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28th January 2021

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Abacus Manufacturing Group provides durable and sleek solutions for department store washrooms

Heavy use meant that both the male and female public toilets within York's Browns department store were in urgent need of refurbishment. Bathroom expert, Abacus Manufacturing Group, was asked to provide a durable and functional solution while creating modern facilities that would remain fresh and clean for years despite the high footfall.

The Abacus team worked with Browns, a long-established family business, to create designs and selected the most appropriate products from the innovative Abacus ranges.

A key component in the creation of a contemporary style was the use of the Lustrolite Forest acrylic panel. With the appearance and feel of glass, yet weighing less than a quarter of a traditional glass sheet, the panel product is easy to install and was fitted to the outside face of the cubicle doors and behind the WCs to give a clean, vibrant look. Lustrolite, which has high impact strength and withstands wear, was also employed in the washstands supporting the basins.

The existing back to wall WC's with combined low-height cisterns, meant that there was a lack of pressure resulting in a poor flush. In turn, when the push panels were installed the seats of the WC's were breaking. These were replaced with 1.18m wall hung WC frames and new dual flush iso satin push plates, together with Ben De Lisi Simple wall hung pans and seats. The frames were boxed out, faced with Lustrolite and the tops tiled with Reale porcelain tiles, sourced to match closely with the original travertine natural stone wall tiles which were retained throughout.

For the basin areas, three Abacus Elements bespoke preformed washstands were individually manufactured. Elements products are highly waterproof and durable and the units, like the shelve in the WCs, were finished with Reale 1000 x 500 x 11mm porcelain tiles which, unlike the travertine wall tiles which are porous, are easy to clean. Both the splashback and the lower shelf were tiled with random brown glass/stone mosaic from Abacus directs designer tile range. Providing a chic contemporary look, a total of six Ben De Lisi Hands & Faces Allure flat basins now sit on top of the washstands along with extended Vessini Tall Ki mono basin mixer taps and square Vessini Designer bottle traps.

Sadie Hunter, Browns' store manager, comments: "Abacus was recommended as the go-to best bathroom specialist. We were open to suggestions about how to achieve what we wanted but were keen that it should be functional, hardwearing and easily cleaned while, at the same time, it had to look good. The Abacus team was incredibly helpful making suggestions, everything ran smoothly and they were very professional. The end result was exactly what we required."

T: 0845 8 50 50 40
W: www.abacusdirect.co.uk

31st July 2015