Bathroom renovation tips: what should you do?

If you're looking to renovate a wet area, use our bathroom renovation tips - a good way to save money, budget wisely and examine running costs of appliances and water consumption.

Take the tape measure and camera

When researching fixtures for bathrooms, take a tape measure and notepad to plumbing supplies showrooms. Brochures have measurements and photos, but to get perspective, put a family member in your own photo, or ask a sales assistant to model inside a bathtub, standing at a basin or in a shower.

Complete toilet suite saves water

Don’t retrofit a new cistern on an old toilet bowl to keep a budget down and save water. Modern toilets with a six litre full flush and three litre half flush capacity are designed to work with a specific pan size. A new cistern on an old bowl with a larger pan size will not flush all the time.

Light the way

If you see a tile design you like, take a sample home and find it doesn’t look the same in your bathroom as it did in the showroom, it’s probably the lighting that makes the difference so consider replicating the lighting style in your bathroom.

The experts know what breaks down

If you want to know about the reliability of brand X water heater or brand Y tap-ware, ask somebody who repairs them for a living, such as a residential plumber. They will know what makers offer decent warranties and which models are lemons.

Heat rises, so consider starting with the floor

Do the sums on heating alternatives before it is too late. Heating elements can be laid inside concrete slabs, but check the running costs, as well as installation costs. Such systems could take 24 hours to warm up. Elements just beneath a layer of tiles heat quickly and could be cheaper to run.

These bathroom renovation tips are a great way to be prepared when talking to a bathroom renovator in your area: