Bathroom Specialist

Finding a good bathroom specialist could be one of the most important moves in your home improvement plans.

Why? Because although the bathroom is usually the smallest room in the house, it's one of the most used, and most valued and therefore any improvements you make can have a dramatic effect on your quality of life and importantly your house value should you come to sell.

So let's go through some tips and advice on what to think about when approaching a bathroom improvement project, and importantly your considerations and requirements from your appointed bathroom specialist.

Bathroom specialist cost

The Priceatrade site has carefully compiled time and motion calculations for each Bathroom Specialist job so you can easily estimate the costs involved.

But before you start to list the items required, you should first consider the following:

1. Is there any re-design involved? Are you asking a bathroom specialist to re position items or simply replace. If re-positioning is required there may be other costs incurred such as re-tiling, additional plumbing, etc.
2. Are any items linking to the job old or faulty? Anything connected to the job required should be considered for work. It's obviously cheaper for a bathroom specialist to do all in one go rather than over several visits.
3. Will tiling be affected? Your bathroom specialist may need to remove some tiles to do the work. You should consider an extra payment if you need tiles repaired, but also if you are better off just re-tiling the whole room as part of the project.
4. Waste removal. Usually this is an additional cost. You will need to agree this up-front with the bathroom specialist.

Check out our bathroom prices page for a guide on prices.

Briefing a bathroom specialist

When thinking about the bathroom design consider the materials required. If you want to go modern you may consider stone for tiling (marble, slate or limestone). If you prefer a more traditional or country-style bathroom then you may want 'tongue and groove' painted wood panelling.

The bath is often the centre piece of the room so you should start your design ideas here. Original victorian roll-top baths are often made using heavy cast iron so access to the room has to be thought about. More modern versions are often made from lighter steel or from layers of acrylic bonded together with stone resin, so both cheaper and lower cost to fit.

The design of the suite in general is also an important first step. Think about the wash basin. They come in all shapes, sizes and materials, from ceramic and stone to stainless steel and copper. If you have space you may want a his-and-hers basin.

The design of the suite in general is also an important first step. Think about the wash basin. They come in all shapes, sizes and materials, from ceramic and stone to stainless steel and copper. If you have space you may want a his-and-hers basin.

What design of tiles? This area can take some time to conclude. The size of the tiles - large tiles giving a powerful clean look, smaller mosaic approaches giving the ability to mix a range of interest colours. The material can also give you some decision headaches - marble is fantastic to touch and gives a great sense of quality to your bathroom but at over £30 per square metre is costly if your room is quite large (and they usually cost more to fit than standard ceramic).

Bathroom specialists and storage requirements

Given that most bathrooms are small, designing in storage is an art. You and your bathroom specialist should think about this carefully. Things like how to maximise storage for towels, soaps, etc; while still leaving a room looking clean and organised.

You should sit down with your bathroom specialist and make an inventory of the items you will need to store and work out where you will house them, plus add in a little extra on top. Think about including a vanity unit to give you instant cupboards. Fit a mirrored corner unit, hang rails over the back of the bathroom door, fix peg rails on a wall and never under-estimate the usefulness of an old-fashioned bath rack.

Picture rail shelving is ideal for storing toiletries out of the reach of little hands, while shower caddies will keep toiletries where they are needed, freeing up space elsewhere.

Don’t let window sills go to waste. Line up a row of baskets on them and fit blinds inside rather than above the window alcove so they are accessible even when the blinds are down. If you have a panelled bath, don’t forget to make use of the hidden space beneath and at either end of the tub – fit a bath panel with doors so you can access the space.

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