Need your help with this bathroom! Project come to grinding halt!

design novice

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

Hi there
My bathroom is 240cm by 240cm with a large window. Unfortunately I don't think I have enough space for a separate shower as the toilet needs to be placed on an outside wall. I had hoped I could place the bath along the side of the window with the toilet next to it but the bath is 180cm (wish had bought normal size, big mistake!) and toilet around is 40cm wide but I have to allow for gaps either side. The sink is 60cm wide.
So I think the only option is for the bath to go where the pipework is with the shower boxed in above it.. This will leave me with a gap of 50cm at the window end.

Can anyone think of a creative way to do something with this? I thought of tiling the bath panel and wondered whether I could box in the gap with a step or cubby hole design which would make it look like the bath was designed to fit the space rather than the other way round!!! I am floored by this and worried my bathroom is going to look a little odd with a funny dog leg at the end of the bath!

Featured Answer

Carolina

7 years ago

Mary Murray's suggestions are great. Here are some additional inspirational pics for you

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Comments (15)

Mary
7 years ago
Move the bath 50cm along so the end is next to the sink/ window wall. Leave 10cm gap there for a tiled shelf for tea, wine or toiletries. Recreate your new 40cm gap at the shower pipes end. Build a new panel/ wall for the shower mixer/ pipes. You then have the full room height to create storage. At floor level- to bath height: build in a pull-out unit on wheels or extra long drawer runners. Ideas for this are on internet in understairs storage ideas. Can put drawers / cupboards above. These can be long/ pull-out or shorter and then build recesses into the right side of shower-head wall for shampoo and toiletries. Need to be fully tiled. Make these as big as possible as they shrink when tiled!

Another option may be to make the above Bath height storage accessible from outside the bathroom with shelves and or a cupboard door. Can be great for towels/ toiletries as wide and shallow. Deep/ narrow cupboards less useful. Depends on wall type and what's out there.
The space we had was only 29cm total so you've got lots of scope. The pull out shown above is the depth of the bath. It has a part-way stopper which can be unscrewed to pull the unit out fully, however it is usually left on. That's for safety as, fully extended, it would prevent the door being opened from outside in case of emergency. Idea of excellent craftsman who created it. It's fantastic!

Also, I'd put the tap end of Bath at window wall. Saves taps from being soaked every shower and therefore lots of cleaning. May not be be possible for you if there's too much slope on your bath so it would be less comfortable for showering. In which case you could have a 2 or 3 way wall mixer further along the length of the bath with a bathfiller/overflow instead of taps at the vertical end. The 3 way mixer is great for additional shower hose for hairwashing in bath, cleaning bath etc. The wall was channelled out for the pipes etc. Putting the shower attachment in the wall instead of bath avoids leaks under the bath and is easier for cleaning.
Daisy England
7 years ago
What Mary says makes sense. When I originally looked at your pix I wondered why you had an unusable space at the end of the bath.
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design novice
Original Author
7 years ago
Hi Mary thank you so much for taking the trouble to send me your ideas. This is my first ever post and I am so grateful. I really like the idea of the pull outs with the boxing at the shower end. I have about 15cm at that end and 50cm at the other end so I may adjust that accordingly and try and put a stepped shelf or something at the bottom end for as you say wine, tea or toiletries :-). I wish I could find a picture of that for inspiration!

I have spent hours pouring over bathroom magazines and scanning the internet for ideas and all the pics of bathrooms have the bath nestled in between walls with no gaps!

Funny you should mention bath fillers as I have also been researching them to avoid taps! I was going to order a 2 way wall mixer but will investigate a 3 way one. I wonder what the difference is...as seem to be more 2 ways available than 3. So do you recommend a shower head with a concealed unit in the boxing or an exposed shower rail? Again thanks for your kindness :-)
PRO
LUSSO
7 years ago
Hi there,

Have you considered a vanity unit? Brand new Lusso Stone Luxe matt white, steel framed unit has just came out including basin top. It is W: 600mm X H: 850mm X D: 480mm. This option would make your bathroom much more sleeker leaving no gaps. This then leaves you with more benefits as you could then take out your unit and have the toilet anywhere you like then maybe purchase a chrome radiator to give a further modern aroma. ( Here are some images to include.)

LUSSO STONE LUXE 600 MATT WHITE STEEL FRAMED BATHROOM VANITY UNIT · More Info

LUSSO STONE LUXE 600 MATT WHITE STEEL FRAMED BATHROOM VANITY UNIT · More Info

LUSSO STONE LUXE 600 MATT WHITE STEEL FRAMED BATHROOM VANITY UNIT · More Info

LUSSO STONE LUXE 600 MATT WHITE STEEL FRAMED BATHROOM VANITY UNIT · More Info

Kind regards

Jay
Mary
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Hi Linda. You're welcome. I've just joined Houzz and stumbled on this part as I was browsing. It's seems a great place to get help.

The 3 way wall mixer to feed the bath filler has a hot knob, cold knob and the third is to divert the water to the hand held shower spray. It sprays water in a vertical line so is really good for rinsing hair or the bath as it's precise. Do put it as far away from the main shower mixer as possible to avoid it getting stained by the main shower water flow. That part's easy as it's flexible hides beneath the bath. Your plumber may resist- be firm! I am cleaning averse! lots of pics show the shower spray attachment coming from a hole drilled and sealed in the top surface of the bath but I know people who've had rotten floor boards as a result of unseen drips and leaks- hence the neatwall bracket.

With regards the new boxed in end of the bath with the main shower mixer: this needs to be a panel of stud partition, boarded with the green water resistant plaster board. This is the most important bit- changes in temperature plus people standing in the bath to shower cause expansion, shrinkage and leaks. This then needs tiles or waterproof marine/shower wall. I'm not a plumber or builder so, for me, none of that is diy.

with regard to your question- the mixer is hidden behind the study partition with the control knob/ mixer on a decorative plate. The hose comes out of the mixer valve and you can have a slider rail or a bracket. I recommend a long slide rail so that it can be used by adults and children or tall and short adults!

Obviously the shower mixer and pipes need to be brought forward to feed the new stud wall. An advantage of the stud wall is that it's more straightforward to make tiled recesses between the frame struts. Make it clear to the person doing that work that you want them and that it's to the right of the mixer (to allow for pull out drawers or shelves accessed from the front side. They can then adjust the timbers to accommodate bin the planning stage. And as I said before- make them bigger than you need as they shrink when tiled- allow for your tallest bottles and add 10cm height. I can add more pics of mine- the one I put alongside the bath only holds a tumbler- not champagne glass . In my experience, builders, plumbers, tilers aren't keen as its fiddly- however, you are the client and it's a big, long-term investment. You want to smile when you see and use it.

With regard to the stepped shelf at the other end- I hate clutter and don't like open shelves, except for somewhere to use products I'm using in the bath on that occasion. I've had open shelves for towels etc before and we're just not tidy/ don't live in a Houzz image and I have better things to do in life than clean and dust. So, although there's lots on here if you use the search box and put in 'end of bath shelf', I'm not a fan.

Finally with the pull out storage- some on Houzz - 'slide out understairs storage' and it's worth looking at 'clever closets'. I googled 'pull out understairs storage'.Good luck!
design novice thanked Mary
Mary
7 years ago
Love all these. I know I couldn't live up to the look with my lot
alberttatlocksnose
7 years ago
Hi Linda, we have a small bathroom, and had similar issues. We had pipes boxed in at window wall end and narrow ledge created to put shampoo bottles on etc . At the other end where the shower is we have a recess where we hide the bathroom clutter. I haven't got round to putting a door on it yet though !!!
With regard to bath fillers vs bath taps, we have a bath filler (which looks like the overflow thingy in the bath) and it feeds off the mixer (the 2 way diverter plate on the wall of shower) and I find that because it is a mixer tap I can't get the water as hot as I would like for a bath - because you can't just have the hot tap on, which you could if you had a hot and cold tap .
Next time I do up a bathroom I am definitely going to have separate taps for the bath !!
Good luck with your project.
design novice thanked alberttatlocksnose
Mary
7 years ago
Looks lovely Alberttatlocksnose -I'd call your plumber back though- sounds like mixer thermostat is faulty or set to too low temp? Should be able to have just hot or just cold. Or could your boiler need to be turned up a little?
alberttatlocksnose
7 years ago
Hi Mary, I've checked boiler and water temp is at the max it will go. The temperature is fine for showering , I think it may be me liking a scalding hot bath (which is prob not good for me anyway)!!!
Kerry Donnelly
7 years ago
Regarding your hot water, new building regs means that there is a valve on your pipe work that sets the temp of the water, regardless of what your boiler set at. Where your hot water pipe feeds into your bath( mine is underneath but think your pipes are behind that wall), have a look at there is a +/- , turn it to increase the temp to what you want. It's a safety measure that has to be used now so that old/ young people don't scold themselves with the water being too hot. Hope this helps.
Kevin Williamson
7 years ago
did you start off with idea for walk in shower if so you should have made sure measurements were spot on before you bought your bathroom suite but im sure this will be an expensive lesson for you, were is the door opening and how far does it open inwards (if it does) i have got 2.5m×1.9m bathroom im planning on having custom built shower area with square bath plus sink (small sink) and my toilet granted i'll not have much floor space left over but the floor space left over will still be enough compared to most house i go into some would not fit even a cat and a person in them but thats the price if i want luxury bathroom to my taste if you do work out what you want make sure its done right or it will get to you because of this situation
design novice thanked Kevin Williamson
PRO
P & P Maintenance Services
7 years ago
We built a linen basket arrangement in the area you are discussing. Very straightforward as it can be made out of off the shelf white gloss panels.
design novice thanked P & P Maintenance Services
alberttatlocksnose
7 years ago
Hi Kerry, thanks for that info, re water temperature, I'll see if I can get to the pipes (or ask plumber to do it).
Joanna Biddolph
7 years ago
I am not sure the loo has to be on the outside wall - it could be anywhere, you just have to box in the large pipe that will run from it to the outside wall. I know it's irritating when people say start again but the room seems a bit bitty and if the basin and loo were in a run of units, separated by small cupboards, with a continuous surface along the top of the whole run, it would look really rather sleek. And the pipe could run under the units, hidden by it - that's what I've done in my bathroom. Stick a mirror above the units, covering the whole wall from surface to ceiling, and side to side, and it will make the room seem much bigger. Are you having a towel radiator in there? That will add some character if you have towels that complement the colours you choose. Then add some interesting bits and pieces to make it seem less utilitarian.
design novice thanked Joanna Biddolph