What Questions Should You Ask When Choosing a New Bathroom?

Looking to buy a new bathroom? We bet you have some questions and some of them may be listed below.

We felt it might be worthwhile answering the most common questions for you to get you thinking and get those frequently asked questions out there for all.

 

 

How much is the average bathroom renovation?

It’s rare we get someone who doesn’t care about the cost, but most of our customers don’t buy on price. They know they’re getting a quality product and they usually expect to pay an appropriate sum for it.

But how much does a bathroom cost? Well ‘it depends’ and it’s the piece of string question for our industry. One of the defining factors is who you choose to fit and design your bathroom. Like most purchases in life – you get what you pay for.

We’re not a budget bathroom showroom. We use our 30+ year experience and our own workforce to carry out the majority of the work. We plan everything for you to the last detail, and manage the installation. You’ll only have one bill to pay with us.

This comes at a cost but you’ll have a better final product and fewer headaches. Go nearer the budget end and you’ll hit a few potholes in the road with trades not gelling and suppliers letting your bathroom fitter down or vice versa. This makes the whole process take a lot longer, leaving you with no bathroom for weeks at a time. Plus you never know whether the toilet and sink will work effectively for a long time. It’s risky.

It easy to assume that a small bathroom will cost less than a large one. Unless the large bathroom is monumentally large, there really isn’t much more cost to it.

When you consider the suite will be the same cost and the labour and parts to fit your bathroom virtually the same, you can start to see why. Sure, you’ll have a little more floor and extra tiles but in many cases the extra cost is not a lot compared to the overall cost.

 

Do I have a bath or shower?

This is a highly contested area that’s been around for years and we think will continue for years too.

We personally think that you’ll struggle to sell your family home if you don’t have a bath. A quality bathroom and kitchen will sell your house for you. Having no bath in your bathroom will eliminate a percentage of your viewings from the first sight and that’s a big issue for you when you’re trying to move. People do still like to have a bath available, even if they don’t use it every day.

Our advice is this: If you’re planning on staying where you are and you’re intent on only having a shower then go for it. It’s your home and your enjoyment after all.  But if you’re likely to move in the next few years then consider keeping the bath and fit a bath and shower combo as a compromise.

We do find that occasionally people will have a shower cubicle fitted and also order several extra boxes of tiles so that if they do struggle to sell they can fit a bath and patch up the area.

 

Does it cost more to move the WC, basin and bath around?

It does cost, but not in the grand scheme of things. When you consider that you’ll be spending £1000s on a new bathroom, a few hundred pounds to move some pipes to get the best out of your bathroom isn’t as significant.

Getting the space right so the room flows and maximises the size of room you have is a must, and the extra investment is well worth it in our opinion. Yes, it will cost you more but not a lot – and the value you’ll get from it is almost priceless.

 

Should I have the floor tiled or not?

Yes and no. Whatever you choose should be hard-wearing. Your bathroom will get a large amount of traffic and that floor will take up the job of coping with it. A cheap vinyl will soon show signs of ageing so we recommend that you tile, or in some instances you may prefer to use a tough but quality flooring like Karndean which will fit too.

 

Should I have underfloor heating? 

Underfloor heating is a great addition to a bathroom in that during those winter months you’ll always have a warm floor to walk onto during the first timid steps in the dark, wintry mornings.

It’s an expensive to have fitted initially but not that expensive to run. It’ll cost you the equivalent of two to three lightbulbs in a standard bathroom as it’ll turn itself off once the room is up to temperature. Obviously if you leave it on constantly you’ll feel the pinch in your electric bill, but it feels very luxurious on bare feet and under slippers.

 

Do heated towel rails heat your room? 

Yes, they certainly do – so long as you fit the correct towel rail for the size of room. Every towel rail should be sized to the room so it runs efficiently. It’s like having a bigger engine if you tow more weight. The little engine can physically do it, but it’ll try much harder and you’ll use a lot more fuel. Heated towel rails are a practical way of keeping your towels neat and tidy as well as warm when you need them. They also look more modern than traditional radiators, so are well worth considering.

 

Do I fully tile my bathroom or partly tile it? 

Interestingly we find that 80 – 90% of bathrooms and shower rooms are now fully-tiled, yet 99% of cloakrooms are not. 

We feel this is down to the price. Many presume that a cloakroom is much smaller and therefore less expensive but that’s not the case. Cloakrooms are not a quarter of the price of a bathroom as often assumed they will be as they’re only slightly smaller (minus a bath). This simply makes it slightly less work and investment; not the bigger reduction in cost that most assume it will be.

So yes, it’s now very normal to tile the whole room and you’ll be able to keep it cleaner and it’ll look more uniformed and complete, too. We feel it’s worth the investment of a few more tiles and extra labour. If you’d like to see examples of rooms with full or part tiling, please ask us in our showroom.

Ask yourself the right questions…

We hope that was useful.

It’s very common to ask about the shower or to tile or not to tile. It’s also perfectly ok to ask about price. Your bathroom is a very busy place and somewhere you go for salvation and relaxation. Or maybe you rush in and out between meetings, the school run, or to get ready for that life-changing moment. It’s important to have the things you need ready in the right place, ready for you to use the room how you want to.

It’s worth getting it right and worth investing in the right design and materials to make it last.

If you need help or advice then just pick up the phone and give us a call or pop into our Coventry bathroom showroom for a chat.