Future proofing the bathroom

Have now arranged for the total update to my en-suite to be carried out mid-April.

Neither of the configurations I did were any use, designer came up with a third one, which I have accepted, The room is rather a strange shape (most of the rooms are in these flats).

My main reasons for wanting to have this room updated apart from the one of just modernising it, was hopefully, that they will be able to make less of step up into the shower, also installing a comfort height loo, and to 'fit' the furniture |(like in kitchens to make it easier to keep clean, (not having to get mop round and behind loos and wash hand basin.). As usual there are compromises that I have to accept both for reasons of cost and space.

However the design I have accepted does give me most of what I want and quite a reasonable amount of storage space. At present I have a very thin electric panel in there (turns on from other side of that wall in hallway. it is very immediate, I turn it on and within a couple of minutes it is really giving off a lot of heat. Designer worked hard persuading me to have installed normal electric towel rail - which definitely would look better but would not warm up so quickly. As soon as I come out of the shower I turn off that little panel which suits me very well. That room, being totally internal, is never really cold. Electrician told me towel radiator would just have started to warm up when I would wish to turn it off. So I am keeping my existing panel with a couple of normal towel rails above it.
At present in my shower, I have a free standing shower stool -which works well. I have also been a little concerned about the fold down chairs - the ones I have seen put in by local authority look ugly and seem difficult to keep clean, Expensive commercial ones worry me as ( I weigh just over 12 stone and do not like the feeling that they are just hinged to the wall. The one this firm is supplying has those hinged but also a pull down leg in the front and come up in matching colours.

Important to me is for firm doing this to do their own 'project managing'. Whereas, it may be cheaper for me to do my own, the thought of trying to juggle plumbers, electricians ,tilers, plasterers, etc. etc. is a nightmare -so this company does all that for me. I do not pay VAT on things being fitted, but do so for the actually building work involved.

One problem presented itself with regard to the door, it is not able to be hinged to go the other way (into my bedroom) as then it would follow a similar path used by the bedroom door. I have always been a little concerned about this door, as should I ever actually have a bd fall in that room I would probably be blocking the door from being opened. Anyway, we have now decided now replace this with a bi-fold door, which will give that little more space AND take away that concern.

I am intending to start a separate thread in my experience with trying to use one of the companies that advertise widely in magazines and on tv specifically for the disabled, Not a good one for me.

You are both ahead of me, AntieFlo and Franbern. I am at the point now of thinking about going round showrooms - maybe one day next week. It's been about six weeks since having the bedrooms and kitchen made over, and the trauma is beginning to fade.

I am very interested in listening to (or looking at) your projects. What I find off-putting is that I don't know what i want, what is available and what questions to ask. Once I start looking though, those things should seem less daunting. Also, I have absolutely no idea about costings, which again, should be clearer when I've made some sort of effort. Having said that, though, in my experience those spiral once you get started.

Doodledog, I started my search on bathrooms nearly a year ago. Visited as many showrooms as I could and collected a mountain of brochures. These I could look at whilst sitting comfortably at home.

I used graph paper to try to work out with sizes listed in brochures what I might be able to have. Slowly, over many months it began to emerge what I wanted. I had two main aims, one to try to get the step up to the shower lowered as far as possible, and to ensure that the room would be easy as possible to keep clean.

I already had a working en-suite, so I was looking at updating that. But when I mopped in there, have to go round and behind WC base and basin base. I loved the fitted ones I saw in showrooms, everything tucked away out of sight behind kick boards (like kitchens). So, this became quite another priority.

I also asked around in my u3a, etc groups and over and over again I was advised to have a comfort height loo and these also come up rimless (somewhere else where dirt can hide).

If you have any medical disability then all the fittings come up without you having to pay VAT. Ensure any company you may use knows about this and the forms they have to complete.

In my kitchen I did not have any wall tiles, large laminate sheets are used instead of those, much easier to keep clean and no grout ever to worry about. These are available for bathrooms, although I have gone this time with some very large wall tiles.
Ensure anything built in is accessible for repairs

Thank you.

I've looked online, and a lot of the local people have galleries of examples, and loos with no visible cisterns seem very popular. The sort of thing in the photo.

They do look neat, but is that what you mean about being inaccessible for repairs? I couldn't work out what would happen if the ballcock went, or something.

We’re in the middle of a refurb of one of our en-suite shower rooms and the decisions we’ve had to make have been very taxing. Fortunately my husband has good spatial intelligence because I do not. He explains every bit of what’s needed, but most of it goes over my head as I can’t think in 3D. 🤯

Doodlebug that is exactly what I meant. I a having one of those concealed cisterns, but have ensured that there is a panel in the all that is easily opened to access this.
Do be prepared for the cost to escalate. The costs of the items themselves are just a part of it. Added on to that is the costs of electrician, tiler, plumber, etc. as well as things like tiles, flooring, etc.

Doodledog we had two loos installed like, that in our previous house. The way the bathrooms were configured, we were able to have a recessed shelf above cistern height and a removable counter top. One of the bathrooms then had glass shelving above that, which gave us plenty of storage space. The other bathroom, we had bathroom furniture built in and the loo was part of that.

Exciting isn't it? We had the quote through today from the chap who visited us last Thursday. Seems reasonable enough, so we will probably go with him. The bathroom shop we visited has used him in their own home for two bathrooms.

Franbern, how about something like this? It says in the blurb that it supports + 31st! Wow. I think I will need one of these and they are fairly neat, but more a perch than a seat?
Doodle, enjoy the showroom visits. I think you get a feel from the assistants . Our little local bathroom shop is super helpful and we will use them as suppliers.
Let us know how you get on, especially as you seem to have had a lot done recently. Oh the upheaval 😱

How did it go, Auntieflo? Did you get it done?

We had a designer round yesterday, and he's going to get back to us with a CAD of his ideas. The idea is that we see what we think, suggest any changes, to and fro a bit until we decide between us what we need, and then he'll quote. That seems a bit back to front, but I can understand his reluctance to do a million quotes as they take time and it's a small business. I have no idea what to expect cost-wise, though.

We currently have a cast iron bath, which I really like, as it's huge and keeps the water hot for ages. He said that they aren't made any more, and suggested getting one made from Caronite. Does anyone have experience of that? I'd never heard of it. We also discussed underfloor heating, which I thought would free up space if we take out the wall between the loo and the bathroom, as the radiator is on there currently. He said that he's not a fan, as most people only have underfloor heating on when the room is in use, and that would be unpredictable in a bathroom, so you'd risk getting a bath or shower in a cold room, and heating it when you're not there. Again, I'd be interested to hear experiences on that, if anyone has feelings one way or the other.

If we go with this chap it will be October at the earliest before he can do it, but that's ok, as it's roughly when I had in mind. If it's much later we'll risk the awful Christmas stress, which I'd much rather avoid, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it .

Oh, and the quote will be for everything. He will deal with the electrics, the plumbing, tiling and everything else. The only thing we'll have to do is make good the landing on the other side of the wall, as if we change the layout that will be affected.

We went for a heated towel rail to double up as a radiator rather than underfloor heating.

We have underfloor heating throughout the house so I have no experience of what it’s like in just one room. Our heated towel rails are excellent but I don’t think they would be enough to heat the bathrooms on their own.

Thanks both. I'll discuss it in more detail with him if we decide to go with his ideas, which we haven't seen yet. It's quite exciting now. I've googled the baths, and it's Carronite, with two 'r's. Some sort of resin, apparently.

Well, last night I had a text from our bathroom chap.
He has pulled out!
I am so upset, as I really don't know why. Perhaps I asked too many questions, he just said quote, " I don't think I am the best person for this project. Hope you find a great installer and that everything goes well" All the best.
So here we are almost back to square one. At least we haven't spent any money yet, and I think I know now more of what I want to achieve.
By the way Doodle, if we lose our bath, you can have ours. It is a Carronite one, and is lovely. 🤗

Doodledog

Thank you.

I've looked online, and a lot of the local people have galleries of examples, and loos with no visible cisterns seem very popular. The sort of thing in the photo.

They do look neat, but is that what you mean about being inaccessible for repairs? I couldn't work out what would happen if the ballcock went, or something.

That looks like our loo except that it ours a panel behind it. The panel is removable if the plumber needs to come to get to anything behind.

How does that one flush? Ours has a round flush in the back panel which you press but I find, as my fingers get a bit stiffer and more arthriticky, it is quite hard to push sometimes.
Other than that, it's neat and easy to keep clean.

Our heated towel rails are quite effective but do take a bit more cleaning than ordinary radiators.
Ours are like this but there are more modern ones available now too.

Auntir0eflo

That's very annoying, but perhaps he wasn't the best man for the job. I hope you find someone good and reliable soon.

Our loos are the ‘back to the wall’ variety, cistern hidden behind tiled panels which can be removed if necessary. There are two buttons to press, for a longer or quick flush. They only need a light touch. It makes cleaning so much easier.

For a moment I thought that there must be 'face the wall' loos . I need more coffee.

That's a shame, Auntieflo, particularly given the lead times for getting work done. Did you feel that you got on with him? Maybe he was a cowboy who realised that you would hold him to account? Do you use Facebook? If so, there is almost certainly a local page on which you can ask for recommendations. I've used ours to find people before, and followed up with direct messages to recommenders, so they can be completely frank without the tradesman seeing.

I like heated towel rails, but my husband is a pain in the proverbial when it comes to covering radiators. I just know he will take them off the rail and drape them over the side of the bath😡. He does this in the lodge, as he's convinced that they block the heat. It drives me mad, as it's a small bathroom and not only does it look a mess, the towels are always damp, and there's limited storage space at the best of times.

I'm all for easy-clean options. I'm wondering about what to put on the walls, as the difference between tiles in the kitchen and solid splashbacks is noticeable when it comes to cleaning. I'm not sure how it would work for whole walls though. In the kitchen the splashback is between the worktops and cabinets and behind the hob, but it would be everywhere in a bathroom and might make it look like a caravan.

Thanks for the Carronite info. I'd never heard of it, but it sounds good.

The tiles in our bathrooms are large and the same ones are used behind the loo as in the rest of the bathroom. I imagine that a false wall was created where the loo is, to hide the cistern and pipe work. If your bathroom is small that might not be practical.

Doodle, he wasn't a 'cowboy', in fact he was recommended by the local bathroom shop, having done work for them personally. Mind you he was always late in replying to an email, and perhaps he just thought I was too much 😳 I don't know and probably never will.
Have you thought about Wall Panels (Multipanel) for your bathroom? They can look amazing, and we are going to have them, and they can be put up over existing tiles, with a long guarantee.
I have had a recommendation from a friend, whose neighbour was pleased with work done, but am now trawling through the Green Book for more inspiration.

The small bathroom is in the lodge (fancy caravan ), GSM. The one in the house is a reasonable size.

Oh well, AF. I'm sure it's his loss. I can't be doing with people who don't reply in a timely fashion. I don't expect them to be on their phones when working, but leaving an hour at the end of the day to respond to messages from clients is not too much to expect. If they ignore you, it's not a good sign as regards their attitude to customer care.

I'll look at large tiles for the walls. I have copper backsplash in the kitchen, and I'm very pleased with it, but as I say, it doesn't go right up the walls as it would have to in a bathroom. I'll google Multipanel, thanks.

We had a new bathroom a couple of years ago and love it but wish we had made it a wet room as my mobility is not as good now.
We had the bath removed and a walk in shower installed with a large handle. If we sold the house, there is enough room to remove the shower and put a bath in.
Just a silly little tip - borrow a child's paddling pool and put it in the kitchen. I had a big plastic jug and poured hot water over my head, soaped up and rinsed.

Doodledog

Thanks, GSM. I will get a plumber, or a bathroom company in to discuss options, but wanted to have some idea of what I wanted first.

I don't care about the separate loo being dated - it has definite advantages, IMO - but it wastes space because of the door. I quite like the idea of blocking off the door, knocking through and using the space for a shower, but I have no idea what that will mean for the plumbing. That's where the experts will come in, though.

I am planning to start this in the summer, as we've had a lot of disruption with bedrooms and the kitchen being overhauled lately, and I want to relax for a while before starting again with men in the house and no water etc. I want to use the time to consider my options. I think I would miss a bath, though.

Could you not use the loo space for a large storage cupboard and bring to loo into the bathroom itself?

You can keep the bath and when the need arises OT's from Adult Social Care will give you a bath lift to help you get in and out.

Shower wise, make it big enough to get a chair/seat in it now, and preferably make it level access so you have future proofed it and it can still look like a non-disabled bathroom?

Look carefully at the dimensions of water saving baths - not only saving water but lower and narrower than many so you may be able to get in and out of one more easily than you imagine. Do you have B&Q/Wickes etc showrooms where you could see things for real?