Latest Designer Bathroom Ideas and How To Guides for your Home

The easiest way to turn your bath into a shower and save money and water is by the simple addition of a mixer tap with a built in shower attachment.

Removing Old Taps

This can be the tricky part as quite often access to taps beneath a bath is cramped and limited. The next difficulty you may encounter is that over time the retaining nut on the taps many have become corroded or jammed tight. You may need a little oil or heat to loosen them before taking the old taps out.

Difficult to reach points can be made easier with a tap spanner which makes getting beneath the bath or sink simpler. If you have to cut the pipe try to make it as near to the tap as possible to avoid any additional work.

Once the retaining nut has been taken off, lift the taps clear and clean the surface.

Fitting New Taps

Most modern tap casings sit on top of a rubber washer; mount the taps and gently tighten up the retaining nut. Either extend or shorten the pipes to suit the new mixer taps, connect the pipes and tighten up all the attachments. Mixer taps depend entirely on the tap’s natural water pressure, so if you live in an area with low pressure it might be advisable to fit a pressure booster to give you a good jet of water.

When fitting new pipes occasionally it is more convenient to renew the tails and cut back the existing pipe work. Flexi-tube is also a straightforward way of replacing old copper pipes.

Bathroom cabinets and bathroom furniture go a long way in establishing the look and function of your washroom.  Homeowners looking to save time and money on the job often undertake the task themselves.  Here are some important factors to keep in mind if you are planning a do-it-yourself bathroom cabinet installation.

Plan to have plumbing and wiring done first if necessary, then cabinets.  Flooring should be put in after the bathroom cabinets have been installed.

The first bathroom cabinet you install must be level and plumb in every direction.  All the other bathroom furniture will be aligned to this first cabinet, so a flush placement is crucial. If you plan to install a corner cabinet, place this piece first. There’s a greater chance that you’ll run out of room for each unit if you work from the outside of the room inward. Mount cabinets on smooth, clean walls.  Locate wall studs to help secure top cabinets, especially if these will be used to store heavy items. 

As installation progresses, you may need to compensate for uneven flooring or wall surfaces.  Small pieces of wood are very useful for this function; simply tap them into place to fill gaps beneath and behind cabinets.  For serious defects you may need to use a scribe rail, a longer piece of wood that can be custom moulded to fit the wall. Always be sure to screw cabinets securely into the mounting wall. Screws should penetrate wall studs by at least three centimetres.

Taking the time to install bathroom furniture properly will ensure safety and serviceability.

When choosing to install under tile heating in a new home, extension, or remodelling project, one of the most important choices is actually the underfloor heating thermostat you attach to the entire system.  Many people choose underfloor heating because it’s quiet and energy efficient, as well as beautiful, since there are no radiators or wall heaters to mar the beauty of your home.

However, that energy efficiency can be eroded quickly by an inefficient thermostat.  For peak efficiency, choose a programmable thermostat that has several settings per day.  For example, with 4 settings per day you could set Monday through Friday to turn on before you wake, and turn off as you leave for work.  Then the thermostat would turn the floor on shortly before you return home from work, and turn it off again after you’ve retired for the night. 

Many underfloor heating thermostats offer separate options for the weekends, so if you’ll be out all day you could turn it off, or leave the heat on a low setting if you’ll be in the house most of the weekend. 

If your schedule seems as if it always changes, there are even thermostats that can be controlled from any touch tone phone, including your mobile.  Won’t be home until several hours later than usual?  Call ahead and re-program your underfloor system to turn on later. You’ll save money on your heating bill, but still have the comfort of a warm home to return to.

Today’s underfloor heating thermostats come in a dizzying array of choices, so talk to the professional selling you the underfloor system.  Tell that person your typical schedule, and how many square metres you’ll be heating, and he or she will give you an idea of the options that best suit your requirements.

We’ve all done it: poured fat, coffee grounds and tea leaves into the kitchen sink, thinking it’ll all magically disappear with a quick swish of the hot tap. But sooner or later, it’s going to end as a blocked sink. Relax: you don’t have to get architects to design you a new kitchen, you can just do a little DIY and have the water gurgling away again in a jiffy. Property development is a drastic remedy for a grungy sink. And unlike other projects like painting and decorating, building or plastering, you should have this one sorted in minutes rather than hours or days.

First, block the overflow in the sink with a wet rag, pour enough water in to cover a plunger and give it a good, vigorous plunge or three. If the water still fails to drain, scoop out the water from the sink into a bucket and place it underneath the trap.  Unscrew the plastic trap collars at both ends, take the trap out and give it a good clean (you should immediately see what horrors have been blocking the sink). Replace the trap (don’t over-tighten, though) and check for drainage.

If the water still won’t drain, the problem is further along the system. Check the drain outside the house by lifting the inspection cover – if it’s full of water, you’ll need some drain rods. If the drain is clear, the obstruction is in the house – unscrew the trap again and use a toilet auger (a flexible length of wire) to push through the drainage pipe. And stop using the sink for waste disposal.

Just because your bathroom may be small and slightly on the dingy side does not mean it has to be uninviting. On the other hand, if you have a massive bathroom you don’t have to make it cold and uninviting either. The goal should be to have a bathroom that is warm and calming regardless of the size.

This does not have to be an expensive or complicated process. There are a few efficient and effective changes and additions you can make to your bathroom that will make an amazing difference.

If you have a drafty house and a bathroom with cold floors one option to consider is a bathroom radiator. Some of these designer radiators even come with a towel rack attachment to keep your towels nice and warm regardless of the outside temperatures. Overall the radiator’s benefit is the same – a nice, warm bathroom that invites you inside and tempts you to never leave.

Another option is to examine your bathroom colour scheme. A bright, colourful bathroom accessory such as a new set of towels or a colourful rug may be all that your bathroom is missing. You can also add a new set of bathroom tiles in a new colour scheme to add some warmth to your bathroom. Be careful not to make the colour scheme too loud and outrageous. You don’t need to redo all the colours; just focus on one aspect.

Most styles of bath will need bath panels and these are a very important part of your bath design. They box off the view of the underside of the bath and all that messy pipe work is hidden. These panels can be removed by undoing a few screws so there is no need to worry about access to the pipes if you need it.  Some baths need side and end panels but it depends on where they are positioned in the room. For example, a bath in an alcove may only need a side panel but one in the centre of the wall in a large bathroom will probably need two side panels and an end panel.

These bath panels are not a fixed size, so it is important to know the size and width of your bath before purchasing. There are lots of shapes and styles to choose from and you can buy flat acrylics in white, or any colour you wish, or wood panels in different wood effects and colours. The choice depends on the décor in your bathroom. Adding new bath panels and matching other features in your bathroom is an easy way to revamp it and make it look bright and interesting.

Acrylic bath panels are strong and very easy to maintain. A quick wipe over from time to time will keep them looking good but wooden panels need far more care and attention if they are to remain waterproof and smart.

A few minutes spent wandering around a bathroom fittings shop will open your eyes to the range of bath panels available and it is almost certain that what you thought you wanted is not what you will end up purchasing. The choice is just so big.

The most common type of underfloor heating system on the market today are those that are used for heating beneath tiled surfaces. This is because of the fact that tiled floors are notorious for being exceptionally cold during the winter months, no matter how high a homeowner might have the central heating thermostat set. 

Because warm air rises and radiators are installed above the actual surface of the floor, there is no chance for the floor itself to get warm.  The heat just rises from the radiator to the ceiling where it simply circulates, and while that can help warm the interior of the home it does no good for the actual floor itself, or indeed the lower levels of the space.

Under tile heating systems have begun to become even more popular in recent years as technological advances have allowed a variety of underfloor heating kits to become available on the DIY market for consumers. These range from water underfloor heating systems that rely on heated water piped through tubes, to systems which are basically underfloor electric heating which uses heat mats that are installed underneath the actual surface of the tile.  This provides an under tile heating system that creates a warm floor that is perfect for those moments such as when stepping out of the shower on a frigid December morning. Instead of being greeted with a cold floor that will have you wincing, there is instead a cosy and warm tile floor.

For all available DIY underfloor heating systems simply visit your nearest home improvement store.

There are few bathroom remodelling projects that can have a greater impact on the style of your washroom than bathroom tiles.  With the multitude of styles, colours, shapes, and sizes available, the design possibilities are endless.  The following are some popular options to help inspire you.

A chair rail is typically used in dining rooms or kitchens to prevent wall damage caused by chairs being pushed hard away from the table.  In your bathroom, a timeless and elegant chair rail effect can be replicated using two different kinds of tile and some waterproofed wood trim.  Apply one sort of tile to the lower half of the bathroom wall, affix the trim approximately waist high, and then place the second type of tile above the trim.

A bathroom tile mural effect gives your walls instant impact.  Some home improvement stores and bathroom tile design studios sell pre-packaged mural kits that are relatively easy to apply to the wall in a day or two.  Use the mural as a focal point and install other tiles around the central design to complete the look.

Mosaics using bathroom tiles are a fun and funky design element that brings a bit of bohemian appeal to your washroom.  They take some time and painstaking work to complete, but the end result is a beautifully textured and interesting surface.  An added benefit:  You can purchase damaged bathroom tiles on the cheap and use these to craft the mosaic.

Most simple bathroom tiling projects are suitable for do-it-yourself enthusiasts and can be completed over a weekend or two. 

The bathroom may seem like an insignificant room in the house, but when you start to evaluate bathroom accessories and the accompanying price tags suddenly its significance becomes clear. The number of items available to restore or fix-up your bathroom is quite staggering and the prices associated with each item can be daunting.

However, this does not have to be the case. There are many ways you can restore your bathroom without using all your savings. For example:

Clean the room thoroughly: The two key aspects in your bathroom are the shower cubicle and the toilet. If they are covered in grime and stains your bathroom appears to be on the shabby side. You can use lemon juice, a scrubber and a bucket of water to eliminate mildew and mould from the shower and bath. For the toilet, use white vinegar to eat away the stains and discolouration.

Minor Adjustments: There is no need to redo your entire bathroom. A minor adjustment can have a major impact and give your bathroom that restored look. Check out the bathroom accessories or shower accessories section at your local hardware store and instead of buying the whole section focus on one thing such as a new bathroom mirror or new bathroom tiles. Fixing the tiles or installing the mirror while adding a new shower curtain, rug or bathroom cabinet can provide your bathroom with that extra shine and make it look like new.

Do you find you dread taking a shower in your bathroom during the winter time because it is freezing? The mere thought of taking off your clothes and climbing into the shower is deterring enough, but then the idea of getting out of the warm shower back into the freezing bathroom is unthinkable. A good bathroom accessory option for you to consider installing is a bathroom radiator.

Bathroom radiators serve as the main heater for the bathroom. You can get designer radiators that not only look fancy but have a heated towel rail at the top of it. One of the nicest feelings is wrapping a towel around you when it is fresh out of the dryer. A heated towel rail can provide you with a similar feeling.

A bathroom radiator is ideal for older homes that can have drafts and therefore be very cool in the winter. The heat let off from the radiator is enough to warm your bathroom tiles and towels making the shower a much more pleasurable experience. Bathroom radiators come in different models and sizes. Make sure you closely look at the warranty and price before deciding which radiator you want to buy.

Another feature of the bathroom radiator is your bathroom can look like it is from the Victorian period. You can really use this style to your advantage by getting ancient looking bathroom accessories such as bathroom mirrors or bathroom furniture that appears to be from that time period. You can check out local antique shops or even furniture markets for the appropriate accessories.