Bathroom wet area back to wall or built in bath advice please?
Susie Wicks
5 years ago
Hi there, we are getting a wet area in our bathroom (shower and bath next to each other behind a shower screen - see pics) and undecided on a back to wall freestanding or a built in bath. Both have their cleaning difficulties - floor at side of back to wall, and grout lines on front of built in. I’d prefer the look of the back to wall freestanding but the width of the space is 1800mm so we could fit a nice big 1800 built in bath but the back to wall would be only 1580 to ensure enough cleaning at sides. What would you do??
And our plumber and builder do not know how they would slope the floor for drainage if we do the back to wall freestanding as the bath has to be on a flat surface. Does anyone have a similar setup and can tell me how they did it?
And our plumber and builder do not know how they would slope the floor for drainage if we do the back to wall freestanding as the bath has to be on a flat surface. Does anyone have a similar setup and can tell me how they did it?
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Comments (30)
spmm
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Bathroom advice please.
Comments (6)When preparing a house for sale, it is quite advisable to freshen up (at least) kitchen and bathrooms. Potential buyers are often more interested in buying a house that has these elements already done and then add their finishing touches to living room, bedrooms, etc, instead of having to re-do kitchens and bathrooms (because they always feel these will cost a bomb and they might find issues too). I would definitely recommend that you renovate your bathroom so you maximise your chances of selling at a good price. The trick is not to overcapitalise (i.e. spending more than you will gain when selling). With the bath, I totally second fiona_ab's comment above on pretty much every point she makes. Free-standing baths look great in large bathrooms where they can rally be seen (ideally, we should be able to easily walk around the bath). From the picture I see, your bathroom seems to be a little too small for this. Besides, built-in bath tubs tend to cost significantly less. I would also not recommend to knock down walls to include the toilets, for the reasons given by both commentators above: privacy/practicality and additional costs involved. Changing your tiles (floor and walls!), putting in a new white bath tub, replacing current tapware with contemporary ones and installing a new vanity with a large mirror above it will make a massive change to your bathroom and that could be reflected at sale time. I hope this helps :)...See MoreBathroom renovation in apartment - advice needed please
Comments (13)subject to confirmation by a plumber your new layout should be ideal with just enough space for a stacked washer and dryer and skinny tub and wall shelf for the laundry (i'm assuming the old shower position also has taps and floor waste) and a 1500 wide vanity with storage for linen and mirror doored medicine cabinet but what is the triangular space?? there could be wall thickeness to use for stacked doors for the laundry instaed of the bifolds btw a floating (wall hung) vanity is usually more expensive, creates problems hiding the pipes and will lose valuable storage space for towels and lineni would expect a full reno with modest quality fixtures and tiles and no surprises to cost at least $20,000 but suggest that a bathroom company that could take responsibility for organising demolition, plumbing, carpentry, waterproofing, tiling electrical, painting and sourcing the tiles, taps, screens, lightfittings, tubs, doors etc may be worthwhile and save you trying to juggle the trades who are less likely to be dependable for a single customer although with available time you may be able to save some money by removing old tiles and carting away rubble and finding the tiles. taps, vanity etcs and having them ready on site but coordinating all the trades can be a problem especially if you don't have an alternative bathroom although it's always good to be on site to supervise the work and answer any last minute questions...See Morebathroom reno advice please!
Comments (11)How much is a "moderate" budget? Moderate means different things to different people depending if they are involved in the renovation industry or outside. With your concrete slab and solid brick walls I would anticipate a moderate spend would be in the range of $15K to $20K. "Floating" cabinetwork and a wall-mounted toilet pan will push this over your $20k due to installation. Under $15K you are probably not spending enough. Always pay for quality tapware sanitaryware and fittings when doing a bathroom renovation as the labour is so expensive to replace them if they are cheaply made, they fail and need to be replaced. Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls/Dr Retro Virtual Visits...See MoreSmall bathroom design - shower over bath?
Comments (26)To answer dreamers question as to why you might do this, I turn on my shower over my bath with the kids in there and put the plug in. The shower water fills the bath and when there is some depth, I turn the shower off and they sit down. I supervise the whole time, blowing bubbles and playing with them and they love it. I also keep a small stylish stool beside the bath so I don't have to sit on the ground. My children are 2 and 4. Obviously if your children are older this would not resonate :)...See MoreSusie Wicks
5 years agomummagabz
5 years ago
KK1000
5 years agoMC Hamilton
5 years agoWe have same set up (recent reno) and tiler and builder said same about the slope so I went with built in bath. The surround works really well to put towel on while in the shower and for shampoos etc. so can be a useful addition.
if heart set on back to wall then think earlier suggestion of a raised platform could work but will take up floor space.
spmm
5 years agoSusie Wicks
5 years agoThis is the back to wall bath we’re looking at so it’s really not actually a freestanding, really great for small spaces or if you’re not into cleaning round the back of a bath.
Susie Wicks
5 years ago
Jan Dobson
5 years agoSusie Wicks
5 years agobigreader
5 years agoJan Dobson
5 years agoDavid NU
5 years ago
siriuskey
5 years agoSusie Wicks
5 years agosiriuskey
5 years agoton12h
5 years agosiriuskey
5 years agoSusie Wicks
5 years agoThanks siriuskey, it’s this photo I think you’re talking about? I think I understand what Megan means - it would mean the whole shower and bath area is on a slight slope towards the drain? Our builder thought that a freestanding/back to wall bath needs to be on a completely flat surface hence we didn’t think this was going to be possible without water pooling on the floor next to the bath, I’ll need to investigate this further!
siriuskey
5 years agokristymacd
4 years ago
Souzette Lovell
4 years agoSusie Wicks
4 years agoHi kristymacd, after changing my mind many times we went for a built in 1700 bath! Mostly as builder and tiler thought it would be easier to slope the floor properly and I liked the idea of the slightly larger built in compared to the 1590 back to wall. I’m sure a back to wall would’ve been possible and been fine, it all just got a bit hard and I knew both would look good. And I don’t think a back to wall would be any harder to clean than a built in - with a built in you have the hob and tiled face of the bath and back to wall there is the floor either side of the bath - same same! Here’s a pic of ours, not totally finished yet but really happy with it.
shirleypeters0
4 years agoSarah
4 years agoHi Susie, would you mind sharing the dimensions of your room? We are looking at doing exactly the same things as you. These pics are going to make it so much easier to explain to hubby. Have you had any issues so far? i'm worried out room is too small to make it work, I really want to ditch our current shower-over-bath set up!
Melt In ACT
3 years ago
Leigh James
3 years agoLis
3 years agosiriuskey
3 years ago
KK1000