Bathroom Suites

[Laizy Days]

Hi Folks

Could anyone let me know if this is possible? I would like to to buy my bathroom furniture ie:- wc, sink, bath, shower tray in the UK, and then use French taps and plugholes, so it all ties in with the French plumbing system. Would the french taps and plugholes fit in the holes made in the porcelain???.

NB

The reason I ask is because we still live in the UK and never have alot time to shop around in France, we spend all the time we can, doing the more mundane renovating task, and I have noticed some really good offers in the UK.

Any comments most welcome

Neale

 

 

[Frederick]

From my experience its not worth the hassle buying in the UK unless there is some special design you really want. Brico depot prices are much cheaper than the UK ones..... about 40 % anyway .....and they have a pretty good range . Try and get sombody to send you a  copy of their product book with all the prices . Example  a "Nautica " toilet pack thats the toilet.... with the two flush buttons ..... lid...and the flushing mecanism  is at the moment 41.90 euros  a thremostatic  shower mixer tap is  19.50 E ......wont find a similar one in the UK for that at a plumers merchants .   

[Hoddy]

If you can't find someone to send a catalogue there are plenty on line.

For example,

http://www.lapeyre.fr/Lapeyre/pub.accueil.PreHomeController.do

Hoddy

[WJT]

I don't want to go into too much detail [+o(],  I am also sorry if I am hijacking once again [:$].  However, when we renovated our place in the UK, we bought one of the suites from B&Q and saved substantially over buying from the bathroom supplier for our others. The toilet we bought from B&Q has never flushed properly (duel buttons on top), it is absolutely awful. We were told by the plumber that you get what you pay for and always advised not to buy cheap bathroom suites particularly toilets, he said he always advices against B&Q particularly. By the way this wasn't one of their cheap offers either, it was one we had to order.

We are now doing the same here in France, we will not do our upstairs bathrooms at the moment but will need to choose a toilet and sink for our downstairs WC now. I am just not sure where to go and after our experience with the B&Q toilet will be a bit weary of the Bricos.  Hoddy did you fit the Lapeyre suite? If not has anyone used them or have fitted and had experience with the Brico toilets?

[andyh4]

Bricomarché - 63€

Professionally fitted - no time to do it myself.

going strong (us and the toilet).  No problems

[Gastines]

The Cheap dual-flush complete toilets at Brico and occasionally in Carrefour, can't be that bad. A UK friend who has quite a lot of property to deal with, gets me to take them back and over several years have never had a complaint.Perhaps it's in the fitting?

Regards.

[tj]

Hi

I dont know about "in the fitting" but definitely in the "fittings" getting all that internal plastic to work as it should is tricky sometimes, adjusting the full and half flush arrangement, and the ball valve arm if it doesnt hang vertically in the water inlet get ready for some noise with the high pressure.

Have tried to find brass fittings to no avail, maybe someone knows? 

 

[P]

Certainly, the French seem to pay a lot less than the British for their bathroom suites. The OH is rather keen on a stepped basin. In the UK they are £99 - they have the same thing in Brico Depot - at 49 EUROS!!!!!

Another example of lower prices are hidden lavatory suites - where the cistern is hidden. These can be had, including the frame and pan for less than 200 euros in France - at least double in the UK.

I would second the 'only buy in UK' if it is a design that you cannot get in France.

Paul

[Laizy Days]

Thanks for your comments.

Based on your comments I shall certainly look into buying the at the Bricomarche as one has just opened in Autun. Do they all come complete with the taps or do you have to buy seperate as you do here.

Neale

[zeb]

LOL - when M. le Plombier did our plumbing and central heating he refused to fit anything from the brico sheds in the downstairs bathroom. We had to meet him at the plumbers merchants in Angouleme and they had a choice of.........wait for it..........two styles of basin and..........one loo to choose from. Easy choice!

Anyway, when we fitted out the shower room upstairs ourselves (M. le Plombier had installed all the pipework and wastes) we bought from Bricomarche and haven't had any problems with the expensive stuff or the cheapos.

I'll never bother with a bidet again though (insisted upon my M. le P.) - complete waste of space, and the hydrojet shower pings my bits (!) so that's another thing that I wouldn't waste my time with.

Sorry, this isn't really much help, but yes, we did have to buy the taps seperately (with M. le P. hovering over us).

[Gyn_Paul]

[quote user="zeb"]LOL - when M. le Plombier did our plumbing and central heating he refused to fit anything from the brico sheds in the downstairs bathroom. We had to meet him at the plumbers merchants in Angouleme and they had a choice of.........wait for it..........two styles of basin and..........one loo to choose from. Easy choice!

Anyway, when we fitted out the shower room upstairs ourselves (M. le Plombier had installed all the pipework and wastes) we bought from Bricomarche and haven't had any problems with the expensive stuff or the cheapos.

I'll never bother with a bidet again though (insisted upon my M. le P.) - complete waste of space, and the hydrojet shower pings my bits (!) so that's another thing that I wouldn't waste my time with.

Sorry, this isn't really much help, but yes, we did have to buy the taps seperately (with M. le P. hovering over us).[/quote]

I know I'm a cynical old sod but I wonder if the fact that the shopping sheds don't offer trade accounts (and therefore discounts) to M. le Plombier had anything to do with it ?

I've just installed (replacement job) one of the WC packs mentioned in an earlier posting, and from opening the box to putting the tools back in the shed was about 80 minutes total. NO adjusting of the flush mechanism needed; or the (not)ball valve. Easy Peasy! Longest part of the job was hacksawing through the old, rusted fixing screws holding the old pan in place. Nice design, functions efficiently; can't fault it, nor can I see why anyone would pay twice as much in a  plumbers merchants.

p

[Coco]

We've had two cheapy loos in the past and excuse the pun but both were cr*p.  One fitted by OH and one fitted by willing plumber.  We've found them to be false economy.

[Will]

The most likely reason the French plumber insisted on a limited choice from a plumber's merchant is that he has to provide a ten-year guarantee on his work. From normal trade type sources he knows what he is getting, and if it turns out to be faulty he stands a chance of getting replacements, whereas the Bricodepot type stuff, and the accompanying after sales service is, to put it kindly, of variable quality, and may not be available again when stocks run out. Certainly some of the cheap stuff is perfectly OK. Our own experience of cheaper loos is that there was no problem with the porcelain parts, but the mechanisms, for flush and, in particular, shutting off the input to the cistern (I'm not a plumber so don't know the proper names) , left much to be desired, and had to be replaced with better-quality ones, albeit from the same type of shop.

I don't know if it's any better now, but try getting a new roll-top free-standing bath in France - although a supposedly French style they were very difficult to find a while back in France, other than from a few top-range suppliers, whereas in England there was a great choice of styles, prices and materials.

There is certainly not a problem using items from one country in another, in fact since British rules were relaxed to permit the European-style push-button flush, much of the stuff on sale in Britain is identical to that in France, and not always more expensive, either. I would suggest using taps and wastes from the correct country though (the holes will be the same size) because you know they will fit the pipework, you will stand a better chance of getting spare parts or replacements, and water pressures are different.

[Gluestick]

Perhaps it's me being naive, but surely, if bricoX demonstrate a considerable saving, it is simple to then fit a better quality flush mechanism? All standard now in France?

I would never buy cheap taps and thermostatic shower valves, though.

Loos, basins, baths and shower trays, no problem. Cheap cabin type showers, hmmmmmm[8-)]

 

[WJT]

We had two plumbers come out to take a look at the problem with our B&Q toilet (neither were the plumber that fit it), they both said that it wasn’t the mechanism nor was it in the fitting. It is the water level and both have said they have seen this before with the cheaper toilets. It is porcelain and looks smart, just a very bad design. We even have to warn overnight guests about the problem. [:$]

I am in the process of sorting a plumber at the moment here in France. A few weeks ago, I had one (English) show me the Brico Depot catalogue pointing out the cheap prices on everything including suites and thermostatic valves. He said that thermostatic valves at Brico Depot are a fraction of the price they are in the UK. He said he drives a very long distance to the nearest one versus his local plumbers merchant because even with the discount they are much more expensive.

Oh dear what to do. Take a risk and buy the cheaper products and hope they are good quality (on a plumbers recommendation) or pay way over the odds. Until I saw Gluestick’s comment, I had at least planned on buying the thermostatic shower valves from Brico. [:(]

[Gastines]

Perhaps we should all get together to buy our plumbing stock? Having watched a TV.Prog, where a chap was buying his stock in bulk from Brittany ,exporting to UK,Birmingham I think, then reselling the stock plus VAT. He managed to make over a million out of the VATman in one year. Now living on the Costa!

They did point out that most plumbing supplies are cheaper here, although for some odd European reason, the sizes of pipes and fittings are all 1mm different from UK.

Regards.5mins St.Malo.

[Will]

WJT (we apparently share initials) - that is interesting. The reason we had three of the four loos in our house changed was due to the water level problem, and the original loos were made by Porcher, a recognised marque. The chap who changed them actually asked us to pick the replacements from the Brico Depot catalogue. As it turned out the ones we wanted were out of stock, and discontinued, so he got another type, which looked similar but was cheaper - he was very proud to have saved us money, but these were the ones with the c*** mechanisms. They totally solved the water level problem, at a stroke, as I said there was no problem with the porcelain, though I did have to spend another 30€ or so on each one to replace the flush and valve mechanisms before they would work properly and quietly. So if you're prepared to take a chance on the mechanism quality, the important bits will probably be quite OK - and as even I with my plumbing skills can change the flush and inlet valve then they were not really a big deal.

I'm not too sure about thermostatic valves. We've certainly had cheap ones which have worked OK, but on showers that were not used very often. I'd say that if it's easy to change it, go for the cheap one and if you do have to throw it away every so often you are probably still in pocket. However, if, and this seems more likely, it's a major job to swap the valves, then go for something decent at the outset.

It's all down to value for money rather than just cheapness.

[Miki]

Will,

All our shower taps, toilets and basins are Porcher. It is pretty

important that we can replace anything easiily and buying this kind of

Marque, means being able to find the fittings etc from one of the trade

outlets (Brousset) or even the sheds on occasion. Buying from the sheds

is OK for ones own place but for anything the public are going to

abuse, then one buys to hedge against misuse !

[WJT]

Will, thank you for the information, by the way, I also have a little white dog like yours [:)]. It is interesting that your problem was also the water level, it is worrying because it appears it could be the luck of the draw. Unfortunately, a loo is very difficult to change because of the damage it can do to tiles etc.. I think your comment about value for money is right, perhaps it would be a false economy and we should look at buying from a plumbers merchant or similar. Just wish there was one that had loos on display that you could check the water level before buying, now that would be worth paying for. [:D]

[P]

WJT when you say water level problems I presume you mean in the cistern. Having recently fitted a couple of cheap B&Q loos (and the rest) in two bathrooms of a house we recently sold, whilst the mechanisms do leave something to desire and a peculiar method of adjusting the levels, once adjusted then they were fine.

On a general point, the tails on shower mixers etc are BSP.

Paul

[Will]

Perhaps we are talking at cross purposes here - by water levels, I meant the level in the bottom of the pan itself, where the water often would not be high enough to prevent smells from the drains coming up through the U-bend. Not sure if WJT meant that or the cistern. Miki, I quite agree, anything for frequent use or possible abuse by the paying guests needs to be robust, which is precisely why we kept the French Ideal Standard loo, Grohe shower and taps etc in the room we let to guests. Too many people have a 'cheapness rules' philosophy, I (and you too I guess) prefer to look at value rather than just cost.

[Miki]

[quote] Too many people have a 'cheapness rules' philosophy, I (and you

too I guess) prefer to look at value rather than just cost.[/quote]

Yes Will, it comes through age and through experience of buying the

same "economical" thing 3 times as they are not really up to the job,

until one realises buying a good quality item in the first place, would

have been the better choice and actually in the medium/ long term,

saved us money !!

We do need to be able to find the replacement part quickly and easily.

Many items in the sheds will have very poor SAV, as some goods are made

for quick and cheap turnaround and back up for spares can be pretty

awful, especially after that model is not on sale any more.

[Gluestick]

[quote user="WJT"]

Oh dear what to do. Take a risk and buy the cheaper products and hope they are good quality (on a plumbers recommendation) or pay way over the odds. Until I saw Gluestick’s comment, I had at least planned on buying the thermostatic shower valves from Brico. [:(]

[/quote]

 

WJT:

The problem with the cheaper thermostatic shower valves is that the thermostat inserts corrode quickly and either stick or rot through. They are the same sort of principle as a car thermostat, i.e. wax pellet or similar. If the bellows corrode through or jam then they scald or freeze! Also the sheer quality of the tap threads is important. All a bit like those nasty cheap neo-Georgian interior lever door handles, which after a year or so, go sloppy and the return spring breaks![:@]

You gets what you pays for.

As has already been pointed out, buying spares can be tricky. And as you have pointed out, once fitted, it always affects surface finish to fit an alternative part. Therefore it does seem the first question has to be on spares. Most manufacturers tend to use the same insert for a range of valves, unless it is a very unusual item.

Therefore I would stick to known makes rather than the cheap imports which are coming from all over. Taps, well normally pretty easy to change, as holes in baths and basins, vanity units etc are all common. With flexible tap connectors, make allowance for different depth of future taps, in case!

So with taps, for me, it's a question of standard type fittings, over clever styling!

 

[WJT]

Paul, Will is right, the problem is not in the cistern but in the pan itself. We have tried everything outside of changing the loo. By the way, I assume BSP is a brand name or either an acronym for a curse word. [:D]

Gluestick, thanks for the information. I will definitely stick to the name brands. Don't know what they are here in France but will have to learn soon. [:)]

[Gyn_Paul]

[quote user="WJT"]

Paul, Will is right, the problem is not in the cistern but in the pan itself. We have tried everything outside of changing the loo. By the way, I assume BSP is a brand name or either an acronym for a curse word. [:D]

Gluestick, thanks for the information. I will definitely stick to the name brands. Don't know what they are here in France but will have to learn soon. [:)]

[/quote]

This is an interesting one, in that I assumed all French loos would conform to some sort of  NF for sanitary ware, which would include the standing level of the water in the trap.

Are you saying that after flushing the level is so low as to not form a proper water trap?

if so then...

Q - once the level has stabilised after flushing, is it possible to raise it by slowly adding water manually (from a bucket for example) ?

does the level rise at all ?

does it stay full(er) until the next proper flush ?

or does it reach a higher point then simply syphon away ?

p