HELP! Bathroom on a Budget!
zoe_hartshorn
6 years ago
We are just in the process of buying our first house, but if you’ve read any of my other discussions we want to move in and do what we can on a budget to start! The bathroom is one thing we need help and advice on! My dad is a plumber/pipe fitter so in the future we would be looking to put a new bathroom in! (Maybe turn the bath around and have it lengthways across the back wall etc) but for now, we don’t know what to do!! It’s perfectly useable, but just not to our taste! If anyone has any advice of how we can make it look a hell of a lot better on a budget we would really appreciate it!
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PROAkiva Projects Ltd
6 years agoRelated Discussions
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Comments (1)Wow it looks like a different room completely!...See MoreLondon Victorian - what to budget for kitchen & bathroom?
Comments (3)Bathroom - reckon on £3/4k for labour, £30 sq meter for tiles, £3k for white goods but you could easily spend 3 times that on the goods and a lot more on labour. Say £8k? Kitchen - reckon on £5k for all the labour and prep. Tiling the floor could be more expensive if you need it plying. Appliances could be anything from £1,500 to skies the limit - say £3k for decent quality. Worktops - from £400 for laminate to £4,000 for an expensive quartz or granite. Furniture should be around £4k+ if you buy decent quality but you might speak to a salesman at Wren who just happens to be able to offer you a special discount the day you go in because err, it's a Tuesday or something so that would mean the furniture costing not £8k but £4k... oh... Anyway, reckon on £12-£14k for the kitchen....See MoreGood Mid Range Budget Quality Bathroom Sanitary Ware Make?
Comments (6)Just to flag to you - the so-called "lifetime guarantee" offered by Bathstore (and similar guarantees offered by other "sheds") is not a true lifetime guarantee - the actual length of guarantee ranges very widely on different products, so while ceramic Sanitaryware is 30 years, furniture is only 2-5 years and taps only 10 years. Furthermore, virtually all products have various exclusions - with taps, for example, the cartridges (the part most likely to fail and cause leaks) are only guaranteed for 1 year - considerably less than the average or better products in the market. Cisterns in WCs (again the most likely component to fail) are only covered for 2 years. Full details can be found here, if you want more info. Unfortunately, this sort of misleading marketing is more common than I would like, particularly among the larger chains. Feedback from customers to us has also indicated that getting some of these larger companies to honour their guarantees can also be a difficult business at times. Dealing with a smaller independent, they are more likely to deal with companies they know will have fewer quality issues and, where necessary, will honour their commitments (we can't afford the time, effort or risk to our reputation to do otherwise) and will normally "go the extra mile" to keep customers happy. There is, of course, a place for all of us in the market, but I really do urge you to do your homework and know what you are really buying if you deal with the national companies....See MoreContemporary Bathroom on a budget
Comments (6)Thanks. Love everything you show particularly with wood - I thinks that is the problem, I can never make up my mind. Anything to incorporate my washbasin without the vanities? I like the grout colour of the floor tiles as well. My radiator is beyond repair. The plastic substance on each bar would have to be removed before repainting, also would love a heater on a timer....See More
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6 years ago
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6 years agobonniemila
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6 years ago 
Juliet Docherty
6 years ago
PROTile Giant
6 years ago
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6 years agoFrank
6 years agoCertain “nifty” things may not cost the world especially if you don’t have to pay the plumber / your dad (oh well... we always owe our parents and they’re sure not to forget ...) :-)
Your post tickles the Scrooge in me :-)
Relocating the bath to the window and fitting a shower screen seems like a great / easy start to end up with a notably more luxurious Ambiente.
Let’s price some components:
If your water pressure is not entirely abysmal (ground floor should do if your gravity fed header tank is in the attic) then you may be able to use a shower/bath mixer/diverter (many types available starting from about 100£ like https://www.ergonomicdesigns.co.uk/product/REI3417~hudson-reed-reign-triple-with-diverter-concealed-thermostatic-shower-valve.html) and run both bath filler and overhead (rain-)shower or handheld shower from it. As was mentioned, a flush-with-ceiling “shower tile” ( https://www.victorianplumbing.co.uk/hudson-reed-270mm-ceiling-tile-shower-head-head80, or “German upgrade” to https://www.ukbathrooms.com/products/hansgrohe-raindance-air-overhead-shower-260-x-260mm.html) would give the spa-type look and at that size will probably work with the just-under 1bar you get from a gravity fed supply. You only need a handheld shower/small extra wall outlet to complete, about 20£ for the outlet/shower holder and a few quid for the handset on eBay.
For the bath, overflow filler wastes like https://www.tapwarehouse.com/product/708a keep the looks neat (make sure you get one long enough for the bath you choose) and would also connect invisibily to the mixer valve. You’d built something like this:
Gramercy Home · More Info
Just using your bathtub not a shower lay.
If you want to cap your bathtub costs and stay with plastic (in which case 250£ give you choice choice choice) then you can make an acrylic bath feel a lot more sturdy if you built a wooden or C-steel frame for it so it’s supported under the rim and from beneath the tub’s floor plate. Makes a huge difference to the experience.
Shower screens are from about 50£ for a 4mm x 1400mm x 800mm and again if you go to 100£ your choice grows a lot.
If you’re into the modern look, a hidden cistern for the toilet, like https://www.screwfix.com/p/fluidmaster-schwab-duplo-xs-in-wall-toilet-frame-cistern/2249x can be found from around 100£.
Large mirrors that help make the space appear big ... can either be found via recycling (lots of 2nd hand shops ...), or you buy a cheap set of IKEA ones and tile them (use silicone not tile adhesive - the latter may dissolve the mirror layer over time). IKEA friendly as they are sell sets in a tile-size friendly 30x30cm, “lots”, http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/decoration/mirrors/lots-mirror-art-39151700/ rather attractive price (and correspondingly huge number of web search hits for ‘Ikea lots mirror ideas’).
For tiles, it’s about waiting the opportunity; all tile shops occasionally have joblots / leftovers so with a little luck... if you see commercial properties especially hotels being done up where you are, try to chat to them larger projects often have surplus.
The result of such will luck hugely more pricey than it is, especially if the workmanship is good.
Good luck with your bathroom and let us know how the result looks like!
PROOpun
6 years ago
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