I am working on a new bathroom design which is to covert a unused bedroom into a new family bathroom, as well as turn the existing family bathroom into a ensuite.
When thinking about changing the purpose of a room there is always a bigger cost associated and where possible you want to reduce these costs as much you can, as well as create a practical bathroom space.
Here are my top tips:
1) Consider the position of the toilet first as the pipework for sewage is a large and costly job. Plus you really don't want soil pipes running under too much of the flooring. If there is a leak, its going to smell and be a lot messier to clear up!
Where possible locate the toilet against an external wall, or directly above a lower floor existing toilet. The bathroom design I am working on has a toilet directly below the room in the corner so that makes an easy decision on where to put the toilet.
2) Depending on no1 above, position the toilet out of the main eyeline from the doorway into the bathroom. There is nothing worse than looking at a toilet, especially with the lid up, when the bathroom door is left open.
3) Carefully consider the additional weight being added to flooring and joists when putting a bath into a room. A cast iron bath typically wieghts 225kg, versus a Stone Resin bath at 140kg and an Acrylic bath at 45kg. These weights are without water.
If you then add a full grown adult and a bath full of water the weight could easily creep up to 450kg. To put that into context thats 225 bags of sugar (2kg size). Its vital when adding a bathroom you check that the floor can take the extra weight.
4) Position the radiator or heated towel rail away from knees and elbows. I know we don't like to talk about sitting down on the toilet but have you ever sat down and bust your knees on a red hot radiator. Or, be using a sink and catch your elbow on a heater towel rail. I know I have done both and let out a yelp!
5) Take a look at wall cladding options instead of the traditional tiles and grout. Targwall+ is a range of PVC wall panels which is applied with silicone and cut with a regular stanley knife. These panels mimic the look of tile at a fraction of the cost.
They are also much easy to clean - no more scrubbing grout between tiles.
6) Take a look at tall kitchen larder units as bathroom storage. Bathroom cabinets are typically expensive and not very big. At My Claybrick Home I have the boiler in the bathroom which I needed to cover over so we re-purposed a large kitchen unit and doors. The bottom section of the cabinet holds almost 50 toilet rolls plus the bathroom cleaning products.
I hope these tips have given you some 'food for thought' and given you some insight into perhaps the hidden costs of a bathroom renovation.
Need help?
If you are planning a bathroom renovation, or looking to re-purpose a room as a bathroom, then get in touch. I offer a free consultation for all new clients. Drop me a contact here to get in touch.
If you'd like to read more about the bathroom reno that I complete at My Claybrick Home - knocking 3 rooms into 1 - then click here.