Your new bathroom furniture will arrive either flat-packed or ready assembled; the product description online or in store should advise whether you will be expected to self assemble the unit. If self assembly is required, it should be simple enough, and all the tools you need should be provided as part of the furniture pack. If your vanity unit is too large to fit through the bathroom door, remember to assemble it in situ!
Once your vanity unit has been assembled, it’s time to install it. First of all, check you have all the required parts. Remove any drawers and open or remove cupboard doors which would otherwise get in the way as you fit and plumb in the unit.
We’re assuming here that your old vanity unit, if you had one, has been removed, that your water supply and waste pipes are laid, and that any new flooring has been fitted. Prior to removing the old unit, you will have turned off the water supply to the hot and cold pipes feeding the vanity unit, or alternatively turned off the mains supply to the house.
Begin by assessing the area. If the water pipes and waste protrude from the floor beneath where your vanity unit will sit, you’ll need to cut holes to accommodate them in the base of the unit; if these same pipes come from the wall, you’ll need to cut the relevant holes in the back of the unit.
If your vanity unit is designed to accommodate an inset or under counter basin, it will very likely already have holes cut to size in the surface for this purpose. If you have bought a countertop basin and vanity unit, the top of the unit may have been left whole, so that you can decide exactly where you would prefer the basin and taps to sit. When cutting the holes you’ll need, take heed of the old maxim ‘measure twice, cut once’: if you accidentally put a hole in the wrong place, or you cut a hole that’s too large, it’s unlikely that the supplier will take pity on you and offer a refund! Sand down the rough edges of your new holes and wipe down the whole unit to finish this stage.
Once your vanity unit is prepared, you can attach it to the wall. Again, measure carefully and only drill when you’re sure. A floor standing item will support its own weight as you climb inside to fix it to the wall, but if you have a wall mounted unit, you may need a helper or two to support the weight while you worry about the fixings.
Next, plumbing. If your taps are of the basin mounted variety, they will need to be attached securely to the basin before you position and fix down the basin itself. A deck mounted tap, however, can be fitted once the basin is in place. Securely fix flexible water pipes running from the bottom of the tap, through the vanity unit, to the water supply. You need a secure, watertight seal at both ends, so make sure that the fixings are screwed on both straight and firmly. The basin waste is fitted in a similar way to the waste outlet pipe. Make sure you follow any specific fitting instructions that are provided with your components, and if you’re really not confident, don’t hesitate to hire a plumber – any mistakes now could be costly in terms of water damage to your bathroom.
By this stage, your new bathroom furniture should be fixed to the wall, and the water supply and waste plumbed in. Use silicone sealant to seal the slight gap between the edge of the vanity unit and the wall. Then, check very carefully that there are no leaks as you open up the water supply to the unit.
When you’re happy with the job, you can fit the doors or slot the drawers back into your completed bathroom furniture, which is now ready to use.
Helen Davies is a senior content writer for Better Bathrooms, suppliers of a range of luxury bathroom furniture and vanity units.