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Nobody likes a bathroom that has become dated or the idea of an old bathroom with a chipped and stained ancient cast iron bath, exposed plumbing pipework, a cracked handbasin, and possibly a WC, with a rusty and noisy cistern. Yet there are many bathrooms which would fit into this general description and remain unchanged because it is assumed that modernisation will cost a fortune and beextremely difficult.

The fact is that bathroom refurbishment need not be expensive and certainl is not difficult. Expenditure can be as low as £200 for a modern bathroom suite and the work is little more than basic plumbing using modern easy to handle fittings. No special skills are required and indeed very little is needed in the way of special tools or equipment. The chances are that you already have virtually everything you require.

If you're into DIY, you'll appreciate simple solid construction and being able to find everything you need in one place. Buying is easy as you can just pick a one-price suite pack, or if you want to personalise it you can choose your own taps for the bath and basin. Plus, with our Good Idea Leaflets, you'll never get stuck as they're full of practical tips and advice.

Our in-store Design Consultants can help you plan the layout of your bathroom.

 

Planning

The following planning information is relevant to both Wickes Home Delivered and In-Store bathroom ranges.

The first step is to visit your local Wickes store and have a good look at the displays of bathrooms to see what is available. You'll find both contemporary and traditional bathroom suites, stylish bath options, wash stands, showers and more. Not everything will be on display in every store so ask for any literature on bathrooms and accessories that may be of help to you.

NOTE: All dimensions can be found in either the Wickes Home Delivered Bathrooms Price List or the Wickes Takeaway Bathrooms Brochure.

The next step is to decide precisely what you want in your own bathroom and how to fit your selection into the available space in the most convenient way. You do not have to position everything in exactly the same place as the old fittings but you must bear in mind that major changes will lead to extra plumbing, particularly where waste pipes are concerned.

Completely re-siting the WC, for example, will require work either linking up to the old soil pipe or even fitting a completely new soil pipe. This type of change should be avoided if possible, but see later notes on the use of a Wickes Macerator. If you are fortunate, your WC will not be sited in the bathroom but will be in a separate room and this will allow far more scope for re-arrangement.

When planning any new layout you should also take into consideration the space around each item which is needed as 'standing room', i.e., the area needed chiefly for drying off after a bath or shower, or washing at the basin, or using the WC. If everything is packed tightly together the room will be difficult to use. FIG.1 shows suggested space that should be left clear around units.

 

 

Using a pencil and graph paper, draw the floor plan of your bathroom to scale. Excluding the existing fitments draw the position of waste outlets, plumbing and fixed items such as a door, window and radiator. The scale to work on is 1:15 meaning that each 10mm on the paper is equal to 150 millimetres on the floor. Then, on a separate piece of graph paper, and using the same scale, draw the items that you wish to have in the room. The sizes of items in Wickes bathroom ranges are shown in the Wickes Bathroom Price List. NOTE: Optional baths can be specially ordered at a nominal 1500mm long.

Create the layout you want. Remember each component will need 'standing room'. Some overlapping of 'standing room' is quite acceptable.

FIG.2 shows a typical layout in a small and almost square space and FIG.3 shows an alternative in the same room.

If you have plenty of space plan to locate a separate shower enclosure in the room. If space is limited the shower can very easily be incorporated into the bath saving a great deal of space. If you need a shower enclosure to cope with family requirements, one could be installed elsewhere in the house. For example a shower enclosure could be part of en-suite facilities in a bedroom. The Wickes Macerator can be useful here enabling the waste from WC, shower and a basin to be pumped to the soil stack.

It should not take long to plan your layout which may well be just the same as the existing one, if the original designer did his job well in the first place. It is worth remembering that small changes, such as re-hanging a door so that it hinges on the opposite edge can make access to the usable space in the bathroom considerably better, but take care not to make it open against somebody who may be using the basin or WC.

 

Choosing the Fitments

Once you have planned the layout and confirmed that what you want will fit in, go back to the store, order the components that you want and select tiles and other accessories to suit your tastes.

All Wickes baths (except rolltop and contemporary free standing) are made from 5mm thick acrylic. This makes them than better than steel or cast iron varieties in so many ways.

Wickes pottery items such as basins, pedestals, toilet pans and cisterns are top quality products with smooth surface glazing. They are strong, durable and above all, attractive.

Some baths can be supplied with matching side and end panels. Wood effect panels are also available. A variety of taps are available and again, personal choice comes into the selection of these.

If you are planning to incorporate a shower above your bath there are two ways of doing this. One is to simply use bath / shower mixer taps with a flexible hose leading to the shower spray head, either with chrome or gold effect shower fittings. The alternative is to use an electric shower heater, our Good Idea leaflet No. 45 tells you all about these. A power shower or mixer shower could also be installed. Shower pumps can be used on mixer showers or bath showers to increase flow and pressure.

 

Extractor Fans

Most bathrooms are prone to condensation and an extractor fan fitted to a window or an outside wall will considerably reduce any damage which can be caused by condensation.

 

Electricity

Remember that no plug and socket fittings (apart from special razor sockets) are allowed in bathrooms and you will need double pole isolating switches for other electrical appliances such as an electric shower heater or shower booster pump.

No switch apart from ceiling pull cord types may be installed anywhere within reach of anyone using a bath or shower.

All your wiring work must conform to BS 7671, the current I.E.E. wiring regulations and part of Part P of Building Regulations. You are advised to check with your local authority's Building Control Department, or an Authorised Competent Person, before starting. If in any doubt about electrical work, contact a qualified electrician.

 

 

Wiring Regulations

This illustration identifies which part of a bathroom you can place an electrical fitting in, dependant on the IP rating. These parts are called Bathroom Zones. The Zones are indentified from 0 to outside, with 0 being the wettest. IMPORTANT: Any fitting within a bathroom, or the like, MUST be protected by a 30ma residual current device (RCD).

 

Additional Facilities

Few homes have totally adequate facilities and as families grow, so the need for more flexibility becomes apparent. En-suite facilities in a main or spare bedroom are often the answer. It is always helpful to have a second toilet as well as additional washing facilities. There is no problem normally in providing the facilities and the water supply. However, disposing of waste can be difficult chiefly because of lack of access to the house soil stack. The answer to virtually all such problems is a Macerator. This is an item of equipment which takes waste from a WC, shower, bath or basin. It pumps the waste through 32mm solvent weld piping to the soil stack, even if this is on the opposite side of the house. Our Good Idea leaflet No. 101 gives full details of the abilities of a Wickes Macerator. We also have Cloakroom Basins and suite packs specially designed to provide washing facilities in limited space.

 

Rules & Regulations

If you are simply replacing an existing bath, basin or WC with new ones in the same place without altering the plumbing arrangements (including the wastes), you are not likely to need Building Regulations approval.

However, your local Building Control officer should be advised about any changed or additional drainage work. Your local Water Company should be notified of any re-routing of pipes and other water supply changes. Your work must also conform to current Water Byelaws. All Wickes bathroom products conform where applicable to these.

 

Wickes Fitted Bathroom Furniture

Bathrooms in most properties can be lacking in storage space for bathroom bits and pieces like towels, toiletries, cleaning equipment and all the other items that are needed and used in the room. Yet almost any size and shape of bathroom or en-suite facilities in a bedroom can be transformed into an attractive, functional area with good storage space. Simply use Wickes Fitted and Free Standing Bathroom Furniture. (See Bathroom Brochure)

When renovating or refurbishing a bathroom (or adding a new bathroom in an extension) the tendency is to purchase a complete suite comprising of a bath, toilet and basin. With this system much of the wasted space is utilised and the bathroom takes on a built in look.

The full range and dimensions can be found in the Wickes Bathroom Price List.

Like kitchen units they are supplied with backs to conceal hot and cold water pipes and waste outlets, except WC units.

NOTE: The pottery for fitted furniture is specially designed and cannot be used elsewhere.

All items are designed for easy installation and full installation instructions are also supplied in every pack.

 

Installation

The following part of this Good Idea leaflet covers installation of new bathroom fixtures and fittings. As mentioned above it includes advice on pre-planning the actual work to avoid total disruption to the household.

Before starting any work you should have all new products on site and should spend time studying the specific installation instructions supplied with the component parts.

You will also find that most, if not all, of your new bathroom components are supplied with installation instructions.

 

Preparatory Work

Most of the above, and there will always be more, is removal work in order to permit the new fitments to be installed. Ensure that during your preparation work, your new fittings are stored safely. In an ideal situation you should be able to completely gut the old bathroom to leave yourself a clear working space. In reality, this is difficult because it may mean that the family is without washing facilities for a few days. If you can make other arrangements such as installing the additional en-suite basin and shower you always wanted in the spare bedroom, then this will be easier. However, if this is not possible then you must aim to work progressively, replacing just one unit at a time so that the water is never cut off for too long. Installing a bath or basin in a day is perfectly possible. You only have to have the water supply pipes and waste connected for the bath or basin to be usable.

Once you have a list prepared you can work out priorities and a time schedule. Then get ready to start work. It is worth stressing at this point that you must not strip any old bath, basin, shower or WC out until you have the replacement fitments on the premises and have checked that they are the correct size, complete and in perfect condition. Store new items where they cannot be damaged and check all products before installation.

Ensure that you have all the tools you need for both the removal of old fitments and installation of new, before you start. The only tools you may not have are wrenches, water pump pliers and a pipe cutter. These are not expensive items and you may well find that they are useful additions to your toolkit.

The biggest disruption to the household will occur if you are replacing old lead or iron piping with new copper, and you should always take the opportunity to make such a change. In this situation you could be a day or two without water in the bathroom. The water supply has to be cut off and the cold water storage tank drained so that the old pipe can be disconnected and removed. The chances are that the kitchen tap, fed from the rising main, will be the only tap still usable.

If you are fortunate enough to have modern copper pipework, disruption will be far less as new fittings can be plumbed in quite rapidly, even if they are in a new position. Additionally, if the outlets from the cold water storage tank are fitted with their own stopcocks, the drainage of the tank will not be needed.

In many cases where plumbing supply and waste pipes are to be renewed and / or re-routed, the new pipework can be put in place at an early stage, to ensure a rapid changeover when the water has to be cut off.

 

 

Removal of Fitments

It would be wise to have some cloths handy to mop up any water which escapes from the system as the work progresses. With the water cut off and with taps opened to drain off as much residual water as possible, you can disconnect the fittings and cap the pipes temporarily. This can be done with service valves and checkvalves which can later be part of the system to isolate fitments - ideal for tap washer changing for example. The main water supply could then be restored to other parts of the house, enabling the kitchen sink cold water tap and any second WC to be operated normally.

The next step is to remove the first item to be replaced. This may be the old bath, basin and WC, or all of them, but we do recommend that the WC is dealt with first.

The old bath, if cast iron, will be extremely heavy and you will need the assistance of at least two other strong people to get it out of the bathroom and out of the house in one piece! Should this prove impossible (and this is very likely) it can be broken up in situ with a sledge hammer. You must wear protective glasses for your eyes and take steps to protect any windows in the room from flying metal. You can cover the bath with an old blanket to restrain any splinters. You will probably find a local scrap metal dealer interested in acquiring the cast iron and any lead piping you may have removed.

NOTE: The basin will be easier to deal with since this will probably be supported purely on brackets and maybe a pedestal.

When removing the WC, start with the cistern, disconnecting the downpipe to the pan at the coupling nut directly under the base of the cistern, then disconnect at the pan end. Again, a cast iron cistern will be heavy so help will be needed. When the pan is removed, try not to damag e the waste pipe leading to the stack. Cover the end of the pipe with cloths or polythene to prevent debris getting into the waste system, as seen in FIG.4.

With everything removed, the next step is to correct any defects which have been uncovered, such as rotten floorboards or damaged plasterwork. Spend a bit of time to complete any dirty work and prepare the room for the new fittings and decorations. This preparation work should include channelling the walls for electrical wiring conduit for items such as a shower heater, extractor fan or combined light and razor socket.

Remember that no plugs and socket fittings (apart from special razor sockets) are allowed in a bathroom and you will need double pole isolating switches for other electrical appliances.

 

Fitting Your New Suite

Where applicable, fitting instructions should be read and understood before any installation commences.

The worst part of the job is now over and you should have an empty, clean room into which to fit your new pieces of equipment. Starting with the WC pan, use a special plastic and rubber pan trap connector to link the pan outlet to the old soil pipe, see FIG.5.

Only when the pan outlet is linked in accordance with the instructions included with the connector should you secure the pan to the floor with screws, ensuring the correct level positioning. Then fit the cistern and connect the overflow pipe valve and water supply pipe. The water supply to the WC is made using 15mm pipe. You should always fit an isolating valve in the supply pipe for simple future maintenance.

The bath and basin can be fitted next. You will find it easier to fit the combined waste outlet, overflows and taps, before actually putting the bath and basin in place. The water supply to the basin is in 15mm pipe, and to the bath in 22mm pipe. If you want to have a cold water supply to the basin for drinking purposes, this supply should come directly from the rising main, not from the cold water storage tank.

Similarly the water supply to any electrically powered shower heater must come directly from the rising main in 15mm pipe. Wastewater from the basin will be run away in 32mm push fit pipework from either a U-trap or bottle trap. Wastewater from the bath will run away in 40mm pushfit pipework, again with a trap.

As suggested earlier, it is well worth making good use of service / isolating and check valves in your supply pipes to each and every outlet, so that at any time in the future that outlet can be isolated very easily. In a new bathroom this would mean 22mm valves on both of the bath tap water supply pipes, 15mm valves on the basin hot and cold supply pipes, the WC supply pipe and any supply pipe to a shower heater. Valves and existing stopcocks must be accessible and labelled to indicate their purpose as seen in FIG.6.

 

Decorative Work

Once all the new main bathroom items are in place and fully operational you can proceed at leisure with the decorative work. If you are tiling the walls or floor make sure you use the correct type of adhesive. See Good Idea Leaflets 33 & 37 for tiling and Good Idea Leaflet 54 for Aquapanel.

In a shower area which is frequently wet, use waterproof wall tile adhesive with matching waterproof grout. On walls that generally stay dry you can use a standard ceramic wall tile adhesive and grout. If tiling the floor you must use our ceramic floor tile adhesive. Do not use wall tiles on floors. It is worth mentioning here that when modernising a bathroom it is not necessary to remove old wall tiles. So long as they are still well bonded to the wall, they can be tiled over very successfully. This can save a great deal of messy and laborious work during the preparatory stages. See FIG.7.

For untiled areas you may choose to use our Ready Pasted Vinyl Wallcoverings and / or our Master Kitchen and Bathroom paint which is especially suitable for use in rooms prone to condensation. If an extractor fan is not currently fitted, now is a good time to incorporate one. For the floor you can use ceramic floor tiles, or you can opt for cork tiles. All are available at Wickes. Don't select any type of flooring which will suffer if it becomes wet as is often the case in a bathroom, and don't choose a floorcovering which becomes very slippery when wet. Decoratively speaking, the choice is very much yours but do plan ahead a little and try to have a good look at all the various possibilities. It can take a little time to sort out a colour scheme, which will harmonise well with your choice of suite.

One extremely important job, which must be done when the bathroom is virtually complete, is to seal the gaps between the rim of your new bath and basin and the adjacent walls to prevent water dripping down behind. A great deal of damage can be done by water seeping into unventilated areas, particularly behind the bath. Use Wickes Silicone Bath Sealant in a colour to match the bathroom suite and walls. Apply to a finish as in FIG.8.

Ensure sealant surface is formed to a concave shape above bath rim level to ensure that water runs off easily into the bath and does not collect in hollows. Don't use any filler that sets hard. It will soon break away and cease to be effective.

 

Care of Fitments

Fitments and fittings will be supplied with instructions where applicable on how to care for them. Don't throw these away. Read them and follow the instructions. Using abrasive cleaners can be very damaging. There are cleaners especially approved for use on acrylic materials.

 

Water Softeners

For hard water areas, why not consider installing a Wickes Water Softener?

Only about 40% of the country have a soft water supply. The rest of the country has varying degrees of hard water. Because of the problems this can cause, it is not surprising that homeowners in hard water areas want some method of changing their hard water to soft. This gives them the chance to save money, and permanently enjoy the luxury and advantages this gives. See Good Idea Leaflet 8.

The Wickes water softener is designed to provide more than adequate soft water for a home of one to five people, at very reasonable cost, both initially and in the future. The Wickes model is easy to install and operate. Sizewise, the softener measures 640mm high, 275mm wide by 450mm deep, so it will fit inside a kitchen cupboard (base unit) quite easily.

If you are considering the purchase of a new bathroom, this is an ideal time to install a new Water Softener. You could install it in a kitchen cupboard base unit, warm garage, laundry room, airing cupboard, cloakroom or even an insulated loft. All you need is access to the rising main, power and a drain.

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