Made to Measure

Some bathroom retailers provide a full design service – including a home survey – however many rely on you to take your own room dimensions, and you may prefer to do the design work yourself.

Here we show you how to accomplish the all-important initial stage – measuring!

Firstly you'll require the following equipment – a three of five-metre tape measure, a sketchpad and pencil and perhaps a helping hand!

Rooms can be all shapes and sizes but to enable you to ensure that you have all the dimensions that you need, and they are accurate, here's where you start.

Overall Dimensions

First take an overall measurement of the length of the room and the same for the width.

Detail

Now go to each individual wall and measure that in stages noting the position of every fixed feature on that wall – windows, doors, radiators etc

As you complete your measurements for each wall add the individual dimensions together and check against your overall dimension – they may be slightly different but no more than 10mm

Three Dimensions

Always remember to measure the height of the room, plus the window sill height and the window height itself; plus other remaining features such as radiators.

Outside the Room

A really good spatial designer will also consider all the spaces around the room in which you are working

Ask yourself whether you can reclaim ill-used space on a stair landing or an adjacent bedroom

If so follow the same measuring procedure as outlined above.

What Can Move?

The answer here is everything – you can make the room larger by moving a wall. But some things are easier and less costly than others:

Expensive:

• Walls
• Windows
• Doors
• Soil vent pipe (toilet)

Less expensive:

• Bath, shower, washbasin
• Radiator
• Light switches and fittings
• Tiles