Bathroom

Bathroom

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10 Things to Consider when Planning your New Bathroom
written by: Angela1974

Your bathroom is a room within your home that needs care just like any other, and unfortunately is often one that get’s ignored for too long. This room within your home should be a place where you can relax and be surrounded by pleasant furnishings as well as fragrances; if your bathroom is tired and old it should be time you considered a make over or even a whole new suite.

There are of course many considerations necessary before you rush out and decide on a new bathroom, the price you will pay depending a great deal on if you decide on a revamp or a whole new fitted suite, and whichever you choose you will need a lot of planning. You should never make the mistake of going ahead with ripping out your old fixtures and fittings before you have your entire new bathroom planned.

Your first consideration is whether you think that you alone will be able to tackle the job at hand. Fitting a bathroom, most especially when you wish to change the existing plumbing facilities is a big job and one that is best left to the professionals. Not only is it risky to try and alter the lay out of existing features without seeking the advice of the professionals, you could also do some damage to the construction of the home if you are not careful

When you are planning a new bathroom, you do not only have to plan your new suite and where you want your fixtures and fittings to be; you need to accessorize your room too and make as much use of the space available as possible. Extras that make this room look great are towel rails, storage shelves, soft lighting and some great mirrors.

If you decide on a total refit for your bathroom, then the next consideration requires measuring up the room and deciding if you have enough room for your new features or if you will need to alter the structure of your home or the positioning of windows or doors. Moving door and windows and constructing new walls or moving existing water entrances and drains are all big jobs that are better left to the professionals.

If you are planning on taking the task on board with no outside help then your next step will be to draw out your bathroom on squared paper to see just how you will fit in all your new fixtures and fittings. By drawing to scale you will be able to see just where and how to fit in all the different elements and if you need to instigate any space saving elements such as a sliding door.

As well as your new suite or your revamped bath, toilet and basin you will also need to make sure that you will have enough room left to comfortably store away your towels, toiletries and medicines. This will involve incorporating some great looking storage units, and depending on the area you have left you can look at safe saving corner units or under sink cupboards that will not only be practical but will look stylish.

The utilities within the room also need to be a priority consideration. Make sure that you build in your ventilation, lighting and heating, most especially if you are retiling or re flooring the room. There is nothing worse than retiling a room to discover that you have forgotten to add the new light fittings and then having to start over by chipping away your new handiwork.

The next point of consideration should be allowing for easy access to stop cocks and shower pumps or cisterns. You should never block off or tile over these elements of your home as in the unlikely event of burst pipes or a similar accident, the results can be quite disastrous. You do not however have to keep these unsightly elements on view all the time; some stylish and removable panels can disguise them perfectly.

Next, you should consider your bathroom fittings. Depending on the age of your present suite and fittings, standard sizes may have altered. If this seems to be a large concern then once again it is better to call in the professionals to give you their expert opinion, as once again the bathroom is an area of the home where you really do not want to see disasters happening due to ill fitting connections.

The style of your bathroom is also of great importance. Shopping around in bathroom stores as well as online you will be able to ascertain just what you will be able to purchase within your budget. When comparing different models and brands it is also very important that you check the warranty of the product; as a general rule it is well worth while paying out a little more for top quality products.

Lastly, you need to consider the time scale for the works you have planned. If your home only has one bathroom, then this can cause much disruption for your family and indeed make it impossible to live in the home while the work is being carried out. Also, if you have young children or elderly members of your family living with you it will once again be inappropriate to have the home with the main bathroom out of service for some time. This is indeed a very important consideration and one that does require a lot of forward planning.