Baltimore HUD Homes Blog

Tips and advise when buying your bathroom suite: (part 1)

POTTERY:

Also known as sanitary ware, ceramics, porcelain and ware.
There are four basic areas that affect the quality of pottery and its expected lifespan:
The depth of the glaze:
The glaze is the glass-like surface coating which is fired onto the pottery in the kiln when it is made.
The glass enables the pot to be waterproof and protects it from chemicals, such as bleach etc, over its life.
The thicker the glaze generally the longer the life. Once this glaze goes, wears out, the pot becomes porous, absorbs water and eventually cracks.
The more you use and clean the pottery the faster the glaze wears out.
To make the glaze thicker you have to apply it a layer at a time and each time fire it in the kiln. This process results in breakages within the kiln.

For example, if I fire 100 pieces of pot once I may get 99 back in one piece, so the 99 pays for the 100.
If I then fire the 99 again I may get 80 back in one piece, so now 80 have to pay for 100.
If I then fire the 80 I may get only 50 back in one piece, so now 50 have to pay for 100. You get the gist of this by now.
If you assume that each layer of glaze lasts approximately 5 to 7 years you can soon see how the system works.
If you glaze once you get a less expensive cost to manufacture but the product does not last as long in a house. The thicker the glaze the longer the pottery lasts.

Quality of the clay:

The quality of the clay that is used to make the pottery is very important.
The reason for this is that the finer the clay the smoother the finish will be on the item being made.
If you use a poorer grade of clay it will have more grit in it and the surface will have a more rippled appearance.
You may also find that because of the increased grit content the pottery is heavier than an item of the same size made with a finer grade of clay.
The finer the clay the more tonnes of rough clay you have to use to refine down to make it.
It is therefore less expensive to produce pottery with a coarse grade of clay.

The overspray or colour:

The white colour, or whatever colour it happens to be, is applied to the pottery before the glaze.
Each manufacturer mixes their own colour to try to match it to the colour of the acrylic baths.
The white colour of the acrylic bath is a worldwide standard set by the acrylic manufacturers.
You need to be aware of this if you client tries to mix and match pottery from different manufacturers.
Its usually acceptable to have a toilet and basin from one supplier made to match the bath but if you put a basin
from one supplier and a toilet from another and then the bath together it will stand out like a sore thumb.
The thicker the colour is applied, the less fading on the edges takes place and the colour is even over the whole of the item.
The colour as with the glaze is applied in layers and then has to be left to set before the next coat can be applied.
The fewer coats the quicker the product can be made and the less cost is involved.

The design of the item:

The more intricate the design the more expensive the mould is to make and the more chance there is that you will not always remove it from the mould without damage.
Plainer shapes are usually less expensive. You should also note that basins, toilets and bidets are made as matched sets.
You will often find that the foot of the pedestal on the basin matches the foot of the toilet pan and that the back of the basin matches the toilet cistern lid.

One general point to be made is that pottery is often sold in what is known in the trade as a four-piece set.
That is a basin, pedestal, pan and cistern. Unfortunately the retail customer sees the set as two pieces: the basin and the toilet.
If you use the term four-piece set to a retail customer they may think you mean a basin, toilet, bath and bidet.
So always explain what you mean by four pieces if you should choose to use the term.

PRODUCT TYPES:

TOILETS & WC’S:

There are five types of toilets currently available in the UK.
These are Wall hung, Back-to-wall, Close-coupled, Low level and High level.

Wall hung:

This type of toilet has the pan hanging on the wall and the cistern concealed in the wall behind it.
More common in mainland Europe, it has become increasingly popular over recent years as more people travel abroad.
You do however need to ensure that the pan is supported properly when fitted either by the use of special floor mounting brackets or the use of a framework.

These frameworks, which support the pan and provide a place for the cistern, are available from several suppliers.
This type of WC allows ease of cleaning and as the pan is the only visible piece of pot it minimises the impact of the WC on the design of the room.

Back to wall:

This type of toilet is normally used mainly when having fitted furniture. As with the wall hung toilet the cistern is concealed inside the furniture but the pan is sat on the floor.

Close coupled:

This is the most common type of toilet in the UK. This type of toilet has the pan and cistern joined together.
It is often confused with the low level toilet, so make sure you are clear that you mean a toilet with the pan and cistern physically joined together.

The advantage of this type is that the pan has a splash back built onto it where it joins the cistern, so that when men and boys stand at the toilet and miss there is not so much mess.
Toilets are meant to be sat on not stood against. If you want to stand up you should buy a urinal. This toilet is easily maintained and is therefore ideal for downstairs cloakrooms and main ensuites where they are likely to get a lot of use.

Low level:

This type of toilet has a freestanding pan and the cistern sits approx 900mm or 36inches up the wall with a short flush pipe in between the two pieces.

Before the advent of the close-coupled toilet this was the most common and is still what most people with older houses have.
This is why they confuse them with the close coupled. They are now most commonly sold with traditional bathrooms and have a chrome or gold flush pipe.

The difficulty with this type is that if men or boys use them they are apt to miss and the pipe goes green.
Once this happens there is nothing that can be done to repair it. They are generally priced at 50% to 60% higher in price than a close coupled and are bought more for their aesthetic value than practicality.

High Level:

This type was popular in the Victorian era and is associated most closely with bathrooms of that period.
The pan is free standing and the cistern sits on the wall approx 1800mm or 6 feet up the wall with a chrome or gold flush pipe and a chain pull flush.
It has the same disadvantages as the Low level when used by men and boys.
In terms of price, this type is normally 50% to 60% more than the Low level. Sold mainly for the aesthetic value, all toilets in the UK now have to flush using 3 and 6 litres of water.
It makes no difference which type you buy, they all use this amount and as a consequence the high level and low level flush no better than the close coupled.

TYPES OF FLUSHING MECHANISM

There are two main types of flushing mechanisms: the syphon and the dump valve.

Syphons:

Syphons have been used for many years in the UK as the means of flushing the toilet. They work with the use of a lever or pull chain.
When this is pushed a small amount of water is forced over the syphon in the cistern, which creates inertia that draws the rest of the water along with it and flushes the toilet.

They are very effective with high levels of water in the cistern but become less efficient as the water level falls.
In the past toilet cisterns originally contained 12 litres of water, then 9 litres and now 6 litres for a full flush and 3 litres for a half flush .

People who now have a 6 litre flushing syphon type toilet often complain that they have to flush the toilet twice to get it to work.

Dump valves:

In recent years dump valves were not allowed in the UK, but with the advent of new legislation they are now fitted in most new toilets.
The dump valve works by means of a push button, either a single or a double one. As you press the button it lifts a valve that instantly releases all the water down through the toilet.
This makes this type of flushing mechanism very effective with low levels of water.

Overflows:

Most old types of toilet have an overflow which let the water flow outside the property if the ball valve mechanism fails. This is called a visible overflow.

Most new types of toilet have an overflow which flows back into the toilet bowl if the ball valve fails. This makes them easier to install. This is called an internal overflow.

BASINS (sinks)

Basins are often referred to as sinks. This is incorrect. Sinks are fitted in kitchens and basins are fitted in cloakrooms, bathrooms and ensuites.

The term basin came from the use of a jug and basin in the days when these were used to wash yourself in the bedroom. There are six main type of basin available in the UK.

These are basin and full pedestal, basin and semi-pedestal, cloakroom, semi-recessed, counter top and under-slung.

Basin and full pedestal:

This where the basin sits on full size pedestal and is the most common type in the UK. Normally the waste pipe and hot and cold water pipes run through the pedestal and into the floor.

Basin and semi-pedestal:

This is where the basin sits on a half height pedestal which does not reach the floor. They are very common in Europe and becoming increasingly popular in the UK.

When recommending this type of unit care should be taken to ensure that you have the type of pipe work arrangement necessary to install the basin. Please consult your local plumber or bathrooms installer for more advice.

Cloakroom:

These are usually fitted without a pedestal, as they are normally very small basins. There are some available with pedestals but you are best to check first. Wall hung basins are normally fitted with a decorative bottle trap.

Semi-recessed

This type of basin has a bow in the front but the underside has been cut away to produce a flat area. This is because this type of basin is usually fitted into a worktop.

Counter top:
This type of basin is either round or oval and fits into a hole cut into a worktop.

Under slung

The type of basin is fitted under the hole in the worktop. This means that the worktop has to be a solid surface material, such a marble or stone.

TAP HOLES:

Basins come with one, two or three tap holes.

One tap hole:

This type of basin uses a mono bloc mixer, which normally incorporates a pop-up waste. The water is controlled either by a lever on the tap or a separate hot and cold handle on either side of the spout.

Two tap hole:

The most common type of tap configuration has a separate hot and cold tap with a plug and chain waste. The hot tap is normally fitted on the left hand side of the basin.

Three tap hole:

There are two type of tap arrangement that can be fitted to this type of tap-hole arrangement. Either a three-hole mixer which is a hot and cold valve head and a separate spout, usually fitted with a pop up waste.
Or you could fit a pair of basin taps and what is known as a chain stay waste. A chain stay waste uses a plug and chain but the chain is held in place by a disc, which is fitted into the middle of the three holes

BIDETS:

Bidets are not that common in the UK as we are not normally raised to use them. However for those that do have and use them there are a few points to consider.

For a bidet to work effectively they have to be fitted next to a toilet-not at the other side of the room or several feet away.

A UK bidet now come with the tap fitted on the top and is usually a mono bloc mixer. There used to be bidets in the UK, which came with an up-spray or fountain spray as it was known.
This type of bidet is no longer available.

BATHS:

There are four main types of material used to manufacture baths in the UK. These are cast iron, pressed-steel, glass reinforced plastic (GRP) and acrylic.

Cast Iron:

This is the material from which most baths used to be made and is now most commonly used for free standing baths. There are two commonly held misconceptions concerning cast iron baths.

The first is that they are too heavy. The weight of a standard cast iron bath filled with water is in the region of 25 stones. The bath is usually fitted with four legs which means that the weight on each leg on the floor is approximately 6.25 stones.

As we walk across the floor foot to foot we actually weight more that this.
The second misconception is that they are cold. This is because years ago when we all used cast iron baths the houses did not have central heating. The bath can only reflect the temperature of the room that it is in.
If the room is warm the bath is therefore warm. There is, however, one possible exception. If the bath is fitted in with a panel as apposed to free standing it may be that the air temperature under the bath is cooler due to the holes left by the plumber. If this is the case, insulation under the bath will solve the problem.

Pressed Steel:

This is where a layer of steel several millimetres thick is coated with a stove-enamelled surface. They are most commonly used in hotels and commercial premises.

As the material of the bath is very thin they tend to cool down very quickly. They also tend to be very plain in shape due to the manufacturing restrictions of the material.

Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) :

This was the first type of plastic material used to produce baths and was used by almost everyone until the invention of Acrylic.
It has very good insulation properties and enables baths of many shapes and styles to be easily produced.

The two main difficulties with this material are as follows:

1. As the colour for the bath is produced in batches there can sometimes be problems with the match to the pottery.

2. If the bath is fitted in direct sunlight they are prone to the plasticiser leaking out of the surface and crazing of the surface texture occurring.

Acrylic:

This is the most common material now used to produce baths in the UK and Europe. It has the same characteristics as GRP in that it insulates well and can produce great shapes.

However, as it is produced to internationally agreed standards of colour it is now what every pottery supplier uses to obtain their colour match.
Acrylic comes in several thicknesses most commonly 3mm, 5mm, 8mm and 10mm. There is a common misconception that the thicker the acrylic the stronger the bath.

This is not so. The acrylic is there only to hold the colour and maintain a waterproof barrier. You will normally find that the thicker the acrylic the plainer the style of the bath.

The strength of the bath comes from the glass-reinforced plastic, which is sprayed on the underside of the bath. You should always look for a full encapsulated baseboard.

This is where the chipboard base that supports the bottom of the bath is fully enclosed to prevent it from coming away after a few years of use.
The sides of the bath should also be reinforced to prevent them from bowing out when the bath is filled with water.

If the bath does bow out in the middle the result is often that the top ledge will drop producing a gap between the tiles and the bath.

BATH SIZES AND SHAPES:

There are a multitude of bath shapes and sizes available in the UK at present but they break down into several groups.

Rectangular baths - Single Ended:

This is the most common style of bath with the taps at one end and is ideal for one person to bathe in on there own as it usually has a gentle back slope which offers good back support when relaxing.

The most common size is 1700 x 700. They are however produced in sizes ranging from 1200 x 750 to 2000 x 1200. When a client comes in saying that there bath is 1680 x 680 this is usually because they do not realize that the bath is fitted into the plaster work when installed so that a bath that is 1700 x 700 straight out of the box is often small when fitted.

Rectangular baths - Double Ended:

This type of bath is common with people who prefer to bathe with a partner as the taps are mounted in the middle of the bath. They are becoming a lot more popular in the UK.
However to make extra room for the two people the two back slopes on the bath can often be at quite a severe angle and therefore make the bath less comfortable for one person to lie out.
Once again they come in a multitude of sizes, from 1700 x 750 to 2000 x 1200.

Corner baths:

There are two mains types of corner bath: equal sided and offset, where one side is longer than the other. Two equal sided corner baths are usually available 1100 x 1100, 1200 x 1200, 1300 x 1300, 1400 x 1400 and 1500 x 1500.

The first three sizes are more commonly used as shower baths as the bathing area is too small for most people to use effectively. The 1400 and 1500 are big enough to use by most people for bathing.
The offset corner baths are usually available in two sizes 1500 x 900 and 1500 x 1000. They are not very effective as a bath for most people less than 5 feet 4 inches tall due to the internal length.
They are available with or without a seat in the corner.

Shower Baths (Ophelia, Ianthe):

These baths have a larger area at one end to allow for more room for showering. They are usually supplied with a bath screen made especially for the shape of the bath.

Space Saver baths:

These baths are made to a special shape usually thinner at one end to allow for more room to fit furniture or make more room for pottery or even a shower cubicle.

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