Installing A Small Bathroom

A customer of mine in Leeds wanted to upgrade their small bathroom as they felt the old one was a bit dates and suffered from lack of storage, a poor showering experience and a clingy shower curtain that was impossible to keep clean (mildew free).

They contacted me and I helped them make the most of their small space.

Originally the bath was orientated in the incorrect way, as the shower over the bath was situated above the gently sloping end of the bath (that you recline on when bathing) rather than the steeper ‘tap end’ of the bath shown above. This meant that users had to shower whilst stood on a slope, which was not ideal at all.

To remedy this problem we installed a new shower bath (correctly orientated this time), which although it was only 5cm wider (75cm) gave her a much much bigger showering area.

You can see in the picture above how the bath sides move closer to the edge of the bath at the showering end. This effectively making the bath wider internally (rather than externally as with a traditional ‘P’ bath) where you would normally stand to take a shower.

It also means that when you stand with your feet shoulder width apart your feet are on a flat surface not halfway up the sides of the bath (as can happen with ‘regular’ baths.)

The taps were moved to the centre of the bath, but they also could have been fitted under the shower if required.

A colour co-ordinated, solid, 18mm thick bath panel was fitted and sealed in place for easy future removal (should any maintenance be required.)

I can source bath panels like this is a massive variety of colours and textures to suit most tiling / floor choices or you could always have a tiled bath panel.

The unhygienic shower curtain was replaced with a sleek glass bath screen made from 6mm safety glass.

The electric shower & its associated wiring was safely removed and a new thermostatic bar mixer shower was installed for a better showering experience. An adjustable riser rail ensures that the shower can be used by users of varying heights. Other types of shower are detailed here.

An inline fan has been added in the loft above, and this serves to take away moist air from the bathroom (through the vent in the ceiling shown above) and send it outside. See here for more ways to reduce bathroom humidity.

A stylish chrome towel radiator with straight manual valves was added, and the floor was boarded and then covered with a vinyl floor covering.

A space saving combined WC & basin unit was chosen to make the best use of space in the gap between the edge of the bath & the opposing wall, which was approximately 110cm.

This unit features a ‘back to wall, dual flush toilet.

This means that the cistern is hidden in the unit itself and that you can flush different levels of waste, saving lots of water. This is good for the environment and your wallet (particularly if you are on a water meter.)

The basin features integrated storage below in the form of a large drawer and a smaller concealed drawer. Integrated bathroom storage is very important unless you want shampoo bottles everywhere!

A composite sink sits atop the whole unit, whilst removable panels ensure future access for maintenance is not too problematic.

This bathroom installation started on a Wednesday and finished the following Wednesday, though we did work Saturday, and the toilet was temporarily reinstated every night as it was the only one in the house.

The work schedule was very tightly organised by a project manager (me) ensuring the work was done in the correct order to give the best finish in the shortest time.

It involved many tradesmen that the homeowner may have found difficult to source individually, and then organise into a tight schedule: On this job we had a, plasterer, tiler, plumber, electrician and a couple of labourers & painters – All project managed by a single source to make the process as smooth as possible.

Thanks for reading, give me a call if you would like a nice new bathroom in under 2 weeks.