Bathroom Installation

First Call Plumbing is well-established, independent and offers a top quality bathroom installation service to Edinburgh, Fife and The Lothians.

Whether you choose to give your bathroom or cloakroom a facelift with some new taps and tiling, or you require a full bathroom installation we are here to help you make your dream a reality. This could comprise of a walk in power shower and contemporary fittings with a modern towel rail and partial tiling of showers and walls or full tiling including floors. We will work with you on your new bathroom or cloakroom to design and develop your style of choice and make your ideas become reality.

Baths, Toilets, Showers, Bidets, Whirlpools, Taps, Sinks etc. Giving your bathroom an affordable bathroom makeover by changing the existing bathroom furniture or incorporating new bathroom accessories is an effective way of transforming your bathroom. Water may be splashed on the walls and floor, and hot humid air may cause condensation on cold surfaces. From a decorating point of view the bathroom presents a challenge. Ceiling, wall and floor materials and coverings should be impervious to water and readily and easily cleaned.

The use of ceramic or glass, as well as smooth plastic materials, is common in bathrooms for their ease of cleaning. However, such surfaces are often cold to the touch and so water-resistant bath mats or even bathroom carpets may be used on the floor to make the room more comfortable. Alternatively, the floor may be heated, possibly by strategically placing heater conduits close to the surface.

Spray Bidet

Spray Bidet

Vertical which has a fountain jet in the center of the bowl
Horizontal which has special over the rim spout that delivers a horizontal stream of water.

There is a possible risk of water becoming contaminated from back siphonage created by spray fittings. These units must be installed using backflow prevention devices, and should be installed by a plumber.

Guantanamo Bay Toilet

Toilet in mock Guantanamo Bay prisoner cell used in Amnesty International protest; taken in Miami, Florida in May, 2008.

Wall Mounted, Wall Hung or Suspended Sink

What is a wall-mount (wall-hung) sink?
A type of sink that’s installed so that the lavatory is supported from the wall.

Advantages:
It creates an open space in your bathroom for extra storage and it’s very easy to clean.

A wall hung sink is also known as a suspended sink and the phrase applies to other pieces in the bathroom such as toilets and bidets too, but essentially this is where the basin and pedestal are fixed to the wall but do not touch the floor. It is a more modern style than what is commonly found in the UK, although it is gaining in popularity. One of the most obvious benefits is that you can clean underneath it very easily.

Pedestal Sink

What is a pedestal sink?
It has a basin that is primarily supported by a freestanding pedestal leg.

Advantages:
It’s a great sink to choose if your bathroom is small, or if you want a nostalgic look. It’s also very easy to clean around.

In Scotland the most popular type of bathroom sink is the basin with pedestal.

The pedestal usually fits into a recess on the underside of the basin and is attached to the floor using hidden screw-holes on the inside at the bottom. The basin is fixed to the wall using screws underneath the basin or sometimes they are supplied with hidden brackets.

This type of bathroom sink can be installed on any wall, as most of the basin weight is supported by the pedestal. The pedestal also helps to hide the supply and waste pipes attached to the basin when viewed from the front.

You cannot usually mix and match bathroom basins and pedestals as each basin has a shaped recess underneath the bowl which corresponds to the shape of the pedestal. As pedestal shapes vary from make to make it means you cannot mix and match between makes and models (the pedestal is usually one of the cheapest items in a bathroom suite so there is very little reason the swap).

Vanity Sink

What is a vanity sink?
A vanity sink is installed in a cabinet fixture. It is a good choice for the master bathroom because of all the storage space. .

Advantages:
It provides a lot of storage and counterspace.

Console Table Sink

What is a console table sink?
It’s a table-like fixture supported by ornamental legs or brackets.

Advantages:
It will give your bathroom a nice open, airy feel. You’ll also find you much more of the valuable counter space you need.

Strictly speaking, a console table is an architectural term for angled brackets used to support any kind of shelf. Currently used for any kind of high table intended to be used against a wall.

Unlike pedestal lavatories, where the lavatory and matching pedestal are purchased together as a unit, console tables are sold in a variety of configurations, which allows for a complete custom look.

Sinks may be self-contained or installed in or on a custom counter top or table. A wide variety of tap styles are available.

Console legs are available in a variety of styles and finishes, including hand-crafted iron, wood and metal.

A console table offers a unique alternative to a pedestal or counter top lavatory.

Close Coupled Toilets

Low level, back to wall and wall hung toilet pans all use low level cistern - what this means is that the cistern remains exposed with a low level pan but is concealed behind a panel or wall for use with back to wall and wall hung toilets.

On a close coupled toilet the cistern is bolted directly onto the toilet pan to form a single unit. This is now the most popular type of bathroom toilet as this design will hide more pipework than low or high level toilets. They are not quite as neat as a back to wall or wall hung toilet but are the next best option.

As the cistern and pan are bolted together they cannot be positioned independantly of each other. This can be a slight disadvantages if the bathroom soil pipe opening is positioned in the floor as the final position of the toilet will depend on the position of the soil pipe in the floor - if the pipe is 6 inches away from the wall the cistern will end up 6 inches from the wall.

There are some pan connectors that will partially compensate for this problem but sometimes the only option is to build a small, solid shelf at the back of the cistern to bridge the gap to the wall. If the soil outlet is in the floor but near he wall or if the outlet passed horizontally through the wall then there are no problems using a close coupled bathroom toilet.

Because regulations have been introduced to make new bathroom toilets flush with less water, cisterns can now be made much narrower than previously which has lead to some very compact designs being made available. These regulation changes also allow the use of new flushing mechanisms which are generally quieter in operation than the old syphons and work at the push of a button.

The downside of these new regulations is that the flushing performance of new bathroom toilets can be inferior to older models that have larger cisterns.

Most bathroom toilet designs now available in the UK do not require an external overflow making installation quicker, easier and neater.

Wall Hung Toilets

A wall hung toilet has no “footprint” on the floor so they are ideal for incorporating into a small bathroom design where they can make the floorspace feel larger by being more open.

Installation of wall hung toilets is a little more problematic than with standard back to wall toilets, so it is best to seek the advice of First Call Plumbers because when installing a wall hung toilet a special bracing frame needs to be used inside the WC unit, which also houses the concealed cistern.

Wall hung toilets were initially designed for commercial applications but have become increasingly popular in domestic situations as design influences have changed, and people have looked to maximise the space they have available. They tend to be more expensive than other toilet designs.

Back to Wall Toilet

The toilet pan fits flush to the furniture unit or stud wall and the flush is activated by way of a handle to the front, or a push-button on top (if you do have a stud wall then you will need to incorporate a flat horizontal surface to fit the push-button). There is usually some kind of access panel included with furniture units so that you can get to the cistern if you spring a leak.

This fitted look is becoming very popular and you can usually find toilet designs in both traditional and contemporary styles