North Leeds Plumbing & Heating – Home Improvement and DIY Advice

Archive for the ‘Baths’ Category

It seems as if every day brings a new design or concept into our bathrooms. Interior designers and bathroom accessories have revolutionised the way we now look at and use the room.

Where once we would have had to visit a luxury hotel to enjoy a steam sauna or Jacuzzi, the option is now there for us to indulge ourselves in the comfort of our own home. Best of all such luxury comes at a very affordable price.

A good casing point is the sharp rise in domestic whirlpool installations. Particularly popular is the air-jet variety. This appliance streams air, at high pressure, directly into the bath. The user can relax for hours by adding fragrant oils or cleansing salts, an experience previously available only to the very rich and privileged.

But why stop there? Chromotherapy is another innovation that is fast becoming popular. This works by placing lights inside the bath, which are operated by a remote control unit to produce a variety of light patterns. By doing so, the manufacturers claim that the body experiences intense relaxation.

Aromatherapy works on roughly the same principle. Different fragrances drift around the bath, creating a unique atmosphere in which to contemplate the travails of modern day life. Users claim that the as the body relaxes, the mind becomes sharper and focused, so is better equipped to deal with whatever problems the next day throws up.

Finally, whirlpools are not only good for the body; they are also kind to the bath. Because of the constant circulation of water, unpleasant fungi and spores have a vastly reduced chance of building up.

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.

After choosing a new home, it is of vital importance to bear in mind that the two most frequently used rooms in any household are the bathroom and the kitchen. Often new property owners fail to take this into consideration and end up either over-budget, with no money left to spend on creating the type of bathroom where they will feel comfortable and able to relax at the end of a busy day, or fail to adopt an overall view of the bathroom design and find themselves with a collection of ill-assorted articles with no relation to each other.

Remember that the appearance of your bathroom gives an immediate indication of who you are and the lifestyle you lead.

And this is not only for the sake of appearances. Do you have time to relax? Are you choosing a shower because it can be quicker than taking a bath? Do you need a bath? And if so, which design is more appropriate in terms of space or price? A corner bath? A luxury or standard sized tub? Perhaps a whirlpool bath or even a Jacuzzi?

Have you children? In which case you will need a child-friendly bathroom, perhaps with a novelty lavatory seat and  shower curtain. And then there are the safety factors. Where to position the medicine cabinet? Where do you store items such as razor blades, deodorants, cleaning products? Do you need to dry clothes in the bathroom and need a laundry basket and clothes line?

Remember, the bathroom is a functional area as well as a haven of relaxation.

Forget thinking of your bathroom as a purely functional space, there are now many ways to give your old-fashioned inset bath a complete and unforgettable make-over.

Have a look at those gloomy acrylic panels. Why not envelope your bath in tiles? Or mirrors and coloured glass and illuminate the bathroom with light emitting diodes?

And this need not be as expensive as you might think. Positioning your bath in the middle of the bathroom and cladding it in different materials creates a freestanding look for a fraction of the cost of buying one new.

Wood is also an eye-catching way to refurbish a bath. Cherry, rosewood, ebony, ash or olive, are all woods that make for wonderful panelling.

Wedi board is also a waterproof panelling system that is perfect for cladding your bath – particularly as you can mosaic directly on to the board. However, be sure to enable access to the plumbing in case anything begins to leak.

And do not forget that there are lots of different shapes apart from rectangular baths to choose from. Why not try an oval or square bath, or even hexagonal?

However, whatever shape or size you do eventually decide upon it is worth bearing in mind that a bath will always take up the greatest proportion of space in your bathroom. It might be worthwhile hiring a retailer who is able to design a complete space. In this way, you may be able to do something elegant and clever that will save you money as well as creating something that will be the envy of your friends.

Choosing the right bath taps for your bathroom suite may be a lot harder than you think. The vast range on offer means that you will definitely be spoilt for choice. Of course, the modern fittings will always prove popular, especially with anyone who is living in a relatively new house or apartment.

Single (monobloc) bath taps are now a common sight with the majority of new bathroom suites and not only will they save you plenty of space around the head of your bath, but they will also complement any modern design. Wall-mounted bath taps, however, are also becoming more widespread and will give a sleeker appearance to your bathroom.

Chrome is easily the finish of choice for modern bathrooms, but if you want to add a touch of tradition, gold coloured or bronze bath taps will be the best option. For stand-alone baths, they will also be the most obvious choice. These old-style fittings come in a range of different categories, such as Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian, so if you are trying to match up your bath taps to any other fittings, accessories or furniture, be sure that it is part of the same style. Mixing brand names is also something that is never recommended.

Since the arrival of power showers, combining showerheads with bathroom taps is not as popular as it once was, but if you feel installing an electric shower in your new stylish bathroom will take away from its character, there are a variety of options that will suit both modern and vintage designs.

Installing new bathroom taps is not recommended if you are in any way unsure about how to go about doing it correctly. However, knowing how to install your own bathroom taps can greatly cut the cost of your bathroom. Of course, whether you are using a single-bloc mixer or just a regular two-tap pair, each will add its own degree of difficulty to the procedure.

The most important thing to do before you start to remove existing taps and connect the new ones is to ensure that the main water system has been shut off and completely drained. Also, you should never fix the bath into place before installing the bath taps, as this will make the job a lot harder, especially when you are trying to connect the pipe work to the taps.

The taps should be secured by hand on to the base of the bath or basin before the pipe work is connected. If you find that the existing pipes are unable to make a proper connection to the taps you will need to use corrugated copper piping, which you will be able to bend into shape, or flexible tap connectors to make a secure connection. You should then secure the copper piping to the insert of the taps before the existing pipe work.

Once the taps and the corrugated copper piping are in place connect the pipes and secure them tightly with a spanner. You can then tighten the bathroom taps to the bath or basin and turn on the water again.

Like most bathroom components baths also come in a wide range of sizes and styles to suit any bathroom. Easily the most common are the straight baths that have the bath taps right at the end. The double-ended version usually has a single-bloc mixer placed in the middle on the long side. This can be beneficial for getting an even temperature for the water as well as allowing more room as you lie lengthways in the bath.

However, even though not everyone has the luxury of installing a full-size bath, there are still plenty of attractive styles that can be fitted into smaller bathrooms. A popular choice in this category is the corner baths that are widely available. Most of the different styles come with an ergonomic design that allows you to relax and unwind, while built-in overhead showers can also be combined.

Of course the most sought after and by far the most iconic of all bath designs is the stand-alone roll top style that is a common choice in traditional bathroom suites. Naturally if the main feature of your bathroom is going to be in the middle of the floor you are going to need a lot of space. But as much as this type of bath is more associated with older-style suites, there is still a wide range of modern options that will easily complement any contemporary design. The price for roll top baths will no doubt add a few pounds onto your budget, but it will be worth the cost for that extra touch of class.

For anyone who has decided to install their own authentic traditional bathroom suite, it will still be possible to install a shower cubicle without detracting from the style of your bathroom. Of course, shower enclosures are rarely seen in traditional bathrooms, especially in older Victorian and Edwardian-type designs. However, choosing a simple and tasteful shower cubicle will allow you to combine the best of both worlds.

Easily the most popular choice when it comes to shower enclosures for traditional bathrooms is a basic, square open-door design. White ceramic shower trays are also highly recommended for keeping in character with the rest of the bathroom furniture, while gold coloured or brass-plated showerheads also won’t spoil an older style.

The other option for showers in traditional bathrooms is to install a showerhead in your bath, and even if you have a roll top bath it will still be possible to install a shower. A popular choice for people faced with installing a shower in a free-standing bath is to fit a circular shower-curtain and rail, which can hang above the end of the bath.

Showerheads come in an array of traditional styles to suit your bathroom design. Among the most popular are the brass-plated options that have a wider, flatter head compared to the modern counterparts. Special risers, which can reach a length of over six feet, are used to hang the head and are easily the best way to fit a shower in your bathroom without taking away from the authentic feel.

The Imperial collection of roll top baths offer clean, simple lines and pure white porcelain for those hoping to achieve a clean sense of order in their bathrooms. The cool lines and surfaces of these tubs are inviting and they are extraordinarily elegant, allowing bathers to enjoy their bathrooms with all their senses.

The Derwent slipper has elegantly swooping lines that invite the bather into warm waters while the Coniston single-ended is more balanced from end to end. Each has elegant hoses and gleaming chrome fixtures, making them dead-ringers for the Victorian originals that inspired them.

Imperial’s line of acrylic baths are intended to be sunk into wood or tile panelling. The Westminster, Astoria Deco, and Consus baths have elegant oak wood panelling surrounding their outer edges while the Serene is wrapped in decadent obsidian-coloured acrylic. Like the Serene, the Windsor has black accents but also includes metallic panelling for a true Art Deco look and feel. The Oxford and Drift are plain white inside and out and differ only from the Indulgence in that the latter has a sweeping S-curve at the front and a small glass shower screen for showering.

Imperial’s whirlpool baths come in 8, 10, 16, and 20 jet models offering homeowners a range of relaxing and invigorating options. Self-draining and self-pumping, utilizing an electronic touch pad for control and level sensors for dry running protection, the Imperial whirlpool baths resemble wooden wainscoting common to the Imperial acrylic panelled baths.

Bathroom remodelers with limited space may be interested in corner baths. Smaller and more compact than other bath tubs, they take up significantly less space than traditional baths and fit in almost any bathroom space. And consumers need not sacrifice style for utility. Carron, Ideal Standard, and Vitra Optima all offer corner baths that are elegant as well as functional.

Ideal Standard’s Create offset corner bath comes in both left handed and right handed models and is designed with both space and comfort in mind. Ideal Standard also has a line of neatly folding bath screens and over bath screens made especially for the Create corner bath.

Vitra Optima’s Offset Acrylic corner bath comes complete with bath feet, but no tap holes. These are custom drilled as required to accommodate left or right handed taps. Vitra Optima also sells a curved offset bath panel that can be ordered separately from the tub. 

Carron has a much more diverse range of corner baths. Seven models in all, each differs slightly in terms of internal layout. All baths can be ordered left or right handed and come finished with the standard 5mm thickness or in Carronite. The later has a 30 year guarantee.

The Carron Agenda, Dove, and Omega have simple, gently sloping interiors. The Centennial, Monarch, Oriole and Tranquillity all have varying degrees of terraced interiors. Using these corner baths, the bather can choose his/her level of immersion and enjoy the utility of a bath seat while bathing.