Quality of bathroom suits

[Ververka]

I'm trying to decide which bathroom furniture to buy - just a bog, basin and bath - and am bemused and confused by the huge range of prices of the stuff on offer.

I can see that with the taps and other fittings that it is probably worthwhile paying extra to get good quality (although my experience with the kitchen where a very expensive mixer tap failed after just couple of years suggests this isn't necessarily guaranteed). I can also see there is an obvious difference in the quality of various baths, although again this doesn't always seem to be directly related to the price. However, as far as the porcelain bits are concerned there really doesn't seem to be any immediately discernible difference in quality between the cheapo cheapo B&Q and Wickes stuff and the megga-bucks top-of-the-range designer gear.

So is it really all just down to appearance, and if I find a Wickes bog and basin that I like (and can persuade the other half that she also likes) am I better off going for that and trousering the not inconsiderable savings ... or am I missing something here?

Ververka

Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

[andrewpreece]

Baths come in different thicknesses ( if fibrelass ). The last time I looked

3, 5, or 7mm thick. Three mm is cheapest but flexes rather a lot. I bought a Wickes bog-standard ( haha ) toilet in plain white last year for my outside loo ( they still exist ), and it is perfectly good. It is not however, a designer or exclusive toilet item. Paying more money gets you that flash design or the knowledge that very few other people have a toilet suite like yours, but if you're not interested in payng for that.... Also, toilet seat fixings shouldn't be skimped on, as I'm always having problems with loo seats that come loose.

I wouldn't go for the cheapest taps though, as inferior grades of steel/plating might be used, and I think that taps with rubber washers etc are definitely less desireable/reliable than the ceramic valve/quarter turn types.

Andy

[Lobster]

I have to say I subscribe to the Gospel according to Sarah Beeny, who decrees that you should buy a cheapo suite and dress it up with decent quality taps. I don't see there's a whole lot of difference in the suites; certainly not enough to justify the huge variation in prices anyway.

A lot (all, probably?) of the sheds sell whole suites for an all-in price which includes all the fittings, taps etc, and they won't let you swap any component parts. However, all said component parts are normally straight off the shelf, so there's nothing to stop you from buying your extra sets of decent bath and sink taps together with the set, and then some time later returning the crappy still-boxed originals for exchange for goods-to-the-value-of (ie, without the receipt).

David

[Grunff]

Amen to that. In terms of functionality, I don't think there's any difference between cheap and expensive porcelain bits. In terms of fittings (loo seat, taps, waste etc.) there's a whole world of difference. Buy a cheap set, and buy some good quality fittings.

As the OP pointed out, the bath is the exception. Cheap 3mm fibreglass baths are just nasty.

[EricP]

I have seen people go into B&Q to buy their cheap bath/bowl/bog combination, just for the decent looking bog/bowl and go straight down the tip with the bath, and then off to an expensive bath shop.

It does have merits and you could look at it.

My regret is that I turned my nose up at the bog that comes out of the wall and the bowl that is built into the wall. It is very neat and easy to clean the bathroom.

[robert]

That was useful I didn't know about the different thicknesses.

Any opinions on whether to get fibreglass or metal?

[BigWallop]

I personally don't think there is much difference between them nowadays. Enamel finished baths scratch and chip the same as the surface of a glassfibre one, but the steel ones rust and mark much more than the glassfibre when it is chipped or scratched.

The glassfibre baths are slightly more flimsy than the steel, and they don't take to lightly to being pushed and shoved around as well a steel one. I also think that glassfibre baths seem to hold the heat in the water a bit better.

[John Borman]

Me too, just renovating a house bought a cheapo suite £199 from Screwfix came with really crappy taps but spent £80 on designer minimalist taps and the suite looks as good as a designer one. The bath (A steel one, seems good quality) the sink a shallow wide basin again seems good, the bog, (If anything seems a little small but is ok as it fits into a small room)

So if you spend a reasonable amount on the extras you can easily make a room John

[Security like]

Just fitted a not too cheap set of pottery and found that fitting was certainly not straightforward. The back and base of the cistern was found to be slightly domed inwards, which meant the wall screws daren't be overtightened in case the back cracked, and the base hole for water feed, when tightened to the mechanism, clamped the float to the cistern wall due to not being vertical.

Similarly, the pedestal did not fit the base of the basin when the basin rear was flush with the wall, and also the fixing holes were at different heights from the top edge of the basin.

[The Natural Philosopher]

That's odd. I take my suits OFF when I go to the bathroom.

[The Natural Philosopher]

However there are differences between prcelain bits. Ours have a nasty habit of acquirng scorch marks no matter WHERE we sit, and they weren't cheap.

SWMBO is talking of a few tests before final bathroom is equipped :-)

In terms of

But can be stiffened up remarkably with wood, car body filler and so on.

>

[The Natural Philosopher]

I favour 6mm acryclic. Its warm. its stiff, it doesn't chip...and can be moolded into more shapes than pressed steel.

[Anna Kettle]

Assuming that the bath will be boxed in, then pack loft insulation around and under the bath as you fit it. One of those times when DIY wins hands down as no professional fitter would bother cos its not expected or seen by the client. Keeps the water lovely and warm for those loooonnnng baths

Anna ~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England |""""| ~ Lime plaster repairs / ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc |____|

01359 230642

[Grunff]

I like fibreglass, but only the thicker ones. We have a 7mm bath, and that's very nice and solid.

[Andrew Gabriel]

If water ever seeps under the bath (as it usually does eventually) and you have any timber there, this would be a sure recipe for dryrot.

What you might be able to do is to spray an inch or so of foam on the underside of the bath before installation.

[Lobster]

As it happens I'm also in the market for a new suite and have been doing the rounds of the sheds and specialist shops yesterday and today. I'm rethinking my advice of yesterday, certainly in terms of the bath.

Had an interesting chat with the proprietor of a bathroom chat who pointed out that all the skimpy 3mm baths in the sheds nearly all come with fancy 'decorative' mouldings and shapes, for the only reason that they need to in order to stiffen the bath. (Often this is at the expense of functionality, like the lip on the back of a bath I used to have which prevents water draining back ito the bath!) I certainly much prefer a bath with simple, clean lines, and for a fibreglass bath, that means thicker fibreglass. He's probably got a sale out of it; haven't decided about the loo ands sink yet though.

David

[Mike Hibbert]

If you want to see some megabucks bathroom stuff, get yourself down to Obsidian on the inner ring road, fantastically expensive stuff ((£1000+ for a towel rad. Get some great ideas from there and then go and buy the stuff from B&Q, Wickes or TP.

Cheers Mike

[Philip Wagstaff]

I was hoping someone in the trade might reply to your interesting query. My missus is very keen for us to get a new suite with a bidet, but what ever happened to them? I have not seen any in Wickes and B&Q.

[Dave]

... snipped

B&Q have 3 bidets (cheapest is £66) but they don't seem to be in the displays, look in the brochure. Ideal Standard and most other "names" have them, prices vary hugely and, once again, they don't seem to be in any displays at the merchants.

seems a good source for any of the fancy ones but I found that the shipping cost for a full suite was fairly stiff.

[Nick Atty]

There's a place up in Montpellier ditto. They had a fantanstic cabinet, but £450 for the smallest was a touch outside our budget.