Where shall I buy my new bathroom?

[Thomk]

Would you like to learn about toilets now?

Yes!! Ignore the "last thing" thing in my crossed post!

 

[Milkfloat]

Would you like to learn about toilets now?

Any fan of 'Demolition Man' would know it is all about the three sea shells.

 

[Thomk]

Any fan of 'Demolition Man' would know it is all about the three sea shells.

I could have done without that

 

[Mugshot]

Last thing (possibly). Concealed or exposed shower gumph? It seems to me that if it is concealed, although neater, it might be a pain if things go wrong!?

All concealed showers now should have the valves accessible from the front, this means if you do get an issue (it will only be the valve that goes wrong) you can remove it without the need for taking everything off the wall. However this doesn't mean that you will be able to get a replacement valve if you needed one so you could still be in the cack. By far and away the most popular style at the moment with the most choice of styles and the greatest range of prices is the bar valve.
Ok, toilets. They are not all created equal. There are big differences in design, quality of glaze, performance and longevity. Try if you can to go with a box rim pan (if you're not going rimless) a box rim pan has holes all around the underneath of the rim so when you flush it it flushes down the whole bowl, cheaper pans will have a hole at the back or the front and the water will wash around the pan the problem is (as you may have experienced) sometimes there can be sections the water doesn't actually get to. After that it's worth considering a glazed box rim. If it is unglazed you have a lot more surface area for dirt and germs etc etc and it is much harder to clean it, if it's glazed it's much easier to clean and much more hygienic. Cistern fittings is the biggy, you need to make sure they're decent quality. There is an awful lot of pottery coming in from China etc which is substandard, what happens is that a couple of years down the road something goes wrong with the cistern fitting, the first step is to try to get the replacement part for it, you wont get one. Next step is to try to get a replacement cistern innard, the problem is that quite often standard UK ones wont fit. You're left with one option, change the toilet. It may sound extreme but I have spoken to many many people that this has happened to, they bought a cheap toilet because they're all the same and do the same job and end up buying twice and paying for a plumber twice too. Have a look at RAK, they do some nice stuff and tick all the boxes I've mentioned, their Series 600 is fantastic value for money and will coordinate nicely in shape with the bath you're looking at.

 

[Thomk]

.

All concealed showers now should have the valves accessible from the front, this means if you do get an issue (it will only be the valve that goes wrong) you can remove it without the need for taking everything off the wall. However this doesn't mean that you will be able to get a replacement valve if you needed one so you could still be in the cack. By far and away the most popular style at the moment with the most choice of styles and the greatest range of prices is the bar valve.
Ok, toilets. They are not all created equal. There are big differences in design, quality of glaze, performance and longevity. Try if you can to go with a box rim pan (if you're not going rimless) a box rim pan has holes all around the underneath of the rim so when you flush it it flushes down the whole bowl, cheaper pans will have a hole at the back or the front and the water will wash around the pan the problem is (as you may have experienced) sometimes there can be sections the water doesn't actually get to. After that it's worth considering a glazed box rim. If it is unglazed you have a lot more surface area for dirt and germs etc etc and it is much harder to clean it, if it's glazed it's much easier to clean and much more hygienic. Cistern fittings is the biggy, you need to make sure they're decent quality. There is an awful lot of pottery coming in from China etc which is substandard, what happens is that a couple of years down the road something goes wrong with the cistern fitting, the first step is to try to get the replacement part for it, you wont get one. Next step is to try to get a replacement cistern innard, the problem is that quite often standard UK ones wont fit. You're left with one option, change the toilet. It may sound extreme but I have spoken to many many people that this has happened to, they bought a cheap toilet because they're all the same and do the same job and end up buying twice and paying for a plumber twice too. Have a look at RAK, they do some nice stuff and tick all the boxes I've mentioned, their Series 600 is fantastic value for money and will coordinate nicely in shape with the bath you're looking at.

Brilliant!

I built a large extension (actually a granny flat) in 2014 (OK I got "proper" tradesmen to do most of the hard stuff but I project managed it and did various bits and pieces myself). I got a lot of brilliant advice from a forum - http://www.ebuild.co.uk/ - I couldn't have done it without the folk on there. I was amazed at how they spent their time giving golden advise to hapless saps like me day in and day out, year in year out.

Cheers

 

[Thomk]

You forgot the basin though - selfish git!

 

[Mugshot]

You forgot the basin though - selfish git!

No I didn't, as long as you get it from the same range as the toilet you'll be ok, I thought that would be obvious!!!

If you are going round and having a look when you're looking at the pottery have a look at the corners and the edges of the basin and the cistern lid. What you're looking for is a very faint brown line, this is the clay showing through the glaze. The glaze isn't going to craze or fall off but it's a sure fire indication that the glaze is not the quality that it should be. If you compare a suite which has those faint brown lines to one which doesn't you will see they are actually quite grey in comparison.

 

[subaqua]

I didn't say that. It's 1K + tiles + fitting.

Based on the end of line clearance prices I paid for bath bog n taps for bath n basin a grand is not going to get a great product. I looked at trade prices and we got it for a lot less than trade ! The taps are nothing fancy but they are a decent brand , not cheap nasty DIY taps that you will end up replacing the inserts in. They fall apart after 2 years.

Acrylic baths ( and pressed steel) come in different quality. A cheap acrylic bath will be thinner and flimsier than a mid range one. ( we have mid range bought as end of line clearance ) 8mm
bear in mind the advice from mugshot about acrylic baths ! I battened the wall as well as a belts n braces ( i had some batten handy )

Is there a Neville lumb by you? They are reasonably good for price and quality.

 

[Thomk]

Based on the end of line clearance prices I paid for bath bog n taps for bath n basin a grand is not going to get a great product. I looked at trade prices and we got it for a lot less than trade ! The taps are nothing fancy but they are a decent brand , not cheap nasty DIY taps that you will end up replacing the inserts in. They fall apart after 2 years.

Acrylic baths ( and pressed steel) come in different quality. A cheap acrylic bath will be thinner and flimsier than a mid range one. ( we have mid range bought as end of line clearance ) 8mm
bear in mind the advice from mugshot about acrylic baths ! I battened the wall as well as a belts n braces ( i had some batten handy )

Is there a Neville lumb by you? They are reasonably good for price and quality.

Yes 1k is looking more like 2k

 

[subaqua]

Yes 1k is looking more like 2k

I know that feeling

 

[Levo-Lon]

Yes 1k is looking more like 2k

You really do get what you pay for ..
my bathroom is a cheap shower room downstairs ,its always been a cheap bathroom .
first time it was done with a extension in 97..and refit in jan 13..

if i spent 5k on a bathroom like my mate did id never use it lol

 

[Thomk]

No I didn't, as long as you get it from the same range as the toilet you'll be ok, I thought that would be obvious!!!

If you are going round and having a look when you're looking at the pottery have a look at the corners and the edges of the basin and the cistern lid. What you're looking for is a very faint brown line, this is the clay showing through the glaze. The glaze isn't going to craze or fall off but it's a sure fire indication that the glaze is not the quality that it should be. If you compare a suite which has those faint brown lines to one which doesn't you will see they are actually quite grey in comparison.

Can I have an exposed bar valve + flexible hose attachment near the middle of the bath and a concealed fixed shower head to the right of the bath from the ceiling or wall. The control would have to be able to switch between the two of course and control the overflow filler (I'm not convinced any of that made sense - sorry).

 

[Mugshot]

Can I have an exposed bar valve + flexible hose attachment near the middle of the bath and a concealed fixed shower head to the right of the bath from the ceiling or wall. The control would have to be able to switch between the two of course and control the overflow filler (I'm not convinced any of that made sense - sorry).

If you're talking about controlling the two from the bar valve then no, but you could do it with a concealed valve. That could be a fair bit of faffing though depending on your walls.

 

[Thomk]

If you're talking about controlling the two from the bar valve then no, but you could do it with a concealed valve. That could be a fair bit of faffing though depending on your walls.

It's an outer wall but the existing tiles are coming off and I'm having a plasterer for half a day so it's doable. The channel just needs to go straight up into the loft and straight down under the wooden floorboards.

 

[Thomk]

If you're talking about controlling the two from the bar valve then no, but you could do it with a concealed valve. That could be a fair bit of faffing though depending on your walls.

So just to be clear if I want the flexible shower head and fixed shower head in different places I need a concealed valve?