CrossTeam Properties Offers Advice on Home and Garden Improvements

Modern homes are better insulated now than ever before and it is more important than ever to ensure that the quality of the air we breathe in them is of high and suitable quality. Adequate ventilation for homes with gas fires and cookers is a legal requirement and we will only too pleased to check on this and bring it up to the necessary legal requirement.

In the kitchen we recommend that if you have a gas cooker, you should fit a hood fan that exhausts air to the outside. All fuel burning appliances should be professionally inspected yearly to ensure that these comply with legal requirements otherwise occupants could suffer from carbon monoxide poisoning. Bathrooms are another area where good ventilation is essential. Often we use chemical cleaners and installing a window or wall extractor fan will remove the chemical smell from the house. The bathroom is also a place where steam from baths and showers can cause condensation problems such as damage to decorations and woodwork so it is essential that it is removed quickly and efficiently.

Condensation is the curse of the modern home which is more susceptible than houses of yesteryear. A modern house has double glazing, draught proofing and is well insulated unlike the older house which had open fires and the windows probably did not fit all that well.

Condensation occurs when warm moist air settles upon a cold surface, this is usually a window and the bathroom is obviously the place where this is seen the most with showers and baths happening morning and evening. At Crossteam properties we can provide simple solutions to prevent the formation of condensation which if this continues regularly can cause damage to decorations and timber surfaces can also be affected by wood rot.

Ventilation is the easiest way to prevent a build up of warm moist air and we can advise on the best means of extracting the air from the bathroom. Positioning extractor fans in strategic places will usually solve the problem, but just putting one in a window may not be the best or most efficient place.

When you look in a bathroom shop or on the Internet and see a suite with the WC, bath, shower, bidet and so on, they will usually be individually priced. This means that you don’t have to buy the full package, you can buy a toilet from one group and a bath from another. However, many people are quite nervous about doing this, because they are worried that the various component parts will not match and will look odd. This is certainly a risk that you run, but you should bear in mind that many items, particularly if they are from the same manufacturer, will have the same colour shade and will be built to the same standards. You can therefore have a considerable degree of confidence if you do decide to ‘pick and mix’.

There are, however, some basic principles to bear in mind when selecting the various items. If you have gone for a very angular and sharp, funky bath, then don’t buy a heritage, (old fashioned), wash hand basin and expect the two to look stunning together. Simply choose another angular type wash hand basin, preferably from the same manufacturer, but not necessarily from the same suite.

Do not import some of the items from a bijou bath boutique in Italy and then expect to find complementary items in your local DIY store. Like should go with like and European standards may be slightly different, so either go for an all European or all UK specification, do not attempt to have both, since it rarely works.

Apart from these simple suggestions, don’t be constrained by suites, which are just a manufacturers design teams’ view of what works well together, but also be prepared to express your individuality and taste.

Once you have decided to redesign your bathroom and you have planned out the type of suite you want along with the furniture and the fittings, then there are still some practical issues to consider; after all, you will be spending quite a bit of money on your new bathroom, so you want to make sure that when it is finished, the bathroom actually ‘works’.

Practicalities which need to be taken into account are the type of flooring you wish to install and the ventilation required. Flooring is important because it will really influence the final look of your bathroom and it is important that it is both water resistant and slip resistant, whilst looking good. Carpets can be used in the bathroom setting, but they can suffer from being less resistant to water and can, around the toilet, sometimes end up looking a little stained.  Most people opt for a flooring material which is not carpet.  Tiles or linoleum are a safe choice, but check before you buy that it is resistant to water or else it will soon need to be replaced.

Ventilation is also very important within the bathroom setting, since you will be creating steam; through using a shower or a bath and you need to get rid of this steam very quickly.  Opening windows is an obvious way of creating ventilation, but obviously this may have security implications, particularly if you forget to lock the window again. So a mechanical fan may be the answer and it can certainly help keep your bathroom free from condensation, or even any strong odours, so is certainly worth consideration.