Brands for new bathroom

Associate
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6 Feb 2008
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We went with:

- Aqualisa Quartz Digital shower and bath filler
- Grohe Eurosmart Cosmopolitan E sink tap (this one)
- Victorian Plumbing Semi Recessed Sink (this one)
- HiB Ambiance 60 mirror
- Toilet from ebay
- Grohe cistern and button
- Units from howdens
- Quartz worktop custom cut to size by a local place
- Bath, shower screen and towel rail (both plumbed to boiler and with electric heater) were the only items provided by the bathroom fitters.

My tip would be to see what you can find on ebay/facebook marketplace/similar. I found a few items on there brand new which people had bought and then either changed their minds or been told by their plumber that it didn't work in their particular setup. We saved a fortune on some items. Prime example being the Grohe tap which retails for a silly price but we paid about £50 delivered brand new.

 
Soldato
Joined
9 Apr 2007
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13,451
We went with:

- Aqualisa Quartz Digital shower and bath filler
- Grohe Eurosmart Cosmopolitan E sink tap (this one)
- Victorian Plumbing Semi Recessed Sink (this one)
- HiB Ambiance 60 mirror
- Toilet from ebay
- Grohe cistern and button
- Units from howdens
- Quartz worktop custom cut to size by a local place
- Bath, shower screen and towel rail (both plumbed to boiler and with electric heater) were the only items provided by the bathroom fitters.

My tip would be to see what you can find on ebay/facebook marketplace/similar. I found a few items on there brand new which people had bought and then either changed their minds or been told by their plumber that it didn't work in their particular setup. We saved a fortune on some items. Prime example being the Grohe tap which retails for a silly price but we paid about £50 delivered brand new.

That's a fancy tap.
Any good I like my gadgets.
 
Associate
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That's a fancy tap.
Any good I like my gadgets.

It's good, but not £500 good. It looks great.

I have no trouble with it but guests tend to get a bit confused and don't realise it's a sensor one.

You have to put your hand close to the sensor and then it will stay on as long as it "sees" you close to the sink. It does go off on the odd occasion if you are a bit far away such as if you bend down to brush your teeth.

It's great knowing that nobody will ever leave the tap on by mistake. Especially as the sink has no overflow.
 
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OP
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I work for a biggish online bathroom retailer. A competitor to soak, VP, etc but I'm not allowed to plug...

Both soak and Victorian Plumbing are decent and reasonablely priced. Ceramics, baths, taps, heating are all fine quality wise. I know their suppliers. Soak will be cheaper I'd imagine as they source and import themselves (like us) Victorian Plumbing source from UK suppliers but the products ultimately come from the far East still (nothing wrong with that though, branded items do too)

Baths and shower trays typically come from UK though.

Furniture is a difficult one as wood in bathrooms generally does mix. Try and find a painted vanity rather than a veneered and it will be a safer bet.

Any questions just ask and I'll do my best.

Check eBay for Soak, the prices are normally a but cheaper.

Thanks for the response. I think our requirements are fairly basic, we have a large airing cupboard in the bathroom which will cover most of our storage. I think we will need a full shower unit, bath toilet and a basin with a vainty unit underneath. Perhaps a mirror with built in storage or just a wall mirror so won't be much else.
 
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Location
Hampshire
I've just finished re-fitting my bathroom.
Soak for furniture - basin vanity unit and wall cabinet. Please with the quality, delivered pre-built
Victoria plumb for toilet (ideal standard) - Not so great quality, first toilet leaked
Heat and plumb for bath - Prestige Options Rectangular (Carron Quantum copy) Seems solid.
 
Soldato
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Any one fitted the Hansgrohe Axor stuff? I'm doing miy bathroom at the moment and fancy one of their push button gimmicks. Pretty sure it runs off the normal ibox and you just use the faceplate.
 
Soldato
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We've just had ours done and ended up getting most stuff from Victoria Plum or Victorian Plumbing. Our en suite is done using the sme stuff and that's lasted very well.

The only thing where brand bothered me was the shower pump. We wanted a properly powerful pump so went for this 4.5 bar beast. It's coupled to a 400x400 shower head and it's absolutely amazing. The best shower I've ever used.
 
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We've just had ours done and ended up getting most stuff from Victoria Plum or Victorian Plumbing. Our en suite is done using the sme stuff and that's lasted very well.

The only thing where brand bothered me was the shower pump. We wanted a properly powerful pump so went for this 4.5 bar beast. It's coupled to a 400x400 shower head and it's absolutely amazing. The best shower I've ever used.

I've just been looking at pumps and Stuart Turner are getting excellent reviews. How many showers is your pump providing for and are you using for the rest of the house as well?
 
Soldato
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The pump is supplying water to the shower in the bathroom only. It's connected to a set of 3 way shower valves with one output going to the shower head, one to a handheld shower head and one to a bath filler.

It could be connected to supply it to the rest of the house but I'm not sure I want to check 4.5 bar through pipework of unknown quality.

Stuart Turner may try and say it's a quiet pump, it's isn't. It isn't so loud that it's a problem but I wouldn't describe it as quiet. We've got ours sitting on one of their anti vibration mats which really helped.
 
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The pump is supplying water to the shower in the bathroom only. It's connected to a set of 3 way shower valves with one output going to the shower head, one to a handheld shower head and one to a bath filler.

It could be connected to supply it to the rest of the house but I'm not sure I want to check 4.5 bar through pipework of unknown quality.

Stuart Turner may try and say it's a quiet pump, it's isn't. It isn't so loud that it's a problem but I wouldn't describe it as quiet. We've got ours sitting on one of their anti vibration mats which really helped.

I'm edging towards the 3 bar on screwfix. Again the universal. I think these pumps can power up to 3 showers. Initially it will only power one shower (bathroom), when I get the on suite done it will power a shower in there too. I didn't even think of the handheld shower and bath filler. I agree I think that bar going through the other pipework in the house could be asking for trouble. On a side note I bet your bath fills fast. :eek:
 
Soldato
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For us a small handheld head was an absolute must, it makes it easier to rinse your bits and pieces as well as cleaning the bath itself. We went for a bath filler rather than a tap because my other would be forever whacking her legs on the taps but that's no problem with the filler. Yeah, it does fill up well :)
 
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Might be a bit late: but I advise makes you can find spare parts for when it comes to things like cisterns and make sure you can actually get at the mechanism. They will go wrong and need fixing.

Avoid toilets with any kind of seat shape other than the usual oval. Our en-suite has a round seat and locating a replacement when it broke was a right pain - paying over 100 quid for a flipping bog seat was not a good day.
 
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Hello all

Thanks for all the great replies so far. Missus mentioned to me yesterday that she was going to send me a link to the bathroom bits she likes. This will give me an idea of what she is looking at design wise and if neccesary I can maybe influence her in terms of some of the great advice here.

Thanks
 
Soldato
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It's also worth putting thread lock on the threads that hold the loo seat on. I didn't do that when I changed the bog in the downstairs loo and as the bog sits flush to the wall there's no way to get at the wingnuts to tighten them up. They're now a bit loose and to sort it I need to pretty much remove the toilet. Not fun.
 
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So..... Missus has emailed me her "wish list" which includes bath, basin and shower tray from a manufacture called "Roca". No idea if Roca are any forg or who they might be comparable to.

Vanity

https://www.building-supplies-onlin...qBgy4Mtbnz5MvYhBicglfhMJipS6vP5BoCtYQQAvD_BwE

Bath

https://www.bathroomsandshowersdire...opErCrqpzeetmL6UJR_3y-c_i13KCQThoCDUgQAvD_BwE

Shower tray

https://www.qssupplies.co.uk/bathro...-gDUIQceDW1k6vP0vnmcWK78wU95Cr5RoC4usQAvD_BwE

Shower enclosure

https://www.victorianplumbing.co.uk/sienna-900mm-quadrant-shower-enclosure

Bath taps

https://www.wayfair.co.uk/diy-plumbing/pdp/hudson-reed-hardy-bath-tap-hdz2465.html

Basin taps

https://www.wayfair.co.uk/diy-plumb...ardy-mono-basin-mixer-with-waste-hdz2467.html

Pacific quadrant shower enclosure from Victorian Plumbing

Mermaid showers from plumbase

And Hudson Reed taps for the bath and sink

Any comments on these would be very appreciated? I can supply links when I'm home later if that helps?

EDIT: I have added the links she sent me to the items
 
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Soldato
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I would make sure your shower tray is stone rather than plastic. Spend money on this above all else tbh.

I had a number of issues with Victoria plumb when mine was delivered
Broken glass on mirror
Broken tall unit (completely broken face)
Marked sink units
Toilet Ok

They were very good tho and offered free replacements no hassle, just make sure you check it before you have your fitter round! Based on the good customer service I would consider using again despite issues.
 
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Roca are very nice, I had one of the toilets in my old house, but then it was £850 so it should have been. I now have a RAK unit in my main bathroom and en-suite. Just as nice but half the cost

I went Merlyn shower trays are round and the quality is amazing for the money. I also have a lusso freeestanding bath and vanity's .

Make sure you get ceramic sinks, not resin. The aqualisa showers are great too as you can site the controls outside of the shower. My other choice would be Grohe.

A lot of taps are identical across the brands, obviously made to a generic design in the far East, so if you see an expensive one you like, shop around for a cheaper model. Prime example is a £100 mondella in Homebase is the same as the £50 Wickes own brand. I don't rate Franke as I've replaced 2 kitchen taps in the space of as many years.

Spend some decent money on a bath as cheap ones the fibreglass is thin, and although it can physically hold water it won't like continued abuse, ie kids dropping shampoo bottles on it. Don't ask me how I know

I had issues with Victorian plumbing with a cheap bath. Fitted it and there was a hairline crack that only opened when completely full. They refused a refund so you can imagine how much a £150 bath actually cost me factoring in a replacement and fitting .

My advice, spend decent money on a trusted brand. Replacing bathroom wear is a ballache.
 
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