Photo by: DK – Do It Yourself Home Improvement
©2009 Dorling Kindersley Limited
DK – Do It Yourself Home Improvement, 2009 Dorling Kindersley Limited
Your initial bathroom design should focus on making the best use of the space available. Then consider which utilities would need rerouting for the new design. Decide whether you are going to tile the walls, change the floor surface, or update heating and ventilation. You can then construct an order of work. If you are replacing the whole bathroom, remove all the old fixtures and reroute the plumbing and wiring before installing the new bathroom. If there is little rerouting required, you may prefer to replace each item in turn.
Bathroom Regulations
Electrical Installations
Water is a good conductor of electricity, so it increases the chance and severity of shocks. There are strict regulations regarding where and how you install electrical equipment in bathrooms. Metal pipes also conduct electricity, so the plumbing system should be grounded with grounding clamps.
Waste Pipe Installations
Changing or installing a new bathroom may involve making a new connection to your home’s main soil stack or drain. Contact your local building control office should you need to check regulations regarding stack connection.
Types of Bathroom Layouts
Most homes have at least one full bathroom with a toilet, sink, and bathtub. Optional extras to this basic suite include a shower, either in a separate cubicle or above the bathtub, and possibly a bidet. An extra sink is a popular choice in a bathroom used by more than one person.
Custom Bathrooms
Like a standard bathroom, custom bathrooms have a full suite of fixtures. The difference is that the final design has matching built-in cabinets and countertops around part of the room. If you are considering this type of bathroom, the manufacturer or professional bath designer can help you plan the layout.
Attached Bathrooms
Because of the proximity of the bedroom, noise is an issue. If there is no window in an attached bath, an exhaust fan is essential for removing moisture. The noise of a toilet tank refilling can be reduced by installing a quiet, modern inlet valve.
Wet Rooms
These are bathrooms that include a shower with no enclosure — the water runs away through a drain in the floor. The whole room has to be fully waterproofed.
Powder Rooms
Powder rooms are usually located on the first floor of a house near the entryway. Also called half-baths, powder rooms have a sink and a toilet, but they do not have a shower or bathtub.
