Hi all. We are starting to get serious about doing a revamp of our bathroom and collecting ideas together. Our bathroom is decent sized but fairly narrow and will need to fit bath, shower, toilet, vanity and some storage area. We have access to cheap(ish) black granite tiles or white marble tiles suitable for the floor and or walls. Needs to be child friendly and would like it to suit the rest of our house which is a semi modern, 80yr old with wood floors, high ceilings and the orignal, windows, door frames etc. I have looked at lots of bathrooms online and have some ideas in mind but would love to hear what others think. What have you done that you love and what would you go back and change if you could! What products did you use that were great and are there any brands you would say to avoid! We don't have a lot of money to spend on it and will be doing the work ourselves but want to use quality products and are into making things ourselves to save money. Would love to hear some of your ideas. Cheers, Mrs tlh :-)
farwest,
Jan 22, 9:40pm
If you use tiles, make sure you waterproof the area correctly.
farwest,
Jan 22, 9:48pm
These people do a nice range of bathroom furniture, in the medium price to expensive range. http://www.stmichel.co.nz/ For less expensive stuff, try the big hardware chains.
mrfxit,
Jan 22, 11:28pm
DON'T do the minimum for water proofing, a minimal job will very probably come back to haunt you later. DO insulate the walls /floors & ceilings, it will make it much nicer in the winter
hmck,
Jan 23, 1:15am
Don't put those stupid too-bright lights over the mirror without having a seperate switch for them - honestly I had to take the bulbs out of mine as they were too bright and came on when the main light came on.And plenty of cupboard space for all the detritus that accumlates in bathrooms.Also - you know those cute little shelves at the ends of baths that look real nice with a fancy decoration on when you view a bathroom!Well - just remember it's not good for anything much and you have to dust it.
tlharrex,
Jan 23, 4:22am
Cool thank you all :-) went to some shops in town today for more inspiration. Have a cousin who is a plumber and an uncle who has just done a big flash bathroom so will talk to them re waterproofing. Thanks for the tips, definitely want to make sure all elements will be practical so please share your experiences. Has anyone had an englefeild bath! They make the biggest ones (want a wide one to fill a gap nicely) I have found so far but don't know anything about brand integrity. Also what are views regarding steel versus arcrylic baths!
Make sure if youget a fan, that it is wired separate to the lights. NOTHING in the world more annoying than reading in the bath with a fan running
kuaka,
Jan 23, 8:35am
Personally I wouldn't go for a shower over the bath.Had one once when I was flatting, got up one morning feeling a bit lethargic, didn't lift my foot high enough as I stepped in and broke my little toe.I didn't realise a little toe could cause so much pain, especially when two weeks later some bloke trod on it at the supermarket.
imagine4,
Jan 23, 8:37am
i put that lino that looks like wooden floors in the bathroom.its rough like wood, and is not slipery.looks fantastic.
ang_ck,
Jan 23, 9:01am
my recommendations a. shower over bathtub - that is a big No No. Imagine having to clean it. b. if you have a shower, Showerdome is a godsend. c. If your showerwall is next to the bedroom, I recommend a double gib wall. it will cut down the noise from the showerwall.
anne1955,
Jan 23, 9:07am
Don't think you are a hero and when she that must be listened to isn't there you can do it yours self.When you have a mate coming the next day to put the new bath in!It will end up with you being in the Sh** with her, as it should.And if yoou'd be better living inend up with a bathroom in Dn in winter above the snow line with the surround not put back and floor not finished.well hope that he who thinks he is doing right decides you'd be better living in ChCh and puts the house on the market.know all the Sh** he hasn't done will be finished with and hour or so before the land agent turns up!:)The joys of being married to a builder!
anne1955,
Jan 23, 9:11am
Should have added.if the cat takes a god forbid dead sparrow down behind the freshly wallpapered water bed and you ask him to vacum it up and he rips the wallpaper at the back.granted it can't bee seen.but she knw's it's ripped and the beds a waterbed.you start emptying out through the hole in bathroom floor by bath with no surround while he wants to sleep in on a Sunday.I mean I ask you.works a treat.did use to love water beds :)
esawers,
Jan 23, 9:52am
We put soundproof insulation in the bathroom walls so the next bedroom can't hear the shower We also put a demister behind the mirror which turns on with the light
We did matt tiles on the floor and gloss tiles on the walls
tlharrex,
Jan 23, 10:03am
Wow, so much helpful advice thank you all! We were thinking shower over bath to save space and money, would tile the 3 walls at the end of the bathroom and put bath there with shower over with possibly a glass sliding stacker (or similar) as a screen when showering! Bathroom only backs onto kitchen and shed so no probs with noise. I love the idea of lino that looks like wood, is it relatively cost effective! Thanks to everyone who posted links I have had a browse but will have a good look tomorrow. I see one of those baths is over 10k! Sheesh! I am she that must be listened to lol and we have the opposite problem, I want to do it all ourselves and get started ASAP and he is trying to rein me in. We have a fan in already and probably won't change any wiringor add any lighting but probably change light fittings. We will also be installing a new hot water system when we do the bathroom so any advice or tips on this subject would also be appreciated.
welshdude,
Jan 23, 10:08am
Avoid pure white and very dark tiles on the floor - they show up spots and marks of dirt severely. Have a timer on the fan so that it keeps going for 5 minutes after you have turned it off and gone away. Also have a timer on the heated towel rail - four hours on-four hours off saves quite a lot of electricity over time. Heated floors are unneccessaryif you have insulation under the floors. Aquatica is a great value for money brand of tapware. Don't skimp on paint quality - use pigmented sealer for gib board and good anti-fungal paints. Resene does some great products. If you areadding wall linings use the green water resistant Gib board 'Aqualine' not standard Gib.
welshdude,
Jan 23, 10:11am
Hot water system - switch to mains pressure if you don't already have it. There is a much bigger range of tapware available and if someone turns on a hot tap when you are in the shower you will be unaffected.
red2,
Jan 23, 7:14pm
Agree !
lee72,
Jan 23, 8:33pm
make sure you have some storage we broughtnew house with great bathroom but no storage it is so annoying
tlharrex,
Jan 24, 6:48pm
Thank you all :-) Showerdoome may not be possible for shower over bath but I will certainly look into it as we need one for the other bathroom anyway. Storage is a biggie for me and have been looking at lots of ideas for maximising the space we have. There is very little storage room and with a growing family I am finding it increasingly frustrating. If you have anything awesome or especially creative that you have done I would love to hear it. There are currently tiles on the floor but a combination of not being done properly and having wooden flooring underneath has caused them to come loose and a few have cracked. Has anyone had success tiling on wooden floors! Have been told because they flex tiling won't ever be a particularly good option! Also would grout quality or the tiler be the reason the grout is crumbling! We currently have mains hot water but hope to install a solar system so want to make sure it is all compatible. My in laws installed a system worth almost 20k and have had lots of trouble due to the solar and wet back not working well with the mains pressure, it has broken down multiple times within the first year and has recently just really spat the dummy and leaked all through their walls and in through their brand new, very expensive kitchen. So we will be doing lots of research before we go ahead with our hot water system. Has anyone used a polyurethane or such similar that will stand up to soap etc! I am hoping to make some or all of our vanity unit (and other bits and pieces) myself from timber and or recycled furniture but have been told to be very cautious because caustic soda in soap eats through it very easily. Was thinking maybe I would put a glass top on it but this also adds costs. Thanks for all your help so far :-) keep the ideas coming!
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