HOW TO RESTORE YOUR BATHROOM

Practical restoration of period bathrooms

You want to restore your bathroom to a state that is in keeping with the period and style of the rest of your house. But you also want something that works to modern standards (See Nine reasons not to restore your bathroom for some pointers as to why an overly authentic period bathroom isn’t always a good idea).

How do you go about it?

Find a good plumber

This is the most important thing. Installing old bathroom items can be complicated and you may need new pipework or a different water delivery system.

XTo create the bathroom of your dreams, you need a plumber who knows what he is doing and who you can trust.
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Old, new or mix and match

This is a matter of personal choice. In general, the considerations to bear in mind are:

• New bathroom items are simpler to install and work better. And companies like Drummonds offer beautiful high quality copies of favourite traditional items
• The big advantage of using bathroom antiques is that you can choose from a mouthwatering array of interesting designs - if you are prepared to seek them out. Few companies make fine copies nowadays, so your choice if you take the new route is more limited.
• Some authentic period items (for example baths – see below) can be bought and installed relatively easily
• Others – like taps – require more work to conform to modern water systems

Some of the issues involved with buying and using individual bathroom antiques are outlined below.

Old taps

All taps made earlier than the 1960s run at lower than modern water pressure. So to use them unadapted, you will need to reduce the pressure coming from the mains. These are the options:

• Taps can have internal parts replaced or serviced to work perfectly with modern plumbing. Drummonds does this for all the antique taps it sells, so you will be ok if you buy from us!
• Pressure reducing valves. These can work well. But they do not always reduce the pressure when a tap is off, which can cause iritating dripping.
• Supply water from a header tank, typically in the roof of your house instead of directly from the mains. This may not be possible in your property, and it is expensive. On the plus side, these open tank systems are environmentally friendly.

So you have to set the extra work required against the mouthwatering variety of antique tap designs available if you are prepared to search. Again, buying new bathroom taps is the easier option. You need to decide what suits you.

Old chinaware

Old Basins and WC pans tend to get damaged, with chips and worn glaze fatally spoiling the appearance. Reglazing old chinaware is possible but not always successful. The old glaze must first be removed; then items are shotblasted, reglazed and refired. There is a 2:1 chance that the china antique will break during the process.

Items in good condition are therefore hard to come by and expensive. You would be lucky to buy an antique basin, for example, in good condition for less than £800 and the choicest old wash basins can cost as much as £9000.

It is often simpler to buy a fine crafted copy. See our wash basins and toilets.

Cast iron baths

Period baths can be re-enamelled. Done well, this isn’t cheap, but you will end up with a functioning, long lasting antique bath in your bathroom.

Showers

Old showers used large pipes to bring in water, and like taps, they expect lower pressure than we get off the mains. You will need to either:

• Have an open tank system with big pipes
• Use a pump that supplies water at lower pressure

A pump is the easier option. But open tank systems are much greener as they uses little power.

Complete the look: flooring

The Victorians and Edwardians typically used pine or oak flooring in their bathrooms, while Art Deco bathrooms often had marble floors. So for an authentic looking bathroom, these floors are the ones to go for. A sealed wooden floor is perfectly practical in a bathroom.

If you don't like the idea of wood, a good alternative that doesn't look too out-of-character is limestone flooring.

Complete the look: pipework

Don't forget the pipework. Plastic pipes have no place in a period style bathroom, even if every bit of furniture within it is a copy. Copper or nickel plated pipes are most authentic, but any sort of plated pipe will look good.

Choose what you like

Restoring a bathroom to a traditional state is a personal process and how strict you want to be is up to you. Unless of course, you are in the enviable position of some of our clients and restoring a bathroom within a Grade 1 listed property. In this case, genuine antiques may be the only option.

In our experience, choosing items that you like and that will work well in the long term instead of always choosing what is most authentic is the best guarantee of happy bathroom experiences!

Author: James Walker, Drummonds

Site links:

• Bathroom restoration services
• Antique bathrooms
• Oak flooring
• Bath re-enamelling
• Nine reasons not to restore your bathroom to its original state
• Create an art deco bathroom suite

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