable. It's not going to be a wet room either. I don't normally mind doing my research into what products are good, but bathrooms seem a bit, unreviewed.

It's a pretty small room, I don't think there's any scope for moving any of the items so I think we're just replacing what's there. So, please recommend me a model or good brand of:

A toilet, that isn't 'floating', isn't square, doesn't have any poxy buttons to get jammed and has a decent enough flush to get rid of the occasional big log. No jobbie inspection platform required.

A double length shower cubicle, preferably one with fewer areas for grot to build up. Our current one has a sliding door, the track of which is just great for collecting grot. Not sure if we have enough room for a pivot door though, will have to measure. Because the shower butts up to a sloping ceiling there is only really one place for the shower itself to be mounted (on the long wall near the entrance end).

A shower, thermostatic mixer is a must. Am ambivalent about having a rainfall head or not, there will be a head on a flexible hose whatever happens.

A decent hand basin. Something that you can use for more than just rinsing the tips of your fingers. Probably one which sits on the top. A good under sink cabinet. None of this floating nonsense again,  that's just wasted space to collect cat hair and other grollies IMO. Not a pop up waste plug either, ours is crap. And as for the bottle trap that collects liquid soap  :sick:

An extractor fan. We've got one built into the window already but I suspect it's time for a new one and I wonder if we really need a bigger more sucky one, judging by all the mould round the window....
Do not clench. It only makes it worse.

ian

Re: Pimp my bathroom
« Reply #1 on: 03 January, 2017, 09:32:37 pm »
We have a diagonal toilet. I have no idea how instead of a Japanese nuclear toilet with enough computation to risk emergent sentience I ended up paying several hundred pounds for a toilet that merely juts at a jaunty forty five degrees from the corner of the room. This is what happens when someone you happen to be married to thrusts the 82nd bathroom catalogue of the day under your nose and you grunt affirmation just to make it go away. It cost a lot more than a perpendicular toilet, has a soft-close lid and a fortunately a limitless appetite for poo. The cistern is hidden away somewhere so I'm going to cry like a big baby man if it ever needs fixing and then I'll call a grown-up who'll laugh at me.

Get a rainfall shower. If for no better reason than it makes you sing in the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight every time you use it. No idea where the cubicle came from, but it had a Scandinavian name and cost more than other cubicles. I think it's bulletproof though, to be honest, no one has yet tried to assassinate me in the shower. Other than the faded LED on the Aqualisa unit, I'm a very happy showerer.

Baths are very expensive for what is effectively a large bucket. Mine is made out some kind of composite that promises exciting things like thermal inertia. Taps are also expensive, and once you've put your unique chromium stamp on your bathroom you'll find that every hotel in the known universe has the same bloody taps. At least I can work the mixer showers in pretty much any hotel.

Tiles, oh god, I don't want to even think about tiles ever again. Our extractor fan goes up through the ceiling and out the roof and is cunningly disguised as a spotlight fitting (with a light in the middle).

Pick an amount you want to budget. Double it. Then add some more.

Re: Pimp my bathroom
« Reply #2 on: 03 January, 2017, 09:39:19 pm »
Our bathroom has been in place for eighteen months and has been remarkably faultless in the time.   I'll try and find the spec sheets.   All I can recall of the top of my head is that the bath is Carronite and the taps are Bristan but you don't want a bath...

Our shower 'cubicle' is 900x1700 with glass walls and a walk in gap.   The shower is a Triton mixer run from the condensing boiler.   I'll try and find the details of the rest as soon as I can.   We ordered from Eastbrook through our builder who got us his discount from the local merchant.   I recall now that the basin and basin cabinet are called Oslo.

Re: Pimp my bathroom
« Reply #3 on: 03 January, 2017, 09:42:11 pm »
Ah yes, the glass panels were Corniche and the tray is 1700 x 900.


Mrs Pingu

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Re: Pimp my bathroom
« Reply #4 on: 03 January, 2017, 09:45:46 pm »
There is no bath, hence the long shower enclosure.  I'm not having tiles either, they got ditched with the last enclosure. Aqaupanel may not be de rigueur  but it's easy to clean  :thumbsup:
Do not clench. It only makes it worse.

Re: Pimp my bathroom
« Reply #5 on: 03 January, 2017, 09:48:09 pm »
Excellent decision.   We've used the bath about half a dozen times in 18 months.   

The loo is the Metro from the Eastbrook catalogue.

 

Mrs Pingu

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Re: Pimp my bathroom
« Reply #6 on: 03 January, 2017, 09:49:02 pm »
Oh I forgot about towel rails vs radiators, tell me about them too :)
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Mrs Pingu

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Re: Pimp my bathroom
« Reply #7 on: 03 January, 2017, 09:50:25 pm »
PB, with your walk in shower do you find water escapes to where it shouldn't,  or is it just a much easier to clean thing?

(I suspect it won't work for our ceiling vs shower arrangement)
Do not clench. It only makes it worse.

Basil

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Re: Pimp my bathroom
« Reply #8 on: 03 January, 2017, 09:54:28 pm »
Our towel rail is useless.  You can get one towel on it.  And it's rubbish as a radiator.  In Brum you could get a towel on the radiator and it also worked well as a radiator.
Better towel rails probably exist though.
Admission.  I'm actually not that fussed about cake.

Re: Pimp my bathroom
« Reply #9 on: 03 January, 2017, 09:56:46 pm »
Buy British or Spanish, the Glaze on Chinese pots is not good enough, particularly in hard water areas. Aqualisa showers are rather good. I have yet to find a decent lav seat. You would think that they would have this sorted by now. Expelair are ok but not what they used to be, but can buy low voltage models. Screwfix have some nice looking chunky 'victorian' towel rails with cast iron rad inserts.
Get a bicycle. You will never regret it, if you live- Mark Twain

Re: Pimp my bathroom
« Reply #10 on: 03 January, 2017, 09:58:25 pm »
Towel rails are very nice but a lot less efficient than a rad.   We kept a rad and hang the towels on rails*.   We looked at dual fuel towel rails also so that one can have heat when the weather warms and the central heating is off but didn't bite.  Stopping in a cottage on Arran put me off electric towel rails.   

When doing the full restoration we put thick celotex lined plasterboard on the walls and the bathroom is very warm now so in fact we could have got away with less efficiency from a towel rail.   

We were fortunate in that we were swapping the third bedroom into a new bathroom so we had the use of the existing bathroom whilst work was in progress.   This meant that we could take our time to get the project completed properly.   We were very fortunate in this regard.   Doing the kitchen this year highlighted to us just how fortunate we were having use of the bathroom during works last year.

*  Actually, this was the plan but in fact like minging plebs we drape the towels over the handrail along the landing.   :-[     

Re: Pimp my bathroom
« Reply #11 on: 03 January, 2017, 09:59:56 pm »
Buy British or Spanish, the Glaze on Chinese pots is not good enough, particularly in hard water areas. Aqualisa showers are rather good. I have yet to find a decent lav seat. Expelair are ok but not what they used to be but can buy low voltage.

Our lav seats are superb imo.   You'll have to pass ...  opinion when you drop in in three weeks.   :D

Our fan isn't Expelair, but again i cannot recall the name.   John the Sparky recommended it and it's been very good. 

Re: Pimp my bathroom
« Reply #12 on: 03 January, 2017, 10:00:39 pm »
If you're getting condensation and mould it's worth fitting a decent extractor fan and not one of the budget wickes/B&Q type offerings.
I installed a centrifugal extractor fan, opening is in  the ceiling, vents to outside wall. All duct work is insulated to reduce condensation inside the ducting & ducting from fan to outside wall slopes downwards so any condenation runs out.
It has eradicated our problem with mould not just in the bathroom but also other parts of the house. Only drawback is it is perhaps too powerful. I usually just run it for 5 minutes after I've showered.

Re: Pimp my bathroom
« Reply #13 on: 03 January, 2017, 10:01:14 pm »
Bog'n'basin, Laufen. Models/designs to taste. Used in enough commercial settings, especially in FORRIN, that you can have some confidence they'll last.

Taps, thermo shower etc, Hudson Reed (or other Ultra Finishings brands). Work well, 10 year warranty, excellent customer service. Comparable to Grohe in quality and a lot cheaper.

Shower cubicle, screen etc, Cesana. Sit down before consulting the price list, and shop around for a deal.

If you go for a towel rail and were planning a chrome finish, get a stainless steel one instead. Better heat transmission, which offsets a little of the reduced efficiency.

mcshroom

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Re: Pimp my bathroom
« Reply #14 on: 03 January, 2017, 10:04:33 pm »
My bathroom came with a rad instead of a towel rail. I put a row of coat hooks above it and hang the towels from them. This works surprisingly well :)

[edit] like this

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Re: Pimp my bathroom
« Reply #15 on: 03 January, 2017, 10:05:17 pm »
PB, with your walk in shower do you find water escapes to where it shouldn't,  or is it just a much easier to clean thing?

(I suspect it won't work for our ceiling vs shower arrangement)

Only a very very small amount escapes through the walk in gap though not nearly enough to fret about.   It is very easy to clean too with clean lines everywhere.   

We tiled but really should have had custom acrylic or even glass panels.

Basil

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Re: Pimp my bathroom
« Reply #16 on: 03 January, 2017, 10:10:38 pm »
Oh god, don't start me on the bathroom.  I've got more than enough to spend money on thank you very much.  I did have an extractor fitted and it moves a lot of pretty quietly.  I'll see if I can recall the spec.
The thoughts on baths are interesting.  In the 6 months since we moved in the dog has used it a few times, Mrs B twice and my usage is a round figure.  A very round figure.
Hmm.  You've got me thinking.  GIT!  I can't afford it.   ;)
Admission.  I'm actually not that fussed about cake.

Re: Pimp my bathroom
« Reply #17 on: 03 January, 2017, 10:18:21 pm »
Oh and Bristan taps etc are very good.
Get a bicycle. You will never regret it, if you live- Mark Twain

Mrs Pingu

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Re: Pimp my bathroom
« Reply #18 on: 03 January, 2017, 10:24:09 pm »
Holy crap, £3000 for a shower? Just the hosing down bit?  Hahahahahahahahaha
One thing I decided through several self catering and hotel stays is to have a shower controlled by knobs. Not one of those ghastly tilt and twist lever things that you twat with your arse/elbow (depending on height) leading to the shower going off/freezing/scalding.

I'm thinking that a hinged or pivot door will have less places for skank accumulation than sliding doors?
Do not clench. It only makes it worse.

Re: Pimp my bathroom
« Reply #19 on: 03 January, 2017, 10:25:55 pm »
RRPs are, of course, a work of fiction.

red marley

Re: Pimp my bathroom
« Reply #20 on: 03 January, 2017, 10:55:15 pm »
We've recently had a (first in 17 years) bathroom makeover and for the first time in 17 years, it's now a room I don't mind using:



I know you said you didn't want a wet room, and I'm not sure if ours qualifies as such, but is there any possibility to have the shower area with non-enclosed opening (as to right of photo)? This can save on space and avoids the faff of swinging or sliding doors.

The biggest single difference for me though was underfloor heating - helps keep the room dry and pleasant and makes getting out of the shower or bath a joy. We went for a towel rail rather than radiator (partly thanks to the underfloor heating). It is quite a large one though (just visible in the mirror) and works well for two full sized towels.

I'd recommend an extractor fan with a humidity-based switch rather than timer so you don't activate the shuttle-on-launchpad noise with a midnight wee (unless of course you do a really humid wee).

I agree that a floor mounted loo is less risky when it comes to plumbing problems than a wall mounted one with hidden cistern. However, we went for a floating sink/drawer unit which makes keeping the room clean a little easier.

Oh, and for maximim geek points, I designed the layout of our blue tiles on the shower area wall based on the hashcode of my and my partner's names (really, I did). Well it gives alien archaeologists from the future something to do when they're sifting through the ruins following the Trumpocalypse.

Mrs Pingu

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Re: Pimp my bathroom
« Reply #21 on: 03 January, 2017, 11:20:34 pm »
Haha, now you see I look at your floating unit and think "there's 6 inches of wasted storage space" :D
It's very nice though. I like the geeky tile thing :D

I don't think I can have a non door shower like yours as the entrance would have to be where your cistern is. (Because where your shower is I have a sloping ceiling, and although neither Pingu or I are very tall, we're not dwarves).

For my bathroom imagine the shower and toilet are in the same place as yours. The window is above the loo and shower. The adjoining wall is  between your toilet & sink. The radiator is on the wall opposite your shower. My sink is out of shot past the end of your shower on the right.

Maybe tomorrow I'll post a photo.
Do not clench. It only makes it worse.

Kim

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Re: Pimp my bathroom
« Reply #22 on: 04 January, 2017, 12:41:10 am »
I'd recommend an extractor fan with a humidity-based switch rather than timer so you don't activate the shuttle-on-launchpad noise with a midnight wee (unless of course you do a really humid wee).

This is an excellent suggestion, because overrun timers are a work of Stan, and nobody needs the shock of walking in on someone pooing in the dark because hearing people don't like extractor fans.

For midnight wees, ideally a bathroom would have lighting with more than one state, with sensible controls.  Our current arrangement - constrained as it is by not being able to modify the bathroom - is that the alerting module on the shelf above the bog is programmed to draw an '⠇' in 100% red when it detects someone in the bathroom at night.  I suspect this isn't quite enough for penis people to achieve proper aim, but it is sufficient to check the bog for deadly spiders, not trip over any stray boots, and leaves your night vision intact for the return to bed.  Anyway, it doesn't have to be this complicated, but a mirror lamp switched independently from the bright-enough-to-clean-by main light would certainly be more optimal than the traditional solution of a tired old compact fluorescent that takes slightly more than a bladder-emptying to get going.


Quote
Oh, and for maximim geek points, I designed the layout of our blue tiles on the shower area wall based on the hashcode of my and my partner's names (really, I did). Well it gives alien archaeologists from the future something to do when they're sifting through the ruins following the Trumpocalypse.

Programmers with IBS, TAAW.  If you're going to have tiles with abstract (but not rotationally symmetrical) patterns on them and not fit them a consistent way up, then they need to encode something interesting.  Gives us something to do when we've read the label on the bleach for the 7th time.  Forumites will be disappointed to learn that CrinklyLion's bathroom wall doesn't appear to spell out anything in Morse or ASCII.

Re: Pimp my bathroom
« Reply #23 on: 04 January, 2017, 07:02:17 am »
We have a diagonal toilet.

For those with young boys in the household, it is one less wall to clean.

Using the German Schluter KERDI-LINE drain may help you avoid step-over conditions getting into and out of the shower stall.  Rather like a shallow trenchdrain.

Do consider what is known on my side of the pond as "universal design".  Even if you can't get to the story where the bath is in a wheelchair, anything that you can do now to prepare for perhaps using a walker for a month or so due to an injury, etc. is a good thing.  Similarly (though there are towel bars which work for grab/assistance bars, and don't look like something from an institution), at least installing backing in any walls you may open up, for future bar attachment, is a good thing.  Especially if you are hoping to live in your home for a long time.

By accident, in one remodel we ended up with sinks (his/her) that had a view out of the window (versus mirror in front).  Small mirrors slightly to the side take care of seeing what I'm about to cut with my razor.  When we built a new home 26 years ago, that feature was repeated.  Looking out the window in the morning, while getting ready to face the day, is pleasant.

Mr Larrington

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Re: Pimp my bathroom
« Reply #24 on: 04 January, 2017, 08:36:19 am »
Apropos towel rails versus radiators, this is the one in Miss von Brandenburg's bathroom:


Towel radiator by Mr Larrington, on Flickr

The basin on the right is at normal basin height so the things is quite* tall and acts as a very effective radiator and is good for towels too.

* 57" from floor to top of rad, rad is 46" from top to bottom, tape measure handily draped over rad for no readily apparent reason imperial-only.
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