A guide to renovating your bathroom

Whether it’s a bathroom, a cloakroom or an en-suite, a washroom is one of the most important areas of any home. Decorated right and these rooms can be a focal point of your house, perhaps even adding a bit of value if you decided to sell. Done badly, and you can easily find yourself in a nightmare situation and having to spend even more money to correct what went wrong! For this reason, we’ve compiled a list of things to bear in mind when it comes to decorating your bathroom. Finances Before starting, make sure you have a clear idea of the amount of money you want to spend on your bathroom. It can be easy to get carried away spending money on fixtures and fittings. This is all very well if you have the time and expertise to do the majority of the work yourself, but getting in professionals can increase you outlay considerably, so it’s worth considering the total cost beyond the obvious bathroom suite. Timeframe This point partly depends on the size of your home, but many people underestimate the time it can take to renovate a bathroom. Waiting for parts to arrive (or come into stock), waiting for professionals to become available or finding the time yourself to get the work done can increase the timeframe by quite a lot. If your home has more than one bathroom, this may not be too much of a problem, but if you are renovating your only bathroom, having this room out of action for quite sometime can prove very inconvenient and problematic. If this is the case, then try and make alternative plans for your bathroom routines. Showering at work, the gym or at nearby friends or relatives may be possibilities you need to consider during this period. Design When planning a bathroom overhaul, it’s usually a good idea to think about a few important questions of design before starting the work. Some examples of questions to ask yourself are Am i going to have a shower and a bath? Will they be separate or together? Will i have a radiator and a heated towel rail? What size radiator do i need to heat the room properly? Shall i install underfloor heating? Does my bathroom have a window or do i need to install an extractor fan? Size & measurements If you are doing the majority of work yourself, getting the measurements right can save you a lot of costly headaches in the long run. Know the dimensions of the room, know where your pipes are, know how much room you have for a radiator, towel rail, shower, bath, sink and toilet and know what will go where. A tape measure and a spirit level are your friend, so measure, measure and measure again! Choosing the Professionals Whether you’re experienced with DIY or if you’re a novice, there will come a point when you need to get someone in to do a bit of work on your bathroom. We’ve all heard nightmare stories of payments up front, only to see a job left half-finished or completed but with shoddy workmanship. As mentioned above, it’s much more convenient for you if your bathroom is out of action for only a short amount of time, so choose the professionals wisely. Have a word with friends or relatives who have recently had their bathroom renovated - you’ll soon find out who to avoid and who did a good job! Useful links Our website has a huge range of radiators of all shapes and sizes suitable for your bathroom https://www.traderadiators.com/ If you are also thinking of installing a heated towel rail, then be sure to check out our fantastic range of heated towel rails on our website as well. Not sure what heat output you need from your radiator to ensure you bathroom is heated properly? Then use our simple heating calculator to work it out. Article by Benjamin Clarke