North Leeds Plumbing & Heating – Home Improvement and DIY Advice

Archive for December, 2009

Plastic shower curtains are the stereotypical choice for most bathrooms. However, why not experiment with different patterns and colours? Too often, white curtains reduce the bathroom to antiseptic conformity, clashing with the rest of the accessories and quickly looking dirty and tatty.

Nowadays, shower curtains are manufactured in a range of fabrics. Have you thought about canvas as a relatively cheap alternative? Many stores now offer high-quality, beautifully coloured, durable canvas curtains. They are ideal in a steamy environment, as the material is wrinkle resistant. There is no reason to throw away your old plastic shower curtain, simply stitch it to the shower-facing side of the canvas curtain and make it completely waterproof.

Polyester is another fabric rapidly increasing in popularity. Like canvas, it is a woven material and feels fabulously tough and smooth. A definite bonus is its easy to clean finish and wide variety of prints and designs, a real benefit for a household with children.

Two other materials enjoying a resurgence with interior designers and the fashion conscious are silk and satin. Both give your bathroom a sense of style and decadence. Anyone who has ever shopped for fabrics will know what a stunning the range of colours and finishes these materials are available in.

Although not waterproof, a relatively good-quality plastic or polyester shower curtain can easily be attached to the fabric and will instantly create a lovely warm atmosphere to any bathroom.

So, with a little sense of adventure, your bathroom could be transformed from a dull, functional washing room into an oasis of style and comfort.

Choosing a new bath is an investment, but what you pay for will be more than recompensed by the hours of pleasure it will give you. Think how much time you spend soaking away the cares of a busy lifestyle. Why settle for anything less than luxuriating in the bath of your choice?

There are many different types of bath to choose from. Naturally, what you buy will be dictated by the amount of space you have to work with. However, baths now come in many different sizes. If you have a very small bathroom, you could always purchase a vertical Japanese-style vertical soaking bath.

Even the most basic bath can now be found in a range of dazzling colours. There is no rule that forces you to have a standard white model. Match it with a brand new colour scheme. Make it the focal point of your bathroom and complement it with other accessories, such as towels and bathmats.

If you have a dual-purpose shower bath arrangement, don’t forget to factor in the shower curtain. These come in a multitude of colours, styles and designs and anyway, why stop at a plastic curtain? Buy fabric; hemp and cotton are relatively cheap. All you need is a shower curtain liner in vinyl to thoroughly waterproof it.

Scatter scented candles around the edge of the bath and perhaps add some plants. Many enthusiasts create miniature Japanese gardens in glass tanks and line the shelves next to the bath with fascinating creations.

Whether you are thinking of selling your house and want to maximise your profit or are just fed up with staring at the same tired fixtures as you lie in the bath, brightening up your bathroom should be a priority.

What’s more it need not cost a fortune. Have a good look around the bathroom. Isolate areas that need attention and then go to work compiling a list of trouble spots.

Top of the list is sure to be those boring fixtures. Things such as vanity unit doorknobs and hinges can be easily and cheaply changed. You will be amazed at how much difference such small items can make.

Give the room a lick of paint. Change the colour scheme. It will take a weekend at most. Think vibrant colour. Be experimental. Paint no longer costs the earth and it will be like having a completely new bathroom.

Painting not your thing? Then try wallpaper. Create a mural or alternate different patterns on each wall. Bathroom wallpaper is easy to hang and wrinkle resistant. Choose from a huge variety of patterns and designs.

Throw out those tired looking towels. Invest in some of the heavy styles in plush. Again, choose something colourful that complements your bathroom walls.

Don’t forget to have look at your shower curtain. When was the last time it was changed? Perhaps pick one in a fabric and line it with vinyl. There is really no need to keep buying the cheap and nasty plastic ones from the local supermarket.

Floors of slate, marble and ceramic tiles are among the most sought after and luxurious additions to any bathroom. However opulent the room might already be, they look fantastic, instantly denote the homeowner as a person of taste and wealth and ensure that the bathroom is one of the centrepieces of the home.

However, there is a drawback to all these luxurious bathroom fittings. Unless you live in an extremely warm climate, at some time or other you are going to feel cold, either getting into or out of, the bath or shower.

To get around this problem and to rid the owner of the temptation to haphazardly distribute bath mats all over his or her palatial bathroom, more and more people are beginning to appreciate the benefits of bathroom underfloor heating. What’s more, today you do not have to be a millionaire to be able to afford one.

The actual installation is comparatively straightforward. Located just underneath your bathroom floor, a system of cables is embedded in mortar. These run off the normal domestic mains supply and heat the floor tiles, ensuring a constant source of heating.

While many will immediately telephone a certified engineer, installing the system is really no more difficult than laying a new floor. Indeed, the perfect time to incorporate the system in your bathroom is at the same time as you lay your new floor.

Just before your designer bathroom tiles are to be glued and grouted, the cables are laid out in a grid in a way that ensures the surface area is systematically covered. The entire system is then wired to an external outlet, the tiles are laid, the circuit switched on and there you have it, a perfect temperature-controlled bathroom.

After having finally installed that new bath or shower enclosure, bought new towels and bathmats, retiled the floor and painted the walls and ceiling, some final finishing touches will add your own sense of individuality and style to your perfect bathroom.

Why not display special memorabilia along a shelf along wall? This could take the form of anything, from framed family photographs to holiday souvenirs. Glass jars could be easily utilised as receptacles for bath salts or aromatic oils.

Fresh flowers or ferns make a wonderful addition to any bathroom. Hunt down some unusual vases in charity shops or market stalls. Even old window boxes make a delightful fixture.

Why not remove the door of the linen cupboard and replace it with a tapestry screen? Alternatively, cover it with a made-to-measure painting or embroidery.

Instead of paint, try staining bathroom cabinets. This way, you can recreate a genuine rustic feel. Wood stain comes in a myriad of different shades, so take your time while choosing.

Trailing light bulbs along a runner at the top of the wall produces a marvellously atmospheric tone. Perhaps add a table lamp, if you have sufficient space, with a specially designed lampshade.

Adding tiles around bathroom mirrors is another good way to highlight a focal point. Try painting the frame in a gold or silver finish or place the light so it reflects off the mirror.

Whatever you choose to do, make certain that the finishing touches do not let down the bathroom you have so lovingly and expensively created.

It is somewhat surprising that everywhere in a house you find pictures, prints, photographs and paintings, apart from the bathroom that is. Whether it is because most homeowners think that steam will mildew or wrinkle a work, or that the bathroom is considered a purely functional area, remains unclear.
 
However, bathrooms are rapidly becoming the one room in the house where you go to relax and unwind. Where better than to study a piece of art in peace and seclusion than in the bathroom?

Furthermore, inspiring works will inevitably bring a touch of refinement to even the dullest bathroom.

If you have a large uncovered bathroom wall, why not pick out a large framed picture, lit by a recessed light? As a general rule, bright paintings work best, particularly when reflected in a mirror hung on the opposite wall.

If you have a reasonably modern bathroom, choose an abstract painting or a modernist portrait in bold primary colours. A simple frame will also enhance it as a focal point. Contrast it with bright white vinyl walls, while plants and ferns are also a good way to draw attention to the work.

Do not be afraid to build the entire colour scheme of your bathroom around one or two pieces of art. If modernism is not your favourite period, then choose landscapes and complement the bathroom accessories in shades of green. The same would be the case for seascapes. Blue shower curtains and bathmats would further enhance the nautical theme.

There are two main choices when it comes to electric underfloor heating and heating cables and mats is one of them. Heating cables are an older style technology and can be quite difficult, especially if you are looking for a DIY underfloor heating system. You have to be accurate with the spacing of the heating cables and they have to be secured to the floor. You need a degree of experience to ensure that you get the cables spaced properly or you will create problems for the future.

Heating cables are excellent in small rooms, such as bathrooms, but not so clever when working with large areas. However, heating mats have been introduced and these have taken away some of the issues and made electric underfloor heating systems somewhat easier to install. Small heating mats have been used to keep pet reptiles warm for a long time and now the technology has been scaled up to be used in the home. As simple as it sounds, the heating mat is simply unrolled and laid across the floor. This is much easier for you to deal with if you are looking at a DIY underfloor heating system. In effect, the old style heating cables have been pre-laid into a mat and now you just have to lay the mat, which can be cut to work around obstacles like kitchen islands and doorframes. The speed and simplicity of laying this system is a definite selling point.

For some reason, interior lighting in bathrooms is frequently overlooked. When redesigning your bathroom, it is crucial to consider what kind of artificial light will best suit your overall vision.

A good bathroom lighting plan should take into account exactly where you need the most light. For example, a stronger light source is needed for shaving, putting on makeup, and showering. Indirect light is used to create an atmosphere, to enhance the general mood of the bathroom.

Vanity lighting is best to illuminate daily bathroom activities. Avoid recessed ceiling fixtures over the mirror. These cast shadows on the face and make shaving difficult. Instead, place the fixtures on either side of the mirror. A good rule of thumb is to place the fixture at eye level and separated by around half a metre.

If the shower has a transparent door, a direct fixture may not be necessary. Choose a recessed light with a glass bulb. Similar fixtures are also sufficient over the bath and lavatory.

Ambient light is most often supplied by a centrally-mounted ceiling light. Why not choose a pendant lamp or even a chandelier instead? Another idea are rope lights disguised by a moulding dropped several centimetres below ceiling height. This supplies a lovely soft glow around the perimeter of the room.

Dimmer switches allow for an easy, cost-effective way to light the bathroom. Just be careful to ensure that the appropriate bulb is compatible with the dimmer. A halogen light source will need a compatible dimmer.

A bidet is an extremely efficient way to maintain a very high standard of personal hygiene after using the lavatory.

Washing is far more effective than using toilet paper and offers a greater degree of comfort to those suffering from ailments such as haemorrhoids. As such, bidets are highly recommended by health practitioners and doctors.

A bidet stands around 40 cm high – about adult knee-height – and is connected to a hot and cold water supply and waste outlet in precisely the same way as your bathroom sink.

The most popular way to do this is to fit a single mixer tap and pop-up plug. However, some bidet taps also have a variable fountain spray.

The bowl area is longer than it is wide and fairly shallow. This allows you crouch over the fixture with both feet placed on either side to comfortably wash yourself.

When choosing the right tap for the bidet be sure to remember that there are two types of mixer, the so-called monobloc mixer and the three-hole appliance.

The monobloc basin mixer provides a hand-operated multi-directional swivel nozzle, whilst the three-hole mixer combines a spray douche with a built in device to clean the underside of the surrounding basin rim, switching between functions by means of a diverter.

And also have a good look around for bidet taps. These come in a wide variety of metals and designs and should be chosen to complement the rest of your bathroom fittings – particularly those on the lavatory, sink and bath.

This DIY project really isn’t rocket science – you don’t need to be an architect or pass a course in advanced building.

Using a tape measure, find the midpoint of the two longest walls and chalk a line across the floor between them. Repeat with the two shorter walls – the chalk-lines should intersect at right angles.

Loosely lay some tiles along the lines – you’ll see whether they look right from the door. If the gaps to the walls are less than half a tile-width, nudge the centre line slightly to enlarge them.

Watch for features like fireplaces or French doors – the tiles need to be symmetrical around these and you should have whole tiles at the doorway (again, just shift the chalk-line accordingly).

Apply a square metre of adhesive/grout into one of the chalk-line right angles. Then score it with the notched edge of the grout trowel. Carefully lay some tiles along the edge of the longest line and press them gently into place, ensuring that they’re flush with the intersecting line, too.

Plastic spacers near each corner (that’s eight per tile) will ensure exact spacing. One square metre at a time, fill the first half of the floor as far as you can with whole tiles (use a long spirit level for evenness). Then repeat for the second half.

After 12 hours drying time, cut the remaining tiles to fit the edges, measuring as you go (you’ll need a diamond disc cutter, profile shaper and tile saw). Allow another 12 hours and fill the gaps with grout, wiping clean with a damp sponge as you go.