Bathrooms and Cloakrooms

When choosing the right Bathroom Suite for your bathroom you will first consider the shape and style that appeals to you. Bathroom Suites come in many different shapes, styles and colours to accommodate the majority of tastes. Other factors in choosing the right bathroom rely on practicalities such as the shape and space of your bathroom as well as any individual circumstances that are specific to the way you use your bathroom. To compliment your santitaryware choices there are may different styles and formats of Taps - also known Brassware. From Traditional Taps to Modern Taps, Gold Taps or Chrome Taps, the right bathroom tap finish off your bathroom.

The majority of people in the UK will choose the sanitaryware for their bathroom as a group. This group is known as a bathroom suite and comprises a Basin, Basin Pedestal, WC Toilet Pan, WC Cistern and a Bath. Almost all bathroom suites are made from Vitreous China because it is easy to clean and hard wearing. The Bath that is supplied with a suite is likely to be of different material - usually a good average bath would be made from 5mm Acrylic.

Not everybody prefers to order a complete bathroom suite - prefering instead to pick individual components from various suppliers and ranges. For this reaon - almost all of the suites available on the market have their individual sanitaryware pieces available for order separately. Furthermore, in order to meet the needs of people who require everyhting but a bath, choose a China Pack. 5 Piece China Packs (seat included) and 4 Piece China Packs (without a seat).

When installing a basin in your bathroom - the most common method is to install your bathroom basin on a pedestal and fixed to the wall. Each basin will have a different size, shape and a certain amount of tap holes. Basins are normally available in either one, two or three tap hole formats.

• One Tap Hole Basins accommodate a Mixer or 'Monobloc'Tap
• Two Tap Hole Basins will require a set Pillar Taps
• Three Tap Hole Basins use 2 holes for the Tap heads and one hole for the spout.

It is traditional for bathroom basins to be made from Vitreous China but you can now purchase Glass Basins for example

If you need to save space, such as in a cloakroom (cloak room basins are normally much smaller than bathroom basins), why not look for a basin that can hang on a wall (without a pedestal). Alternatively, basins can be combined with bathroom furniture or vanity units in which the basin is either partially or fully recessed into your bathroom worktop. The basins are known as 'countertop' or 'semi countertop' basins.

Finally - when planning your bathroom or cloakroom - consider how the water will exit. Will use a traditional plug and chain or have a pop up waste system - often combined as part of the tap assembly.

Toilets are normally made up of three parts - and therefore sometimes referred to as a WC Suite. These three parts are the WC Toilet Pan, WC Toilet Cistern and the Toilet Seat. Some common terms used to describe a toilet suite are:

• Close Coupled - The most popular format where the Toilet Cistern and Toilet Pan connected on installation
• High or Low Level - Used more with Traditional Toilets where the cistern in mounted onto the wall and feedsthe water into the Toilet Pan via a long pipe.
• Concealed - This explains a type of cistern that is concealed into bathroom furniture or behind a wall and installed into a 'Back to Wall' (BTW) or 'Wall Hung' Toilet Pan

The most popular Toilet (WC Suite) contains a close coupled cistern. Flushing handles are either mounted on th left or right side of the cistern or mounted from the top as a push button.

If space is at a premium within your bathroom - consider the Ideal Standard Space Range. All Space Sanitaryware andSpace Bathroom Furniture have been designed to maximise the space in very small rooms.

When choosing a bath - there are many different styles, finishes and formats on the market. The most common bath is the Acrylic Bath with Side Bath Panels but others styles such as corner baths, circular baths and traditional free standing baths could provide the perfect bathing experience for you.

Todays modern baths are generally manufactured from acrylic plastic which is practical, durable, strong and economic since the material retains heat better than metal baths and the overall weight is reduced making the bath much easier to install. Taps may be mounted on the side or end of some baths. Offset baths and Corner Baths are space efficient and provide a generous bathing area.

When Choosing a bath - consider the following:

• How much space do you have for getting the bath into the bathroom prior to installation and subsequent access?
• Determine the capacity of the bath and make sure you have a suitable hot water supply?
• For very large baths - can you afford to fill the bath? Also - very large baths full of water are obviously very heavy. Can your floor take the load?
• Choose your bath based on your estimated usage level?
• The higher the usage the better (thicker) the bath will need to be.
• Will you be installing a shower over your bath? If so - install you bath with the steeper angle under the shower
• Consider any special requirements for less able users such as lower sides, non slip areas and hand grips etc.
• What type of tap are you going to instal? Pillar taps, a mixer tap or a bath shower mixer?
• Do you need a front and/or an end panel?
• Consider where the taps will be in relation to the bath.How accessible is the plumbing?

Taps deliver hot and cold water but have the ability to make a statement or style and taste all on their own.

• Pillar Taps - these taps are for ‘two taphole’ basins or baths and require a hot and cold version
• Mixer Taps - these bring the hot and cold supply together through a shared spout
• Monobloc Mixers - for one taphole baths and basins where a single tap ‘body’ combines hot and cold supply and controls