A new bathroom involves much more than choosing a bath, basin and tiles. Plumbing, electrics, ventilation, waterproofing, flooring, wall finishes and dozens of smaller details all need to come together to create a room that works properly and looks right.
At Port Marine Bathrooms, our complete bathroom installation service takes care of the project from the first conversation through to the finished room. We can help with bathroom design, product specification and supply, plumbing, electrical work, tiling, installation, finishing and final checks, with aftercare provided once the work is complete.
With more than 30 years’ experience designing and fitting bathrooms, we understand the practical considerations that sit behind a successful bathroom renovation. Our CAD bathroom planning and showroom in Portishead also give you the opportunity to consider your new bathroom carefully before installation begins.
The right bathroom starts with how you use the room, not with a product catalogue.
Before thinking about individual products, we take the time to understand what you want to achieve with your bathroom. Perhaps the existing layout no longer works for your family, you need more storage, or you want to replace a bath with a larger shower. You may simply be ready to refurbish a tired bathroom and are looking for ideas about what could work in the available space.
Our initial bathroom consultation gives us the opportunity to discuss:
What is and isn’t working with your existing bathroom
Who uses the room and what they need from it
Your preferred style and finishes
Storage requirements
Whether you need a bath, shower or both
Accessibility and mobility considerations
The available space and potential layout options
Your approximate budget
Products and materials you particularly like
Your expectations around timescales
The requirements of a family bathroom can be very different from those of an en suite, shower room, small bathroom, accessible bathroom or wet room. We also consider practical matters such as existing drainage positions, water pressure and ventilation, particularly where you are considering changing the current layout.
This early planning helps establish what is realistically achievable before decisions are made about individual products.
A few centimetres can make a significant difference to a bathroom layout. Accurate measurements and an understanding of the existing room are therefore an important part of the bathroom installation process.
We survey the space and assess relevant aspects of the existing bathroom, including:
Room dimensions and ceiling height
Doors and windows
Existing sanitaryware
Existing pipework
Hot and cold water supplies
Waste and soil connections
Electrical points and lighting
Ventilation
Radiators and heating
Existing walls and flooring
The survey helps us establish the practical parameters for the new bathroom. It can determine whether a particular WC, basin, vanity unit, bath or shower enclosure will fit comfortably, and helps inform decisions about the positioning of products and services.
It is also important to recognise that some conditions cannot be confirmed until an existing bathroom has been stripped out. However, carrying out a detailed survey at the outset provides a sound basis for planning the project and identifying the practical considerations that can be assessed before work begins.
Changing a bathroom on screen is much easier than changing it after the tiles have gone up.
Our CAD bathroom design process allows you to see and consider your proposed bathroom before installation begins. Computer-aided design can be used to work through the room dimensions, product positioning and layout, helping to reduce the uncertainty that can come with trying to imagine the finished room from a plan or a collection of product samples.
The design can take account of:
The dimensions and proportions of the room
Sanitaryware positioning
Bath and shower placement
Bathroom furniture and storage
Different layout options
Product sizes and relationships between fixtures
Colours and finishes where applicable
This gives you the opportunity to compare ideas and make informed decisions before the installation starts.
Our approach to CAD bathroom planning isn’t simply about producing an attractive visualisation. The purpose is to help establish how the proposed bathroom will work within the actual space, while bringing together the products, furniture and practical requirements identified during the planning stage.
A bathroom can look excellent in a showroom, but every product still needs to work within your particular room.
Our Portishead showroom provides an opportunity to look at bathroom products and finishes as part of the planning process. Depending on your requirements, this can include baths, showers, shower trays, shower enclosures, WCs, basins, vanity units, bathroom furniture, taps and brassware, heated towel rails, mirrors, lighting, tiles and accessories.
Product selection isn’t only about appearance. We also consider the technical and practical implications of your choices, including:
Available dimensions
Water pressure
Plumbing configuration
Existing or proposed waste positions
Shower flow requirements
Storage needs
Accessibility
Ease of cleaning
Compatibility between different products
For example, the shower you prefer needs to be appropriate for the available water supply, while a chosen basin, WC or bath needs to work with the room’s dimensions and plumbing. Considering these details before products are ordered helps ensure that your chosen bathroom suite and fittings are suitable for the installation.
Once the design and specification have been agreed, the bathroom installation can begin.
Good bathroom fitting is largely about the work you won’t see when the room is finished. Behind the visible sanitaryware, furniture and tiles are pipework, drainage, electrical connections, waterproofing, substrates and structural preparation. Getting these elements right is essential to the long-term performance of the finished bathroom.
The precise sequence depends on the design and scope of the project, but a full bathroom installation may include:
Protecting access routes and work areas where appropriate
Removing the existing bathroom fixtures
Stripping out existing finishes where required
Preparing walls and floors
Altering plumbing and drainage
Completing first-fix electrical work
Installing the bath, shower tray and relevant infrastructure
Waterproofing or tanking required areas
Tiling walls and floors
Installing sanitaryware and bathroom furniture
Completing second-fix plumbing and electrical work
Sealing and finishing
Testing the installation
Carrying out a final inspection
Preparation is particularly important. Walls and floors may need to be prepared and levelled before new finishes are installed, while plumbing and drainage need to be positioned accurately for the chosen sanitaryware.
Where required, concealed pipework, shower valves, isolation valves and other infrastructure are installed as part of the process. Waterproofing and tanking are also important considerations in areas exposed to water.
The result should not simply be a bathroom where everything is in the right place. It should be a properly prepared, connected, sealed and tested installation in which the individual elements work together.
With bathroom tiling, the finish depends heavily on what happens before the first tile is fixed.
Wall and floor tiles provide an important part of both the appearance and functionality of a bathroom. Before tiling begins, the relevant surfaces need to be suitably prepared so that the finished tiles have an appropriate substrate and a reliable surface on which to adhere.
Our bathroom tiling work can include:
Preparing walls and floors
Planning the tile layout
Wall tiling
Floor tiling
Cutting around sanitaryware and fittings
Using suitable tile adhesive
Grouting
Creating silicone joints
Waterproofing and tanking appropriate areas
Working with suitable substrates
Planning the layout in advance is particularly important where tiles meet sanitaryware, furniture, shower trays and other fittings. Accurate preparation contributes to straighter lines, consistent finishes and reliable adhesion, while correctly finished grout and silicone joints help protect areas exposed to moisture.
Bathrooms have particular electrical considerations because electrical installations are being used in an environment where water is present.
As part of a bathroom installation, electrical work may include ceiling lights, spotlights or downlights, illuminated mirrors, mirror cabinets, extractor fans, shaver sockets and other specified electrical equipment. Electric showers, underfloor heating and electric towel rails can also be incorporated where appropriate.
Bathroom electrical installations need to take account of factors such as:
Bathroom electrical zones
Suitable IP ratings for electrical equipment
RCD protection where appropriate
The positioning of electrical connections
Ventilation and extractor fan requirements
The intended use of lighting and electrical equipment
The aim is to ensure that electrical elements are considered as part of the bathroom design rather than being treated as an afterthought. Lighting, mirrors, ventilation, towel rails and other electrical features all need to work within the overall layout.
Moving a basin, WC or shower isn’t simply a design decision — the drainage and water supplies have to make the new layout practical.
Bathroom plumbing is one of the most important elements of a complete installation. Existing sanitaryware needs to be safely disconnected and removed, while new hot and cold water supplies, waste pipes and drainage connections may be required depending on the proposed layout.
Bathroom plumbing can include:
Removing and disconnecting existing sanitaryware
Altering hot and cold water feeds
Installing new pipe runs where required
Creating waste connections
Plumbing showers and shower valves
Connecting baths and basins
Connecting WCs
Installing concealed pipework where appropriate
Fitting isolation valves
Testing pipework and connections
Completing final plumbing connections
The existing soil connection, waste routes and water pressure can all influence what is practical. These factors are therefore considered alongside the bathroom layout rather than separately from it.
This is one of the reasons that bathroom design and bathroom fitting need to work together. A layout may look good on a plan, but it also has to accommodate the necessary plumbing and drainage.
The small finishing details are often what separate a bathroom that is merely installed from one that feels properly finished.
Once the main installation is complete, attention turns to the surfaces and details that bring the room together. This can include preparing untiled walls and ceilings, applying appropriate finishes, installing trims and accessories, and making good around areas affected by the installation.
Finishing work may include:
Preparing untiled surfaces
Using moisture-appropriate finishes
Applying silicone sealant
Installing trims
Fitting accessories
Making good around altered areas
Completing final fittings and finishing touches
These details form part of the overall bathroom installation rather than being something that needs to be left for the homeowner to organise separately.
The more trades involved in a bathroom project, the more important coordination becomes.
A bathroom renovation can potentially involve a designer, product supplier, plumber, electrician, tiler, decorator, and installer. Organising each element independently can leave the homeowner responsible for making sure that products arrive at the right time, different trades know what has been agreed and one stage of the work is ready for the next.
A complete bathroom design and installation service brings these elements together under one project.
This means that design decisions can be considered alongside installation requirements, products can be specified before fitting, and the sequence of plumbing, electrical work, tiling, installation and finishing can be planned as part of the overall project.
For the homeowner, that means fewer separate contractors to organise and one company overseeing the wider bathroom project.
It also means the practical requirements of installation can influence decisions from the beginning. The design, products and installation aren’t treated as separate stages; they are considered as interconnected parts of the same bathroom.
Installation isn’t complete just because everything is in position. It needs to work as intended.
Before the project is considered complete, the finished bathroom can be checked systematically to make sure the various elements are operating and finished as expected.
Checks can include:
Taps and water flow
Shower operation
WC operation
Basin and bath connections
Waste drainage
Visible leaks
Silicone seals and joints
Bathroom furniture
Doors and drawers
Lighting
Extractor fan and ventilation
Heating
General finishes
Where applicable, the completed bathroom can then be walked through with you so that you understand the finished installation and the products and features within it.
The final inspection provides an opportunity to identify and address finishing points rather than simply treating the day the installation work ends as the end of the process.
A bathroom is expected to be used every day for years, so the service shouldn’t simply end when the installation team leaves.
Port Marine Bathrooms provides a 12-month workmanship guarantee for reassurance after your bathroom installation. Product and manufacturer warranties may also apply to individual products, subject to their relevant terms.
We can also provide practical guidance on caring for products and finishes so that your new bathroom continues to perform as intended.
If you experience an issue following installation, the appropriate next step is to contact us so that the problem can be considered and, where applicable, dealt with under the relevant workmanship or product warranty arrangements.
Good aftercare is ultimately about knowing who to contact and understanding what support is available once your new bathroom is in everyday use.
Whether you already have a clear idea of the bathroom you want or are still working out what is possible, the process starts with understanding your existing room and what you need from it.
We can discuss your current bathroom, potential layouts, design ideas, products, budget and practical requirements before considering the installation itself. From the initial consultation and home survey through to CAD planning, product selection, bathroom fitting, final inspection and aftercare, each stage contributes to the finished project.
If you’re considering a new bathroom, bathroom refurbishment or complete bathroom installation, talk to Port Marine Bathrooms about your requirements.
