Bathroom, Indoor

Professional bathroom designer or DIY? Bathroom re-modelling carried out at home with or without the specialist?

Online Home Improvements discusses the Pro’s & Con’s and offers the buyer options:

It is now time to choose & create your new Bathroom, but what options do you have and do you turn to the designers or go it alone? Let’s discuss the options:

The two main options are utilising a professional bathroom designer or DIY? Let’s look at bathroom design professionals. Enjoy a chance to take advantage of Online Home Improvements specialist bathroom designers with 25 years’ experience. Also, we consider the DIY bathroom re-modelling enjoyment and challenges for taking the plunge and daring the callenge:

Design Planning requirements:


Whether you choosing to renovate, extending, or building a new section or a full home from scratch. Maybe simply having a change of heart and a new look and planning your bathroom design project. Design planning is a key part of getting the perfect results. When you spend time on the correct plan either utilising your own confidence and abilities, or employing one of our specialist designers here at OHI.

Careful consideration is what you will need and want for your bathroom design success. Now use our helpful and insightful guide below and you are ready to begin: Let’s move on to Location and users:
Which part of the home is the bathroom situated and who will be using the Bathroom on a regular basis?
It is one of your imperative aspects, when it comes to designing your new bathroom, to understand the usage and its users. Considering the number of people who will frequent the room, their heights, their needs are all key factors in the design process.

Utilise the understanding of your family needs:


Understanding you and your family’s need is understanding the design requirements. From there we can progress to styles and those all-important fun factor features you may love to incorporate! For example, a master bedroom en-suite will require totally and uniquely different requirements than your family bathroom or cloakroom.

Disability or height considerations:


Having an elderly or disabled relative at home requires consideration for specific needs. In the same aspect, having the wall cabinet mounted by the 6.5ft tall husband to suit his needs will not suit a 5ft tall wife! It really can be critical to get these aspects right in the initial stages to save time and cost in the future. Furthermore you all need to love your new bathroom no matter what your needs are without exclusions.

Practicality:


Practicality is your starting point. In rooms where they are solely used by only one or two people, it may be easier to get the practical issues right and get quicker onto the fun factors but nevertheless equally as important. Additionally in rooms where there are multiple users safe flooring, space to manoeuvre, correct positioning for fixtures and fittings are key concerns to maintain.

Perfecting the Room Layout:


Deciding and finalising your layout is based mainly on your initial practicalities as users, then followed by key features of items such as showers and sizes, baths shapes and sizes, storage and room dimensions are now all taken into consideration to plan the room.

Best Practices – designing your bathroom:


It is generally considered the best practice to start with noting the position of the WC. Then on to doors and windows as the correct way forward being these items can usually not be moved. Once noted down you may proceed to the next step.

Working out the exact positioning of where the soil pipe for your toilet currently enters the room is now noted. Next where it will enter the room if (renovations/extensions and new builds) are carried out. This point will help to guide you to the best new position for the toilet . It is then with this plus the door and window positions in mind that you are able to work around this to start the plan.

Professional bathroom designer or DIY? Physically drawing a design by hand or CAD?

For Interior Design Services (Click Here)

Time to draw out the dimensions of your newly planned bathroom:

Now by either using a few sheets of (ideally graph paper) paper. Or taking advantage of our free online design floor planner (click here to use our specially designed and provided software). You can start to play around by drawing out your bathroom layouts to scale.

Firstly when doing by hand:

Using graph paper draw out the shape of the room with a ruler. Try to keep on marked lines and measure the room in mm on your ruler as an equivalent to cm in your actual room:

i.e: 2170cm will equate to 2170mm on your paper (or 21.7cm) wide
1350cm will equate to 1350mm on your paper (or 13.5cm) wide

Second: Key points to mark down on your room planner:

(Remember to mark down any and all of the following on your new room space)

Doors or windows, alcoves, sloping ceilings or bulkheads, current electric points, or extraction units.

Finally: Be sure to try and keep your chosen idea items of fitted furniture, cubicles, baths, or sanitary ware to the same scale as the room you drew. (Remember we have a specialist team on hand to guide you through this whole process at no cost if you wish to take advantage of the service! CLICK HERE
Choosing the right products for you:

Once you have reached this point, you may already know exactly what you require and be ready to select and cost your options.

If however you may be at that point where either advice, guidance or examples and options are what you need to help make those decisions.

Professional bathroom designer or DIY? Choosing your products or take guidance from experience & knowledge:

Remembering to have your initial budget in mind is always a safe and positive place to be but do bear in mind if you engage with a designer. Be sure to be as honest as you can with them as this ensures they get your design exactly right without bringing you something you do not like, want, or need.

After all they are there to serve your needs best by good knowledge. The better you put in the better you get out!
Important Products you may want or need and the aspects to consider:
In this modern age we are now overwhelmed with options. It is now easier than ever to design and secure the ideal bathroom at almost any budget.

Knowing the style, you wish to pursue is key to getting the design right. Remember to keep the usable space in mind and then let your imagination or that of the designers do the talking for your design and turn the dream to reality.

Professional bathroom designer or DIY? Sanitaryware & fitted furniture considered:


Knowing your practical requirements and personal taste will help you through this choice. A family’s great need for storage may dictate the need for extensive fitted furniture and here at OHI we have one the largest ranges available in the UK.

Choose from Vanity Units, Mirrored Cabinets, Wall Mounted, Handle-less, Traditional, Modern, or Minimalist. You choose it and we will provide it!

Best advice of WC’s:

  1. For close-coupled types, as a rule the overall toilet height of 595mm – 800mm will suit most adults.
  2. The seat height should be an average of 390mm – 460mm.
  3. The space around the toilet should be at least 760mm, with at least 510mm in front.

Wall mounted WC back to wall units are nice way to keep areas clean and easy to use.Whilst you may choose to go for the ultimate in traditional styles of high-level cistern and pull chain.

Best Basin advice:

  1. A height of between 760mm and 1.190m tends to be a comfortable height for most adults.
  2. A clearance of at least 510mm is required to the front, or more where possible.
  3. As a rule the distance left to right (the span) should be at least 760mm.

Your basins can now come in a myriad of styles from a standard basin and pedestal or Semi-Pedestal, to a wall mounted or floating. Handmade stone or glass bowls, Counter-top or maybe wall sunken with built in hand dryer!

Sanitary-ware and fitted furniture:
Knowing your practical requirements and personal taste will help you through this choice. A family’s great need for storage may dictate the need for extensive fitted furniture and here at OHI we have one the largest ranges available in the UK.The options are endless.


Professional bathroom designer or DIY? Showers Considered:

Shower Enclosures:

  1. The minimum comfortable size for a shower enclosure is generally known to be 760mm x 760mm.
  2. A clearance of at least 610mm is also required.

Good planning is key to a great shower enclosure. This will ensure it is not only practical but also a pleasure to use. With numerous options of Enclosure types from Quadrant and Offset doors to Shaped Enclosures that swing open, you should remember to design your bathroom with enough space around you for the door to open and to allow you in and out.

Enclosures or Wet Rooms with fixed glazed panels work well in small bathrooms — as do Sliding Shower Doors. Space is key in this regard and it is important you choose the right look, dimension, and practical feature to suit your needs and space.

Professional bathroom designer or DIY? Baths Considered:

Although it is universally seen that a standard bath size dimension 1700mm x 700mm, if you aim for a bath height of between 500mm and 600mm with a minimum of 530mm side clearance this will help with access issues.
Here at OHI we offer every size, shape, and feature of batch you may wish to imagine!

From Spa Baths, Walk-in, Free-Standing, Corner Baths, Built-in or Bath and Side Panel baths, there are so many to choose from!

A general rule is when you have your bath in mind for style then the bigger the room then the bigger the option of baths.

It is however safe to say that we now have available some of the most amazing Space Saving Baths, due to ingenuity by designers to maximise the use of smaller spaces in the average UK bathroom.

For those who of us who use a shower and a bath and are restricted by space then a shower over the bath is a brilliant solution. A shower bath is a superb all-round option in this case.

The Ultimate showering options:



Should you be one of the lucky ones able to have the space already in your refurbishment. Perhaps your new build will allow for separate showering then your choices are endless . More reasons to engage our design team for the best and most up to date advice!

Consider Mosaic covered seating and Steam room or sauna enclosure features with a Wet-Room System. Perhaps body jets to blast away the hard days at work. Maybe even a stunning giant overhead Waterfall Shower Head to relax under that hot water before leaving for work.

The options are endless. begin the dream, the design, and make it reality. (Click here if you need any assistance from our design team)

Other Products:

While we could go on forever with advice on mirrors, accessories etc.. It is surely time to engage your enthusiasm for your own design or even better to engage with our Design Team. Let’s begin the exciting journey to creating YOUR perfect bathroom.

To really assist you in geting to know the products we sell and the well respected brands we promote. Here are a number of links to the manufaturers websites. You will find everything you need to establish what you like and do not. We actively sell every product so please cntact us as soon as you are ready. If you do not see a product on this site but are interested in it, simply contact us and we will source it for you staraight away or offer a better alternative:

BRANDS: Arley Pro, Ideal Standard, Kaldewei, RAK Ceramics, Gerberit, Vitra, Mira, Triton Showers, Arte Linea, Imperial Bathrooms

WE CANNOT go without covering installation:
Here at Online Home Improvements, we understand more than just the DIY basics.

It is important for you to consider that perhaps there are jobs that are easy for you to undertake without the help of outside professionals and save on an all-important budget.


DIY Advice:


If however you may wish the DIY option then consider in this instance:

The removal of your old sanitary-ware and tiles. Decorating jobs such as painting or even tiling are now popular DIY projects and doing these yourself will save money where needed. Try safely and confidently in all cases.
Services required by a licenced professional:
We do also know that certain aspects of the installation must be left to the professionals. These installers are licenced and accredited, always insured and not to mention qualified and skilled to carry out such tasks

Our examples of this are:


Plumbing, Electrical and Gas works. Also it may even be that your planned bathroom fitters are skilled in every aspect of bathroom installation including plumbing, electrics, and tiling.
If this is the case, then you are nearly ready to start.

Plus if you need help with quotation from a qualified and Government Certified Installer then (click here). Additionally engage with our install teams through our BIKBBI Registered Install Process by pressing the link.
Making the most of shopping with Online Home Improvements:
If you wish to carry out your own designs and simply purchase from our Online Store or engage with our Design Team, contact Online Home Improvements today and let them do ALL the hard work for you while you site back, relax and look forward to that long soak in your new bath?

Whatever you choose. Please enjoy all the services and special offers by Online Home Improvements. Don’t forget to register with our newsletter for special offers!

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