[plumseverywhere]

has anyone refitted their own bathroom? how hard is it and are there any good books/websites/youtubes you can recommend?
guess what I bought with hubby's card today lol. have managed to persuade him that its an investment and we can do the work ourselves 

[robert waddell]

the biggest problem is if it is imperial water pipes going to metric and by reffiting is that going back to a bare room

[plumseverywhere]

thanks Lillian  just wanted to re place like for like really - so take out the (really hideous) bright blue 70's bath, toilet and basin and put in the new white one. I see what you mean by imperial pipes to metric, when did we switch? was it the late 70's? good chance this old bath room predates that...oops.

[HappyHippy]

Even with the older pipes it shouldn't be too hard Lisa  B&Q and Homebase usually have 'how to' leaflets at their tills or maybe have something on their websites ?
You should be able to pick up fittings that allow you to attach a piece of new pipe and do the connections to the new suite - ask in your local hardware/DIY store. Providing you've not got lead pipes it should be okay I think. Some taps come with a length of flexible pipe attached already - they make things so much easier and go for compression fittings over the ones you need to solder 
Providing you switch off the water before you start (and empty any supply tanks) you'll not flood the place 
If the old suite's in good nick, consider listing it on ebay once you've got it out - some folk will pay a fortune for 'vintage' bathroom suites and I think the blue is one of the more popular colours (as opposed to avacado and brown) 

[robert waddell]

happy hippy is corect you can get addaptors from metric to imperial there is not a great deal of difference between 22mm and 3/4inch but enough to cause leaks remember measure twice cut once

[mab]

I've never had an problems with old pipe sizes - either soldering or using compression fittings.

You may want to consider the plastic pipe/fitting systems - due to the cost of copper the plastic system is cheaper now for any significant length of pipe. It's also easier to bend pipes to fit. 

For the wastepipes there are two systems and they're not interchangeable:- solvent fit (used by most tradesmen) and push fit. You cannot use solvent on pushfit pipe and the pushfit fittings won't go onto solvent pipe. But fear not! - The 'universal' fittings (the compression type) fit any type of pipe including the old copper waste pipes, and the new chromed metal waste pipes supplied with some sinks.

The flexipipes certainly save a lot of time and hassle - and for some sinks they're the only practical way to connect. You can get flexipipes for waste and soil pipes too which can save a lot of hassle, though you do need to avoid leaving saggy bits.

Hope that helps.

mab

[plumseverywhere]

thanks everyone for the tips - feel quite reassured now 

not sure anyone would want this old bath room suite |Karen, its really grim lol!

[robert waddell]

all the old bathes that i have broken up with claw feet i would be worth a fortune

[HappyHippy]

If it's a cast bath - no matter how grim they might still be intrested !
If not, get it to a scrappy asap - don't let the council take it away, you're as well to get the cash for it 

[robert waddell]

even if it is stainless steel get it to the scrappy
see how its the Scots that are into the residual value

[plumseverywhere]

LOL    no its plastic and its blue and its grim!! even ducks would refuse to use it I think..

[HappyHippy]

lol ! 

[doganjo]

http://homerenovations.about.com/od/bathrooms/a/artbathrmremod.htm

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/templates/content_lookup.jsp?content=/content/knowledge/how_to/basic_plumbing/basic_plumbing.jsp

[plumseverywhere]

Annie - thank you!!  you are the queen of google and  can always find exactly what I never can. those are brilliant links 

[doganjo]

It's actually Yahoo I use - easy really - just put in  a phrase or question and you get loads of links - read the first few lines of each and it gives you and idea what the link will be.