Replacing my bathroom floor and shower

[jasperpie]

I'm ripping out my bathroom in a couple of weeks and the entire floor needs to come up (i'm lucky i've not gone through it by now).

I've been advised a couple of things:-

1 - Green coloured chip (or whatever its called)

2 - WBP ply 18mm

i'm going to be tiling over it all anyway but will the weight of the tiles be ok on this boarding or am i better sticking with good old fashioned T and G floorboards??

Oh - i'm moving the boxed in pipes to under the floor (via under the bath for some ltd access) - i'll have stops on everything (bath/sink/toilet etc to isolate)

do you think this is a good idea - or should i them boxed in against the wall just incase something goes wrong - it inevitably will LOL.

(HAVENT POSTED ON HERE IN A WHILE BUT THANX TO ALL WHO GAVE A SHOUT BOUT THE FIRES AND BOILER - ITS ALL SORTED NOW - APPRECIATED)

EDIT ----------

thought i'd save on multiple posts.

Poor cold water supply to my bathroom (bath only) - header in loft - hot tank in airing cupboard (on level with shower) and boiler in kitchen downstairs.

currently i have a lovely stylish (lol) mixer/tap shower thing - as old as the house. I fancy having a mixer just with a twisty dial flush in the wall and a shower head stickin out of the wall - I'm sure i need a pump and parts etc but cost is the beast of burden on this one.

Is it worth putting in a pump/power shower or just go for the old box style elec one (if the latter will i still need a pump cos of poor pressure??)

its purely so i can have a decent shower - extreme performace isnt the biggest issue although asthetics are kinda playing a part.

sorry in advance for the multiple questions in one post.

 

[Bespoke]

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[Bon]

What affects the amount of water coming through your shower head is the height difference betweeen the header tank and the shower head, not the cylinder and the shower head.

If it's a first floor bathroom, the difference won't be that good therefore the shower won't be that powerful.

The only advice I can offer is to try and ask a mate who's got a pumped shower if you can have a splash in his (without sounding like a shower-fetish sort) and I guarantee you'll be off down to the Stuart Turner shower pump shop in a flash.

As someone who has just spent the last 6 days at the in-laws running around in the bath to get wet under their rubbish gravity shower I can honestly say getting a pump was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

If you're really strapped for cash then you could look at lifting your existing cistern higher as this will improve your pressure (1 metre = 0.1 bar pressure) which can trick you into thinking it's at a higher flow rate. The other option is to increase the size of the pipework to the shower as this will give you more flow.

With regards to concealing the pipes, this is a big no-no if you plan on covering any fittings unless as said you switch to Hep2o pipework in a continuous length where it is to be concealed.

I'd also consider underfloor heating too as our floor could really have done with some of that.

 

[jasperpie]

Bon - no too knowledgable in showers - but would i just be able to buy a thermo control, a pump, the relevant pipe work and a shower head and run this from my exsisting water pipes. Ie - just tap into where the bath pipes are????

would a pump draw the water faster from the header Or would i need to increase the pipe sizes to cope with the pump?

I intend on using plasipipes for the replacements as i've been told these are far less problematic anyway - should be OK to hide away then - providing they are proper;y fitted.

Underfloor heating shouldt effect the fact i'll be using tiles should it - ie - cracking etc.?

Bespoke - unfortunately im using my phone as a modem so i'll leave the pics till Im at work next cos it'll take a while to load. - i'll have to get back to you on them.

Thanx regarding the floor though - the Green chip is far cheaper than Ply so i know what i'll be using - i'd just heard that it wasnt suitable for flooring applications - but hey - i trust this forum more than i do my sources - lol.


EDIT -

might be a little bit of a stupid question - but i can connect the platic hep2o straight to the brass/copper manifold cant I??

 

[Bespoke]

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[Bon]

Bon - no too knowledgable in showers - but would i just be able to buy a thermo control, a pump, the relevant pipe work and a shower head and run this from my exsisting water pipes. Ie - just tap into where the bath pipes are????

Not quite. The pump goes at the base of your hot water cylinder (assuming it's a conventional twin head jobbie). You need to run a new cold from your cistern to the cold side of the pump and tee off your hot water supply at the cylinder. You then run new pipework from the pump outlet to the shower.

would a pump draw the water faster from the header Or would i need to increase the pipe sizes to cope with the pump?

This depends on how large the cistern is and the flow rate of the pump. If it is purely a header for your cylinder then you may need a larger cistern. A further expense but as said in my previous post IMO it's worth it.

I intend on using plasipipes for the replacements as i've been told these are far less problematic anyway - should be OK to hide away then - providing they are proper;y fitted.

Shouldn't be too much of a problem, even though I'd prefer to use copper (been conditioned by too many clerk of works shaking their heads!!).

Underfloor heating shouldt effect the fact i'll be using tiles should it - ie - cracking etc.?

As said, most under floor heating will work with tiles providing the instructions are followed.

 

[apul]

For your tiling questions the Tiling section of this forum is great. There is a good How To guide at the top. You souldn't use the chipboard floor for tiling over unless you are (as suggested previously) overlaying it with tileboard or a layer of ply, especially in damn areas as it easily breaks down. Use WBP ply. Just ask in the tiling forum and you should get a good helpful reply.

 

[Mud Hut]

Alan Wakefield your work looks very, very nice!

 

[Bespoke]

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[Bespoke]

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[jasperpie]

i think i'll be sticking with the ply now - saves on using chip then overlaying - although slightly more expensive, i think it'll save me some time.

the tiling info on here is pretty good, although with the look of alans site currently - i'll be keeping my eyes peeled.

Bespoke - lovely site, very nice and tidy - i doubt my finished bathroom will have the class and finish of whats in your pics. lol.

i think i'll have to endure the expence for the shower bon - the rewards i think will way outclass the costs. In my prev post i wrote about connecting plasti pipe straight to my manifold - yeah i was being dumb - thats for my heating not my water pipes

why do i always seem to walk away from this forum with more adventerous plans - lol - always good to get it all done in one go though. I'll try and upload some pics of before durning and after.

wont be long till i've got my kitchen to do - yeah!!!!! Gotta love the missus keeping me on my toes. lol.

 

[Bon]

When you do finally roll your sleeves up and get stuck in, just remember to take your time and try to get as quality a finish as possible. It can be tempting to rush things and get done (especially if you've been without a fully functioning bathroom for a while), but remember you will be looking at any bodges for a very long time!!

 

[Bespoke]

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[PilotPete]

If you take a look at the Wiki at the top and then look under bathrooms you will see my bathroom project and how I did my floor.

Good luck with it.

PP

 

[jasperpie]

how can i attatch a pic to this page????