Bathroom renovation ideas/warnings

[cos]

I'm having the bathroom in my house redone soon.

One thing I worry about is the possibility of failing to specify or ask for things I may have always taken for granted, so they don't occur to me. I know what I'd like to gain, but I may not be aware of all the things I don't want to lose.

Like ten years ago when I got a car that didn't have map pockets on the backs of the seats, which I'd always depended on - I liked being able to store a few large atlases and laminated maps behind the passenger seat, and be able to easily reach for them when stopped at a light. It simply hadn't occurred to me that some cars may not have those. Or when I got some house windows replaced, and ended up with windows that don't have metal bars or little tabs near the bottom such that you can push them up from below to open. I'd simply taken for granted the ability to open a window next to my bed a crack while lying down, and it had never occurred to me that anyone might make a window you have to be standing up to open, so it wasn't something I asked about or looked for. I saw the windows before I agreed to have them, and just didn't notice that critical detail.

So, what am I not noticing about bathrooms? Any ideas?

Comments

[skreeky]

While some of these are more likely if you are a large person in a small space, or if you are blind without your glasses, they are all from experience:

Can you reach your towel without getting out of the tub/shower.
Can you reach the TP without getting up from the toilet.
Is there enough space on the sink counter for things you like to put there, such as drinking glass, soap dish, razor, etc.
Are there enough shelves and soap holders inside the shower. Are they in the flow of water when you turn the shower on or will they stay dry. Do the built in soap dishes drain.
Does the built in toothbrush holder hold a modern shaped toothbrush (which have huge handles).
When you are standing at the sink looking in the mirror, is the ceiling light behind you such that you are backlit and can't see your own face and hair.
Do you hit your head on the shower curtain bar or top bar of the sliding doors.
If you bend down in the shower, what will you hit your head on when you straighten up.
If you lower your face into the sink, what will you hit your head on when you straighten up.
When you sit down on the toilet, what do you hit the back of your head on.
Is the tub big enough to sit down in without your knees bent.
How deep does the tub fill before it gets to the emergency drain.
Can you get at the pipes when they need to be maintained, without harming your walls, tile, etc. NO REALLY.
Where will steam condense, and can it be bleached easily. (Also, what is your ceiling and non-tile wall made of and what is it painted with.)
Do you have to step weirdly over or around other fixtures (sink, toilet) to get into the shower. Are the faucets in the way as you get into the shower.
If glass shower doors, is there a good way to grab them from both sides to open and close them from either inside or outside.
Do you have enough room near the toilet to disrobe without things from your belt being knocked off and landing in suboptimal places.
Are there any weird little nooks or gaps between fixtures and the wall that will be difficult to clean.

[cos]

This is a great list.

[skreeky]

PS - many of our generation find out the hard way that old houses tend to have huge piles of old used razor blades inside the bathroom walls. Keep your mitts out of where you can't see during the reno.

[cos]

That's just *weird*! But I'm leaving the "reaching inside walls" part to the contractors :)

[ladymondegreen.livejournal.com]

I had that happen once too, so it's not just a thing that happens in Boston. The only things I thought of that I haven't seen mentioned here are:

1. If you're getting a glass shower door, is it easy to clean glass or will it require regular squeegeeing?

2. Are you used to sitting on the edge of the tub to do something in the bathroom? If so, don't get a sliding glass shower door.

[skreeky]

Oh, and one more. I had no idea they even MADE bathroom sinks without an overflow drain, so I didn't notice this "feature" in our new house. Now I live in paranoia.

[lizkayl.livejournal.com]

That sounds like you've had very uncomfortable bathroom experiences to have created such a list. I hope that's not all your current bathroom situation!

[vvalkyri.livejournal.com]

that's... quite a list to have had from experience. (although I do periodically hit my head on the medicine cabinet if I leave it open.)

Oh! Possibly not of interest to cos but an awesome thing for folks who like to do their hair is to have the vanity mirrors open toward one another, with a mirror between, like a triptych. That's how I look at the back of my head.

[cos]

Huh. I think one of my housemates would find that valuable, but I also don't think the room is large enough to allow for that flexbility; not enough wall space. But maybe...

[vvalkyri.livejournal.com]

My qpartmwnt has been godawful of late, but if you come by I can show you the bathroom. When the vanity takes up a whole wall people will often just mirror the sides by the sink; mine is medicine cabinets above the sink and toilet with mirror backed shelf between.

[cos]

I was just thinking of making sure to notice the mirrors next time I'm there. It has been so long since I last visited that I remember nothing of the bathroom. But I might get to look at it soon - see my email response and write back :)

[vvalkyri.livejournal.com]

done.
basically i have two mirrored medicine cabinets with a mirror backed shelf between them, above the toilet and sink on the long wall of the bathroom, which is the same length as the bathtub wall.

[solestria.livejournal.com]

"Can you reach the TP without getting up from the toilet."

I was going to mention the reach from the toilet to the TP, too. My parents retired to an awesome new(-to-them) house, and the guest bathroom's TP dispenser is on the same wall as the toilet, so I have to contort slightly to reach it, and prefer to just have a roll on the sink instead. I'd never thought about that placement before.