Help please choosing a bathroom Suit.

[Benny5]

I am about to refit my bathroom and need a little help deciding which make of kit to use. I’m getting someone to fit this lot and so far I have gone for a Mira Excel shower, Grohe brassware but it’s the sanitary ware (Bath, Toilet & Hand basin) that I need help.

I want fairly decent stuff. Villeroy & Boch looks good but can’t really justify the extra cost there. I have also seen Vitra and Ideal Standard. To the untrained eye both look pretty good with perhaps Vitra have the edge and costing a little bit more. Homebase appear to have large discount on Ideal products at present so if quality was similar it might influence my choice.


Can any experts out there offer any advice?

 

[muggles]

You've not suggested a budget so it's hard to advise accurately. Villeroy&Boch are good, as you've said, but are expensive. Same with Duravit and Laufen. Ideal Standard do some nice stuff and some very budget stuff. Twyford are worth looking at, as are Kohler. Make sure the bath is a reinforced one, especially if you're showering in it. Carron baths with a Carronite finish are excellent, iFlo EVO baths at City Plumbing are good but have a limited range

 

[Benny5]

Thank you for such a prompt reply.

Ballpark figures in terms of costs; Hand basin - £150, Toilet - £450, 'P' Shaped bath - £450.

Incidentally the Homebase stuff came from the link below;
http://www.homebase.co.uk/en/homebaseuk/searchterm/ideal standard accent

 

[Benny5]

You've not suggested a budget so it's hard to advise accurately. Villeroy&Boch are good, as you've said, but are expensive. Same with Duravit and Laufen. Ideal Standard do some nice stuff and some very budget stuff. Twyford are worth looking at, as are Kohler. Make sure the bath is a reinforced one, especially if you're showering in it. Carron baths with a Carronite finish are excellent, iFlo EVO baths at City Plumbing are good but have a limited range

Been looking into this and its all so confusing. The Ideal Standard stuff I say in Homebase is called 'the accent range' however, I can't find any spec for these (especially the bath) on the IS website so I have nothing to compare it with.
I take your point on the bath quality, my current one is 8mm, but lots of those around at present appear to be just 5mm so I don't mind spending a bit more for something decent. Now considering a supercast option.

Bye the way do you have any views on the Vitra product range as I quite liked their appearance.

Many thanks,

Benny.

 

[muggles]

You've not suggested a budget so it's hard to advise accurately. Villeroy&Boch are good, as you've said, but are expensive. Same with Duravit and Laufen. Ideal Standard do some nice stuff and some very budget stuff. Twyford are worth looking at, as are Kohler. Make sure the bath is a reinforced one, especially if you're showering in it. Carron baths with a Carronite finish are excellent, iFlo EVO baths at City Plumbing are OK but have a limited range

Been looking into this and its all so confusing. The Ideal Standard stuff I say in Homebase is called 'the accent range' however, I can't find any spec for these (especially the bath) on the IS website so I have nothing to compare it with.
I take your point on the bath quality, my current one is 8mm, but lots of those around at present appear to be just 5mm so I don't mind spending a bit more for something decent. Now considering a supercast option.

Bye the way do you have any views on the Vitra product range as I quite liked their appearance.

Many thanks,

Benny.

The Accent Range appears to be a Homebase rebrand of a mixture of Playa and Tempo ranges from IS (the WC is definitely Playa, but the bath is a Tempo). The baths are advertised as Idealform+, which is IS's mid-range, medium strength finish. Fine if you're having it as a pure bath but I wouldn't recommend regular showering in it. Idealcast is more suitable for that, although you're limited to a choice of one showerbath from IS with Idealcast (E3171 Create). Basically, most things advertised as "cast" in baths will tend to be better

Vitra make nice sanitaryware but their baths tend to be thin. No reason why you can't mix and match though - you don't have to have everything from one manufacturer.

Suregraft cast baths at Plumbase are good quality and come with a 30-year warranty. If you should happen to find that you like the L-shaped one in a left hand version, let me know...there may be a deal to be done

 

[Benny5]

You've not suggested a budget so it's hard to advise accurately. Villeroy&Boch are good, as you've said, but are expensive. Same with Duravit and Laufen. Ideal Standard do some nice stuff and some very budget stuff. Twyford are worth looking at, as are Kohler. Make sure the bath is a reinforced one, especially if you're showering in it. Carron baths with a Carronite finish are excellent, iFlo EVO baths at City Plumbing are OK but have a limited range

Been looking into this and its all so confusing. The Ideal Standard stuff I say in Homebase is called 'the accent range' however, I can't find any spec for these (especially the bath) on the IS website so I have nothing to compare it with.
I take your point on the bath quality, my current one is 8mm, but lots of those around at present appear to be just 5mm so I don't mind spending a bit more for something decent. Now considering a supercast option.

Bye the way do you have any views on the Vitra product range as I quite liked their appearance.

Many thanks,

Benny.

The Accent Range appears to be a Homebase rebrand of a mixture of Playa and Tempo ranges from IS (the WC is definitely Playa, but the bath is a Tempo). The baths are advertised as Idealform+, which is IS's mid-range, medium strength finish. Fine if you're having it as a pure bath but I wouldn't recommend regular showering in it. Idealcast is more suitable for that, although you're limited to a choice of one showerbath from IS with Idealcast (E3171 Create). Basically, most things advertised as "cast" in baths will tend to be better

Vitra make nice sanitaryware but their baths tend to be thin. No reason why you can't mix and match though - you don't have to have everything from one manufacturer.

Suregraft cast baths at Plumbase are good quality and come with a 30-year warranty. If you should happen to find that you like the L-shaped one in a left hand version, let me know...there may be a deal to be done

I'm very grateful for all your input. It certainly demonstrate the widely exaggerated RRP's at Homebase. Visited a couple of local stores today and pretty much settled on the Vitra for the sanitaryware (S50 range), seen some keen prices at Victorian Plumbing. On the bath front, having seen the P and L shaped units we decided they were too deep for our comfort so we will go for a standard size (1700x700) where the options and many and varied. Looking into that now.

One again many thanks.

Benny.