Bathroom advice please

charlottesmum_2

We are looking to refurbish our bathroom and separate loo. We had a quote from a bloke who advertises in the parish magazine, who is supposed to be part of the council "buy with confidence" scheme, and also had him "fix" our leaking guttering while we waited for the quote. However, the gutters still leak and he is playing silly b**gers about coming out to look at them again, so obviously we are not going to use him for the bathroom. Hubby and I are major procrastinators, we fart about getting quotes and then lose our nerve about doing it so nothing gets done. We don't know anyone locally for recommendations so in the end we have decided to go with b&q for everything. Their price is about the same as the independent bloke anyway, so we have no issue with the price, and I have read previous threads about b&q, but didn't see any major problems other than warning about the price.
However, we have decided to get the vanity unit from somewhere else (b&q said they will still do installation, even if we get some of the products elsewhere.
If you have manged to read this far, may questions are:
Does anyone have any experience of Bathroom discount centre in Fulham? They are advertsing on their website an ownbrand 1060mm width aqualife vanity unit for £97.88, plus delivery.
The other option is A Roma 1050mm rigid white vanity unit for £188 from Trueshopping.co.uk, or £255 from True Rooms. Any experience of either company? Neither of the latter 2 have showrooms so we haven't seen the units in person, only online, although the Fulham one does have a showroom, and we could make a trip there at a push. The gap we have according to the B&Q plans is 1090mm so either unit should be ok i think.

Any advice, or recommendations for installers in Camberley/Bracknell area greatfully received. Thanks for reading.

Canucklehead

Good morning: The OH is familiar with the Bathroom Discount Centre...they carry a large range of goods from Lefroy Brooks down to the usual cheap tat (the same outfit also run Mr. Central Heating). The shop is just up the road from his favourite plumber's merchant, Fulham Heating.

As far as buying bathroom goods from B&Q and having one of their subcontractors fit your bathroom:eek:..many threads on here about people's experiences.;) You can't wrong with quality gear fit competently.

You can find a member of the CIPHE here i.e. an experienced/qualified plumber.

HTH

Canucklehead

andrew-b

whatever you do don't use a diy stores own subcontractors....you'll live to regret it as well as paying above the odds (we did with our kitchen!)

Buy a branded suite, taps, shower etc yourself and get a few plumbers in to quote for fitting (not necessarily in that order if you need advice on things like taps and shower valves). Stick to well known brands like Ideal Standard, Twyford, Armitage shanks etc. There isn't actually that huge a difference in price between B&Q junk and decent branded products. There are good deals to be had on branded gear if you look hard enough.

Nearly all our bathroom stuff has been internet purchases and we've saved a packet as most of it has been below RRP- though can be somewhat risky and inconvenient if items have to go back (my parcelforce man knows me well for my screwfix returns!). If you do buy everything yourself make sure you check everything thoroughly and replace as necessary in plenty of time before your installer needs it!

Incidentally i had one bathroom installer ask me point blank on initial phonecall "it's not from B&Q"...suggesting he didn't want to fit B&Q junk! In the end i decided to take on the job myself - hard work and a big challenge for someone learning as i go but should be satisfying to see the end result hopefully - taking months too (being a fellow procratinator of course!)!

Andy

tux130582

andy where did you get your bathroom suite stuff online?? can you please point me in the right direction?

thanks

getcarter

I would love to know something about this as well.

I'm tempted by the 50% off at B & Q but also...do you need to see the suite in person (if you get it elsewhere), I'm concerned about quality, some of the baths etc seem really flimsy...................

Canucklehead

Good afternoon: My OH's customers ( i.e. the ones who don't buy from a plumbers merchant;)) have had success with Bathrooms365 and ShowersToYou : both sell name brand gear as opposed to the tat available in the 'sheds' and some online retailers that most plumbers hate to fit:eek:

HTH

Canucklehead