Top 10 Money Saving Tips for Buying a Bathroom

June 17, 2024

So what can affect the costs and how can I save money on my bathroom project?

If you are finding that you are over budget then there are many factors in the bathroom that can be altered to ensure you have control of when picking products. Some products are generally lower cost than others and some are easier and quicker to install which can affect the installation costs. Here are some examples:

1. Tiles

Tiles can have a big impact on the cost of your bathroom. Firstly, tiles can vary hugley in cost starting at around £20 per meter square and going all the way up to £300 or more per meter square. Secondly, you need to consider the size of the area you are going to tile as this will affect both the product and the installation costs. Tiling is notoriously time consuming which can make up a significant proportion of your fitter’s installation bill.

To save money you can consider tiling just the showering area and having splashbacks behind the toilet and basin or perhaps half height tiles around the walls outside the shower area instead of tiling the whole room to its full height. Larger tiles (around 600x300mm) will usually cost less to install than smaller tiles (300mm or less and mosaics) as there is less grouting and therefore the process is generally quicker. You can also contemplate the idea of wall panelling which can work out a higher product cost (these do vary massively dependant on the material choice) but they can be fitted in hours instead of days when compared to tiles and don’t require grouting so they tend to reduce the installation costs in many installations.

Soap on Basin

Basin and Peach Column

2. Basin

When considering what basin to use to save money, the cost effective option is a basin with pedestal or wall hung basin instead of basin with a vanity unit.

Furniture based basin units can add hundreds of pounds onto the product costs. Of course you do gain valuable storage with a piece of furniture so this area can be a compromise between cost and function.

3. Toilets

When considering your choice of a toilet on a budget a close coupled (ceramic cistern sitting on the back of the pan) is usually the most cost affective (considering both the product and installation prices) when compared to a back to wall or wall hung toilet.

The latter options do look very nice but they are more complex to install and both involve concealing the frame/cistern within a boxing, a stud wall, or a piece of furniture which all adds extra cost.

Toilet Stock Image

Tiled Bath and Shower

4. Shower Tray vs Tiled Tray/Wetroom

A standard shower tray will generally work out a significantly lower price point in comparison to a wetroom, as it is far quicker to install and does not involve extra tiling.

A basic shower tray will cost less to buy then the components for a wetroom system.

5. Chrome vs Coloured/Special Finish

If you are looking at a unique or special finish for your taps and shower such as brushed brass, nickel, bronze, gold or black, then just be aware that these products mostly cost more than the standard Chrome finish when comparing like for like quality.

There are also knock on affects that customers don’t consider such as having to match the colour with shower enclosure profiles, shower wastes, toilet roll holders, heated towel rails, toilet flush buttons, handles/knobs, and tile trims which can all push the budget up higher than anticipated.

The Chrome finish has a huge variety of options at relatively low costs due to the higher quantities manufactured and sold.

Running Tap

Shower Enclosure

6. Shower Enclosure vs Open/Walk-In Glass

A walk-in piece of shower glass instead of a fully enclosed shower enclosure can help to reduce the product costs as it involves less raw materials and is typically simpler for your fitter to install.

A walk-in piece of glass is not always practical however, as you will need the space to ensure that splashing outside the showering area is kept to a minimum so this might not be a option if you have a compact showering area.

7. Exposed Shower vs Concealed Shower

The option of using an exposed shower system instead of a concealed shower system will also save you money as the exposed versions are generally lower priced products (comparing like for like quality) as they sell in higher quantities, and the plumbing is far simpler and quicker for your installer to fit.

Tiled Shower

Blue Bathroom

8. Illuminated vs Standard Mirrors and Cabinets

Specifying a standard, non illuminated, mirror or mirrored cabinet instead of an electric, illuminated one, can reduce the product budget required.

However it might not impact the fitting charges by much if you are having a charger socket in the bathroom anyway.

Some illuminated mirrors and mirrored cabinets have a built-in charger socket and have the additional features like lighting and a heat pad to keep the mirror steam free so you may not wish to compromise in this area.

9. Standard vs Freestanding Bath

Selecting a standard rectangular bath to go into the corner or a recess of the room instead of using a freestanding bath will save you money on both the product cost and the fitting of it.

Standard baths and the associated bath taps are far simpler to install than a Freestanding bath with brassware and, unlike a freestanding bath, standard baths require no flooring & tiling underneath them.

Corner Bath Project

Stock Red Bathroom

10. Heating Your Bathroom

If you are looking to reduce the budget required when picking heating for your bathroom or ensuite you can look at a standard radiator or a heated towel rail. Underfloor heating is a lovely and relatively inexpensive luxury however it isn’t absolutely necessary in most bathrooms.

A plain radiator that you find in most rooms is the cheapest option here. However, if you are selecting a heated towel rail which allows you to hang and dry towels more effectively then consider a standard ladder rail shape rather than a more designer shape as ladder rails are usually the lowest price point to buy due to the high quantities that are sold. Painted finishes can sometimes cost less than chrome as they are easier to manufacture and interestingly white rails output considerably more heat than the same versions in chrome. Stainless steel is the best material but will usually be among the most expensive.

Add-ons such as dual fuel electric elements will push up the total price and the fitting costs.

If you liked our top ten here’s a Brucey Bonus for you:

Seconds, Ex-Display and End of Line

A very popular way use save money with us here at Total Bathrooms in Bath is by selecting some products from our famous Clearance areas, where the factory seconds, end of line and ex-display stock can save you hundreds of pounds off your project, so head on down to take a look and start the journey to a stunning and bathroom with fantastic value for money!

2nds Showroom

Did you want to explore more and get more help on what sort of bathroom you can get for your budget?

Check out our other blog post – What does my budget get me for a new bathroom? – for a look at what products and styles are availble in your price range.

How Much Does a New Bathroom Cost?

June 17, 2024

One of the most important queries when starting a new bathroom project is How much will it cost? We are going to answer this to the best of our ability, but before we do it’s important to say that providing a generic cost for a new bathroom is challenging due to the endless amount of products available these days each with differing price points and levels of installation complexities.

Combining this with a diverse range of design layouts can massively affect the scope of your renovation project and the associated costs. When you then factor in the hughly varying room sizes and differing building structures found across the country, you can see why working out a price usually has to be tailored to each and every single bathroom plan.

With all of that said, let’s get down to what you really want to know. We will try to give you a rough idea about average spend with bathrooms based on our experience here at Total Bathrooms in Bath. We will break it down in to three categories – supply only, costs for independent local fitters installing the products, and then the complete supply and fit costs where we would manage the project from start to finish.

Cash and Card

Delivery in Van

Supply Only

We have found that the cost for just the products (including wall tiles/panels and flooring) start at around £1,500-£2,500 per room. For this budget you would get a basic bathroom including simple tiles around the bath or shower. However, we find that the average person spends around £3000 – £6000 per room. At the top end of the scale you can spend over £15,000 or more per room for high end products. Smaller cloakrooms can be under £1000 as they are usually just the toilet and basin with people spending on average around £1500-3000 to purchase their cloakroom products.

Installation Only

Whilst we don’t offer an installation only service for products purchased elsewhere, the fitting costs by an independent contractor in the Bristol/ Bath area are generally an average of £4000 – £6000 per room for a standard bathroom including tiling. We have gathered this information from some of our recommended local installers. Smaller Ensuites are on average £3000 – £5000 per room to install and bijou cloakrooms are on average £2000 – £4000 including tiling.

So to get a whole new bathroom (paying the for both the products & the installation by an independent contractor) you could be looking at a starting price of around £6000 with your average bathroom costing around £9000. Although this approach is the most cost effective way of having a new bathroom in your home, it does come with some inherent risks.

Obviously we advise you to get at least two quotes to compare and communicate clearly with your chosen fitter to ensure they understand what your desired outcome looks like. You will need to make sure you get the appropriate paperwork and insurance details from your chosen fitter and manage any post installation issues/ snagging.

Cutting Tiles

Levelling Basin

Premium Supply and Fit Service

Companies that offer a Supply and Fit service, take responsibility for the installation, warranty and post installation, including supplying the products, project management and full fitting of the bathroom. This service from Total Bathrooms is a premium service which starts at around £10,000 per room for a basic bathroom, with customers paying an average of £12,000-16,000 per room. Of course larger rooms and/or top specification equipment can mean additional costs. Cloakrooms being much smaller than bathrooms in general will cost less, featuring less fixtures and less plumbing.

Although it definitely costs more for a turn key ‘Supply and Fit’ solution from one company there are additional benefits as you only have to deal with one company for everything. You also get peace of mind with longer warranties (we give a 2 year warranty on workmanship) and a team that is easy to contact with a stress free solution for a smooth installation process. In addition, if you are not living at the property then they can project manage the work for you and ensure it is completed on time and to standard.

Did you want to explore more and get more help on what sort of bathroom you can get for your budget?

Check out our other blog post – What does my budget get me for a new bathroom? – for a look at what products and styles are availble in your price range.

What does my budget get me for a new bathroom?

June 17, 2024

You may be asking yourself what a specific budget may get you. In this article we will give you some idea of how far your budget will stretch.

£1,500 – £2,000 for Products Only

Well thinking about Bathroom Equipment only, a budget of £1,500 – £2,000 would get you a perfectly functional but more basic bathroom or ensuite.

You would have some choices but they would be limited and usually this would include a choice between a shower enclosure or a bath with shower over it. Within this budget the tiled/wall panelled areas would usually be only full height over the showering/ bathing area with potentially just splashbacks behind the toilet and basin.

Stock Image

Bathroom Project

£2,000 – £5,000 for Products Only

When thinking only about the cost of bathroom equipment (no fitting), in the £2000 – £5000 per room price bracket, you will have many more alternatives available with the option of a separate bath and shower enclosure (if of course you have the room).

You can also enjoy the luxury of a fully tiled room if you wish. In addition, you also have choices of furniture for storage and illuminated mirrors/mirrored cabinets. And finally, you might be able to consider some off the shelf special finishes on the brassware such as matt black or brushed brass.

£5,000 – £10,000 for Products Only

With a budget of £5000 – £10,000 per room for bathroom products, you can look at more sleek designs with tiled wetroom showers, digital showers, and better build quality on designer brand products.

You could also splash out on one particularly special product like a bespoke shower cubicle or why not look at more unique products and special finishes to put the ultimate designer touches on your room.

Bathroom Project 2

Bathroom Project 3

Over £10,000 for Products Only

For a top end budget of over £10,000 there are far more choices. You can look at exceptional products like a japanese style wash toilet, a steam room or sauna which are all within budget.

Made to order bespoke items tailored to your tastes are also a feature of budgets over £10,000 like bespoke furniture, custom made shower glass and worktops. More sumptuous wall and floor coverings can be used. The quality will be top notch from the best brands and you can really let your creative juices flow to create the most exquisite of looks.

If you feel you might not have the required budget for the level of products that you really want then don’t worry as we have finance options available to help spread the cost – click here to find out more.

Full Supply and Fit Budgets

If you would prefer a company like ourselves to complete a supply & fit of your bathroom and take full responsibility for this process, a starting budget of around £10k would get a standard fully tiled room with limited choices of products to put in to it.

The average budget for a full supply and fit customer is between £12k – £16k. For this budget you can expect a wetroom, potentially a freestanding bath with plenty of furniture choices.

With a top end budget of over £16k you can begin to look at including exceptional products like a japanese style wash toilet, a steam room or sauna. Made to order bespoke items tailored to your tastes are also a feature of budgets in this range like bespoke furniture, custom made shower glass and worktops. More sumptuous wall and floor coverings can be used. The quality will of course be top notch and you can really let your creative self loose to create a fantastic finished project. Image below

Although it definitely costs more for a turn key ‘Supply and Fit’ solution from one company there are additional benefits as you only have to deal with one company for everything. You also get peace of mind with longer warranties (we give a 2 year warranty on workmanship for example) and a team that is easy to contact with a stress free solution for a smooth installation process. In addition, if you are not living at the property then we can project manage the work for you and ensure it is completed on time and to standard.

If you’d like to look more in depth at the cost of fitting, supply and fully managed services, please take a look at our other blog post –

How Much Does a New Bathroom Cost?

2023 Summer Duck Photo Contest

July 12, 2023

Join our Duck on Holiday Photo Contest!

Are you ready for a quacking good time? Show off your creativity and sense of adventure by participating in our exciting photo contest! Capture our branded duck enjoying a holiday either in the UK or abroad, and you could win fantastic prizes!

Here’s how to enter:

1. Visit our Bath store and pick up our adorable branded duck – completely free of charge!
2. Take your duck on a fabulous holiday and make it the star of your photo.
3. Share your photo on either Facebook or Instagram and tag us. Don’t forget to use the hashtag #ducksholiday!

Prizes:

First Prize: £100 Amazon voucher or £200 store credit for the funniest or most creative photo, as judged by us.
Second Prize: A randomly selected participant will win a £50 Amazon voucher.

The contest ends on the 30th of September, so make sure to submit your entry before then!
By participating in the contest, you agree that we reserve the right to use all submitted images in our social media and marketing materials.

Get your creative juices flowing and let our branded duck embark on a memorable vacation! We can’t wait to see the amazing adventures you capture. Good luck, and happy holidaying!

Artsy Bath Mats – The Future of Bath Mats

May 11, 2023

The future of bath mats is here!

Artsy bath mats are the most natural, long lasting bath mats on the market. One of their most desirable benefits is that they are touch dry within 60 seconds, minimising the risk of slipping and damp. Not only are they 100% natural, they are anti-mould, anti-bacterial and odour free.

Artsy Mats 60 Seconds Touch-Dry in 60 Seconds Artsy Mats Made in Britan Designed & Printed in Britain Artsy Mats Anti Bacterial Anti-Mould, Anti-Bacterial & Hygienic

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The mats are available in a huge range of designs and colours.

You can view the full range of Artsy bath mat designs by following this link – Artsy Bath Mats

Custom mat designs are also available, please contact us for more information.

Contact Us

Factory 2nds, What’s the Deal?

January 24, 2023

At Total Bathrooms we pride ourselves on being the exclusive suppliers of Roper Rhodes, Laura Ashley, Tavistock and R2 factory 2nds bathroom products. All of these items come directly from the manufacturers and we display them in the dedicated 2nds showroom at our location in Bath.

But what makes a factory 2nds item, a 2nd?

Packaging

Being a factory 2nds item doesn’t necessarily mean the item is damaged. Often the items we have received are deemed 2nds due to issues with their packaging. This could be that they were supplied to someone, opened and then returned and the packaging could not be put back to new. Potentially it’s been water damaged, knocked in transit or similar.

It’s hard for us to tell if this is the case but often if the product looks like new, it’s likely to be because of one of these reasons.

Ex-Display

Despite being manufacturers and suppliers, Roper Rhodes and Tavistock etc. have their own company showrooms to show businesses like ourselves. They even have display trucks that drive around with a full display in the back!

When they update the displays, they don’t simply throw out the old units, taps, basins and toilets but rather they pass them over to us! Quite often these are like new but they can have some signs of wear, particularly where they’ve been fitted but this is often entirely hidden once they have been re-fitted.

Damages

This is the most obvious reason for a 2nds to be given to us, but the actual damages can vary wildly.

One of the most common damages that occurs in 2nds furniture is the “transit bar” in the rear of the unit breaks. This bar actually only exits to ensure the unit doesn’t flex during transit (as the name suggests!) and makes no difference once fitted. This means that a unit that is given to us as damaged, is actually practically new once fitted as the bar has no function at that stage.

Other damages can be small chips and marks. We have access to matching touch up paints from the manufacturers so in the case of small paint chips in furniture, we can often supply a pot of paint to cover this up when you purchase a 2nds item. Often on worktops, the corners are chipped but this is easily rectified by simply trimming the end off the piece.

In the case of ceramic basins, sometimes there are chips or cracks in the glaze. We will assess whether these are in a position which will allow water ingress and if they’re no good we get rid of them. But in most instances, these basins are perfectly fine to use and are a bargain!

Mirrors & Electricals

We sometimes get electrical items in factory 2nds, the most common ones being mirrors with lighting and demister pads.

We test all of these items before putting them on display and selling them. However, they don’t always work! This isn’t a problem for a mirror though, because of course it still works as a mirror. If an item is found to have an electrical fault we will make it safe and ensure it’s marked as faulty, with a price reflecting the reduced functions.

Of course like furniture, mirrors can also sometimes have small marks or chips. If there are any it’s often on the corners.

2nds Mirrors Lit

End of Line & Pre-Production

Sometimes something simply doesn’t sell. Our suppliers regularly change out their ranges as new styles come into fashion and they produce new products. Some time after this happens, any remaining products are cleared and are often given to us as factory 2nds. Generally this means the products are perfect but sometimes due to the space of time they’ve been stored for, they have some small marks.

We also very occasionally receive pre-production items. These are effectively prototypes that were used to display potential ranges and are then cleared once the item enters full production. Normally these have been displayed so may have some slight marks and sometimes the colours differ slightly to the final production models.

Whilst many 2nds are almost perfect, some have small damages and imperfections such as the transit bar breaking, or marks on the corners.

Returns & Credit

As you can see from what we’ve talked about above, the condition of factory 2nds can vary wildly. For this reason, we insist on customers inspecting their 2nds in person before they are collected or delivered, and that they are therefore “sold as seen”.

Of course in the event that an item presents additional faults to those originally found (such as a previously working LED mirror failing immediately, or a unit suddenly falling apart) we are happy to find replacements and swap these over for you. We have a huge amount of stock of factory 2nds, both in our showroom in Bath and in our off-site storage warehouse, so we can normally find an alternative.

As a rule we do not offer refunds on 2nds items. However if you decide that an item ultimately does not suit your bathroom and you have not installed/used it yet, we can sometimes offer a credit on return so that you can select alternative items and put the money towards something more suitable.

Types of Basin Wastes

January 20, 2023

As with all things in the bathroom, there’s a surprising amount of choice available when looking at the waste (plug hole) in your basin/sink. Some of the choices available are dictated by the type of basin you’ve chosen, but there’s also different functions to consider.

Slotted and Unslotted

The first thing you need to ascertain is whether you need a slotted or unslotted waste. Luckily this is quite a simple thing to figure out!
Slotted wastes have a slot that lets water in from the overflow in your basin.

So if you have an overflow hole in your basin, you need a slotted waste, if not you need an unslotted waste.

Slotted Waste

Click Clack Waste

Click-Clack

Click-clack wastes are probably the most popular type of modern basin waste.

They have a sprung component under the cap so that when you push them in, they click and then clack open on a spring, hence the name! You just press them down until they click to close the waste again.

Pop-Up/Push Rod

Pop-up wastes are a more traditional style of waste but are still quite popular, particularly with more traditionally styled taps.

They normally come bundled with a matching basin tap/mixer and are operated by a rod in the tap that you pull up/push down and this raises/lowers the waste cap.

Pop Up Waste

Plug and Chain

Plug & Chain

Most people will be familiar with the traditional plug and chain style waste.

You can fit these to almost any basin but with the caveat that they may or may not have a hole for the chain stay (the piece that fixes the chain to the basin). Typically you’ll find these on more traditionally styled basins

Flip Top

This style of waste is relatively uncommon but can be fitted to most basins. The cap that holds out the water is hinged in the centre or just fitted in such a way that you simply push it to rotate and let water through or push it flat to seal it.

Flip Top Waste

Free Flow Waste

Freeflow

Freeflow wastes are always open. They come in various styles but essentially they can’t be plugged. This is very useful in a basin without an overflow and in small cloakroom style basins that never need to be filled so the water can just exit immediately.

They will often just be a grated waste but there are some very stylish options available that have caps over the top that let them blend in with the basin whilst allowing water through the edges.

Finding the Right Toilet Seat

January 17, 2023

So your toilet seat has broken. Perhaps the soft close hinge has started slamming or the seat has cracked. You can just buy any seat to replace it right? Wrong.

Toilet seats are more diverse than people realise. A quick look around our showroom will give you an idea of the plethora of different shaped toilets from a range of different manufacturers. Almost all of these toilet pans will have different dimensions, and so the seats do as well. Beyond that, many of them will have different types of hinges and fixings which means that you need to take care in selecting the correct seat for your toilet.

Seats

In an ideal world, you will already know what brand and model your toilet is, which makes it very easy for our showroom team to find a matching seat, often with a few options. However, what if you have no idea what the toilet is? Perhaps you just moved into the house and it was already fitted, or you bought the toilet a decade ago and simply don’t remember. Well don’t worry, there are some options and we are here to help.

We’d rather you didn’t bring a used toilet seat into the showroom to show us for hygiene reasons. So here’s how we can go about finding the right replacement without it.

Measurements

The first thing to do is get measurements, the width and depth of the top of the toilet pan. Even better, if you still have the old seat then make a template for us to work from. You can do this by using a piece of card big enough to put the seat on, or a large piece of paper (even newspaper will do as long as we can see the template!) and draw around the seat.

We also need to pair these measurements up with the shape. If you’ve drawn a template that’s already sorted but if you just have the dimensions then you would also need to supply us with a few pictures of the toilet so we can figure out if it’s oval, D-shaped, square etc.

Measure

Hinges

The next thing we need to know about is the hinges. Not all toilet seats fit in the same way. Some fix from the top with a screw, some from underneath the pan, some push on and others have latching quick release functions. Be sure to take some pictures so we can see how it fits.

We will also need to know the distance between the hole centres so that we can ensure a replacement seat can be fixed into the same fittings. You can do this by measuring the distance between the centre of the hole on one side of the toilet pan, to the centre of the other hole.

It’s worth noting that whilst we can find a replacement seat for most toilets, some have proprietary fittings which means they must be replaced with the correct seat by the correct manufacturer. In those instances, we will have to do more research to try and find the correct seat.

Material

Lastly, we may have some options about what material you can choose for your seat! This isn’t always the case and often you’re limited by what fits the toilet but typically you will be choosing either a wooden seat, or a PVC plastic seat.

There’s a few variations within these but the general rule is that whilst PVC seats are fine to sit on, the lids are not safe to sit on and will break quite easily if you do. Wood seats and lids are significantly stronger and heavier so you can sit on the lids, but they are susceptible to water damage if the varnish is perforated or wears away with use.

SeatsMAT

Please also take a look at this handy video which shows you how to identify, change and measure your toilet seat.

Designing a Bathroom: Making Plumbing Tidy

December 16, 2022

When designing a bathroom you generally want to make it more than purely functional, you want to make it look good too! One of the key design philosophies in this industry is to make the plumbing look nice, or to hide it entirely.

Once upon a time, if the plumbing in the bathroom needed to be hidden, it was put in a floor standing unit for the basin, under the bath for the taps and the shower sprouted directly out of the wall from wherever the existing outlets were. Nowadays, designers and fitters utilize a range of techniques and products to both hide plumbing entirely whilst placing fittings wherever you want, and also to make visible plumbing aesthetically pleasing.

We’re going to primarily talk about your options for hiding your plumbing entirely. But there are options for having the exposed pipework add to the look of the room rather than detract, such as with plated and painted bottle traps for the waste, and the same for cistern outlets on toilets as well as floor standing tap options.

exposed

furniturerun

Furniture

The first option for hiding a lot of your piping is simple, put it inside the furniture. But furniture has come a long way! You can not only hide the tails from your taps, and the trap from your waste, but also your cistern for the toilet and even mount the flush mechanism directly onto the furniture! This is often the simplest option for hiding plumbing and doesn’t require a lengthy building process as the furniture is normally ready-built and just needs to be fixed in place.

Stud Walls

The other popular option is to build out a stud wall to create a cavity. This method takes up a bit more space in your room as you lose a few inches of space overall by building out a faux wall and it’s more labour-intensive, but it gives you a bigger range of options for fittings.

The same method can also be used just to create boxes to house the frame for a toilet, to hide the shower plumbing etc. rather than covering an entire wall. The key thing this method lets you do is mount items directly to the wall without having to run a visible pipe to them. Fittings like shower outlets, wall mounted taps, handles and adding recessed storage spaces.

studwallsplit3

wallhung

Combining Methods

Sometimes you need to use both methods! Wall hung furniture is a great way to make cleaning easier in the bathroom as you can get underneath, and you can add things like LED strips. But it also often requires a stud wall to be built out behind to both mount the furniture to and let the plumbing run out into the wall as it can’t go straight down into the floor.

Plinths

Finally it’s worth mentioning plinths, in particular for shower trays. A plinth kit which comes with legs and edging, or a custom plinth built by the fitter is an excellent way to conceal the waste pipes for your shower but not have to interfere with the floor. Of course it is possible to lay a shower tray flat on the floor but you would need to have the waste travel into the floor, either under floorboards or by carving a channel in a concrete floor, which can be quite labour intensive.

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Panels vs Tiles

November 28, 2022

Decisions, decisions…

When designing your bathroom the first products that come to mind are things like the taps, furniture, baths and showers. But equally as important are the walls and floors. There’s a plethora of materials and styles to pick from, but the main choice you’ll be presented with is are you going to have panels on the wall, or tiles?

SLASH

Tiles

Tiles are traditionally the go-to choice for both bathrooms and kitchens. The glaze on the surface of the tile makes them extremely hard wearing which allows them to be both resistant to scuffs and knocks as well as very long-lasting.

Although tiles are a more traditional choice, there are a range of modern finishes available. You can also often match your floor tiles to the wall tiles if you want to create a more coordinated design. Tiles are also comparatively, cheaper to produce (although this isn’t always the case!) when compared to other waterproof wall coverings.

The main downsides to tiles are they are quite labour intensive to fit. Cutting them in any way often requires specialist tools and fitting them well takes a practiced skillset. Grout can be a pain to clean and will sometimes need to be re-done over time which is time consuming and not inexpensive. Also, although they are hardwearing when fitted, they are very susceptible to damage when being transported and stored which is always a top concern for us!

Panels

Wall panelling on the flip side, is the more modern and easy-to-fit solution. Wall panels come in a plethora of designs and many manufacturers will even print custom designs that you can supply them! This means you can have a totally unique room, with wall coverings you can be sure nobody else will have.

Tongue and groove panels allow for a seamless finish, and even standard panels just need a specialist adhesive to apply to the walls, so there’s no grout to worry about. They’re also extremely easy to cut, not requiring any specialist tools or expertise which greatly reduces the skills required and the time fit them. Coupled with being extremely lightweight, it makes them an excellent solution for a quick-fit.

And now for the downsides! Panels are perfectly durable, but they are more susceptible to damage than tiles. They are often made from a corrugated material layered with the flat panels either side. This means that if they suffer an impact, they can become permanently dented. Not being glazed like a tile also means that they are more easily scratched and scuffed, although not so easily that it causes a problem in most installations.

They also present their own challenges during transport and storage. Unlike tiles they don’t tend to shatter, however they can bend and warp! As such we have to be careful about how we store panels, ensuring that they are up against other flat surfaces and that their edges are well protected.

combine

So, which should you get? Tiles or panels?

The answer isn’t up to us. For every bathroom design and installation there are different challenges and solutions. You may find that you want to bring your installation time down and so panels are perfect for this, requiring a less time and specialist skills to fit. However you may decide, you want this room to stand the test of time or perhaps you want the floors to perfectly coordinate with the walls, and so tiles would be your best option.

Either way, there’s an enormous range of shapes, styles and textures to pick from off the shelf, and even bespoke options to pick from for a truly unique finish.

Heating: What is BTU?

November 25, 2022

Most bathrooms feature a radiator, it not only keeps the room warm but helps drive out moisture and dries your towels. However when you come to update your bathroom and select a new radiator, there’s a myriad of choices and selecting one isn’t just down to the looks, how much heat it produces is also very important.

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The Science

Heat in radiators is commonly shown as BTU, but what is a BTU?

BTU is the “British Thermal Unit”. It’s an old unit of measurement which equals the amount of heat required to raise 1lb of water by one degree Fahrenheit. In more scientific terms, 1 BTU equates to approximately 1.06kj (kilojoules) which is the amount of heat produced by burning a wooden match.

Many manufacturers will show heating output as both BTU and Watts now, and many heating options are electric so Watts often makes more sense. 1 BTU equals approximately 0.3W, or 1 Watt is equal to approximately 3.4 BTU.

What this means for you.

So now you understand what BTU means, but how many do you need for your room? Unfortunately there isn’t a straightforward answer. Most rooms require between 20 and 45 BTU per square foot of space, but this is affected by a broad range of factors including; The height of the room, the style of windows, the flooring, the type of room (bathroom, bedroom etc.) and the climate you’re in.

Luckily, many websites feature a calculator for figuring out how much BTU you need for your room, such as this one by Vogue – www.vogueuk.co.uk/btu-calculator

Making the right choice.

Once you’ve figured out how much heating is required for your room you can finally get on to the exciting bit, picking a radiator!
Radiators come in a huge range of colours, styles and finishes which affect their heating output. Flat panel radiators typically output much more heat than a ladder style towel rail, and chrome tends to be less efficient than a painted finish.

Handily, most manufacturers list the output in their brochures so you can see exactly what you’re getting. This will allow you to pick the most suitable unit for your heating requirements and provide you with a range to choose from to suit your tastes.

Home Measurements

May 26, 2022

Take out the guess work! Have a chat with one of our friendly staff and book a home survey so that we can measure your bathroom for you and produce a bespoke design, ensuring that everything fits perfectly.

Total Bathrooms Home Surveys

Video: Eco Tip – Toothbrushes

May 19, 2022

Ever wonder what happens to your plastic toothbrush when you throw it away? It ends up in landfill of course!

Make the switch to an eco-friendly bamboo toothbrush and do your part. Join Tom for regular eco tips!

Eco Tip – No More Bottles!

May 12, 2022

Shampoo bottles contribute a huge amount to plastic waste. Why not use an eco friendly shampoo bar instead?

Join Tom for regular eco tips!

2nds and Clearance Products

May 5, 2022

In our showroom we have a huge selection of clearance and factory 2nds items to choose from. We even have a dedicated 2nds showroom upstairs! Please ask one of our friendly staff to show you around instore.

You can also view a selection of our stocked, clearance and 2nds items on our website and make purchases for collection.

Total Bathrooms Shop

Water Pressure and Flow Rate

April 7, 2022

There’s a common misconception that flow rate and water pressure are the same thing. They are related, but they explain different aspects of your water system.

Flow Rate

Flow rate is the volume of water passing through a pipe. Flow rate is a lot more variable than water pressure because it is affected specifically by friction.

The main factor in flow rate is the diameter of the pipes the water is passing through, wider pipes offer less resistance and so a higher flow rate. Other things that affect flow rate are bends in the piping, cartridges in taps etc. and any systems like water softeners or similar. Each “thing” added to the system adds friction, which will reduce the flow rate to some extent.

A higher water pressure will increase your flow rate and can seem like an easy fix but it’s worth considering how plumbing is being laid out when you’re adjusting or building a system.

Keep It Clean

Simply keeping things clean will be a huge help as well. Limescale build up in pipes and taps can add a huge amount of friction and drastically reduce your flow rate. This can build up quickly in hard water areas like the South West of England where our Showroom is located.
We’ve written a handy guide to cleaning your tap cartridges and removing limescale which you can find here – Maintaining Tap Cartridges.

It’s possible to easily measure your flow rate using a bucket. Try and make sure you know how much water your bucket holds to make the final figures easier to calculate. This is measured in Litres Per Minute (LPM).
Simply fill your bucket and time it from start to full. So if you have a 10L bucket, and it takes 1.5 minutes to fill: 10L÷1.5mins = 6.66 Litres Per Minute

Many manufacturers will list the approximate flow rate based on a suggested water pressure alongside their products.

Water Pressure

Water pressure is the pressure of the water that is being forced through the pipe. It is a measurable amount of pressure being exerted on your water to push it through your system.

The practical application of this in a building is how much pressure your water system is creating. In an older Gravity Fed system (see our blog post on different water systems here – Types of Home Water Systems) the pressure is dictated by the amount of “Head” available. Head is the vertical distance between the specific water outlet, and the water source, in this case a water tank.

For each 30 feet of “Head”, you achieve 1 BAR of water pressure. So if you have 3 feet between your shower head, and the water tank in the loft above it, you will receive 0.1 BAR of water pressure. If you have a downstairs bathroom that has an outlet 12 feet below the tank, you will receive 0.4 BAR of pressure. Pressure in these systems can be increased by adding a pump which uses an impeller to generate increased pressure.

In a more modern system like combination boilers and pressurized cylinders, your pressure will typically be more in line with the mains water pressure, or higher. Also the height of the system shouldn’t affect the pressure much, making things easier to measure and manage in a property with multiple floors.

Whilst water pressure and flow rate are related, water pressure should typically remain more or less static throughout the system. You can measure water pressure using a water pressure meter or gauge which you should be able to find at most plumbing merchants.

Most taps, showers, and other items that fit into your water system will have a minimum BAR pressure that they require in order to function, in some cases they may have a maximum as well. This range will most often be listed in the manufacturer catalogues alongside the catalogues so that it’s easy to determine whether a product will work with your system.

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Maintaining Tap Cartridges

March 31, 2022

Over time, limescale build up can affect your tap cartridges to the point where they start to develop faults in the form of leaks, poor water flow and even seize closed.

Cleaning tap cartridges is extremely simple and generally should be undertaken once a year to avoid excessive limescale build up. This will extend their lifespan and avoid costly replacements, particularly on older taps that may no longer be available.

1. Turning Off the Water Supply

First, you need to find your stop tap and turn off the supply. In some rooms you may have a stop tap linked directly to that room, isolating it from the rest of the building. Commonly though your stop tap will be below your kitchen sink, or at the point where the water supply enters the property, just inside the building. You can trace your water pipes back down to this point if you’re unsure and have some exposed piping. It will likely be a small brass tap handle that is part of the piping.

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2. Exposing the Cartridge

With the water turned off, you can safely start to disassemble your tap without risk of flooding the room. The first step is to remove the tap handle itself. On many taps there will be a small grub screw located in a hard to see part of the tap handle, often under a little cover cap to hide the hole on the rear of the handle. You just need to loosen this grub screw (but don’t remove it so it doesn’t get lost!) and then the tap handle will pull off with some firm pressure.

The other type of fixing is in taps with a round handle. The cap on the top face of the handle should lift off. In both types you may need to get a thin blade or screwdriver and very gently lever the edge of the cap until it pops free. Underneath you’ll find a screw which fixes the handle directly onto the cartridge, simply remove this screw and firmly pull the handle free of the cartridge.

In both of these methods you may find that on one edge of the cover cap there is a little cut out which will allow you to insert a thin screwdriver to pry it off. You can often lift the cap a fraction of a millimetre with a fingernail which is enough to identify this edge and then use a screwdriver to lift it the rest of the way off.

There are other styles of tap handles with different mechanisms for disassembly. In those instances please see the manual for the particular tap.

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3. Removing the Cartridge

Once you’ve removed the handle you should have the cartridge exposed. Some cartridges will simply pull out, but most will need to be unscrewed. You will need an adjustable wrench or an appropriately sized spanner to fit the head of the cartridge and then simply unscrew it. They will unscrew counter clockwise like most typical threads but if there is a particularly bad limescale build up it might need some persuasion. You can use some white vinegar or limescale remover (which we’ll use to clean the cartridge once it’s removed) and let it soak for a little while to dissolve some of the limescale.

The best way to do this is to make a 1:1 solution of water and white vinegar and then soak a cloth in it. Wrap this cloth around the cartridge and ensure the solution soaks down into it. Leave it for 25 minutes or so and then try again with the wrench.

Once you have managed to remove the cartridge, ensure that no other loose components like O-rings have been left in the body of the tap. If they have, take these out gently (use some tweezers if you need the reach) and fit them back into the cartridge.

4. Cleaning the Cartridge

Grab yourself a small watertight container, something like a takeaway pot is ideal. Add a 1:1 solution of white vinegar and water and then simply submerge your cartridges. Leave it for 10 minutes to start with and take a toothbrush and rub at any limescale you find. If it’s not coming away easily then simply soak it in the solution for a little longer.

Once you’re happy with the amount of limescale removed, use a cloth to rub any loose debris and then you’re all done with the cleaning!

5. Reassembly

Reassembling your tap couldn’t be easier. Simply do all of the previous steps in reverse! Reinsert your now-clean cartridge, and gently screw it in by hand until it’s reasonably tight, and then fully tighten with your wrench/spanner. For cartridges that have rubber O-rings around them you don’t want to over-tighten them, so just until you start to feel some tough resistance. For other cartridges without O-rings you will want to tighten as much as you can as they rely on pressure between the components to stay water tight.

Before you add the tap handles back on, you should turn your water back on to ensure your tap is not leaking. If water is flowing out of the spout, simply twist the cartridge to ensure it closes fully, and opens fully to flow again. If water is weeping out around the cartridge in the tap then it is likely not tight enough, gently tighten until it stops weeping.

It’s important to be careful during these steps to make sure you don’t cross-thread the cartridge so just go slowly with each step and tighten the cartridge up slowly.

Once you’re confident the tap is working properly without leaks, you can put your handles back on, tighten the screws, put the caps back on and you’re done!

Removing Limescale

March 24, 2022

Limescale can be a real pain in a bathroom, particularly in hard water areas like in the South West of England where our Showroom is located.

What is it?

Limescale is a build up of calcium carbonate which presents as a chalky white deposit after hard water evaporates. The “harder” the water is in your area, the more limescale you will come across. This will build up in any areas that regularly come in contact with water; the kettle, tap heads, showers etc. Other than being unsightly, it can cause issues in many mechanisms like your tap cartridges.

Fortunately it’s fairly simple to clean limescale, it just requires a little bit of patience and some simple ingredients. Limescale erodes well when put in contact with citric acid like that found in lemon juice, and acetic acid like that found in vinegar. Please always ensure you use protective gloves when using cleaning products, even vinegar and lemon juice can irritate your skin even though they’re quite mild.

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What can I do?

For light build ups you can simply mix some white vinegar or lemon juice with some water in a 1:1 solution and either spray it with a spray bottle, or apply it directly to a cloth and rub at the build up.

For a more stubborn stain you will need to soak it, this can be difficult to ensure the solution stays on taps or angled surfaces but you can soak a cloth in the solution and then wrap it around or lay it on the affected surface for an hour and then gently wipe away. You can also use elastic bands or some cord to secure the cloth to a tap if needed.

Baking soda is another excellent ingredient for cleaning limescale. It has a multitude of uses, but mixed with white vinegar in an even mix it can be gently rubbed into affected areas and left for around 25 minutes. Gently wash away and rub with a cloth to remove the build up.

For porcelain like in your toilet or basin you can use a brush to help remove tough build ups of limescale.

Types of Home Water Systems

March 17, 2022

In your home you will typically have water fed in from the mains supply which is then used for drinking water, in the bathroom, in the kitchen etc. The ways that this water is heated and distributed through the building can take several forms.

Types of Water Systems

In all of the below systems the heating is considered a ” Closed System” as it is held separately to the rest of the water. The drinking water will be supplied directly from the mains, separately from the water used in the bathroom etc.

There are 3 main types of water systems in UK households.

Gravity Fed – Low Pressure System
Combination Boiler – Medium Pressure System
Pressurised Cylinder – High Pressure System

The 4th System

There is a 4th system but it is rarely used. “Open Systems” are so called because the heating element is fed from the same supply as the rest of the water in the house and is not part of a closed circuit. The water in these systems is normally heated by a water tank behind an AGA or sometimes a burner, and is then distributed through the house. These are typically found in much older houses and often have been replaced by newer systems.

Gravity Fed – Low Pressure System (Approximately 0.1 to 0.4 BAR)

Gravity fed systems take the form of a water tank held in the loft. This water flows down into the various outlets in the building like the shower. These are considered low pressure because they rely on gravity to create pressure. This is described as “head”, and approximately 30 feet of head equals 1 BAR of pressure. So if your water tank is 3 feet above your shower head, you will achieve approximately 0.1 BAR of pressure from that outlet.

It is possible to install a pump which uses an impeller to increase the water pressure where it’s not possible to increase the head. Electric showers can also be utilized to increase pressure at that specific point but these will bypass the tank entirely and are fed by the mains supply.

Gravity fed systems can be easily identified by a water tank in the loft space and sometimes by the presence of a jacketed boiler in the house which is heating the water. However some other types of boiler may resemble these so the water tank is the definitive trait.

Combination Boiler – Medium Pressure System (Approximately 0.5 to 1.5 BAR)

Combination boilers are becoming increasingly common and virtually any new house will use one rather than a gravity fed system. This system relies on the mains water pressure and so will supply hot water at the same pressure. The main advantage is that because of this, both the hot and cold pressures will be the same at the outlets, and the hot water flow warms up more immediately as it heats the water on demand. These systems are gas heated and can be identified by the boiler being much smaller than the older jacketed boilers, often a large white box with a display on the front.

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Pressurised Cylinder – High Pressure (3+ BAR)

Pressurized cylinders present exactly as they sound, a large cylinder that feeds from the mains supply and stores the water in a pressurized space. The water is heated by either an electric or gas element, and in some instances can be both. The main advantage to this system is that it supplies a higher pressure and the same pressure to both hot and cold outlets.

Sometimes the system can fall short if the mains water pressure is too low, however this can be rectified by adding an additional tank and pump which stores water separately and adds it to the tank at a higher pressure than the mains when demanded. In a combination boiler, any overflow of steam or water is vented out by a pipe or similar. In this system there is an overflow vessel which this excess is funnelled into and stored for reuse.

A Note About Water Pressures

Different bathroom manufacturers will determine Low, Medium and High pressures by different values, albeit similar. The rating for their fixings, taps etc. will typically be explained in their product catalogues so that you can find the right items to match your system.

You can read more about water pressure in our handy blog post; Water Pressure and Flow Rate

Types of Toilets

March 17, 2022

A toilet is just a toilet, right? Wrong, there’s lots of different types of toilets! The terms used vary from blatantly obvious to very obscure. So we’ve written a handy short guide to the many different types of toilet you may encounter!

Close Coupled

This is probably the most common type of pan you will find in the UK. A Close Coupled toilet is defined by having the cistern sitting directly on the back of the toilet pan (the bowl where the waste goes).

There are some variations of Close Coupled toilets, the main ones being Fully Enclosed pans, in which the ceramic of the pan base extends right to the wall without a gap showing the waste pipe. Fully Enclosed pans allow for easier cleaning as there aren’t any little nooks and crannies for dirt to get trapped in.

The disadvantage to fully enclosed pans is that they’re a little more technical to fit as there’s limited access to the plumbing and soil pipe and so have to be installed in a specific way. You also can’t incorporate them when you need to have a side-exiting soil pipe.

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Back to Wall

Back to Wall pans are increasing popular. They don’t have a visible cistern, instead the cistern is hidden inside furniture or a stud wall behind the toilet pan, with the pan sitting right up against the wall. Hence, “Back to Wall”!

This design helps to not only conceal the plumbing but reduces cleaning by providing less surface areas. Many manufacturers produce vast ranges of furniture designed to be accompanied by back to wall toilet pans.

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Wall Hung

Whilst technically Back to Wall pans as well, Wall Hung pans differ very obviously in that they are suspended above the ground instead of having an integrated plinth. They normally have an accompanying frame hidden inside the wall or furniture behind to keep them secure, often this also houses the cistern. These are very popular due to ease of cleaning from not having a plinth on the ground to work around.

Wall hung pans are often used with the same furniture that back to wall pans are paired with. When using them with furniture the chief concern is to ensure the frame fits within the furniture but there are often multiple frame options available.

Comfort Height

There’s many variations of toilets that cater to different body shapes and needs, the most common one is Comfort Height pans. These toilet pans sit up to around 10cm taller than a regular toilet pan which allows you to sit more comfortable if you’re taller or suffer with stiff joints. Designers often accompany these pans with an adjacent grab bar to assist movement further.

Close Coupled and Back to Wall toilet pans will explicitly state when they’re Comfort Height, but Wall Hung units normally have a range of adjustment in the frame so can be either regular or Comfort Height.

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Low & High Level

This term refers to the height of the cistern rather than the toilet pan. Low Level cisterns are typically a much more traditional style and feature a wall mounted cistern that is connected to the toilet pan by a short pipe.

High Level cisterns are normally in the same styles as Low Level cisterns but are fitted much higher on the wall. The advantage of this is that it gives you a more powerful flush due to the increase in pressure.

Both often have many optional fixings in different finishes including the flush pipe and wall brackets so that they can match the rest of the fixtures in the room.

Rimless

Rimless toilets are becoming more and more popular. The Rimless design allows for much easier cleaning due to there not being the classic rim where limescale typically builds up.

The system normally works by having a channel in the edge of the pan which doesn’t quite create a rim. This directs the water from a more direct/forceful outlet at the back of the toilet. There are a lot of variations on the design however, some even allow you to change the power of the flush without having to interfere with the cistern.

They’re typically available in combination with most of the other modern styles of toilet pan.

Micra Evo Rimless Flushing Detail © Tavistock

2019-geberit-aquaclean-sela-shower-toilet-with-white-monolith-smyle-bathroom-furniture-16-9 © Geberit Sales Ltd

“Shower”/”Smart” Toilet

“Smart Toilets”, also known as “Shower Toilets” are normally considerably more expensive than other styles of toilet but come with a stack of advanced features. Generally they include an integrated bidet function (hence the term “Shower Toilet”) which can be adjusted to personal preference.

Often they also feature other things like heated seats, self-closing/opening lids/seats and even self-cleaning seats in some cases!

10 Essential Home Improvement & Repair Books for Homeowners

July 6, 2021

Is your home in need of some tender loving care? It’s never too late to improve it and make life more comfortable. Home improvement books are an excellent resource for the do-it-yourselfer. They can save you money, increase safety and security of your home, or provide inspiration when taking on a project yourself.

With thousands of options out there it may be hard to know which ones will work best for you – but we’ve got some suggestions. From how-to guides to easy reading plans for do it yourselfers of all skill levels, there are plenty of options out there. We have sifted through them so only a few stand out because they cover every aspect imaginable: renovations; repairs; cost savings – both material costs and time expenditures; increasing safety & security.

1) Ultimate Guide to Home Repair and Improvement, Updated Edition:

The new Creative Homeowners guide is the largest most comprehensive book on how to improve your home. The 608 pages have over 3000 photographs of professionals doing their work. From fixing a leaky tap in just 5 steps to making custom furniture from scratch this all-important reference will be helpful for anyone who wants more space without spending an arm and leg. For the homeowner that wants to take on a whole-house remodel in their spare time, this book is for you.

This book will teach you how to do common repairs on your home, inside and out. You’ll learn about the most important parts such as wiring and electricity, plumbing, floors and stairs; walls and ceilings; basements and attics. There’s information for yards and gardens too – no matter what type of outdoor space you want or need, they have it covered in this amazing guidebook that is easy enough for everyone from homeowners who are brand new at DIY projects to professional contractors with years of experience.

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2) Construction and Home Repair Techniques Simply Explained

A person’s home can only ever be as big and grandiose as the aspiring imagination. But while a new home is something that many people dream of, it takes experts to bring such dreams to fruition. So if you’re in need of constructing your own palace, get ready for this comprehensive guide on all building crafts.

The U.S. Navy has created a useful book to teach military personnel basic building techniques but the instructions are also simple enough for anyone who is just looking for help with their home repairs or wants to learn how to build from scratch! This manual features helpful diagrams, illustrations and easy-to-follow instructions that will be very valuable no matter what your skill level may be.

Although the theme is construction, this book will help you master all aspects of building and laying foundations, walls, floors, roofs; choosing woodworking tools to suit your needs; plastering techniques for both interior and exterior applications. And while it may seem daunting at first glance when faced with a pile of bricks or other materials in a yard sale or hardware store – there are many useful tips that can be found within these pages. You’ll also read about how to use and select woodworking tools like hammers, saws and drills that will make your home or workshop look professional.

3) The Complete Guide to Home Carpentry: Tools, Techniques and How-to Projects

Home repair and upkeep is a lot easier than it used to be. If you or someone in your family has ever been put off by the idea of trying something new, then Black & Decker The Complete Guide to Carpentry for Homeowners will make sure that never happens again! With easy instructions on how to fix everything from old window sills with rotten boards to creaky doors, loose railings and squeaking floors, this book guides even first time DIYers through home repairs like they were pros. Step-by-step photographs accompany each project list so no matter what problem surfaces at home, there’s always an answer waiting inside these pages- and all without any expensive trips.

This complete manual covers everything from measuring projects accurately before beginning construction to finishing up after building something new in your home or yard with such topics as laying carpeting floors on hardwood floor joists; installing kitchen cabinets; repairing wooden structures like porches and fences without hiring an expensive specialist. The carpentry projects inside the book are perfect for beginners and experts alike. The project instructions cover a wide variety of levels, so there is something in here for everyone.

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4) How Your House Works: A Visual Guide to Understanding and Maintaining Your Home

A book that will teach you how to fix anything in your home! With all the new illustrations, it’s easier than ever before.

The updated and highly illustrated guide to understanding everything about your home is now available for purchase again with a revised third edition. The newest updates are clear and easy-to-read diagrams on why things happen around the house as well as what can be done when these problems occur. It’s an information-packed book with step by step instructions on all the technical aspects of maintaining one’s home.

A lot can go wrong with a house and many questions pop up in your head when you need to repair it or build another level on top. This informative guide helps homeowners understand how things should be put together. The revised and updated third edition gives you more detailed information on plumbing, heating systems, appliances- everything in between that keeps the place where we live running smoothly. The book presents ways to prevent many common household problems like moisture, mould, and improper heating. The book’s clear explanations should save you the expense of hiring a professional.

5) Ultimate Guide: Wiring, 8th Updated Edition

As a homeowner, you’ll learn how your house’s electrical system works and how to complete installations and repairs. This project-based book shows how to select the right cable, wires, and other equipment, and how to run wiring through walls and between floors.

Wiring, 8th Edition is a comprehensive guide for home electrical system repair and installation. You’ll learn how your house’s electrical systems work in easy-to-understand language with step by step photography and detailed illustrations that will give you the confidence to tackle any project around the house from selecting cables or running wiring through walls and between floors. Wiring, 8th edition has everything needed to help homeowners complete projects successfully without being intimidated by complicated formulas or schematics.

The National Electrical Code makes sure that all electrical systems are safe. The Ultimate Guide to Wiring explains the residential electric system in easy-to-understand terms so you can learn how to work with the wiring, replace parts and install typical components of a house’s electrical system for safety purposes. This project-based guide comes with step by step instructions and detailed illustrations that will make your home a safe place to live in the near future.

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6) Home Improvement For Dummies

People are looking to make their homes more aesthetically pleasing, and installing smoke detectors or painting rooms can really help! But other home improvements require professional assistance. Unclogging sinks never seem simple for some reason. However, all of you who think that home improvement is too hard to do on your own should know the truth. Luckily there’s no mystery when it comes to home repair- whether you’re a newbie DIYer or an experienced handyman, this book will show you everything from how-to projects like mending drywalls and reglazing windows to replacing roof shingles with metal ones.

Whether you want to become a home improvement expert or just have some pesky projects that need fixing, Home Improvement For Dummies will set you up for good. Now, if you’ve been meaning to put up that shelf or paint your room, but just haven’t gotten around to it yet, this book is perfect for you. Packed with easy-to-follow instructions on repair and a little bit of DIY know-how, the Home Repair Handbook will save the day if something needs fixing right away (or get you started on that project).

7) Black & Decker The Complete Photo Guide to Home Repair, 4th Edition

Homeowners should take matters into their own hands the next time a plumbing problem arises because it’s cheaper and easier than hiring an expensive repairman. The answer to many of your household problems is right in front of you, but some fixes are more difficult than others. The Complete Photo Guide To Home Repair gives step-by-step instructions for repairing everything from a leaking tap and broken doorknob to cracked tiles or mouldy drywall with just the right types of tools at hand.

The best way to maintain your home is by doing it yourself. Do you ever cringe when a contractor comes to your door? Are the prices getting too steep for regular maintenance on your home and upkeep around your garden? You need this book. A new edition of the best-selling Home Maintenance For Dummies, this guide offers a hands-on step by step approach to maintaining your home. This handy DIY guide can help save some major dough by showing you how to perform many tasks. The guide can help you save thousands each year while also teaching you how to properly care for your house inside and out.

The Complete Photo Guide to Home Repair is your one-stop DIY manual. From plumbing trouble spots, such as leaky faucets and clogged drains, all the way up to repairing a broken window or door lock – this book has you covered with clear instructions and over 2 thousand photos that guide you through common repairs in 350 projects which include wiring problems like loose outlets and blown circuit breakers. The book provides expert advice on how to do plumbing, wiring and structural or mechanical work. The original guide has been updated as the industry is evolving with new guidelines for efficient home repairs.

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8) Home Maintenance For Dummies

Knowing how to keep your home in tip-top shape will help you prevent costly repairs and preserve the value of your property. The book covers all rooms of the house, as well as exterior, roofing material/foundation inspection tips. You’ll learn how to conduct routine inspections on major appliances and increase energy efficiency for maximum savings.

9) Dare to Repair: A Do-It-Herself Guide to Fixing (Almost) Anything in the Home

Who says that you need a man to make your house feel like home? Dare To Repair is the do-it-herself book for every woman who would rather be self-reliant than relying on anyone else. No matter how deep your pocket is or how big your home is, something will inevitably break: from toilets clogging up and circuit breakers tripping off; even smoke detectors going kaput! It’s all about handling it yourself. Dare to Repair is an easy-to-follow guide that will teach you how to take on any home repair project with ease. You’ll learn how to fix a leaky tap, clean gutters and more. It is a home repair manual that will keep you up and running in your house and empowers homeowners everywhere with expert information on DIY repairs for their homes.

Some things in life may be a little scary, but Dare to Repair will tell you it’s possible. Filled with detailed illustrations and helpful hints from repairing door knobs to broken windows; this book has everything for the repair-challenged woman who wants nothing more than to fix something around her house.

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10) Stanley Easy Home Plumbing Repairs

Stanley Quick Guides are the perfect no-nonsense plumbing reference for DIY homeowners. With Easy Home Plumbing Repairs, you will learn how to repair your home’s pipes in a straightforward and easy way so that even intimidated people can get started on their own repairs. From repairing a leaky faucet to unclogging your drain pipes with basic tools like pliers or wrenches, this handy reference book will help you learn everything you need to know about plumbing- and it’ll be fun too.

The author, David Schiff describes the most common plumbing repairs in a way that is easy to follow. He will guide you through the twists and turns of repairing your tap with tips on whether it’s time for repair or replacement while going into detail about unclogging toilets. The projects broken down in the book vary from easy to complex, depending on what you’re looking for. There are also colourful how-to photographs throughout and no-nonsense professional advice that will take you in the right direction.

Whether you’re a novice or expert, keeping an up-to-date home improvement and repair manual handy can help to keep your property in top shape without spending all of your hard-earned cash on outside help. You may not know the answer to every question, but if you’ve got a home improvement and repair book on hand for reference purposes, it’s much easier getting all your questions answered.

Guide to Bath Taps

May 22, 2021

In this video, Peter takes you though a guide to the various types of taps/fillers/mixers available for your bath.

Guide to Bathroom Wall Cladding

May 22, 2021

Peter from Total Bathrooms takes you through the various types of alternative wall coverings to tiles that are available for you to use in your bathroom.

Fun Bathroom Fact 4

May 22, 2021

Peter from Total Bathrooms shares fun facts from his book, The Ultimate Bathroom Book. This week is about one of the most expensive baths ever made.

Former heavyweight boxing world champion Mike Tyson gave his first wife, Robin Givens, a gold bathtub as a gift for Christmas one year. They divorced just over a year later after well-publicised marital troubles.

Fun Bathroom Fact 3

May 22, 2021

Peter from Total Bathrooms shares fun facts from his book, The Ultimate Bathroom Book.

This week is about highest and deepest toilets.

Total Answers – Space Saving Ideas in Bathroom Design

May 19, 2021

Our Total Answers series seeks to help you explore different concepts in making the most of your bathroom and designing the perfect bathroom for you.

An in-depth look into Space Saving Ideas in Bathroom Design. Find out how to make a small room feel more spacious, and make the most of the space you have.

We are OPEN – Welcome Back

April 12, 2021

We are so pleased to announce we are OPEN again to all customers. To celebrate we have launched a Welcome Back SALE.

As always we take our duty of care to you and our staff very seriously and our premises is Covid safe with screens, ionisers, masks, gloves and plenty of hand sanitiser. Plus we regularly use cold foggers and clean thoroughly.

We are now operating all of our usual services in a Covid safe manner:

Covid Safe In-Store Design Appointments (booking essential)
Home Surveys
Trade Counter Enquiries
Design or Sales Appointments via Video link (Zoom or Whatsapp)
Email and Phone Orders
NEW – Click and Collect Clearance Bargains
Deliveries & Collections

Staff will be at the premises from

Monday to Friday from 8:30am – 5pm and on

Saturday from 9am – 5pm.

If you have any questions please call us. Tel: 01225 982875

Lockdown 3.1 Update

February 23, 2021

We are OPEN for business with so many products and services still available throughout lock down. To comply with Government legislation the Showroom is closed to walk in customers with a trade counter OPEN. However, please call 01225 462727 if you have a need as we will continue to operate with a skeleton staff throughout the remaining lock down for:

NEW – Covid Safe Appointments In-Store (by prior arrangement only)
Home Surveys (please call or email to arrange)
Trade Counter Enquiries (please call in advance)
Design or Sales Appointments via Video link (Zoom or Whatsapp)
Email and Phone Orders
NEW – Click and Collect Clearance Bargains
Deliveries (please call to book these in advance)
Collections (please call in advance to arrange these)
Any Urgent Bathroom Needs – please call

In addition to having hundreds of customers with ongoing projects, we support large numbers of tradespeople in the building industry who are working throughout the lockdown and require our assistance to get the equipment they need to continue their work. We will be available to help in any way we can so please call for assistance.

Staff will be at the premises from

Monday to Friday from 8:30am – 5pm and on

Saturday from 9am – 5pm.

If you have any questions please call us. Tel: 01225 462727 – More Details

Lockdown 3.1 Update

Phone Carrier Issue

February 15, 2021

15th February 2020

We have had an issue with the telephones this afternoon and just wanted to make you aware that the national carrier had reported problems with mobile phones dialling in. Apparently landline calls are fine.

It is a nationwide issue with a particular part of the carriers platform. It should be sorted out by this evening.

Apologies if you’ve had trouble reaching us this afternoon. Please email us if there is anything you need.

email: incoming@totalbathrooms.co.uk

Virtual ‘Video’ Appointments

January 21, 2021

With national lockdown in place we thought it essential to highlight to our local customers our continuing offer of video appointments with one of our expert staff. These are generally available to customers within a 20 mile radius of Bath, however if you are uncertain please phone to discuss your requirements.

How a Total Bathrooms video appointment works:

Step 1. Please phone, email us or fill out the contact form to request a video appointment.

Step 2. We will either immediately book an available appointment for you or make contact with you to organise an appointment with one of the sales team and take all of your details.

Step 3. We will video call you at the allotted date and time using ‘Zoom’ or ‘Whatsapp’ (*more info below). Using the cameras on our phone/ computer we will be able to talk through your requirements and show you relevant products. If you have measurements or we’ve completed a home survey we can produce a plan of your room and share it with you on screen.

Step 4. We will then provide you with a quote for any bathroom equipment you require via email. If you wish to make any changes or have any questions we can repeat Step 3 or indeed have a telephone conversation to make the changes.

Step 5. If you wish to go ahead you can make a payment online and when your goods arrive we can hold them for your collection or deliver them to your home if required.

Lockdown 3.0 News

January 5, 2021

To comply with Government legislation the Showroom will now be closed to the general public with a trade counter OPEN. However, please call 01225 462727 if you have a need as we will continue to operate with a skeleton staff throughout the lock down for:

Trade Enquiries (please call in advance)
Appointments via Video link (Zoom or Whatsapp)
Email and Phone Orders
Deliveries (please call to book these in advance)
Collections (please call in advance to arrange these)
Any Urgent Bathroom Needs

Staff will be at the premises from

Monday to Friday from 8:30am – 5pm and on

Saturday from 9am – 5pm.

If you have any questions please call us. Tel: 01225 462727 or CLICK here for more Info

Latest News 16th May

May 16, 2020

LATEST NEWS (16th of May): We are pleased to announce that we will be opening the Showroom on Monday the 18th of May as we have been have been receiving lots of calls from customers in urgent need of equipment and we have appeared on the governments list of exemptions for stores that can open.

We cannot wait to welcome you into the showroom but please be aware we are operating on a skeleton staff for the time being to remain as safe as possible for you and all those in-store. If you require a full quotation or plan please do make an appointment to ensure we have a team member available to sit down with you at one of our protected work stations.

More Information

Happy Easter

April 10, 2020

The whole team at Total Bathrooms would like to wish you and your family a very happy Easter break.

It is a difficult time for many, and we hope that all across our region people will be finding creative ways to send their love and support to others.

As before, we are at the end of the phone or email if there is anything we can do to help during the lockdown.

Our very best wishes,

The Total Bathrooms team

How to – Measure your Bathroom

March 30, 2020

Printing out our Room Measure Sheet

If you are confident using a tape measure then feel free to print out and fill in our Home Measure sheet. Just click on the image and print out the sheet (one sheet per room).

Then either scan it in or take a good quality photo of the filled in sheet and send to us at our email address = showroom@totalbathrooms.co.uk

The drawing does not need to be to scale as long as the measurements are accurate and have added as many as possible. If you can also send photos of the current room then this would be helpful for our designers.

If you would like some confirmation that the measurements are correct and the design will work then we can always arrange to carry out a Home Survey before the order is placed to give you peace of mind.

Please see an filled in example of the sheet below and once you finish you can even design your own bathroom using our easy to use ‘online planning tool’ here.

Example of a Completed Room Measure Sheet

Here is an example of a room with a few irregularities, please click on the image to enlarge. If you have any more doors windows or the room is a more intricate shape then please just add as many measurements as possible.

If there is a sloping ceiling then we normally require a side drawing of one of the walls known as a side elevation. Please pick a wall that shows the angle of the roof slope. Also try to draw a feature on that wall such a window or basin to help us understand. If you struggle drawing then you can always number every wall and show us which wall you are drawing.

A lot of the time a soil pipe (toilet waste pipe) has to stay in the same location and if your pipe goes into the floor then please mark how far out the pipe sticks out from the wall behind and how far it is to the next wall.

How to measure a Room Width & Length

To measure these long distances from wall to opposite wall you can either get someone to assist you by holding the opposite end of the tape measure or lay it on the floor. If this is not possible as a bath tub might be in the way then you can either rest the tape on this surface or if the distance is too far then mark on the wall half way and take two measurements that you simply add together.

How to measure Ceiling Height

Simply place the tape measure on the floor and measure vertically up to the ceiling. Putting it up against a wall will help to keep it straight. If it is too tall to reach then use a step ladder.

If there is a sloped ceiling then measure vertically the tallest point and the shortest point. You will also need to measure horizontally the width of this sloped section and/or the width of a straight flat section of the room if there is one.

How to measure a Door

Door Width – this is the width of just the door that opens into the room (or outwards).

Door and Frame Width – this is the width of the door and the frame usually easier to measure when the door is closed.

Door Edge to Nearest Wall – this is the distance from the door frame to the nearest wall

How to measure a Window

Window Width – this is the measurement of the window recess from left to right

Window Height – this is the measurement of the window recess from top to bottom

Floor to Window Height – this is the height from the floor to the bottom of the window (window sill)

Window Edge to Nearest Wall – his is the distance from the window edge to the nearest wall

If you are thinking of changing your window sill maybe to a matching piece of worktop that you are also using on your furniture then it is worth jotting down the depth of your window sill.

LATEST NEWS 24th March

March 24, 2020

Update for all Customers

Due to the latest Government directive Total Bathrooms has to close for the time being. We will re-open as soon as the situation allows us to once it is safe and legal to do so. We will have limited phone and email services operating over this time period.

We will be contacting customers with pre-booked deliveries and orders to discuss these. If you have any questions or any urgent need please either:

email incoming@totalbathrooms.co.uk or

call 01225 462727

We are still able to remotely work on quotes and plans if you are working on a project where the goods aren’t actually needed over the next three weeks, and we still have quite a lot of stock so if you have an urgent need please call us and we will try to accomodate you in any way we can under the current restrictions.

We want to send our best wishes to you and your families at this very difficult time.

News on Coronavirus

March 16, 2020

We remain open but wanted to reassure our customers that we are taking the Covid-19 outbreak very seriously and have the health of our staff and customers first and foremost in our mind. In fact, it is our highest priority!

We are closely following the advice of Public Health England and the World Health Organisation and introducing a variety of measures to minimise the impact to public health.

Cleaning in our store has been intensified, with our team requested to regularly wash/sanitise their hands, and to maintain distance when working with customers, including encouraging customers to use contactless payments where possible.

Any of our team members who show even mild signs of flu-like symptoms have been advised to follow the government advice surrounding medical care and self-isolation, and we are ensuring that team members are supported during this time.

Our shop remains open and ready to help. For those of you who don’t currently want to be out and about we have started to offer Video Appointments.

The only thing we would ask of our customers, is that they follow government advice, and stay at home if appropriate.

We will continue to monitor the situation and follow direction given by the government and will take whatever action is necessary to protect the health of our customers and our teams.

Sending you our best wishes at this difficult time – from Peter and the Total Bathrooms team.

Material Clad Baths

February 5, 2020

We are pleased to announce that Hurlingham Baths have introduced bespoke tailoring which involves a cast iron bath being covered on the outside with the fabric of your choice enabling you to match the style of your bath with other elements in your home.

Only you know what your dream bath should look and feel like, that’s why we can now offer a completely bespoke tailoring option. Hurlinhams’ highly skilled craftsmen can take a fabric of your choosing and using state of the art facilities expertly cover the outside of a cast iron bath with the chosen cloth.

The first step is to bring us a swatch which we send off for testing to ensure the fabric will be right for the task. Then once the material has been approved, you order the quantity of fabric required from the cloth merchant (the quantity differs depending on the size of the bath chosen). Once you have your fabric and placed the order with us we all wait with excitement while Hurlingham go to work. Two weeks later your bespoke creation arrives and is ready to be delivered from us to your home.

Fun Bathroom Fact 2

January 30, 2020

Peter from Total Bathrooms shares fun facts from his book, The Ultimate Bathroom Book. This week is about ‘the Groom of the Stool’, the royal bum wiper.

The Groom of the Stool was a highly important person in a royal household as the appointed person would have unobstructed access to the monarch. They would usually have administrative duties as well but would always be present after the king had a bowel movement to clean the royal bottom.

It wasn’t always a fabulous job though as Sir Henry Norreys found out to his peril. He was executed by Henry the VIII for allegedly having an affair with Anne Boleyn!

Fun Bathroom Fact 1

January 30, 2020

In this episode of Peter’s series of fascinating bathroom facts he discusses the oldest remaining wooden toilet seat. This seat dates back to Roman times and was found in a fort called Vindolanda along Hadrians wall in the North of England.

Roman Toilet - License - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode

Total Bathrooms

December 19, 2019

Total Bathrooms has a mission to transform every bathroom in our community into a sanctuary that meets our clients needs, wants and budget. With our large showroom on the Brassmill Lane in Bath, we’ve been doing just that since the turn of the millennium.

Over 60 displays will inspire you with brands like Roper Rhodes, Matki, Vitra, Laufen, Calypso, Hansgrohe, RAK tiles, Thomas Crapper and many others. We provide a one stop shop including all those extra items to complete your project like tiles, flooring, wall panelling, lighting, accessories and extractor fans.

In addition, we can offer free site surveys to give you peace of mind and full installation services are optional too for those wanting complete project management. Uniquely to the South-West, Total Bathrooms offers a large range of ex-display and end-of-line products with stock available to take away.

Each member of the Total Bathrooms sales team has expertise in bathroom design and installation and can help you to plan your potential layouts with 3D visualisation software. The team delight in answering your questions and assisting you with your purchase. Whether you are a retail customer, a tradesman, or a large contractor we can help you find all of the products you require at the right price so that we can transform your day, every day!

Bathroom Tiling 101

December 19, 2019

Tiling in the bathroom has never been more popular – 75% of the bathrooms we sell have fully tiled floors and full or partially tiled walls. Although a large percentage of these tiles are light coloured for example White, Ivory or Beige there is a growing tendency towards earthy colours for example greys and browns.

Whichever colour you choose for your bathroom please bear in mind a few key points.

Tilers

Firstly choose your tiler well – excellent quality tiling takes real skill – don’t be afraid to ask for references from your chosen installer before you accept their quote. The cheapest quote is not usually the best. Generally the more time the fitter takes on tiling (within reason) the better the result – more time usually means more days labour and more cost for the installation.

Preparation

Secondly, good preparation is essential i.e. getting the walls and floors level and solid before beginning will make all the difference in ensuring the finished tiled surface is nice and level. If you begin with uneven surfaces no amount of adhesive will compensate perfectly and you will find undulations with tile junctions slightly out of alignment possible even slightly sunken or raised. similarly if you don’t ensure a solid surface under the tiles movement over time will cause grout, adhesive and even tiles to crack.

Adhesives

Thirdly, use good quality adhesives and grouts that suit the application. This goes without saying for example first floor or above it is usually wise to use a flexible two part adhesive and grout to prevent movement cracking.

Materials

Fourth – choose tiles wisely. Think about colour coordination with walls floors, borders, recesses and don’t forget grout colours – these can be blended in with the tile colours or used to highlight tiles with more stand out colours. Think about how dirt will show up on the floor and how non-slip the floor tiles will be when wet (there is always a compromise between non-slip and ease of cleaning).

Generally use porcelain on floors as it is harder than normal ceramic (sometimes thicker ceramics are still suitable for floors – ask the manufacturer). In general larger format tiles make a room look bigger but there is a compromise as some of the really large tiles around a meter or more can be very hard for the installer to handle and cut

Patterns

And finally, discuss the tiling pattern with your installer to make sure that borders are at the right height and that tile centres will line up with the appropriate fixtures and fittings. Patterns are generally quite nice to use but don’t over do it – if you use a more complicated pattern on the floor or the wall then use a simpler pattern on the alternate surface. When creating tiled shower bases, mosaics can avoid the many cuts otherwise required in large format tiles.

Ultimately tiling a bathroom well makes it look bigger, cleaner, more beautiful and adds value to the room!

Design with Family in Mind!

December 19, 2019

When designing a family bathroom there are many elements that have been developing over the past decade. The room must be practical and child friendly but it need not be like a ‘Disney’ theme park. You can still maintain the feel of an adult room and therefore the value of the room and the house for resale purposes.

Thermostatic shower valves are of course a must and maximum coverage of water resistant, easy wipe, surfaces are important too. These surfaces can make the bathroom look larger if you use large format tiles or glass splashbacks and in addition the room should look more attractive as a result.

Double basins are a big trend of late. These can be quite practical for kids and are also very attractive to future buyers if you have the space. Storage around the basin is a must to avoid having all of the many bathroom toiletries we use being strewn on top of the surfaces. To this end under basin drawers, slimline wall cabinets and recesses in the showering and bathing areas all contribute to both the look and the practicality of the family room!

The latest furniture mostly comes with soft close runners and hinges and these are well worth the investment to prevent little fingers from being trapped and to stop the more excitable of young people from slamming doors and drawers.

The trend toward soft close and quick release toilet seats is also a family friendly move. Soft closing hydraulic hinges prevent toilet seats smashing as they are dropped and stop body parts being trapped by the falling seat. The latest quick release pins on many of the seats allow for very easy cleaning around the usually hard to reach hinges of the seat.

A large bath is sumptuous for adults but also excellent for bathing children especially with central taps or bath overflow fillers so that there are no nasty head bumps at either end when bathing. This ‘double ended’ bath look has become very popular of late and therefore is a good feature from a resale point of view.

Small Spaces

December 19, 2019

With British bathrooms being among the smallest in Europe, utilising space in the bathroom is one of the foundations of good British design.

There are many modern tricks to make the bathroom look bigger for example large format tiles, sizeable mirrors and bright lighting will all help. Having storage space to hide the ‘bits and bobs’ often left all over the surfaces will also be advantageous.

There are cabinets that can be partially recessed into the wall making use of the otherwise wasted wall cavity. Wall hung basins, toilets and units leave the floor free from clutter and allow pipes to be hidden inside the walls and floor.

If you thought the space under the stairs was too small for a cloakroom you might consider the new all in one toilet and basin that not only saves space but also water as it uses the grey water from washing your hands to fill the cistern for the next flush!

These items are fabulous for making the room look more spacious and these are also perceived to be very desirable for the resale value of the property.

Wall Hung Ceramics

December 19, 2019

Over the last decade there has been a rapidly increasing trend in bathrooms in Britain for the use of wall hung sanitary ware with hidden plumbing. Wall hung toilets and basins give the optical illusion of more floor space and are also more hygienic allowing for the floor to be easily cleaned.

With the new product ranges available, this approach using hidden plumbing and wall hung fittings is far more pleasing to the eye than floor standing equipment and unsightly exposed pipework.

Using this approach can give bathrooms that ‘designer magazine’ look however, caution is needed as the work needs to be done in an intelligent and well planned way. Hiding the plumbing in the wall and shelf cavities has long been a concern for installers as access to pipework in the event of a problem is foremost on their mind. However these fears are less of an issue than ever before with clever product developments like multifunctional flush plates, one piece cisterns and tiled access hatches.

Walk in Showers

December 19, 2019

One of the biggest areas of growth in the showering market is the trend towards ‘Walk-in’ showers. The term is used quite loosely among customers and industry professionals alike.

We take it to mean a showering area that is not fully enclosed so you do not need to open a door or curtain to get into the showering area. This is not to be confused with a fully ‘wet room’ like those seen on the continent where there is no barrier to the shower water and there tends to be a floor drain for the whole room not just the showering area.

A Walk-in shower can have a tray or a tiled area underneath it to allow the water to run towards the drain position inside the shower. It usually also has a piece of glass or two positioned to prevent the bulk of the splashes from getting on the main floor area.

There are many different types of walk-in showers and it is lovely to be able to get in and out of these without having to open and close any doors. Then there is the ease of cleaning! However there are a few issues to be aware of when selecting your walk-in shower.

Firstly there is the matter of space – specifically how much of it is available? Walk-in showers require more space than shower enclosures in general to be effective. You need the showering area to be set back or shielded from the opening otherwise the splashing outside the shower area becomes too great.

Secondly, there is the issue of warmth. An open showering area allows more of the steam to escape than an enclosure does. So to be effective in the UK in winter it is important to have enough heat in the room to maintain a comfortable room temperature so as not to get too cold when showering.

Then there is the question of what type of base or floor to use. There are many trays that can be used effectively and of course there is the tiled floor option also. Many of the ‘under tile’ bases are made so well that they can be used even on first floor bathrooms however the quality of the fitter is most important in these cases – try to choose an installer that is very experienced with tiled tray installations and check their references!

Finally think about the type of screen you wish to use. Does it have an anti-scale coating? Is the glass at least 8mm thick? Are there enough channels and bracing bars to prevent movement damage or injury? Do you need a moving panel at the end of the main screen to allow for greater splash protection? These are all good questions to ask your local bathroom company or installer and there are several more. If you need any help from the experts please give us a call!

Selecting the Right Tradesmen

December 19, 2019

So you’ve shopped around and found the best bathroom products that your budget can buy. Who are you hiring to install the products?

This is in our opinion the most difficult part of buying a new bathroom as the fitting can often cost more than the equipment that you buy and yet many people spend less time vetting their installer than they do their bathroom supplier.

If you don’t know any local installers or plumbers there are a number of websites that offer customer rated installers like www.checkatrade.com and www.ratedpeople.com plus many others.

Having done this many thousands of times please allow us to give you a few helpful tips:

1. Try to get at least two quotes but three preferably. Always ask for the fitter to specify a guarantee period they offer in the quotation. 2 years workmanship guarantee is customary!

2. Select the best two based not on price alone but on their credibility and professionalism as well.

3. Seek references from two of each of their clients.

4. Decide on your final favoured quote and then ask to see; a copy of any official qualifications that the winning quoter claims to possess; and a copy of their current public liability insurance. Without this they should not be working in your home.

5. Agree a payment schedule that you are happy with but make sure there is a healthy percentage held back to be paid on satisfactory completion. A deposit is normal for fitters to book the job and purchase materials but a maximum of 25% is sensible.

6. Get a receipt for every payment you make signed by the installer!

7. When you are happy with the finished installation get the warranty in writing before releasing the final payment.

We hope this helps!

Wet Floor Vs Shower Tray

December 19, 2019

Wet floors are becoming more and more popular in Britain and we often encounter people who need help deciding on which way to proceed with their installation. So we thought a brief summary of the issues might help.

When we talk of a wet floor with a drain we mean some sort of substrate with falls built in that then has some form of tanking (if necessary) and tiles installed on top. There are many brands that provide a version of this such as Abacus, Wedi, Impey, Lux etc.

The main advantage of a wet floor with drain is its appearance – they look eminently superior to a standard shower tray. (There are of course some fabulous designer trays available but that is for another article). The wet area can also be built to size giving more flexibility to neatly fill the allotted showering area. You can choose the exact tile and finish that you require within reason and the result is usually to make the whole design ‘seamless’.

However a tiled wet area is usually quite a lot more expensive to create and install than a standard tray. A wet area installation also requires a more experienced fitter to ensure that things are done exactly right. And when things go wrong they can potentially be more costly to rectify than if things go wrong with a tray. (We note that careful planning can usually alleviate most of the potential pitfalls).

It is also important to point out that there are many sizes and thicknesses of tray now available and so most potential showering spaces can be adequately filled by a tray if this is your primary concern.

There are drainage issues to consider in both cases being discussed but these very much depend on the particular layout of your room and its drains. The main piece of advice is to seek expert help from us or from your local wet room specialist before making the choice between wet area or shower tray!

Glass Protection Coatings

December 19, 2019

With showers becoming more and more popular in our busy lives many people are replacing baths with shower cubicles.

Almost every manufacturer has in recent years introduced some kind of coating on the glass to protect from the build up of limescale and other elements on the glass and to make the glass easier to clean. For some brands this is an option to be chosen by the consumer but for many manufacturers their showering glass is now coated as standard.

There are some subtle differences however most of the coatings achieve the same thing and are sprayed and then cured on to the glass.

Glass Coating under a microscope

A protective coating actively repels water and grime to stay looking cleaner for longer.

Water and grime cling readily to untreated uneven glass surfaces.

It is important to remember that these coatings will diminish over time (some faster than others) depending on: how much the shower is used; how well and how often you clean it; and how hard the water is in your area.

The life of the glass protection coatings can be extended by:

– Cleaning the shower glass after every use.

– Ventilating the shower area well (using extraction).

– Not allowing Limescale to build up in hard water areas.

– Ensuring any residual water on the glass is removed after every use.

– Cleaning the glass using soapy water on a regular basis.

– Not using abrasive cleaning products on the glass.

If you do find your coating wearing off over time do not despair. There are many restorative products available that will clean the glass to a standard that will allow a new coating to be applied. Kits to do this start from about £25 and the process can be completed by virtually anyone.

If you have any questions why not contact us for some help and advice.

Bathroom Wallpaper

December 9, 2019

Wallpaper continues to weave its magic through our homes, but this year things are dialling up a notch, with bold patterned designs stealing into the wettest parts of our bathrooms.

Previously a limited option best kept well away from water, the advent of new materials and printing techniques is seeing the glory of wallpaper patterns translated on more robust surfaces.

collov home design mYuJL srlRE unsplash

World Toilet Day

November 20, 2019

This commode is the oldest toilet we have in the showroom. It may have originated in the 1800s, but it’s going green in 2019 and celebrating life as a plant pot.

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fr	2 months	The cookie is set by Facebook to show relevant advertisements to the users and measure and improve the advertisements. The cookie also tracks the behaviour of the user across the web on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin.
PHPSESSID		This cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed.
rc::a	never	This cookie is set by the Google recaptcha service to identify bots to protect the website against malicious spam attacks.
rc::b	session	This cookie is set by the Google recaptcha service to identify bots to protect the website against malicious spam attacks.
rc::c	session	This cookie is set by the Google recaptcha service to identify bots to protect the website against malicious spam attacks.
rc::f	never	This cookie is set by the Google recaptcha service to identify bots to protect the website against malicious spam attacks.
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
_cfuvid	session	Calendly sets this cookie to track users across sessions to optimize user experience by maintaining session consistency and providing personalized services
_fbp	2 months	This cookie is set by Facebook to deliver advertisement when they are on Facebook or a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising after visiting this website.
_GRECAPTCHA	5 months 27 days	This cookie is set by Google recaptcha
_hp2_id.*	1 year 1 month	Heap Analytics sets this cookie to collect information on how visitors use the site.
__cfduid	1 month	The cookie is used by cdn services like CloudFare to identify individual clients behind a shared IP address and apply security settings on a per-client basis. It does not correspond to any user ID in the web application and does not store any personally identifiable information.
__lc_cid	2 years	This is an essential cookie for the website live chat box to function properly.
__lc_cst	2 years	This cookie is used for the website live chat box to function properly.
__oauth_redirect_detector	past	This cookie is used to recognize the visitors using live chat at different times inorder to optimize the chat-box functionality.

Cookie	Duration	Description
ANONCHK	10 minutes	The ANONCHK cookie, set by Bing, is used to store a user's session ID and also verify the clicks from ads on the Bing search engine. The cookie helps in reporting and personalization as well.
ebay	session	The domain of this cookie is owned by Ebay. This cookie is used for targeting and advertising purpose.
IDE	2 years	Used by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
MUID	1 year 24 days	Bing sets this cookie to recognize unique web browsers visiting Microsoft sites. This cookie is used for advertising, site analytics, and other operations.
NID	6 months	This cookie is used to a profile based on user's interest and display personalized ads to the users.
test_cookie	15 minutes	The test_cookie is set by doubleclick.net and is used to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE	5 months	This cookie is set by Youtube. Used to track the information of the embedded YouTube videos on a website.
VISITOR_PRIVACY_METADATA	6 months	YouTube sets this cookie to store the user's cookie consent state for the current domain.
yt-remote-connected-devices	never	YouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
yt-remote-device-id	never	YouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
yt.innertube::nextId	never	This cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen.
yt.innertube::requests	never	This cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen.

Cookie	Duration	Description
SRM_B	1 year 24 days	Used by Microsoft Advertising as a unique ID for visitors.
YSC	session	This cookies is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos.

Cookie	Duration	Description
calltrk_session_id	6 months	This cookie is set by the Provider CallRail. This cookie is used for storing an unique identifier for a user browser session. It is used for tracking the number of phone calls generate from the website.
cebs	session	Crazyegg sets this cookie to trace the current user session internally.
GPS	30 minutes	This cookie is set by YouTube and registers a unique ID for tracking users based on their geographical location
MR	7 days	This cookie, set by Bing, is used to collect user information for analytics purposes.
sbjs_current	session	Sourcebuster sets this cookie to identify the source of a visit and stores user action information in cookies. This analytical and behavioural cookie is used to enhance the visitor experience on the website.
sbjs_current_add	session	Sourcebuster sets this cookie to identify the source of a visit and stores user action information in cookies. This analytical and behavioural cookie is used to enhance the visitor experience on the website.
sbjs_first	session	Sourcebuster sets this cookie to identify the source of a visit and stores user action information in cookies. This analytical and behavioural cookie is used to enhance the visitor experience on the website.
sbjs_first_add	session	Sourcebuster sets this cookie to identify the source of a visit and stores user action information in cookies. This analytical and behavioural cookie is used to enhance the visitor experience on the website.
sbjs_migrations	session	Sourcebuster sets this cookie to identify the source of a visit and stores user action information in cookies. This analytical and behavioural cookie is used to enhance the visitor experience on the website.
sbjs_session	1 hour	Sourcebuster sets this cookie to identify the source of a visit and stores user action information in cookies. This analytical and behavioural cookie is used to enhance the visitor experience on the website.
sbjs_udata	session	Sourcebuster sets this cookie to identify the source of a visit and stores user action information in cookies. This analytical and behavioural cookie is used to enhance the visitor experience on the website.
tk_lr	1 year	This cookie is set by JetPack plugin on sites using WooCommerce. This is a referral cookie used for analyzing referrer behavior for Jetpack
tk_or	5 years	This cookie is set by JetPack plugin on sites using WooCommerce. This is a referral cookie used for analyzing referrer behavior for Jetpack
tk_r3d	3 days	The cookie is installed by JetPack. Used for the internal metrics fo user activities to improve user experience
_ce.gtld	session	Crazyegg sets this cookie to identify the top-level domain.
_ga	2 years	This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gat_gtag_UA_*	1 minute	Google Analytics sets this cookie to store a unique user ID.
_gat_gtag_UA_120013665_4	1 minute	Google uses this cookie to distinguish users.
_gat_gtag_UA_152544590_1	1 minute	Google uses this cookie to distinguish users.
_gat_gtag_UA_152544590_2	1 minute	Google uses this cookie to distinguish users.
_gat_gtag_UA_34219723_1	1 minute	Google uses this cookie to distinguish users.
_ga_*	1 year 1 month 4 days	Google Analytics sets this cookie to store and count page views.
_ga_1X0XQRMB4F	2 years	No description
_ga_MB3YJX0YZ9	2 years	This cookie is installed by Google Analytics.
_gcl_au	3 months	Provided by Google Tag Manager to experiment advertisement efficiency of websites using their services.
_gid	1 day	This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the wbsite is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages viisted in an anonymous form.
_hp2_id.1907091133	2 years	Heap Analytics monitors user flow throughout the website and is used for analysis purposes.
_hp2_ses_props.*	1 hour	Heap sets this cookie to store the timestamp and cookie domain or path.
_hp2_ses_props.1907091133	30 minutes	Heap Analytics monitors user flow throughout the website and is used for analysis purposes.

Cookie	Duration	Description
yt-player-bandwidth	never	The yt-player-bandwidth cookie is used to store the user's video player preferences and settings, particularly related to bandwidth and streaming quality on YouTube.
yt-player-headers-readable	never	The yt-player-headers-readable cookie is used by YouTube to store user preferences related to video playback and interface, enhancing the user's viewing experience.
yt-remote-cast-available	session	The yt-remote-cast-available cookie is used to store the user's preferences regarding whether casting is available on their YouTube video player.
yt-remote-cast-installed	session	The yt-remote-cast-installed cookie is used to store the user's video player preferences using embedded YouTube video.
yt-remote-fast-check-period	session	The yt-remote-fast-check-period cookie is used by YouTube to store the user's video player preferences for embedded YouTube videos.
yt-remote-session-app	session	The yt-remote-session-app cookie is used by YouTube to store user preferences and information about the interface of the embedded YouTube video player.
yt-remote-session-name	session	The yt-remote-session-name cookie is used by YouTube to store the user's video player preferences using embedded YouTube video.
ytidb::LAST_RESULT_ENTRY_KEY	never	The cookie ytidb::LAST_RESULT_ENTRY_KEY is used by YouTube to store the last search result entry that was clicked by the user. This information is used to improve the user experience by providing more relevant search results in the future.
__cf_bm	30 minutes	This cookie, set by Cloudflare, is used to support Cloudflare Bot Management.