Month: January 2017

Small Bathrooms – Get the Most Out Of Limited Space

Today’s bathrooms are generally much bigger than in the homes of yesteryear, but older homes may still have to make do with more cramped conditions. With a little creativity, though, even small bathrooms can be transformed into much more comfortable areas. Here are a few tips to get you thinking!

Use all the available spaces
Stand in the center of the room and look around. Are you making full use of areas like the corners? There are many fixtures and fittings that are designed to fit snugly into corners. These can dramatically ease the storage problems that you may be facing, while looking quite chic and stylish.

Simple can be more stylish
Consider repainting and redecorating the walls, floor and ceiling, to keep colors as simple and plain as possible. Bright colors and patterns tend to make the room look cluttered, and should be used minimally, if at all.

Big is not necessarily better
The trend to having large sinks, sometimes set into even larger surrounds, is often space wasted. In all honesty, one doesn’t need a mini bathtub to wash one’s face and brush one’s teeth over! There are many stylish smaller sink units available that will serve the purpose for small bathrooms just as well, without using a big chunk of your available wall space.

Choose a stylish but more compact faucet
The availability of modern compact faucets can ease the sink-top clutter dramatically. Consider one of the slender goose-neck type, single handle units to go with your redesigned sink unit.

Bathtubs come in a range of sizes and shapes
In many European countries, where space is at an absolute premium, bathtubs are often much smaller than here in the US. Due to their compact size, small bathtubs are becoming more popular here too, as they can easily be used to turn a small, half-bath into a full bathroom. Small bathtubs also help free up space, and allow one to have a tub in conjunction with a shower in small bathrooms. For example, a five foot long tub, with a flat bottom, gives plenty room for a relaxing bath, as well as taking a standard wall mounted, shower unit.

Is your shower stall well designed?
You can create more convenience with the available space in a small bathroom, if you use a sliding shower door as these require no extra clearance space for opening.

Something that is rarely seen in this country
In the small bathrooms found in many Mediterranean and European countries, the shower head is located over an open floor with a drainage hole, so that the floor gets wet when one showers. Basically the whole bathroom is a shower, so you have plenty of wiggle space! If the room contains a toilet, it gets a good showering at the same time!

Mount your fixtures on the wall instead of the floor
Another space saving idea is to consider a wall mounted toilet. Although it might seems a bit precarious, these are actually perfectly strong if correctly installed, and the floor area is again freed up giving the appearance of much more space.
Consider all also installing a wall mounted sink and save even more space.

If you are interested in any of these ideas or would look advice in regard to remodeling your small bathroom, call us anytime for a free estimate.

Shower Stalls Provide Comfort and Convenience For The Family

When buying a new home, one of the most important things to look for is the number of bathrooms on offer. Are there shower stalls? As the family grows, it is very important to make sure that sufficient facilities are available for everyone. Realtors have a different way of advertizing it, but many American bathrooms contain what is commonly referred to as a full bathtub. This usually means a bathtub, with the traditional wall mounted shower, over the tub. The fashion now, however, is moving more and more towards installing a stand-alone, completely separate, shower stall outside of the tub. The convenience this provides, together with its increased functionality, has made it a popular choice with today’s modern home buyers.

The insecurity of a shower over the tub
One of the reasons many people prefer shower stalls, and dislike a shower over the tub, is that standing in the tub is insecure. The fear of slipping in the tub, that often daunts older users, is solved by the roominess and comfort of a dedicated shower pan, with it spacious, wide and perfectly flat, floor. The range of shapes and sizes of available shower pans is massive, and one can almost always be found to suit your bathroom.

The advantages of separate shower stalls
There are many other major advantages that a shower stall provides. Firstly, with dedicated plumbing, there is no longer any need to have to fiddle with the tub faucet to get the temperature and pressure settings to a comfortable level. The specially designed shower faucets available today, obviate this problem and allow one to adjust levels comfortably to suit individual personal needs. Several strategically placed wall mounted grips provide additional security, and a soap and shampoo rack is a massive move up from having to balance bottles on the edge of the tub! In addition one can buy shower stools or benches that provide even more security for older users.

Economical and wide ranging choices
With the large range of pre-designed shower stalls, with different design wall panels available, the project is not going to break the bank either. The range of interlocking wall panels on sale, allows one to design shape and size to suit virtually any bathroom and budget, and the attractive curved corner units on sale may be a great solution where space is at a premium.

Obviously, plumbing and diy skills are necessary if one wants to attempt the project on one’s own, but a professional plumbing contractor will be able to recommend the most economical way to do the job, and this is always the best way to go.

Preview the great range of shower stalls available
Before calling in your professional plumber, discuss the project with the family and determine where the best location will be for the new shower. Then go in to your local Home Depot or Lowes, and view the big range of shower stalls that they have on display. You will then be in a better position to tell your plumbing contractor exactly which option you prefer. Online browsing is also a great idea, as this allows the whole family to preview the many options on view.

For the more ambitious, there is the choice of more complex units built out of framed glass, but the cost obviously escalates when one departs from the standard fiberglass or plastic units available.

Bear in mind that there is going to have to be electrical work in addition to the plumbing, but your contractor will be able to handle all of that for you. Whatever your choice, call us in for a free quote and assessment of your needs. We are here to help and advise you.