Here at on the ball bathrooms, we do one type of renovation more than any other type of renovation and that is drum roll please ….. “The Family Bathroom Renovation” now I myself call it this but I am sure it has a many a name. The reason I call it the family bathroom renovation as it is often the bathroom surrounded by the bulk of the family such as three kids bedrooms or the middle of the home in a duplex. It is the bathroom renovation the family completes first due to the fact it’s often the highest use and the one every person coming around sees so it always has a higher priority. If you wanted to just see some before and afters we have done with this style of renovation Click Here. Below we will aim to cover this type of renovation from floor tile to ceiling all in an attempted to make your renovation easier.
 

Here is what we will cover:

• Layout
• Storage
• Vanity
• Bathing
• Shower Screen
• Tiling
• Fittings Electrical
• Clean and Efficient Bathroom

The Layout

Now below is the classic family bathroom layout I am describing with a few bold issues many people face.
 

 
The issues in bold are the biggest problems people have with these styles of bathrooms throughout Perth WA. So what can be done to make this space better? Below is the after of the layout above with all the changes we made to make that space better.
 

 
Now you can change the layout of the room with one idea being a walk-in shower like the river-vale transformation below. This allows for a large vanity and big shower with no bath. The benefit would to make a larger shower and more vanity storage.
 

 

 
The second option is what we call a wet room set up where the vanity and shower are switched and the bath is now in the shower like the transformation below. This is a modern concept that requires a family to embrace an open shower.
 

 

 
So with the alternatives out the way lets stick to the most common layout which is keeping it the same way.

STORAGE!!!!!!

The reason storage is highlighted as anyone who has kids will attest to the fact that you quickly fill every little bit of storage insight and bathrooms are no different. You need to put that stuff somewhere and you need to be able to access it in an easier manner. The biggest item for storage in your bathroom will be your vanity. Often in these layouts, you will have a 750mm, 900mm or 1200mm if you are lucky to fit those items in. The layout is crucial for the vanity with the need for draws a priority. If you can get an all draws vanity as you can access all those things at the back without having to move everything out of the way.
 

 
The next storage option is whether or not you have a mirror cabinet. This is a 50/50 on what everyone goes for. The biggest pro for a mirror cabinet is it keeps all those little nick-nacks off the small benchtop and into a place you can close off and not feel in a constant state of mess. The con is people don’t like cleaning finger marks on the glass so it comes down to who you are as a person in relation to mess.
 

Vanity

Just a quick guide for vanities for kids you often ideally have a low basin that either is integrated into one piece, undermounted or a thin basin like below. The higher the bowl the more chance for mess and the harder for them to use.
 

Bathing

The majority of the time a classic bricked bath is what we will install in a family bathroom renovation. Drop-In Bath or Bricked in baths are common due to the affordable nature and easy-clean style. Often no higher then 450mm in Depth they are more designed for children to bathe in which does not always appeal to adults but are a lot easier to clean around then the freestanding bath in tight spaces. These types of baths are often acrylic with the occasional one we install being a steel bath. Not as popular in this day and age due to the cold feeling you get touching steel.
 

 
We often finish our baths flush on the sides due to the complaint people have of hitting there legs when you do one course around but sometimes the use of a ledge is great for someone who wants to sit on the bath while bathing the kids. One other aspect to take into consideration is the spout. I often will recommend you do a moveable spout such as the example below as it allows for kids or adults for that matter to not get caught when getting in and out of the bath.
 

 
You can do the freestanding bath like the image below it’s just more difficult to clean and will have a higher costing due extra plumbing and the actual cost to buy but it does look great and will be a comfortable bath for an adult.
 

Shower Screens

Get rid of that meshed framed screen or shower curtain and bring in the king of family bathrooms, the semi-frameless shower screens. They are the king because of three reasons. Firstly they make the room look so much bigger as you can see by the side by side below.
 

 
Secondly, they have a greater level of water retention compared to a frameless shower screen with a trim that can be changed to a modern black if you are wanting so and Thirdly they are half the price of a frameless screen. The door will often swing both ways to allow greater space into the room lastly we will break the nib wall in our streamline section.
 

 
Below is an example of the frame-less shower set up for consideration from our Leeming Bathroom Renovation.
 

Tiling

What is the ideal tiling height you may ask for a family bathroom? This comes down to two things. The main one is cost as ideally you want to tile full height in a bathroom as it gives the feeling of being finished, its a cleaner room with no grubby hands being able to mess up the walls and depending on the tile you choose it feels bigger but with all that said higher tiling does cost a decent amount more due to the amount of labour involved. The other reason not to go full height is you might want to paint a feature wall or you may not find a tile you love enough to put on all the walls it really is a personal choice.
 

 
One benefit of full height tiling is being able to do a feature wall which I always recommend for impact. Tiling is one of the things we pride ourselves on the most as it will make or break your bathroom. Especially with modern large tiles, you have to be so good at being able to create adequate fall. The largest tile we recommend really is the 300 x 300 rectified tile on the floor but you can do a 300mm x 600mm or a 600mm x 600mm its just important to understand the larger the tile the harder it is to achieve the maximum amount of fall without changing drains so always go through this with your tiler.
 

 
For colors and the latest tiling trends in 2019 Click Here.

Bathroom Fittings

The three most common style of bathroom shower outlets are below three.
 

• Fixed Shower Head – Great for a clean finish both from looks and physically cleaning as there is so much less of it compared to the other two.
• Sliding Shower Rail – The sliding rail is good for the person who does not want to get there hair wet, it is also awesome for anyone who needs to sit and shower.
• Shower Combo – They are the best of both worlds with an overhead shower and a hand held device. The drawback of this combo is that the long rail looks like a lot going on but you can get the non-rail option below. They do cost more but if you can afford it should make everyone happy

Electrical

With kids always wanting to charge there phone installing a USB port into the PowerPoint can be a great addition.
 

 
Lighting for the room I recommend 2x to 3x LED downlights depending on the size of the room to give that hotel feel and adequate lighting.
 
Heat/light/fans are great if you live in a cold place or you have people in the house that get cold easily the biggest complaint I often hear from families is kids will use the heat unnecessary and run that power bill up so keep it in mind.
 

Making A Clean and Efficient Family Bathroom

Here is the biggest one of the list and the question I get asked the most for family bathrooms. The first is to eliminate the gaps where possible. The nib wall which is one of the bathroom items we specialize in eliminates that pesky gap between the vanity and screen you can never clean it also double as a great shelf that won’t get rust. Below is an example of the gaps to no gaps style bathroom. The wall hung vanity is created to give the idea of space but be warned kids will places toys and teenagers will lose clothes under there.
 

 
If streaks on a shower screen or scum marks drive you up the wall you can seal the shower screen with products such as enduro shield will buff out the pinholes that makes glass porous. It helps but it is not full proof. The only real way to have a screen always looking the same is to make the screen frosted like below. I am not one to recommend this as it can narrow the room it will make that screen have the same finish for longer.
 

 

 
Getting rid of the bricked surroundings will make the shower feel so much bigger. The hob acts as a water retention device as well as a process of making floor tiling easier in a shower so removing this you will have to be at the top of your game to make it all work. The process is called making a shower hobless and takes years of perfecting to get the best finish while still retaining the water in the shower.
 

 
Lastly, the tiles as mentioned before make the biggest difference. Two aspects for consideration in a family bathroom is having big tiles means less grout for you to clean the other is finding a tile that has a little to a lot of patterns allows you to hide dirt or hair for longer as straight colors tend to see all marks and smudges.
 

 
It’s important to note that all our advice is general in nature and all bathrooms are unique so always speak to your local qualified tradesman for the best advice. At on the ball bathrooms we love feedback so let us know what you think with a comment below or if you are looking for a bathroom renovation quote and live in Perth, Western Australia contact us on 0419964678 or email us at info@ontheballbathrooms.com.au

 
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