If you live in an older home you may want to renovate your bathroom, and at the same time add an extra bath. If you live in a newer home you may want to extend your existing bathroom or add another one or it may be necessary to make certain repairs because of the prevalence of moisture that can work havoc with many of the finishes used in bathrooms.

Years ago it seemed that a bathroom in a home simply amounted to moving the outhouse indoors and some of the bathrooms in older homes are not much more than that. It is little wonder that anyone living in these older homes give prime consideration to bathroom renovations. Again, as with most home improvements, care in planning is important. If it is a bathroom in an older home that you want to renovate then this may well involve the changing of the fixtures.

Care must be exercised not only in choosing the fixtures, but also in choosing a plumbing contractor to make the changes. In most areas a qualified plumber, one with a licence, is required to install any major plumbing. In some cases minor changes or repairs can be done by the homeowner.

 Always check with the local plumbing inspection department and make sure you have the required permits and get the required inspections. The plumbing code is for your own protection and it is simply logical to abide by it. Sometimes the choosing of fixtures presents a problem because of price differences. It is usually best to choose a good name brand even if it means spending more.

A vanity cabinet and basin is a practical feature in any bathroom. It may be that your bathroom renovations don’t call for the changing of the fixtures and yet a vanity cabinet may be a desirable feature. If this is the case I would suggest that you install a vanity basin instead of trying to build a vanity around your present wall hung sink. Although this has been done by some professional cabinet makers, the fitting of the top around the sink is difficult and sometimes a poor job results in an unsightly mess. Vanity Cabinets can be designed to serve many purposes. If there is room enough they can be built large enough to include linen storage, storage for cleaners and other products used in caring for the home.                    

As you might already know, bathroom fixtures are available in a number of colors and it is not difficult to choose a color that will blend in with your plan, but a word of warning: The color chips from which you will choose the color usually have a note saying that the actual color of the fixtures may vary from the sample. In some cases the variance is quite noticeable. If you were to choose a color of paint that matches the sample exactly, you may be disappointed then the actual fixture arrives. So it is best to make any critical color choice after the fixtures have been installed. Care must be exercised when choosing fittings. Again there are the cheap and the very expensive ones. Choose a medium priced fitting. There are a number of faucets available with plain or fancy handles, single control faucets and faucets combined with a pop-up sink stopper. Tub fillers and shower heads should be of good quality and there are various styles and features available. One of the main problems experienced in the tub area if a shower is installed is moisture penetrating the wail finish. This can be a real problem and your bathroom renovation may consist only of renewing this surface. Ceramic tile is certainly more durable, but more costly to install.

One of the new products on the market is a new tub-shower system for installing a durable moisture proof surface in your tub area. This system eliminates the problem of moisture penetrating the joints of finishes such as tile, as this system has three acrylic panels that fit around the tub area. The tub is also made of acrylic and thus is warmer to the touch as well as keeping the water warmer longer. The surface is stain, slip and chip resistant . The tub is the standard five feet by 30 inches but in the centre of the front it dips down and out for easy access for children and older people.