If you are in the early stages of bathroom planning or have recently begun a remodel and want to ensure that the finished product is all you imagined, our comprehensive guide is packed with helpful suggestions and information that will get you on the right track.
Many homeowners look forward to the completion of a bathroom remodel since it means finally getting rid of their ancient bathroom suite and outdated plumbing system and replacing them with a brand new, shining spa-worthy sanctuary.
However, take some time to thoroughly design the area, investigate all of your alternatives for bathroom layouts and fitting, and think about who will do the work before viewing the shiny bathroom suites. Don’t forget that many general contractors may also assist with bathroom design.
The days of a bathroom’s sole function as a utilitarian space in a HAB house are long past. The goal of most people’s little spare time these days is to simply relax and indulge.
When designing a new bathroom, it can be difficult to narrow down the options due to the sheer number of available fixtures and amenities.
Do you Need a Professional House Builder?
A fully functional bathroom requires the skills of numerous house construction professionals, including a builder, tiler, electrician, and plumber. A plasterer or painter could be useful, too. Some contractors can complete every step of the bathroom installation process. Involving a general contractor in the bathroom renovation process will help ensure that everything goes well.
Your plan should take into account a number of elements, such as your available funds, your degree of DIY expertise, the timeframe you’re working under, the expected amount of effort needed in installing your bathroom fixtures, and the fixtures you’ve selected.
It is preferable to hire professionals in each respective trade separately. It can be challenging to find and hire everyone you need to meet your deadline. Even if you are successful, it can be quite difficult to manage and coordinate the various professional personnel who are present on the site.
Therefore, the best option is to get the help of a professional bathroom installer. However, get the blueprints completed before consulting an expert. Make a list of the fixtures you want and don’t want to have in your new bathroom.
Having to hire one contractor to handle everything could seem like a waste of money. However, the expense is justified because of the variety of specialised tradespeople that must be employed to correctly build a new bathroom.
Find a specialist who has earned a lot of praise on the review site Trustpilot. When you hire a professional, you can rest assured that they will be able to adapt to any changes you make to the original design.
Make sure the contractor you hire to renovate your bathroom is familiar with not only the building codes that apply to bathroom installations, but also the specifics of the bathroom renovation you intend to carry out.
Planning a Bathroom Installation
Spend some time organising a bathroom carefully to make sure it is completely suited to your unique demands before you start buying sanitaryware and browsing the newest bathroom designs.
Discuss your expectations for the new bathroom early on with the contractor you hire to create it; a seasoned builder will be a priceless resource for breaking down the nuts and bolts of bathroom design, including layout, fixtures, and budget.
Your bathroom supplier, installer, or builder will appreciate a detailed yet succinct brief outlining your specific needs and preferences. Get a Master Builder involved early on in the process to get assistance with bathroom design from someone who knows what they’re doing.
Starting with the toilet’s location—specifically, where the present dirt pipe enters the room—will help you choose the optimal spot for the new toilet.
Door frames, window openings, and any existing elements like bulkheads, dormer windows, alcoves, or sloping ceilings can all be marked out on graph paper to determine how they will affect the bathroom’s final design.
Then you may experiment with the placement of fixtures like the sink, tub and shower cubicle, just make sure everything is drawn to the same scale.
A builder who is supervising the job could be able to help you plan out the bathroom or provide you with some suggestions for it.
Who will be using the loo should be a top priority while designing it. Anyone who, for instance, has young children is likely to want a bath and, consequently, should give some thought to cleanability and safety in the bathroom. On the other hand, a primary en suite bathroom could benefit from an enclosed shower and two sinks.
Separating the bathroom into a dry area and a wet area allows for more efficient use of the available space. (You can disregard this requirement if the bathroom is extremely small.) Make sure there’s enough room to move about in the lavatory.
Find the optimal placement for the radiator, shelving and bathroom amenities. Identify the locations of light fixtures, switchboards, water heaters, and extractor fans on a detailed electrical plan.
What home building regulations do I need to consider?
It is more common to connect utilities like electricity, plumbing and waste while renovating an existing bathroom as opposed to establishing a fresh new one. However, you might find that you need additional wiring or plumbing, or that the existing services need to be rerouted, if you are updating your bathroom fixtures and fittings or changing the arrangement of your sanitaryware.
It is not always necessary to get permission from building laws to replace old fixtures like a toilet or washbasins with newer models. But before any building work begins, double-check that the construction work in your home passes building approval regulations, whether a new build house or updating an old one. Also, if your house is council-owned then there may be extra construction regulations to read over.
Similarly, construction codes must be followed for any electrical work in close proximity to water sources like sinks, tubs and showers, as well as for any work that involves altering or expanding drainage systems.
A professional builder’s guidance will be invaluable at this stage as well. Most contractors offering project management services will have access to skilled electricians and plumbers they can contract with on your behalf.
When the work is done, your employees should send over the paperwork that shows the building codes were followed. Assuming you hired competent professionals, this is a normal step in the process. When selling your home, prospective purchasers will ask to see proof of compliance papers, so keep your certificates in a safe place.
For the bathroom to serve its intended purpose, adequate ventilation is a must. Without enough ventilation, moisture and mould can build up in a bathroom, leading to structural damage and health problems for the people living there.
Installing extract fans that run on a timer in the background and using vents in the windows or walls is the most typical technique to meet ventilation criteria in a bathroom.
It is crucial to ensure that there is adequate and properly designed bathroom drainage. All water used in the bathroom or kitchen must be directed to an appropriate wastewater place, such as a public sewer, a cesspool or a septic tank. Wastewater, often known as greywater, contains a wide variety of substances that can be harmful to living organisms.
When it comes to electrical safety in the bathroom, the most important thing to remember is that no one should operate with electricity without proper training and registration with a reputable organisation like the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting also known as NICEIC for short.
However, these rules must be considered by anyone doing work in a lavatory because they dictate the location of outlets, light switches and other electrical components.
A full bathtub and its occupant can put a significant amount of weight on the floor, therefore it’s important that the subfloor is up to the task. Renovations to the bathroom that affect the building’s framework should not be undertaken lightly.
A structural engineer’s inspection report may be necessary if you want to relocate fixtures like the bathroom’s tub or shower. However, if you are still unsure, it is better to consult with the local council.
Average Cost for New Home Bathroom Build
A brand new bathroom’s price will be determined by its materials, its complexity, and the amount of time it will take to build. Gathering at least three quotes will give you a better idea of how much money you will need to create the bathroom of your dreams.
The price of your new or remodelled bathroom will vary depending on a number of factors, such as the size of the room, the degree of detail you’re going for, and the sort of fixtures you’ve purchased. You will also need to allocate funds for the ‘extras,’ such as designer hot towel warmers, ornamental accessories, a new lighting scheme, and premium natural stone tiles for the floors.
There will be cheaper fixtures like regular acrylic tubs and basic electric showers, and more expensive fixtures like real stone tubs, glass sinks, and elaborate shower enclosures. For instance, the price of a toilet can range from as little as £50 for a very basic model to more than £400 for a very high-quality model. According to DIY Dwelling, prices for a decent electric shower or new mixer shower can be bought for around £200.
The typical cost of a new bathroom built from scratch in the UK is around £5,000, as reported by Victoria Plum. But if you’re willing to perform a fair bit of the work yourself, that number might be substantially lower. A range of £7,000 to more than £10,000 should be expected for larger facilities, those in need of extensive refurbishment work, and those making use of high-end materials.
The installation of new plumbing fixtures is not included in these totals. Additionally, they are based on the installation of lighting, plastering, decorating, extraction units, furnishings, shower trays, and tiling in addition to heating towel rails or underfloor heating.
It is crucial to include the cost of fittings when estimating the total cost of a bathroom makeover. Costs associated with labour, materials, tiles, heated towel rails, lighting, and tub-in-frame construction should also be considered.
Simple like-for-like bathroom retrofits can be completed by a plumber in as little as two or three days, including the removal of the old bathroom, for under £1,000.