With my daughters married and settled in their own homes this was the point at which my wife and I decided that we were at last ready to rip out our poorly fitted en suite and do it properly.
We were young, under increasing financial pressure and found a man willing to sort out our bathroom en suite probably 20 years ago.
I needed a shower, toilet and sink, because with three woman in the house it was impossible to get in the main bathroom.
We chose affordable white tiles at the time, with a silver pencil border, but the fitter used the wrong grout and removed parts of the silver.
The shower tray sat over the staircase, we were unable to have a low profile.
The shower door was a bifold, cheap and practical but prevented you from cleaning behind the door properly.
We had an Amtico floor, but the floor boards creaked, not to mention that initially we had a noisey Saniflo.. but that’s another story.
The shower had a built in pump, but it was loud and the handle had broken a long time ago and no replacement parts were available.
So we got recommendations and asked to see the work that other bathroom fitters had done.
It’s fine to go with capable and acceptable workmen, but I was insistent that we went for something special and done by the better than average.
We found Michael Scott Bathrooms and Kitchens to be head and shoulders above the rest. This company has an ethos like no other.
Nothing is too much trouble that can be done. And if it can’t be done then nothing is too much trouble to find a way to do it.
We were disappointed that work could not start on time, but again testiment to Michael we were informed that he could not leave his current customers in a mess as when fitting their new floor he discovered it was all rotten. But as we had waited so long it barely mattered.
Leading up to the day that work started we were clearly impressed that long evening meetings spent helping us to choose and plan exactly what we wanted were finally going to be put into action.
In our case we had agreed a fixed price for the work and we sourced and paid for our choice of fixtures and fittings.
There really is a vast array to choose from out there and I would suggest that you start your planning by using Pinterest to build a board of what you like and dislike. That’s what we did and it made a differnce.
We wanted a minimalistic look, recessed shelves, creative lighting, the shower tray as close to the floor as possible and a hidden toilet cistern.
We were concerned too that there should be enough lighting for makeup and to shave, and in winter, to have a warm floor.
Finally we wanted a top quality shower with a rain forest head and it had to be pumped from our pressurised central heating water system.
When the day finally arrived everywhere was well protected with new dust sheets, skip arrived and work began.
Everything was ripped out right back to the brick work.
Our previous shower tray was 800 x 800, our old bathroom walls had been built out to fit the tray!
Our new shower tray was now going to be 900 x 1000.
To see a perfectionist at work, always happy, chatty and professional was a pleasure.
Level meant level, square meant square and preparation work done would have made Gordon Ramsey and the DIY SOS team very impressed in deed.
The attention to detail replumbing, rewiring, prepping walls and floor meant that we didn’t see any of our fittings or tiles installed until the third week.
The finish was everything we could have wished for and more.
If you’re even remotely considering a new bathroom .. consider Michael Scott Bathroom and Kitchens, you’ll not be disappointed.
Michael can be reached by phone on 07837 002101 or via his Facebook page.
