How To Plan A New Bathroom

To continue our “How to” series of posts, today I’m going to discuss how to plan a new bathroom.

A bathroom is one of the most saleable rooms in a house. Bathrooms, Kitchens and extensions win a lot of home sales. But if you’re not buying or selling the experience, how do you go about planning it?

What Do You Want From Your New Bathroom?

Bathrooms can be the most self-indulgent room in the whole house. I mean, we can really build something totally reflective of our personalities. From integrated low lighting and candle space for the relaxants amongst us, to integrated gadgets for the tech enthusiasts.

We can build a place where for half an hour or an hour we can escape the world (or the kids).

So be creative, if you need inspiration, check out our recent post about home inspiration here. Decide what’s really important for you and plan a new bathroom experience around that.

What Will Affect The Price Of Your New Bathroom?

A reasonable enough question to ask I think. Bathrooms can be ridiculously priced, I mean have you ever considered paying 17,000,000 for a bath?

But seriously, a bathroom can be whatever you want it to be, as long as you have the budget to spend.

Personally, I never push anyone to invest more than is needed into a bathroom. In fact as an Estate Agent, I keep an eye on the resale value of the property post completion.

Can my client recoup their outlay if and when they sell this property is the question I ask myself?

The quality of tile, sanitary-ware, fixtures and fittings will all be decided by your budget. But just exactly how do you plan to pay for it?

The usual options my clients take are:

• Cash
• Credit Card
• Renovation Finance
• Mortgage Extensions
• Bank Loans

I’m sure there are other ways but these are the main answers I get when booking renovation projects. Just remember as I discussed in my post about planning a kitchen, have your three budget rule.

Your ideal budget, your outside budget and your pushed budget.

If you keep these in your head, you won’t go far wrong.

How Long Will It Take To Fit A New Bathroom?

All construction projects have an anticipated timeframe, but until your builder or construction company knows what it is exactly you want, you cannot answer that.

Think about what your project could entail, like:

• Moving internal walls and adding support beams
• Plastering
• Tiling
• Adding windows and extraction fans
• Planning permission
• Is it an ensuite or in the loft
• Re plumbing the existing pipework
• Other building commitments
• Lighting and electrics

There are a number of factors that can affect how long the project takes, but a good builder will know exactly how long, once he or she has all the information to hand.

Tip: In your head, allow for two extra weeks of build time and snagging, quite often on these projects houses and flats throw unexpected problems at you which slow down the construction time.

What Style Or Type Of Lighting Should You Choose?

Going back to what do you want from your bathroom, lighting can play such a huge part in your bathing experience.

You can have mood lighting installed that recognises individual profiles so you and your partner can have two totally different experiences when you grab your hour away. Don’t think of your bathroom as a functional room if you can afford to think about it as a home spa.

Under bath lighting is something that can really help set the mood if you don’t want to add your scented candles as per below.

Really explore the options you have, even if you settle for spot lights with an exterior dimmer switch. Switching off in the bathroom is a really good thing to do!

Remember The Plumbing

Bathrooms often produce plumbing problems. Older bathrooms suffer with locked pipes, or lead pipes that need replacing. Some suffer from drainage issues, blocked traps and poorly functioning toilets (flushing issues). Other issues are around water pressure not being right, but a good pump can rectify that situation.

When you plan your new bathroom, engage with your bathroom fitter and designer, any issues you may already be experiencing can all be rectified with the new project.

Note These Common Problems

In closing i’m trying to ensure I cover some of the issues we’ve encountered when replacing bathrooms, so this list is not exhaustive and I may return to update it at some point:

• Rotten Joists under the floor
• Badly capped pipework from previous bathroom upgrades
• Electric wiring needing upgrading
• Older plaster coming away when you remove tiles
• The plaster walls going through because of poor pipework, usually leaking in cavity walls
• Floors needing reboarding
• New tanks needing to be installed or moved

Whatever the problem that arises, a good reputable builder or tradesperson will be able to get you through, but if you want some advice, feel free to reach out to me here.

Hunt Property Services are proud to announce that Hayley Hunt has won two Women in Build Awards. Best Emerging Business Leader in Property – West Essex & Award for Excellence in Property Renovations – West Essex. If you live in East London or West Essex and are considering a renovation or home refurbishment, please get in touch for some free advice on 0208 502 7667 or email us here.