New bathroom - where to start?

When we revamped our bathroom to make it into a shower room, we went to a local company. They gave us lots of colour cards to choose from, and they used their own plumbers, electricians and flooring company. The floor was Karndean and has done very well up to now.
The shower room took 3 weeks to complete but we are very happy with it.

I only like white in a bathroom, contrasting floor and towels etc. It's the fitting that is difficult.

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Jaxjacky

July 2024 thread, I hope it’s done by now!

Oh yes, I didn't notice this. It would be lovely to see a photo!

I'd also go down the route of drawing a plan to scale and cutting out pieces of paper the sizes of the bathroom equipment so you can move it around and see how it fits.
The obvious thing to say is that it's cheaper to keep things in the same places to avoid extra plumbing costs, but the best thing might be to decide which builder you are going to use to knock the rooms together and see what suggestions he has for you. He probably does bathrooms all the time and knows what works. You could also see if anyone can recommend a local plumber or bathroom showroom who have revamped their bathroom and see what they suggest.
I've also heard horror stories about B&Q, people suggest that you are better off going with established equipment providers rather than own brand kit. But it's worth going round there and also a few other local showrooms to give yourself some ideas.
Personally I've always gone with simple white fittings, lever taps and wall mounted basins and WCs, it's easier to clean the floor that way. You can always add interest with a lovely floor or tiles, or some colour on the walls. If you have room a freestanding bath always makes a bathroom look more interesting and spacious.

July 2024 thread, I hope it’s done by now!

DD is doing exactly whatyou want to at the moment and she did it much as *Notspaghetti described in her first post.

She drew a to-scale plan of the space then did a lot of surfing baathroom sites online plus visiting local bsthroom showrooms, Wickes, B& etc. In her case, like you she wanted colour (and style) so went online and bought a secondhand washbasin and loo off ebay. But there are specialist companies that specialise in selling reused coloured sanitary ware, but they are expensive. Then employ a local plumbing firm and get a few uotes and ask uestions. Keep a close eye on them once they start work.

A good first step is to get a builder out to look at the space and tell you what is structurally possible when you combine the two rooms. That gives you the layout before you choose any suite. Once you know where the plumbing can go, you can pick the units you like from any supplier and let the builder fit them. Most people do a mix because it gives more choice on style and colour. A decent builder is used to this and will work with whatever you buy.

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I think the bottom line is how "hands on" with things do you want to be, Cabowich - I couldn't choose all my bathroom things from one place but others can.
I'd rather accumulate stuff (in my hall!) for weeks ahead of the install. I'm pretty choosy. One way isn't better than the other - just different.

I think you need to work out how you feel about things.
I DO see the attraction of choosing from what one business can offer! I expect there is less frustration if you do that!

Lots of ideas and suggestions on here about things I'd never even thought about. Thank you all.

Keep an eye out for bargains too. When we wanted to re do our bathroom we found a very nice Royal Doulton bathroom suite at B&Q. It was priced at about £500 but this one had been left in the yard and got wet when it rained. I may be wrong but it seems to me that one thing that isn't going to be damaged by a bit of water is a bath!

We had our bathroom completed re-done by B&Q. They were brilliant and the finish is perfect.

It was so easy because we chose all the fittings, bathroom suite, shower, wall tiles & flooring from B&Q; their ‘designer’ came and looked, checked that it would all work and that was that. They provided all the workmen - plumbers, tilers, electricians. So much easier than having to source them all myself.

I couldn’t be happier with it

Colours and styles might 'go out', but if the people who paid £££ to have them installed liked them when they were 'in', then what does it matter? The whole cycle of 'in' and 'out', whether it is colours, size of tiles, style of handles, materials for floors or whatever is a giant Marketing trick.

People buy what is available when they want it. For a while the fashion was for grey interiors, and it was difficult to find much in other colours, and most of those would be considered to have 'gone out' anyway. Unless people want to add to landfill by throwing things out every five years and getting the next transient 'in thing', they live with the things they loved and were 'in' when they bought them. The things themselves haven't changed, just the minds of the people selling more 'stuff', so why would the owners have gone off them?

And no, as it happens, I have no grey in my house, but not because someone else has decided that it's had its day. I'm getting a new bathroom fitted in a couple of weeks, and it will have to last until I go to a home for the bewildered or leave feet first. It is costing a fortune, and I know that in five years time there will be people saying that everything in it has 'gone out' and sneering at it, but what's the alternative? I can only choose from what's available, same as everyone else.

I so agree about grey! So dreary. I'm looking to install a shower and when the local firm showed me their offerings, I said in rather a loud voice that grey had gone out.
And the man who came to lay the dark green carpet in my bedroom commented how nice it was to lay a carpet that wasn't grey.

Start at the beginning by deciding what you want in it.
You will probably be compromised by where the waste comes in but if you want to throw money at it then that needn’t be a consideration.
We just went to every bathroom supplier in the area to look at what was available and drew it all on graph paper.
I found a fabulous bath in Grimsby on eBay, ex showroom. My Sister lives near Grimsby so she went to look at it- tried it out for size and we were so lucky the supplier delivered it to us as he was coming down south.
Choosing the tiles was the most difficult. They have to be something that you will like after 6 months.
We used local builders and they were excellent. We had underfloor heating put in and that is lovely in the winter.
I wish I had had the sink positioned higher up but otherwise I’m still happy 10years on.

Sorry, six years ago

We updated our bathroom about 6 years old. I had a few quotes, from bathroom specialist companies etc., but eventually chose a guy from country council trusted trader who gave me the most competitive quote.

We chose all the bath, washing basin, radiator, vanity unit from his catalogue. I went to the local tiling company to choose the bathroom tiles.
The work went smoothly, took about 2 weeks including a new bathroom window.

Best of luck with modernising the bungalow. We decided to stay put and future proof our house but need to include a downstairs shower / wet room.

Not even sure where to put it. Under the stairs or build a small porch extension with a wetroom / shower room.

We used Wickes who did everything using a local team.The whole thing was completed in a week .We were very pleased and we had the added bonus of half price bath, shower,tiles etc.The designer kept her eye on things and everything went smoothly.

When my bathroom was renovated all the plumbing was done by a local recommended plumber, he made some.suggesyins to maximize space and the loo.has been moved, and the bath is slightly shorter but lower. One thing I learned from when mum needed her bathroom sorting was that if it is a pretty but slightly fancy bath with taps in the middle, you can't use a device that lowers you into the bath and helps you out if you start not.being able to easily get in and out of the bath
I hope it will be a long time before I need that but as well to be prepared.
I have a small house the downstairs flooring is laminate from Costco, much better quality than I've seen in local diy shops, and with a degree of water resistance. Both my son and his friend were impressed enough to get the same.sort for their house renovations
The wall was in pretty bad state, and one of the walls had when I moved in some sort of textured paint, an absolute disaster. Might even have contained asbestos, probably not but putting wall covering sheet on made it easier,.no need to remove,.it covered a multitude of sins and is a dream to clean. As the room is small I went for my ight colours with marble, not keen on grey as plain grey, but with white marble with grey veins round the bath, it makes it feel a bit like I'm in ancient Rome!

Go to B&Q, Wickes, homebase, Kent blaxhill and/or your local bathroom showrooms, and tile warehouses and pick up their glossy catalogues, and look at their room displays. Decide your price point/ quality and features you want, , then study the catelogues and work out what you think you want. The assistants can be very helpful in these stores so take your room.measurememts with you, but don't sign up to anything until you are happy with the design and costs budget.

Sone bathroom suppliers do have a full fitting service but do ask your neighbours for details of tried and tested recommended small/ medium sized builders to do the work as and they will sourced the plumber electrician and tiler for you. You normally pick your own bathroom suite, tiles and taps, and get these delivered when you have found a builder. If you are knocking out load bearing walls or changing window sizes/ positions you may need structural engineer. Remember to ensure that all new works comply with all necessary building regulations and ensure the contractor gets the sign off certificates. Don't pay up front and make it you do pay in installments that you don't pay the last amount until the building reg certificates are issued.

I went to a bathroom shop and they supplied everything and suggested one of their approved installers. The result is fabulous even though the fitter was an odd mix of snooty and lazy … possibly because he was dealing with a woman .

We live in a flat and had previously removed the wall between the bathroom and toilet losing the radiator.. Took the measurements to B&Q and they produced CAD drawings of what was possible. We chose the fittings and a surveyor came and checked everything out. Two charming young fitters spent 10 days doing the fitting and all the junk was removed. Under floor heating was a bonus as they had to move the radiator pipes. I’ve seen bathrooms done by the local plumbers and was glad I used b&q as those lads worked solely on my bathroom to get it done quickly .

Lots of good advice here. I’d just say…2 toilets are a real bonus in advancing years! If you’re future proofing think carefully about keeping a2nd loo.

The Local authority last Autumn decided to install a new bathroom in my council house.
They didn't ask what I wanted or needed just sent workmen to do the installation.
They installed a walk in shower and new toilet and basin. Renewed the flooring and repainted in white. It is lovely but a little colourless. I brighten it up with colorful towels and accessories Absolutely no complaints.

I measure up carefully and then work out a plan, as NotSpaghetti suggests.
Moving the toilet position is often not possible because of the soil pipe, though it should be possible to move the basin and bath. Obviously new positions would be more expensive in terms of plumbing.
Personally I prefer free standing baths, wall-mounted WCs and basins as keeping the floor clear makes the room feel more spacious and easier to clean, but it is often simpler to box them in and hide the plumbing, provided you have proper access panels, as RosieMaw2 found.
Some equipment is very expensive, but if you look online at bathroom suppliers you can get a pretty good idea of what level of spending you'll need to achieve what you want.
I'd always prefer to use a recommended plumber rather than a bathroom company, so if you have friends or neighbours who can recommend a good, reliable, helpful plumber that would probably be cheaper though you may have to wait until he can fit you in. Sometimes they can get a discount on the equipment too, though I've always bought everything online myself, including the tiles, mirrored cabinets and lights.
We've modernised quite a few bathrooms over the years and found that the extra cost of prestigious brands hasn't always been reflected in the final look of the bathroom. The standard manufacturers' products are very stylish now - and much cheaper. The one thing I'd suggest is that you don't skimp on is taps as an attractive, good quality tap will make a big difference to the look of the room. Also if you plan to have a shower, either separate, over the bath or as a bath handset, it is worth getting a thermostatic mixer.
The idea of panels on the walls rather than tiles sounds good, but our experienced builder had never used them so we went with large porcelain tiles in the end. You need to be careful with floor tiles to make sure that they are not very slippery when wet.