Bathroom Spring Makeover

This time of year is still a little too cold to get out and consider any major work in the garden so perhaps between now and Easter is the time to change that old bathroom suite. Enjoy a few hours looking through the brochures and deciding which new bathroom appeals to you. FOCUS has a brand new range of contemporary and traditional bathroom suites so pick up a brochure and see which style suits you best. Use the brochure for design ideas as well - be inspired by colour schemes, d?cor, lighting and accesories.

In this article, I would like to consider a few ideas about planning the alterations to a bathroom. Whenever I plan a bathroom, I draw a scale plan to make sure all the appliances will fit and to be certain that there is sufficient space once the new suite has been installed. If you find drawing a plan too much of a chore then mark the location of the new suite on the wall and floor. I've found that pieces of masking tape will give you a very good idea of where each item will fit. You will find all the dimensions of the appliances in the back of the new FOCUS bathroom brochure. When doing this make sure you leave sufficient room to use each appliance; there must be plenty of space to stand at the basin or sit on the W.C.

Perhaps I should give you some idea of the space required. Between the bath and the wall, there should be at least 700mm. In front of the W.C. you need a space of at least 600mm and the basin needs about 700 mm between it and a wall or the bath. If you are not altering the position of the appliances, the plumbing should not present a problem. However, if you are shifting their position, be certain that the waste and water pipes can be run to the new location. I've found that running the overflow (warning) pipe from the lavatory cistern can be a problem - now it is possible to buy a cistern that has a built-in overflow, so avoiding the need for a separate pipe.

When deciding which bath you want, think about whether you want side or end taps. Once you have come to an agreement on this then consider whether you need a shower head attachment on the taps. One other thing to think about is whether you need handles (grips) on the bath. These can be useful when bathing children to give them something to hang on to or if you find getting out of the bath a bit tricky.

My wife has the final say on the design because she always seems to notice the impracticalities in my ideas. The sort of thing to think about is how easy will it be to clean the bath, consider where the mirror, bathroom cabinets and towel rail will be fitted. Plan the new flooring and also bear in mind that you may want to update the lighting system in some way. Don't rush into finalizing the design - make sure you get it right.

Above all, talk over the plans and be sure you've got them correct to everyone's satisfaction then remove the tape before it becomes difficult to remove. If you are asking a plumber to install the new appliances, ask him/her to look over the plans to make sure you've not missed anything important and check when he/she will be available. Then order the new suite - giving yourself plenty of time for delivery. If this is your only bathroom, check how long the job will take and ask the plumber if she/he can try to have the W.C. out of operation for as short a time as possible. Wait until you have the suite before you remove the old one, but do pencil in time with a plumber in advance if you need one.