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Show us yer house and house-related meddlings

Thanks oryx I just don’t know where to start, I need someone (a designer or tradesman or someone who knows what they are doing).

The ceiling is beyond awful. It’s been painted three times in bathroom paint, there is an extractor, and we always open the window. My theory is someone put the wrong paint on donkeys years ago and now it heaves off. It was painted a year ago and here’s the full horror:

View attachment 293052

Whoever does the bathroom I’m gonna say the whole ceiling needs to come down to try and fix this problem. Plus the light is over the bath which I think is illegal or something.

Toilet handle is broke, and it doesn’t flush properly. Even a wee with toilet paper takes two or three flushes:
View attachment 293053

And the black mould obviously:
View attachment 293054

Mates I can’t live in these conditions :D I will see if I can save the tiles tho. It would be utterly amazing if I can get it done for say £5k instead!
Is your loft insulated? Also, how well is the bathroom heated? I’m sure you know but condensation forms on cold surfaces. Heat and, as mentioned, ventilation in conjunction are key to keeping down damp/mould.
 
Is your loft insulated? Also, how well is the bathroom heated? I’m sure you know but condensation forms on cold surfaces. Heat and, as mentioned, ventilation in conjunction are key to keeping down damp/mould.
The loft is my bedroom! But the bathroom radiator is utterly inadequate. I dream of a heated towel rail. That and heated seats in a car and I’ll of made it in life. (I didn’t know that about condensation either).
 
i recently discovered this product and it is fucking amazing.
God knows what's in it best not to think about that, but it works.
View attachment 293038

Another vote for prioritising ventilation.
I don't think you should have to spend anything like 8k on sorting that bathroom out, unless you want to move the toilet and things like that.

It does seem a lot of money for a small bathroom. Ours is that size, I can't imagine how it would cost 8k.
 
We're in a similar position Edie. Me and Mrs FA have been round the houses about it for ages but basically our little bathroom is going to cost £6k-£8k depending on whether we move the sink. I think we're going to end up leaving everything where it is then getting a new shower/bath and tarting up the tiles.
 
Thanks oryx I just don’t know where to start, I need someone (a designer or tradesman or someone who knows what they are doing).

The ceiling is beyond awful. It’s been painted three times in bathroom paint, there is an extractor, and we always open the window. My theory is someone put the wrong paint on donkeys years ago and now it heaves off. It was painted a year ago and here’s the full horror:

View attachment 293052

Whoever does the bathroom I’m gonna say the whole ceiling needs to come down to try and fix this problem. Plus the light is over the bath which I think is illegal or something.

Toilet handle is broke, and it doesn’t flush properly. Even a wee with toilet paper takes two or three flushes:
View attachment 293053

And the black mould obviously:
View attachment 293054

Mates I can’t live in these conditions :D I will see if I can save the tiles tho. It would be utterly amazing if I can get it done for say £5k instead!
We had the same on our ceiling before they re-did the bathroom. My decorator mate recommended pulling the ceiling down and installing a much larger extractor but they did neither and just skimmed the ceiling I think. It looks fine 10 months later and I did use some expensive bathroom paint so we’ll see.

ETA- we had loft and cavity wall insulation done but they couldn’t get to that bit of the loft as it was blocked.
 
Why does it cost so much for bathrooms?

Ours was done before we moved in, I think to help sell it. It's all cheap Wickes stuff (I'm guessing, we have one down the road) but its been done in white tiles and we have a big sixties window that's south facing so plenty of light, so it's ok, but needs a bit of work on it now, paint is peeling on the ceiling directly above the shower, and the light is in the wrong place. Might replace the vinyl floor with rubber. Maybe we should do a bit of work on it now before it becomes too much of a mess and more expensive.

Our south-facing large window seems to be a helpful thing, because its usually quite warm, we don't have an extractor but leave the window open and we don't have mold.
 
Why does it cost so much for bathrooms?

Ours was done before we moved in, I think to help sell it. It's all cheap Wickes stuff (I'm guessing, we have one down the road) but its been done in white tiles and we have a big sixties window that's south facing so plenty of light, so it's ok, but needs a bit of work on it now, paint is peeling on the ceiling directly above the shower, and the light is in the wrong place. Might replace the vinyl floor with rubber. Maybe we should do a bit of work on it now before it becomes too much of a mess and more expensive.

Our south-facing large window seems to be a helpful thing, because its usually quite warm, we don't have an extractor but leave the window open and we don't have mold.
It’s a good question! I have no idea except I don’t think it’s the cost of the suite (is that what it’s called- bath, baisin and bog). It’s the tiling etc and plumbing that costs I guess?
 
It’s a good question! I have no idea except I don’t think it’s the cost of the suite (is that what it’s called- bath, baisin and bog). It’s the tiling etc and plumbing that costs I guess?

Tiling, I can see why that costs and plumbing too if you're moving things about but most of us are stuck with the same layout aren't we? Is it linked to bathrooms having become an aspirational thing or was it always this expensive?
 
It’s a good question! I have no idea except I don’t think it’s the cost of the suite (is that what it’s called- bath, baisin and bog). It’s the tiling etc and plumbing that costs I guess?
yep its the labour thats the main thing by far, unless you go for fancy fittings. So it totally depends on how much work, so just replacing like for like the actual bathroom suite should not be such a big deal at all, it's if you want to plumb things into new places and re tile walls & floor etc.
 
The loft is my bedroom! But the bathroom radiator is utterly inadequate. I dream of a heated towel rail. That and heated seats in a car and I’ll of made it in life. (I didn’t know that about condensation either).
Most heated towel rails are inadequate too. You need to ensure the radiator's BTU rating is more than adequate for the volume of the room and the thermal properties of the walls, floor and ceiling.

You can use this handy calculator to give you a rough idea:

Very much this ^
Previous owners of my last place swapped the rad (whose size would’ve been calculated for that room) for a towel rail as it looked better but had a much lower heat output.
The room was always cold and condensation always formed on the walls.
When I had it done, I got a nicer, ‘hotter’ towel rail and and additional tall thin radiator making the room well over specced, heat wise but I was of the mind that I could always open the window if too hot, which is no bad thing.
Was never condensation after that. Always toasty and dry. (In conjunction with afore mentioned extractor fan)
 
Tiling, I can see why that costs and plumbing too if you're moving things about but most of us are stuck with the same layout aren't we? Is it linked to bathrooms having become an aspirational thing or was it always this expensive?
I don’t even want an aspirational bathroom I just want a normal one 😭

Sweet FA where are you going for yours?
 
And your fixtures and fittings?

I’m chipping off to B&Q now. First foray into looking at stuff. I like a big DIY store so long as I’m not doing the actual diy myself!
Looking forward to a trip to Wickes later; I like to carry a tape measure and randomly measure things with an air of authority. Basically cruising for danski. I'll ask Mrs FA re fixtures brands etc. I've been shown showers and baths; I don't remember which catalogue/website I was looking at...
 
I think I'd ask local friends or FB for personal recommendations . Get a bathroom fitter around (or 2) and a quote for everything supplied and fitted. They will usually know best suppliers and get trade prices. And think of solutions that just come with it being their area of expertise.

You can Google bathroom suites beforehand to show them roughly what you'd like, same with tiles....online tile shops send free samples, dead handy to see what they're going to look like in situ. Light can really alter the colour.

Then armed with a quote or two, you can decide if you want to go ahead or try and do it cheaper by sourcing materials yourself etc. 8k would get you a gorgeous bathroom fitted imo, with tiles of your choice.
 
And your fixtures and fittings?

I’m chipping off to B&Q now. First foray into looking at stuff. I like a big DIY store so long as I’m not doing the actual diy myself!
Not sure if B&Q do a fitting service but I'm pretty sure Wickes have one.

You can get free planning and quotes from both.
 
Painting our front door continues with lots of wood filler too. Have bought a green paint for it though I was keen on purple.
That's gorgeous. I have a white uPVC front door and it looks really manky. I'm very tempted to have a go at painting it with frenchic. I've seen some good results online of it but a bit scared of making it look worse.
 
Thanks oryx I just don’t know where to start, I need someone (a designer or tradesman or someone who knows what they are doing).

The ceiling is beyond awful. It’s been painted three times in bathroom paint, there is an extractor, and we always open the window. My theory is someone put the wrong paint on donkeys years ago and now it heaves off. It was painted a year ago and here’s the full horror:

View attachment 293052

Whoever does the bathroom I’m gonna say the whole ceiling needs to come down to try and fix this problem. Plus the light is over the bath which I think is illegal or something.

Toilet handle is broke, and it doesn’t flush properly. Even a wee with toilet paper takes two or three flushes:
View attachment 293053

And the black mould obviously:
View attachment 293054

Mates I can’t live in these conditions :D I will see if I can save the tiles tho. It would be utterly amazing if I can get it done for say £5k instead!
Re. ceilings.

Our old bathroom ceiling had a very odd covering - almost like a sheet of Fablon or something. It looked very dated but O boy it kept the mould away. When the bathroom fitters came round, I asked what it was and if there was anything similar available. They had no idea what it was. :D

They recommended acrylic panels, which we went with. IMHO if you have a bathroom prone to condensation and therefore mould, a painted ceiling is just going to go mouldy, and the mould will stain and be hard to wipe off.

Our neighbours, whose house we visit quite a bit as they're friends, had theirs painted and it was mouldy in no time. The bathrooms in our houses are very small and even with windows open a lot and using the extractor a lot, they are very prone to condensation. OH and I have both been housing officers and are used to giving people advice about how to reduce condensation, but none of it works with these bathrooms! I think they are too small for the much more frequent baths and showers we are all used to now, and I don't think the house has cavity walls. It always strikes me that my parents' house never got condensation in the bathroom despite us never opening the window! ( :D skanky oryxfamily). I think it's because their house had cavity walls and ours doesn't.

I'd say if you're still getting mould in your current bathroom despite opening the window and using an extractor, it's worth asking about acrylic panels. Ours hasn't gone mouldy yet (as I would hope after only a week and a half!) but if and when it does, it should be easy to clean off.
 
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