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When a family purchases a house, unless it’s a new build, they usually want to change the kitchen and bathroom.  When changing the bathroom they will first of all:

• assess the size of the bathroom
• decide which types of sanitary ware they will wish to install
• estimate the size of those items
• consider  the doorway
  • how the room is entered
  • which way the door opens
  • whether that needs to be changed
• consider the window
  • is it an opening window
  • will any sanitary ware installed affect the ability to open that window?
  • The window gives light and maybe people want light for example, an area for putting on make-up

The shower and shower doors are another issue to consider.  If the bathroom is small, the family may decide to:

• install a shower over the bath – this saves space and yet provides a functional shower
• or install a separate shower, they will consider the shower tray:
  • whether it is small or large
  • plastic or stone
  • round, square or rectangular
• The screen or shower door:
  • choose a series of curved screens with no actual opening door
  • or select a curved or straight opening door

Choosing the balance of sanitary ware and bathroom accessories is simple for the family, but do they

• Need one basin or two?
• Look for dual flush systems to save water
• Buy good quality one-lever,  low maintenance taps?

Once this is decided it is not a simple matter of installing these.  To really enjoy the luxury of a superb bathroom one main element is needed – water!

And to obtain water, a good quality water pressure is essential for the water to actual travel through the external pipe work from the utility water supplier into your house.  It is measured in form of mbars.  Generally a plumber will turn a mains tap on fully and put this water through an instrument and it will give the measurement of water pressure at the house.

It is not a good idea to simply assume that water pressure is adequate.  All sorts of strange things happen with water and sometimes there are problems with supply pressure that are difficult to resolve.  Often, although the water company supply the water, in areas where there is low pressure owners and occupiers of property have historically found increasing the water pressure difficult to resolve.  This is just something to bear in mind when considering a property purchase and a simple test of turning on a kitchen cold water tap and watching it run will instantly determine roughly what the water pressure is like.

The next item to consider is the heating of the water.  There are many different ways of heating water but there are two very important areas to consider.  One is that when taking a shower, the water will not get too hot and scald a person and the second is that the hot water system will supply enough hot water to cope with the occupiers day-to-day needs.  If in doubt it would be worthwhile calling in a reputable builder or a bathroom specialist to discuss upgrade options as this may well save a lot of time or money in the future.

Authored by Jane Jakeman, a working mother of three currently working on www.splashdirect.com who provide bathrooms and bathroom accessories online

Dan

Dan Fargo,the editor-in-chief of Archtopia, an online magazine dedicated to architects and designers.

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