Plumbing and Electrical Fit-Out Tips for Your New Bathroom

Renovating an old bathroom? Having a new bathroom constructed in your home? It can be a very exciting time, but it can also be problematic, particularly if you haven’t planned effectively. This is particularly true when it comes to the things behind the scenes that make it all work. Specifically, we’re talking about your plumbing and electrical systems. Without them, your bathroom isn’t much of a bathroom. Let’s touch on a few of the most important fit-out tips for your new bathroom.

New or Renovation?

If you’re building a new bathroom, you’ll go through a very different initial process than if you are renovating an existing bathroom. For instance, with an existing bathroom, there’s little you can do about the placement of certain things, such as the drain for the toilet. This means that there will be some fixtures that can be changed, but that cannot be moved to another area of the bathroom. With a new bathroom, the sky’s the limit in terms of placement, particularly if there are no existing water lines or existing wiring in the area.

Plan Correctly

It’s vital that you plan for your bathroom fit-out correctly. We recommend starting from the very beginning by having a physical outline that highlights not just where your bathroom fixtures will go, but where the wiring and plumbing systems will need to be installed in order to facilitate fixture placement. To do this effectively, you’ll need to know exactly where your existing wiring is within the walls, as well as where the water lines and drains are. With this information, you can start to lay out your bathroom.

Buy Your Fittings Early

Chances are good that you’ll hire skilled tradespeople to do the actual installation work, but you should purchase your fittings early on. This ensures ample time for shipping, and helps eliminate the possibility of having to settle on a fixture because the one you really want is out of stock, or won’t arrive in time for the project. Buy your bathroom fittings ahead of time, and make sure you purchase everything you’ll need, such as light fixtures, showers/tubs, exhaust fans, basins, vanities, cabinetry, taps, toilets, towel rails/racks and the like. Speak with both the plumber and the electrician to determine any other items that you’ll need to have on hand when they arrive to do the work.

Prevent Damage to the Floors

Your flooring will be installed before the bath is put in, or the toilet is installed. Make sure that your tradespeople take care to avoid damaging your floor. For tile and vinyl, this really boils down to using drop cloths/drop sheets. These will prevent paint, caulking, spackle and the like from damaging your floor. If you have tile flooring, then you should also worry about installers dropping tools, supplies or even fixtures, as this can cause chips, cracks, and the need to replace parts of your floor.

There you have them – crucial tips to help ensure a smooth plumbing and electrical fit-out process.