The bathroom has come a long way in the last one hundred years. I am often grateful that I was born when I was because I've been able to enjoy all the luxuries that my older relations never had. I can choose between never ending hot water while taking a shower, or a long, delicious bath, and I can use a toilet that functions well.

Bathrooms these days have moved from having the absolute basics to becoming a especially pleasant room. If you are redesigning the bathroom, the very first thing to have a look at is to make sure they are adequately vented. Even if there is a window in the bathroom, it's adviseable to have a fan up above the shower. This means that the moisture of the steam is immediately sucked out of the bathroom. If you have already a fan, look to see that it's working and see if it needs to be cleaned.

So now it's up to you to select your fittings. It appears to be an simple job till you visit your plumbing store or your local hardware store and you see the vast array of possibilities available to you.

It is adviseable to begin with fixing a budget. Sort out what all the fittings will cost in total. And also consider the ongoing costs. When you choose a faucet, you can choose different types with washers or some sorts with cartridges that will need to be replaced over time. Just check with the supplier that you are not purchasing something that has a replacement part that is going to be difficult to source when it should be fixed. You'll find the same thing with the shower head. Every shower head will wear down with the non-stop water pressure, so look to see that it's simple to source replacement parts.

You may want to color co-ordinate all the different fixtures. This makes it look very attractive, but just take note that it may reduce the sort of fixture you can buy, so make a decision before heading off to the store whether color has to take preference over materials and functionality.

Toilets can be both very costly and very cheap. The range is vast. The first thing to do, is to consider the amount of water that you want to consume. You will discover that your old-fashioned toilet may consume between thirteen liters and 20 liters each flush. This is a huge volume of water. The new models don't need to use that amount of water because they use better plumbing technology and because people are now aware that water, which most of us used to take for granted, is now becoming a very valuable and increasingly scarce resource. This is the reason why it's important to analyze all the rooms in your home, as well as outside your property, to look to see that you are not using or losing through leaks etc., any unnecessary water.

To this end, you might consider purchasing a dual-flush toilet. Most modern toilets use no more than 6 liters each flush. Dual-flush toilets increase your options by offering you the choice of using either a half or a full flush depending on how much is needed.

Then you have to choose the sort of toilet. It is good to know the size, type and the amount of floor bolts of your current toilet. If you are installing it yourself, and you are not very experienced, you will find it simpler to put in a toilet that has the same measurements as your current one. However, this should not reduce you, but do take note of the amount of room you have in the bathroom. An elongated bowl toilet is two to three inches longer than the round bowl and creates an oval-like shape. This is very attractive, and may fulfil the look you are after, but it would be disastrous to complete installation and then discover that there's not enough room to comfortably sit on, given the placement of your bathtub or shower.

You may also want to install a quieter toilet, so you you might like to choose a one piece toilet where the tank and the toilet bowl are united, they have a lower profile and a flush mechanism that makes for a quieter flush.

You also need to have a look at the height of your toilet bowl, especially if there are people living in your house who have back or leg problems. The lower the toilet bowl, the more problematic you will find they will find it to sit on.

Another consideration is the material you choose for the various areas of your toilet. In most cases you'll discover that those using plastic parts are cheaper. This may suit how much money you have to spend, but do take note that you will find they will usually last not as long as other more costly options.

It is the same when you choose the materials for your faucets and shower heads. You will discover that the plastic options will do a good job, but in a relatively short period of time, plastic will stain and scratch and not look as attractive as, as an example, the chrome and stainless steel options that can look as good as new a number of years down the track if they are well maintained.

You also need to figure out what level of water pressure you need. Taps and shower heads are made to limit the water pressure to a certain level. So have a word with the people at your store and figure out what level you need.

Delimited Author Bio Resource Box

Scott Rodgers is a recently retired Los Angeles master plumber and is dedicated to helping you make your household renovations a great success. For more useful plumbing tips and information, visit Scott’s website: http://eLocalPlumbers.com