New bathroom-What to spend money on?

[xyz123]

Hi, we r going to have a new ensuite as part of loft conversion. Buying bathroom fixtures is like an absolute minefield. Our current bathroom is very basic and whilst we don't want anything exotic, I want to make sure we don't buy junk.

We need a bath, basin with vanity unit, w/c and taps/shower head. We went to a showroom where we were shown a cheap bath at £400 and then expensive one at £700 but the difference between the two was visible as in the expensive one had lot more space on inside with same outer dimension as the cheaper one. So it made sense. For taps, it makes sense 5o go with a known brand in case of spares.

However with other things I am struggling to differentiate between say a £400 vanity unit and a £1000 one.

So, if you are still reading..

1. Any pointers on what to spend money on wisely or any tips?
2. Specifically are W/C all same other than design? E. G. Do they all generally have same size seat and flushing capability?

Thanks

[Quattr04.]

Sometimes the biggest differences are build quality

I always find the best products are the mid range products

I would make sure you get a dual fuel or electric towel radiator so it works in the summer
Heated mirror so it doesn’t fog up

A bath if you sit in that’s wider than average

[blueg33]

If you are buying shelves for inside the shower to put shower gel etc on, the only safe place to spend your money is on Millar products they are the only ones I have seen that don't eventually rust or tarnish.

Get a rimless toilet (make largely irrelevant) but get Gerberit innards for the cistern

I have been impressed by our Crosswater push button shower valves

The main thing to do is spend time not money. Shopping around can get you serious savings especially on things like shower screens and trays. We favour Merlyn and have found some excellent deals. We have done 5 bathrooms in 3 years. (I know - worst I have a big house....etc)

[OutInTheShed]

Decent shower enclosure.
Tricky to do well if your shower is over a bath.

Good ventilation is key. Decent inline extractor.
Avoid crowding the space with big basins or cupboards.

Think about actually be able to easily move around the space.

Mostly it's lighting and tiles that make it look nice or not.
Avoid cheap taps, or be prepared to change them when the chrome starts to fail.

[JimM169]

I'd be looking at a steel bath over acrylic, less flex, more durable and better heat retention

Also the biggest shower cubicle that will fit.

[chip*]

Kaldewei steel bath

[Craikeybaby]

There was a thread about this recently, with lots of good answers.

Last bathroom we redid we went with cheap bath/bog/sink/shower screen and decent, Grohe, taps/shower. We will be doing the ensuite in our next house this year and will likely do the same. Except for the shower screen, we will get a decent one next time.

[trumptriple]

We've just had our ensuite done and my favourite things are: wall hung vanity sink unit (gives more floor space for feet), rimless toilet with soft-close lid, heated LED mirror.

We bought some stuff from Manomano. Was unsure what to make of the website but things are fulfilled by other suppliers. We even returned a couple of items, customer service was really good.

[blueg33]

Hib heated mirror/wall cabinet is excellent. Agree re wall hung vanity unit.

I also like rectified tiles so you can get a very narrow grout line.

[Grey_Area]

chip* said:

Kaldewei steel bath

This, absolutely, great quality and ours did 20 years of service before replacement

[netherfield]

As above, wall hung sink unit, and a wall hung Villeroy & Boch toilet which was set to the ideal height for the both of us.
Toilet also has a good flushing action with kind of a corkscrew shape which forces the water all around the pot.

Edited by netherfield on Thursday 17th April 15:14

[irc]

Yes for "wall hung vanity sink unit (gives more floor space for feet)"

We got a p shaped bath for more width at shower end.

Dual wall mounted toothbrush charger.

As no kids in house and nobody below average height we got a toilet slightly higher than standard height. Great!

It cost another £150 ir so than the exact same model in standard height but worth it. Called comfort height I think.

[zalrak]

Japanese toilet for certain!

[AlexC1981]

JimM169 said:

I'd be looking at a steel bath over acrylic, less flex, more durable and better heat retention

Also the biggest shower cubicle that will fit.

I haven't used a steel bath, but as steel conducts heat much better than plastic, I would expect one to cool quicker.

If you like your bathwater to stay hot for longer, you could pack mineral wool loft insulation around the underside.

[Turtle Shed]

AlexC1981 said:

I haven't used a steel bath, but as steel conducts heat much better than plastic, I would expect one to cool quicker.

If you like your bathwater to stay hot for longer, you could pack mineral wool loft insulation around the underside.

The steel will pull heat from the water at a quicker rate than plastic would, but then when the temperatures have equalised the larger overall thermal mass means the temperature stays higher for longer.

I don't have a steel bath, so can't speak from experience, but my guess is that you would go with slightly hotter water to begin with (or use less cold).

[BunkMoreland]

zalrak said:

Japanese toilet for certain!

Old skool. "Squat ones" ????






Thankfully most hotels and public ones are now western style items

BUTT, they do the "water half up the bowl" thing like the Yanks! Too much "splishy splashy"

My pic. I never bothered with any of the fancy-ness! Poo and flush!

[zalrak]

Lots of nice ones to choose from now:

https://www.victorianplumbing.co.uk/toilets/japane...

[miniman]

blueg33 said:

If you are buying shelves for inside the shower to put shower gel etc on, the only safe place to spend your money is on Millar products they are the only ones I have seen that don't eventually rust or tarnish.

Get a rimless toilet (make largely irrelevant) but get Gerberit innards for the cistern

I have been impressed by our Crosswater push button shower valves

The main thing to do is spend time not money. Shopping around can get you serious savings especially on things like shower screens and trays. We favour Merlyn and have found some excellent deals. We have done 5 bathrooms in 3 years. (I know - worst I have a big house....etc)

We have a rimless toilet and I am damned if I can see what is different to a normal one.

[darreni]

Get decent tiles and the best tiler you can find.
A st tiling job will make the the rest of the bathroom look crqp regardless of the quality of the rest of the bits.

[AlexC1981]

Turtle Shed said:

AlexC1981 said:

I haven't used a steel bath, but as steel conducts heat much better than plastic, I would expect one to cool quicker.

If you like your bathwater to stay hot for longer, you could pack mineral wool loft insulation around the underside.

The steel will pull heat from the water at a quicker rate than plastic would, but then when the temperatures have equalised the larger overall thermal mass means the temperature stays higher for longer.

I don't have a steel bath, so can't speak from experience, but my guess is that you would go with slightly hotter water to begin with (or use less cold).

The outside of the steel bath would feel hotter to the touch than a plastic one, which shows heat is escaping quicker? I think the steel would act like a heat sink.