Buy bathroom suites and accessories
Redesigning your bathroom can be a daunting prospect, but having made the decision to say bye bye to the dated vanity unit and the wobbly toilet seat, now comes the exciting task of deciding how you want your new one to look.To help make the prospect smooth, we've asked the experts at bigbathroomshop.com to advise on some of the most common bathroom design queries and dilemmas.
What's generally cheaper, a bathroom suite or to buy the pieces separately?
There is however a growing trend towards consumers wishing to choose more 'bespoke' solutions for their bathroom designs so the more sophisticated retailers are working on helpful ways to allow consumers more choice and flexibility, without a financial penalty.
Have a go with the Bigbathroomshop.com configurator.
Will a towel rail offer the same heat as a radiator?
Standard panel radiators have a relatively large surface area allowing more heat to convect into a room but heated towel rails have a smaller surface area usually with a 'ladder' rail design, very useful for hanging towels but not as efficient for heat distribution.
As an example a 500 x 700mm single panel standard radiator will give a heat output of approximately 2114 British Thermal Units (BTUs) whereas a similar sized heated towel rail will give approximately 1145 BTUs.
What are the differences between acrylic and steel baths?
The following outlines the main differences.
Design
Steel: Due to the high cost of moulding tools and the relative inflexibility of the material steel baths tend to be simpler in design.
Acrylic: The manufacturing process is simpler, the tools are cheaper, and the material is much easier to mould therefore designs can be much more elaborate.
Thermal properties
Steel: Steel conducts heat well and so the water in a steel bath will cool more rapidly than in an acrylic bath. This effect should be so small that it should not detract from the user experience.
Acrylic: Acrylic baths retain heat better than steel baths and will be warmer to the touch.
Surface finish
Steel: Good quality steel baths are finished with a hardwearing enamelled surface that will give many years of trouble free use. Please be aware however that should the enamel become damaged it will need professional attention to repair it and the bath may need replacing.
Acrylic: Good quality acrylic (those manufactured from sanitary grade acrylic) will also give many years of trouble free use with the added advantage that small surface scratches and blemishes can be polished out using 'T' Cut or a similar mild buffing agent.
Stability
Steel: Steel baths give the impression of being more stable when fitted, as the material is obviously less flexible to start with.
Acrylic: Acrylic baths have suffered in the past from a poor reputation due the supply of inferior quality products. However they still have the lion's share of the market in the UK and when supplied by a reputable retailer and installed correctly they should prove sturdy and trouble free.
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When buying a shower enclosure, what will I need?
Shower screen: The size and style will depend on your individual room size and shape.
Shower tray with feet: You will almost certainly need a shower tray, unless you are fitting the cubicle into a 'wet room' installation. Whether the tray needs feet or not will depend upon the floor it's being fitted to, the type of tray you've purchased and the look that you're trying to achieve. Shower trays are generally made from two types of material: Resin stone, or Acrylic.
Resin stone trays are made from stone and resin, which is finished with a hardwearing gel coat. They tend to be heavier than acrylic and fit straight to the floor, usually without feet. They tend to be lower cost than the acrylic versions and are very stable if fitted correctly. They range in height from 800-120mm from the floor. The disadvantage is that they restrict access should you need to get to the waste pipe after fitting.
Acrylic trays are constructed from moulded acrylic that is strengthened with glass fibre reinforcement and a wooden baseboard. They are usually 40-50mm in height giving a very sleek modern look to your bathroom and making access easier for the old or infirm. The majority of acrylic trays can be fitted with optional feet and panels raising the tray off the floor by around 80-100mm which is useful for fitting to solid floors and allows for easier access after installation.
For more information visit www.bathroomhelp.co.uk.
Pop-up waste: We wouldn't recommend fitting a pop-up waste in a shower tray simply because if you fitted one and it closed there is a good chance you could flood the shower tray and then your bathroom. Shower tray wastes tend to be 'free flowing' i.e. are not able to be closed.
Hot and cold valve: Virtually all showers are supplied with these, although the real question is whether to buy a thermostatic or manual valve. In simple terms thermostatic showers have a safety feature, which means that if the water pressure changes (i.e. because someone has switched a tap on elsewhere in the house, or flushed a toilet) then the shower adjusts the water flow to ensure you are not scalded. Manual showers do not have this safety feature and for this reason tend to be cheaper.
Shower head: You will need a fixed shower head, or slide rail and shower head kit. The choice is down to personal preference. Fixed heads give a more minimalist look but slide rails are far more flexible as the shower head height is adjustable and the shower head can be removed from the bracket to rinse your body or even to assist when cleaning the bath.
How do I measure my BTUs (for towel radiator)?
However if you want to do it the old-fashioned way, follow this method:
Step 1 - Find the volume of the required room in cubic metres: calculate length x width x height.
Step 2 - Adjust this measurement according to room type: lounges and dining rooms multiply by 50, bedrooms multiply by 40, common areas and kitchens multiply by 30, bathrooms multiply by 90.
Step 3 - Allow for important environmental variables: for north facing rooms add 15%, for patio doors add 20%, for double glazing deduct 10%, for very exposed property add 10%, for new property (which tend to be much better insulated) deduct 20%. This will give you the output of a radiator in watts.
Step 4 - Multiply this by 3.412 to give the BTU requirement for the room.
What is a pop-up waste?
For a basin arrangement there is an arrangement of two rods fixed to create a lever arrangement. As you lift the 'pop-up rod', usually on the back of the tap, it moves another rod which causes the plug to fall into place closing the waste. The action is reversed to lift the plug and open the waste.
A bath pop-up waste is a slightly more complicated product that fits into the overflow waste hole of a bath. With a pop up waste the bath overflow has a handle over it that rotates to raise or lower the plug using cables. The operation of the bath overflow is not affected.
Do all taps come with a pop-up waste?
A one-tap hole basin can be fitted with a monobloc tap which normally has a pop up waste supplied as standard.
A bath waste, whether pop-up or standard plug and chain style is supplied separately from the taps so either can be chosen. The bath overflow hole size they fit to is governed by British (now European) Standards so either style should fit to any bath you purchase.
What is the difference between a tap and an extra-fill (or Exo-Fill)?
Bath taps have been around for hundreds of years and have a hot or cold feed pipe that brings water to the tail of the tap, the flow of water through the tap is controlled by a valve, or ceramic disc cartridge. They are a well-proven simple solution and easy to fit. Exo-Fills are a relatively new product. The water still comes from a hot and cold feed pipe but it is 'mixed' in a valve arrangement concealed below the bath. The flow of water through the Exo-Fill is controlled through ceramic disc cartridges operated by handles that fit directly to the bath (usually in the holes where the taps would fit). The outlet for the water is combined with the bath overflow mechanism and usually incorporates a bath pop up waste arrangement. The Exo-Fill arrangement is a neater, solution but can prove more difficult to install than standard bath taps.
How can one make the most of limited space in their bathroom?
Smaller sized pottery (sometimes called 'Compact' pottery) is becoming more popular as it projects into the bathroom less than standard pottery. As furniture becomes more popular manufacturers have started to design ranges for smaller bathrooms that are less deep (front to back) than standard bathroom furniture (Appx. 200mm deep as opposed to standard product depths of appx. 330mm). View compact cabinets.
Shower cubicles with Bi-fold doors are a good solution for smaller bathrooms, as are corner entry cubicles or sliding shower doors as an alternative to a bath.
