Cost to remodel small bathroom
Fitting a shower cubicle into a small bathroom Possibly the neatest and most convenient way of adding a shower to your bathroom is to add a self-contained shower unit within an enclosure. The problem with this is that most bathrooms are built with only a bathtub, toilet and washbasin and were not designed with the addition of a shower in mind. Why do small bathrooms have so little spare space? Modern housing is generally built to a price and that dictates both the space allowed for the bathroom and the fixtures that go into it and when it's a choice between a shower and a bathtub then the tub wins every time. Why? Because people think about showers as luxury extras rather than essential items like bathtubs.
When the builder designs a property they design it so that the bathroom fixtures are spread out to fill the available space. This makes the bathroom look balanced and it will almost certainly result in the cheapest design, which is often the main goal of the builder. By using all the available space in the bathroom the original designer is able to use larger items if they wish. This can represent quite a cost saving on things like toilets where the space-saving models tend to be the most expensive. The builder also saves money because there will be plenty of space around the fixtures to enable a fast installation.
How to make more space in the small bathroom Now that we know why there seems to be so little space in the typical small bathroom we might be able to do something to improve matters when remodeling. The original designer probably chose the fixtures for cost rather than space so you can look for smaller items, which will do the same job and rearrange things to fit.
Toilet : Small, slim-line toilets are available that take up a lot less wall space. Using one of these can result in more available room to add a shower.
Washbasin : If you can live with a smaller washbasin then look for one that is just the right size for your needs. You can get some very tiny models that will fit into the tightest of spaces.
Bathtub : You could opt for a smaller bathtub. I hardly ever use mine now that I have a shower unit but if you go this route try to get one that is deeper than normal. The extra depth can go some way to making up for the smaller length.
Radiator and towel rail : Move the radiator higher on the wall to save floor space. I put mine above the bath and chose a stainless steel product that looks good and doubles as a heated towel rail.
Rearrange the layout : Get yourself some squared paper and play with cut outs of the fixtures to see if you can design a better fitting arrangement. The original designed probably allowed plenty of free space so you might have more success than you imagine by doing this. Use a space saving curved quadrant shower enclosure You may be thinking of fitting a stand-alone shower enclosure with a square or rectangular base. By applying the suggestions above to your new small bathroom design you might well find that you free enough space to fit one. This is great, if you can do that you've won, you will not regret it.
When the builder designs a property they design it so that the bathroom fixtures are spread out to fill the available space. This makes the bathroom look balanced and it will almost certainly result in the cheapest design, which is often the main goal of the builder. By using all the available space in the bathroom the original designer is able to use larger items if they wish. This can represent quite a cost saving on things like toilets where the space-saving models tend to be the most expensive. The builder also saves money because there will be plenty of space around the fixtures to enable a fast installation.
How to make more space in the small bathroom Now that we know why there seems to be so little space in the typical small bathroom we might be able to do something to improve matters when remodeling. The original designer probably chose the fixtures for cost rather than space so you can look for smaller items, which will do the same job and rearrange things to fit.
Toilet : Small, slim-line toilets are available that take up a lot less wall space. Using one of these can result in more available room to add a shower.
Washbasin : If you can live with a smaller washbasin then look for one that is just the right size for your needs. You can get some very tiny models that will fit into the tightest of spaces.
Bathtub : You could opt for a smaller bathtub. I hardly ever use mine now that I have a shower unit but if you go this route try to get one that is deeper than normal. The extra depth can go some way to making up for the smaller length.
Radiator and towel rail : Move the radiator higher on the wall to save floor space. I put mine above the bath and chose a stainless steel product that looks good and doubles as a heated towel rail.
Rearrange the layout : Get yourself some squared paper and play with cut outs of the fixtures to see if you can design a better fitting arrangement. The original designed probably allowed plenty of free space so you might have more success than you imagine by doing this. Use a space saving curved quadrant shower enclosure You may be thinking of fitting a stand-alone shower enclosure with a square or rectangular base. By applying the suggestions above to your new small bathroom design you might well find that you free enough space to fit one. This is great, if you can do that you've won, you will not regret it.
