1.95 m x 1.65 m bathroom refit

notisis

Trying to get quotes has taken ages as all plumbers that have been recommended are too busy or say they will quote and then never hear from them again, so ended up going to a local one stop shop (supply & fit). Materials come in at around £2600 (including tiles, flooring, shower, vanity units, bath etc) which seems about right for what we've chosen having checked around but labour is £4439 plus VAT (almost £9k in total!).

This is for stripping out existing bathroom, take off all tiling, take up flooring, take out pipe work, plaster ceiling, fit units, bath, install pocket door, run new pipework, install, basin, toilet, shower to combi boiler, dual fuel towel rail/radiator, alter soil pipe, install recessed light fittings including fire hood, shaver socket, RCD unit, tiling, laying floor, painting, fit bathscreen and mirror, clearing site. This doesn't include supply of pocket door or extractor and install.

We are just outside Brighton so I know will be more expensive than Leeds for example. Another ballpark figure we've been given is £8k not including extractor to include the above and supply and install so really similar but haven't had breakdown yet. Any recommendations from people who live in the area for a plumber that will quote after he's looked at the job so we can source the fittings ourselves?

Oldsoak

Persist with trying to get a bathroom fitter like myself (unfortunately I'm not in your area, or available until December), this will at least save you the VAT. If I were quoting it would be about that figure and would not have to include the VAT as I'm below the threshold. However, you are having some potentially major hassle jobs done, such as a pocket door and moving a soil stack, both of which can be nightmare jobs even for us pros. Like I said keep trying independant fitters as a bathroom fitter such as myself they will subcontract the plastering, electrics and the pocket door fitting to trusted tradesmen (who they trust) and will then effectively project manage the complete job.
Good luck and remember. If a tradesman isn't busy, there is probably a reason for it. Good workers are worth waiting for if you can afford to wait.

notisis

Thanks, Oldsoak. The soil stack is not being moved but the entry to it (turning the loo round from back to the outside wall and direct to the soil stack to right angle to it). And the first builder/plumber we had originally came round end March 2010 and then kept saying he hadn't forgotten us (still no quote to date) until someone else recommended a plumber just before xmas 2010. He visited in Feb/March 2011 and again kept saying he was waiting on the electrician and assured us he would provide a quote. He did say he was booked until the end of the year which was no problem. He even told my friend he'd sent us a quote until she asked us whether we'd received it. When we said no, she asked him and he said he was waiting on his electrician. I'd rather a tradesman said they feel it too much work rather than string you along (presumably to be polite!) or ignore you. I think the pocket door is the sticking point!

I'll try and find another recommended plumber and this time tell them if you don't want to do a pocket door say so now! If not, I guess we'll have to pay one of the one stop shops which at least seem to be well thought of.

Leif

Labour sounds somewhat outrageous. I have a 2.5m by 1.7m bathroom and I have had several quotes for a like for like replacement, and removal of tiles, replastering where needed, and re-tiling half the walls. Materials are £2.5K, labout £2.5K. Excavating out and moving the soil pipe would have added ~£500 as I have the old style toilet with a straight down poo pipe, but I am having the new loo moved forward instead. Another quote was £5K for labour and materials. And a third quote was £5K for labour, no parts. Eeek. So shop around. Or ask around for recommendations.

m00min

Sounds like an awful lot to me. We had a 2.5m x 2.0m bathroom completely refitted - stripped out existing bathroom then fitted new suite, new ceiling and recessed lighting, new floor, walls replastered, tiled floor and half tiled wall (fully tiled around shower), fitted heated towel rail, extractor, mirror, shower screen (in fact pretty much everything you listed.

Materials came in at about 3k and labour was another 3k on top of that, all including VAT. Based just outside of London.

I guess the pocket door could be an issue if you don't have internal stud walls. I would continue to shop around though

keystone

Size of room is irrelevant in labour terms. Yoiu still have to fit a bath etc and you still have a similar number of cuts for tiling. Site unseen I would say that the labour cost (ex VAT) seems to be of the order of £1- £1½k too high. But they've seen it and I haven't. Shop around for additional quotes.

Cheers

notisis

Thanks everyone for replying. We had in our minds thought it was about £1000 or more than we had imagined. Back to trying to find another recommended installer or two. By the way where the pocket door is to go is already a stud wall (wood frame and plasterboard), so a swap - no knocking down internal brickwork!

Thanks everyone for your input - appreciated!