Choosing Your Bathroom Fixtures

By Author: Scott Rodgers
Total Articles: 14
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The bathroom has developed a lot in the last 100 years. I am frequently thankful that I was born when I was because I've been able to enjoy all the luxuries that my older relations never had. I can choose between non-stop hot water while taking a shower, or a long, delicious bath, and I can use a toilet that works well.

Bathrooms nowadays have moved from providing the bare necessities to becoming a particularly pleasant room. If you're redesigning the bathroom, the very first thing to look at is to make certain they are adequately vented. Even if you have a window in the bathroom, it's recommended to have a fan above the shower. This means that the moisture of the steam is straight away sucked up out of the bathroom. If you already have a fan, check that it's working and see if it needs a clean.

So now it's up to you to select your fittings. It seems like an simple job till you visit your local plumbing store or your hardware store and you see the vast array of possibilities available to you.

It's recommended to begin with setting a budget. Sort out what all the fittings will cost you in total. ...
... And also think about the continuing costs. When you choose a faucet, you can choose various sorts with washers or some versions with cartridges that will have to be changed over time. Just check with the supplier that you aren't buying something that has a replacement part that will be difficult to source when it needs to be replaced. The same goes for the shower head. Every shower head will wear down with the non-stop water pressure, so check that it's simple to source replacement parts.

You may wish to color co-ordinate all the different fixtures. This makes it look very appealing, but just be aware that it may reduce the kind of fixture you can purchase, so decide before heading off to the store whether color has to take preference over materials and functionality.

Toilets can be both very costly and very inexpensive. The choice is vast. First thing to do, is to think about how much water you really want to consume. You'll find that your old-fashioned toilet may consume between thirteen liters and 20 liters per flush. This is a huge volume of water. The new models don't have to use that amount of water because they use improved plumbing technology and because people are now aware that water, which many of us used to take as a given, is now becoming a very valuable and increasingly scarce resource. This is the reason why it's important to analyze every room in your house, in addition to outside your property, to check that you're not using or losing through leaks etc., any unnecessary water.

To this end, you might consider buying a dual-flush toilet. Most contemporary toilets use no more than 6 liters per flush. Dual-flush toilets improve your options by offering you the choice of using either a half or a full flush depending on how much is required.

Then you have to choose the kind of toilet. It's good to understand the size, type and the amount of floor bolts of your current toilet. If you're replacing it yourself, and you aren't very experienced, you'll find it easier to put in a toilet that has the same measurements as your existing one. However, this should not reduce you, but do be aware of how much room you have in the bathroom. An elongated bowl toilet is two to three inches longer than the round bowl and creates an oval-like shape. This is very appealing, and may create the look you're after, but it would be disastrous to finish installation and then find that there's not adequate room to comfortably sit on, given the location of your bath or shower.

You may also want to install a quieter toilet, so you you might like to choose a one piece toilet where the tank and the toilet bowl are united, they have a lower profile and a flush mechanism that results in a softer flushing sound.

You also have to have a look at the height of your toilet bowl, particularly if there are people living in the home who have back or leg problems. The lower the toilet bowl, the more problematic they will find it to sit on.

Another consideration is the material you choose for the various parts of your toilet. Mostly you'll find that those using plastic parts are less expensive. This may suit your budget, but do be aware that they will usually last not as long as other more costly options.

This is the same when you choose the materials for your faucets and shower heads. You'll find that the plastic options will work well, but in a relatively short period of time, plastic will stain and scratch and not look as appealing as, as an example, the chrome and stainless steel options that can look like new several years from now when they are well looked after.

You also have to sort out what level of water pressure you need. Taps and shower heads are made to limit the water pressure to a certain level. So consult the people at your store and sort out what level you need.

Delimited Author Bio Resource Box

Scott Rodgers is a recently retired Los Angeles master plumber and is dedicated to helping you make your household renovations a great success. For more useful plumbing tips and information, visit Scott's website: http://eLocalPlumbers.com
Scott Rodgers is a recently retired Los Angeles plumber and he loves to share his many years experience of baths and plumbing. For more useful tips and information, visit Scott's website: http://eLocalPlumbers.com