So - Bathroom refurb...

[b0ned0me]

Since bathrooms seem to be the last holdout of old-skool tech (how long until we get toilets that need rebooting to clear a logjam?) I'm not sure how forum-appropriate this is, but given that most techies I know tend to have opinions on everything, here goes...

We're looking at getting our bathroom done with a mixture of Ideal Standard (cabinets and sanitaryware) and Grohe (taps, shower). Any opinons? Any experiences, good bad or indifferent, to share. Recommendations for better quality/value? Any bright ideas on how to overclock a shower/bath-filler combo?

[Funkstar]

HEXUS.lifestyle Everything for the digital life and the digital home!

This might actually be beter in General Discussion than lifestyle.

[med2003]

Doing much the same myself at the mo. I live in a Victorian terrace with many "original features" (no, honestly), so want to keep the bathroom in style with the house. Ideal Standard do a good range of "traditional" stuff that doesn't look quite as cheap as Bath Store stuff and isn't the crazy money of Sanitan either. All the Ideal Standard stuff I've seen is all pretty good quality. So I can't see much wrong with going with them. As for taps etc. I'm going for one of the "traditional" Bristan ranges, again the quality is pretty good but the money isn't super crazy, plus spares are pretty easy to come by.

[b0ned0me]

Originally Posted by Funkstar

This might actually be beter in General Discussion than lifestyle.

Doh! You're right, didn't think of that. Shouldn't post when I'm on the phone. If I friendly mod wants to punt this thread across to the right place it would be much appreciated.

[BUFF]

Originally Posted by b0ned0me

We're looking at getting our bathroom done with a mixture of Ideal Standard (cabinets and sanitaryware) and Grohe (taps, shower). Any opinons? Any experiences, good bad or indifferent, to share. Recommendations for better quality/value?

Both are market leaders really.
When you say cabinets what do you mean - shower cabinet or furniture as those are areas where Ideal Standard don't specialise & hence you can usually do better?

Any bright ideas on how to overclock a shower/bath-filler combo?

stick a pump (or 2) on it!

[b0ned0me]

Originally Posted by BUFF

Both are market leaders really.
When you say cabinets what do you mean - shower cabinet or furniture as those are areas where Ideal Standard don't specialise & hence you can usually do better?

Furniture - specifically a vanity unit with semi-integrated sink and a cistern cabinet to back the toilet onto.
Main reason being that because of the way everything is arranged, we either have to spend a mountain of money or have something very shallow - and Ideal Standard do a range of cabinets (Space) that are only 21cm deep which integrate nicely with their compact sink and toilet from the same range. So we won't need to move the door, or go for a folding door, or take a jackhammer to the poured concrete floor to move the plumbing (idiot builders), but still get a nice tidy run of cabinets to replace the fugly sink, toilet+cistern and pipework that date back to when the conversion was done in the mid eighties...

And the missus said no to buying an Aqualisa Digital shower. Dammit! Despite it not only having pumps and a microprocessor control, but an optional remote control! A wireless remote control!! What's wrong with the woman?

[dave87]

Grohe do a wireless controlled shower - I know, I've got one in the garage waiting to be put in.

You get a remote which you set temp etc on, then when you get into the shower its all ready and running for you

EDIT- http://www.grohe.co.uk/t/25_731.html this one

[BUFF]

Originally Posted by b0ned0me

Furniture - specifically a vanity unit with semi-integrated sink and a cistern cabinet to back the toilet onto.
Main reason being that because of the way everything is arranged, we either have to spend a mountain of money or have something very shallow - and Ideal Standard do a range of cabinets (Space) that are only 21cm deep which integrate nicely with their compact sink and toilet from the same range. So we won't need to move the door, or go for a folding door, or take a jackhammer to the poured concrete floor to move the plumbing (idiot builders), but still get a nice tidy run of cabinets to replace the fugly sink, toilet+cistern and pipework that date back to when the conversion was done in the mid eighties...

Look at manufacturers like Ellis, Mereway & Utopia - any of them actually ought to be able to offer 150mm deep back to wall WC units as well as ~200mm.

[b0ned0me]

Originally Posted by BUFF

Ellis, Mereway & Utopia - any of them actually ought to be able to offer 150mm deep back to wall WC units as well as ~200mm.

Thanks, very helpful. We had a look at Mereway in the local showroom - seemed to be essentially the same as Ideal Standard but with 22cm deep cabinets instead of 21. However they don't appear to do anything similar to the Ideal Standard 36cm deep sink, and a 45 is too deep. So since we'd then end up with an Ideal Standard sink on a Mereway cabinet, and the prices we were quoted weren't that much cheaper,we thought we'd stick with IS. Doesn't help that it's hard to find prices online...

Ellis and Utopia I'd never heard of - how do they compare price/quality wise? I'll scout about on the net a bit and see if I can find anything.

dave87 - oooh, wireless Grohe . But the Aqualisa remote is just one button to push. No complications for half-asleep people - the Apple of shower remotes. But I'm not allowed either

[IBM]

Originally Posted by dave87

Grohe do a wireless controlled shower - I know, I've got one in the garage waiting to be put in.

You get a remote which you set temp etc on, then when you get into the shower its all ready and running for you

EDIT- http://www.grohe.co.uk/t/25_731.html this one

I had no idea these existed....fantastic! I want one...I wonder if it's customisable for remote control, with the remote on the bedside table....mmmmmmm, on those cold winter mornings

[BUFF]

Originally Posted by b0ned0me

Thanks, very helpful. We had a look at Mereway in the local showroom - seemed to be essentially the same as Ideal Standard but with 22cm deep cabinets instead of 21. However they don't appear to do anything similar to the Ideal Standard 36cm deep sink, and a 45 is too deep. So since we'd then end up with an Ideal Standard sink on a Mereway cabinet, and the prices we were quoted weren't that much cheaper,we thought we'd stick with IS. Doesn't help that it's hard to find prices online...

Ellis and Utopia I'd never heard of - how do they compare price/quality wise? I'll scout about on the net a bit and see if I can find anything.

Ellis, Mereway & Ellis are all proper furniture companies & what you get is rigid built carcases & a wide choice of styles/finishes etc. They're almost certainly the 3 leading rigid brands for bathroom furniture in the UK (another 2 to look at are Shades & Symphony but they're more an assembled flat-pack than a proper glued & dowelled carcase).
Where they offer sanitaryware it's bought in.
Ideal Standard are pretty much the reverse ...

There should be absolutely no problem in using IS ware with Ellis/Mereway/Utopia furniture.
http://www.ellisfurniture.co.uk/
http://www.merewaybathrooms.co.uk/
http://www.utopiagroup.com/

[b0ned0me]

Cheers BUFF, you're a diamond. This is a brand new thing for me, so this sort of info is a godsend. Its like trying to choose a motherboard without any reviews and every retailer wanting you to pop into their showroom to talk about the merits of Abit, Gigabyte and Foxconn before giving you a hardcopy catalogue.
I take it you are in the trade - know anyone good in SW16? Glasgow is a bit far to go, otherwise I think I'd give you the order.

ibm - I'm guessing just like the Aqualisa equivalent but with a couple more functions. Sticking it beside the bed so you can hit it when you get up and have a nice warm shower waiting for you when you get to the bathroom is pretty much the whole idea

[bigblue]

We've got Ideal Standard sanitaryware in our current house, and it's half decent looking but the some of the finishes leave a little to be desired. I'm a right picky sod though, and the missus thinks it's fine !

We're moving house shortly and are currently reading up on HansGrohe. It's been fitted in a few hotels we've stayed in recently and it's pretty impressive. Especially the RC stuff, 'tis a joy sitting watching the telly whilst setting the shower to warm up to your ideal temperature Or, as I can imagine being more likely in our home, switching it on in the morning so getting out of the bed is a more appealing thought !

Not sure if our own budget will stretch to the RC kit but we'll definitely be having showers/taps of sorts from the range. Haven't really seen anything else that compares for our tastes.

[b0ned0me]

Well, it's all ordered, and when we get back from Madeira it's all getting fitted. We've gone all Footballers Wives and bought everything on brand. Ideal Standard, Mereway, Grohe and a Kaldewei bath
And Topps Tiles! Wohoo!

[BUFF]

Originally Posted by b0ned0me

Ideal Standard, Mereway, Grohe and a Kaldewei bath

Quality

And Topps Tiles! Wohoo!

ah well, there's always next time ...