Bathroom refit - thoughts and suggestions?

[She25]

I'm looking at having my bathroom refitted and would welcome your thoughts or advice - particularly on any pitfalls I should look out for!

Current set up is -

Side bathroom (2ft corridor to starboard) with 4ft bath horizontally across boat, huge basin unit with cupboards underneath, thetford cassette loo. Lots of wasted space.

Changing to -

Walk through bathroom (remove corridor wall, add door from kitchen to starboard (cooker is in the middle of the boat so both doors will need to be starboard).

Central shower cubicle 1000x7600/800, 25mm depth, stone resin tray, sliding or bifold doors

Small towel cupboard to port wall next to shower

Modern basin, smaller cupboard underneath

Keep the old loo (even though its gone a bit off colour with age)

The waste water from shower will be in a similar place, need to get short (1850) shower screen. May sink the tray if possible once we see what we're working with. Will remove tiles from existing bathroom and replace with waterproof cladding (even up the weight distribution a bit) and replace laminate floor with tiles perhaps.

I'm a complete novice / unwilling at DIY so getting a trusted professional bathroom fitter / plumber in. However he's not worked on boats before.

Any wisdom to share with me please? Especially in terms of costs, suppliers, materials, dangers(!) etc?

Thanks

Edited April 14, 2016 by She25

[nicknorman]

The important thing to remember with boats is that they move. And I don't mean on the water, I mean within themselves! Steel has a big thermal expansion. Wood doesn't. The steel gets heated on one side of the boat, not the other, due to the angle of the sun. This causes the hull to distort which creates movement between say a cabin lining attached to the steel, and a bulkhead. Therefore your installer needs to think carefully along corners.

 

In the boat we used to borrow, on a bad day with strong sun in a certain direction, a large gap used to open up between the bulkhead and the side despite felible sealant being used.

 

I would avoids floor tiles, they'll be freezing cold in winter.

[She25]

The important thing to remember with boats is that they move. And I don't mean on the water, I mean within themselves! Steel has a big thermal expansion. Wood doesn't. The steel gets heated on one side of the boat, not the other, due to the angle of the sun. This causes the hull to distort which creates movement between say a cabin lining attached to the steel, and a bulkhead. Therefore your installer needs to think carefully along corners.

 

In the boat we used to borrow, on a bad day with strong sun in a certain direction, a large gap used to open up between the bulkhead and the side despite felible sealant being used.

 

I would avoids floor tiles, they'll be freezing cold in winter.

 

Thanks Nick!

[Chalky]

Also if your fitter has not worked on boats before get them to go and look at a few and read things like the boat safety scheme. Very little of the BSS will apply to the bathroom however it gives a feel of how things are different from a domestic installation, especially running drains and how high they need to be above the water line. Also make sure they think about how you're going to access the pipe work to fix it or unblock a pump, not something you get in houses.

[Ace 01]

Hi

 

Our 'corridor' is also along the right hand side. The access to the bathroom is formed by two doors which open up to seal the corridor front and rear and form a full width bathroom. When closed the two doors have a gap of about 8 inches between them and are held in place by magnetic door stops screwed to the floor. This still gives you a 'separate' bathroom without the wasted space of the corridor.

 

The bulkhead walls and shower cubicle are lined with a waterproof board cut to shape ( similar to that available in Wickes etc.) The floor is waterproof Amtico board sealed at the edges with flexible colour matched sealant. We also have a cassette loo with two spare cassettes which are stored in a cupboard up to gunwale height to the side of the shower cubicle. The gulper shower waste pump and piping together with the hot and cold feed are also at the back of this cupboard. Above gunwale height are a few shelves for towel storage etc. HTH

 

Cheers

 

David

Edited April 14, 2016 by Ace 01

[David Mack]

Central shower cubicle 1000x7600/800, 25mm depth,

I would go for a deeper shower tray. With changes in trim the outlet won't always be at the lowest point and with a shallow tray you could easily get water spilling out where you don't want it.

[system 4-50]

I went for a shower tray with an upstand.

[Joe the plumber]

I like Mira Flight shower trays with upstands (a raised lip on the top edge to tile over). They're lightweight, but still strong. Cast stone ones can be a pain to install and make leakproof around the edge. You'll need the standard one, not the 'Low' type:

 

http://www.mirashowers.co.uk/onlinecatalog/results.htm?sectionName=Shower%20trays

 

I also like 3mm wall boards such as these:

 

https://www.rubberduckbathrooms.co.uk/shower-panels-boards/tilepanel

 

Once you've sealed the panels over the upstands on the tray, and fitted and sealed the appropriate corner profile, they should be nicely watertight.

 

I've given up doing bathrooms for customers these days, but I've used both of these products at home recently and been pleased with them.

Incidentally, don't buy your Mira tray from Mira. Decide which one you'd like and shop around as Mira themselves aren't cheap. Don't forget to try both eBay and Amazon for them too.

[peterboat]

I have the plastic waterproof boards on my walls easy to clean look good and now 8 years old. I polish it with good quality car polish every now and then as it makes the water bead and run off keeping it cleaner for longer. Make sure you keep as much storage as possible in there boats are small things and you dont want your bathroom stuff scattered through the boat!!

[AdamG]

 

I'm looking at having my bathroom refitted and would welcome your thoughts or advice - particularly on any pitfalls I should look out for!

Current set up is -

Side bathroom (2ft corridor to starboard) with 4ft bath horizontally across boat, huge basin unit with cupboards underneath, thetford cassette loo. Lots of wasted space.

Changing to -

Walk through bathroom (remove corridor wall, add door from kitchen to starboard (cooker is in the middle of the boat so both doors will need to be starboard).

Central shower cubicle 1000x7600/800, 25mm depth, stone resin tray, sliding or bifold doors

Small towel cupboard to port wall next to shower

Modern basin, smaller cupboard underneath

Keep the old loo (even though its gone a bit off colour with age)

The waste water from shower will be in a similar place, need to get short (1850) shower screen. May sink the tray if possible once we see what we're working with. Will remove tiles from existing bathroom and replace with waterproof cladding (even up the weight distribution a bit) and replace laminate floor with tiles perhaps.

I'm a complete novice / unwilling at DIY so getting a trusted professional bathroom fitter / plumber in. However he's not worked on boats before.

Any wisdom to share with me please? Especially in terms of costs, suppliers, materials, dangers(!) etc?

Thanks

 

Hi

I have exactly the same layout in my bathroom at the moment and want to do something very similar. I can live with my set up for now and I'm hoping to have someone re-fit my bathroom, perhaps in September, whilst I go on hols for a week. I'd be really interested to see what you have done - perhaps you could post some photos of the process?

Kind Regs

Adam

[Claude]

I have the plastic waterproof boards on my walls easy to clean look good and now 8 years old. I polish it with good quality car polish every now and then as it makes the water bead and run off keeping it cleaner for longer. Make sure you keep as much storage as possible in there boats are small things and you dont want your bathroom stuff scattered through the boat!!

Just avoid the 3mm thick white tile-effect plastic sheets from B&Q. Mine lasted about 8 years but i found that micro-cracks occurred along the fake grout lines and water got behind the sheet. I ended up ripping it all off the walls and replacing it with a product called Showerwall. Quite expensive but much better quality.

Edited May 19, 2016 by Claude

[ditchcrawler]

Just avoid the 3mm thick white tile-effect plastic sheets from B&Q. Mine lasted about 8 years but i found that micro-cracks occurred along the fake grout lines and water got behind the sheet. I ended up ripping it all off the walls and replacing it with a product called Showerwall. Quite expensive but much better quality.

I used tile effect flooring vinyl on my bathroom walls. It may be 80s hire boat but it works

[Odana]

There is a lot to be said for a bath after a long cold day on the back of the boat....

Many 4ft baths aren't worth it, but one that's deep enough to soak in properly is worth having IMO

[Mitchellmoxo]

Make sure he fits the waste towards the stern as the boat will slightly be sloping this way and you will have water pooling in the shower tray if not!

[AdamG]

Any news/photos She25?

 

I'm keen to have this done myself and as quickly as possible and would love to see any progress with your own re-fit...

[MtB]

The important thing to remember with boats is that they move. And I don't mean on the water, I mean within themselves! Steel has a big thermal expansion. Wood doesn't.

 

 

Really? Got a reference for that?

 

I'd have thought the opposite, that wood has a higher coefficient of expansion thansteel.

[FadeToScarlet]

I would avoids floor tiles, they'll be freezing cold in winter.

Bathmats. I thought of fitting underfloor heating, but this was cheaper.

[koukouvagia]

In order to save water when showering, use a hand-held shower head with a trigger.

 

Something like this link

Edited July 3, 2016 by koukouvagia

[nicknorman]

Really? Got a reference for that?

 

I'd have thought the opposite, that wood has a higher coefficient of expansion than steel.

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/linear-expansion-coefficients-d_95.html

 

Steel 12 whatsits, wood 3 whatsits. For wood, that is of course along the grain. Across the grain is much higher and also for expansion due to changes in humidity, however it is normally along the grain that is relevant. Which raises the question of plywood! However I was primarily thinking of long strips of trim that tend to be fitted at the corners, eg along the ceiling edge.

 

But the other point is that the steel is exposed to much higher temperature changes, and uneven changes (hull in sun vs hull in water or shade) and this causes significant distortion of hull shape. If wood is securely attached to the steel at multiple seperated points then there will be a clash between the distorting steel and the stable wood, and the steel will win.

[mross]

If you can get the work done by someone who fits out boats you will avoid many pitfalls.

[spadefoot]

Make sure all pumps, hoses, hose clips, pipe fittings etc, are all easily accessible.

[MtB]

Make sure all pumps, hoses, hose clips, pipe fittings etc, are all easily accessible.

 

Worth repeating.

 

Make sure all pumps, hoses, hose clips, pipe fittings etc, are all easily accessible.

 

You can be certain the one you decided was too awkward to arrange access to will be the one that causes trouble. The skin fitting carrying the shower waste is a favourite for this. Often bodged, and always inaccessible!

[Rendelf]

 

Worth repeating.

 

Make sure all pumps, hoses, hose clips, pipe fittings etc, are all easily accessible.

 

You can be certain the one you decided was too awkward to arrange access to will be the one that causes trouble. The skin fitting carrying the shower waste is a favourite for this. Often bodged, and always inaccessible!

 

Thirded! I've already had to access to the piipework I left exposed when refitting our kitchen. I'm still tearing out the shower, which was bodged by previous owners and subsequently leaked for a couple of years, hidden behind concentric layers of tiles and MDF....uuurrrgggh. I also like exposed pipes, so use chromed copper pipes where they are visible, and plastic where they are not.

 

In terms of tiled floors.... IMO an absolute terror to the toes in the winter. I highly recommend bamboo flooring, which is naturally warm, water resistant, and ecologically sound. If you check Ebay for flooring, make sure to search for "new - other" listings. Many people do their houses and have up to 10m2 left over...which no one else wants. We managed to get our bathroom floor (rrp £30 psm) for 99p!

 

Also, if you want to add resale value, perhaps consider relatively inexpensive underfloor heating mats. They can be put directly under lots of floors and linked to shoreline. Wiring could be left until later, but now is a good time to add. Probably around £50-£100 for an area that size.

Edited July 5, 2016 by Rendelf