Bathroom refurb - advice appreciated.

schoolyb

Hi all,

First post here but a frequent visitor of MSE.

I'm looking to have a new bathroom fitted and have a couple of questions that hopefully people can help with:

1. I currently have a water heater (no central heating) in a cupboard in the bathroom, I'm not sure of the technical term for it but it's a big black tub with a heating element that heats my water on a timer. As it's in a cupboard (sits about 5' high) and gravity-fed there's little water pressure for showers (unless you kneel). I want to replace this with something better (and remove the cupboard in the renovations), I think I can get sufficient pressure by moving it to above the ceiling (the ceiling height in the flat is about 11' and there's a suspended ceiling in the bathroom and corridor at about 7'). Has anyone got a similar (hot water and electric only) system that could recommend what sort of new system to buy? (should I go for something with a large storage capacity or something that flash heats for example?) The room has no external walls as it sits in the middle of a period conversion with flats above and below, it's a one bed flat with two occupants and we average two showers and a sink's worth of washing up a day between us.

2. The job as I see it would be to remove the cupboard and existing hot water system, fit a new water heater (if moving above ceiling then building a new home for it and a ceiling hatch), remove the old bathroom suite, fit a new one (ideally moving the basin to a new home in the place of the old cupboard), fit a new extractor (the old one has an exposed power supply and was disconnected so there will be additional work for an electrician there), plastering, tiling and finishing. Given that it's not just fitting and that there is work requiring plumbers, electricians, fitters and tilers would you recommend splitting the job and approaching multiple people to do it?

3. I live in South London (New Cross, SE14) but don't really know anyone who could recommend suitable professionals (home improvements are not a popular pastime amongst my friends and my family live further afield) - is there a good starting point to get quotes that I've missed in my forum trawl? Or, are there companies that could do some/all of the work that come recommended? (I wasn't too impressed with my attempts to internet search on the subject and the sites that offer paid referrals).

Thanks in advance.

schoolyb

Also, one last question I forgot to ask:

4. Any advice for someone with virtually zero experience of DIY to save money throughout this process - I know some people would feel confident say doing a bit of tiling or something themselves but I don't know if there's anything I'd feel confident in doing. The only thing I could think was shopping around for things like the suite, fittings and tiles myself then just paying people to do the work? I can just about manage basic wall painting but in a bathroom is this something best left to professionals with applying a waterproof coat and sealing it all?

ListysDad

Question 1 - How long do you intend to stay?

Question 2 - Do you want a decent job OR a cheap job? They are NOT the same.

Question 3 - What is your budget and how did you arrive at it?

schoolyb

@ListysDad

1. Been here 3 years and did other work before bathroom, I'd imagine I'd stay for another 5 years if I was factoring cost vs durability.

2. Is there an option that's decent but affordable? I'd be prepared to sacrifice time to save money (shopping around different tradesmen or doing the job in stages for example) but would rather not skimp on the materials and finish. I'm not precious about brands or anything but if I was say looking for a bathroom suite I'd probably angle away from both the bottom and top of the range options.

3. My brother is a builder (too far away to assist unfortunately) and his estimate was about £5k. Looking at other similar posts here and a quick browse of DIY depot websites I'd hope that's a realistic figure - I'd imagine a even split between labour and the heater, bathroom suite, extractor, tiles etc. Obviously I would like to spend less but couldn't really spend more at this point and situation (other half moving in recently) dictates that I need to get it done sooner rather than later.

ListysDad

It's not the stuff you will buy (pottery, bath etc) that eats at your costs, it's all the rest needed in order to make a good reliable job of it.

For what it's worth, I'd prioritise getting a decent reliable source of hot water first. By putting in something decent you will add proper value and save money in the longer term.

Then I'd look at working with a tradesman and asking their advice whilst spelling out very clearly what your budget is.

With respect a builder will not know what your situation is with regard to plumbing specifics so his £5k may be well out - that's my gut feel.

Without the ability to contribute in a meaningful way (by that I mean genuinely impacting costs) you need to find a tradesman who will work with you.

They will be loads of people who'll now come on and tell you they did it for tuppence. You do not seem the kind of person who wants a crap job so take much of it with an extra large pinch of salt.

Ask for recommendations of tradespeople locally or go to your local City Plumbing or Plumbase (they are plumbers merchants) and ask them who they would recommend.

Good luck.

keystone

Echo everything in post #5 and would emphasise that you can have a good job or you can have a cheap job but you can't have both at the same time.

schoolyb

Thanks, it looks like there's a Plumbase near me so I'll try there first.

Having had a browse online I couldn't tell you what sort of water heater I'd need though, to avoid getting upsold on something I don't need would anyone care to offer any advice? Vented/Unvented? What sort of capacity? (1 bed flat, 2 occupants) Any brands/models/materials that are recommended or to avoid?

Also, my thinking was similar to @ListysDad in thinking of doing the job in two parts, installing a new hot water system (removing the existing built-in cupboard and relocating it above the ceiling) then doing the bathroom refit as a second job. If I did it this way would I be shooting myself in the foot with plumbing costs though? The tank would move about 3' up but the second stage would then involve also moving the basin, the plumbing for the bath and kitchen would remain as is (I assume).

ListysDad

With respect Schooly quit trying to work out what it is you need.

We spend our lives doing this stuff and still DO NOT always know the answers! The very best thing you can do is engage a plumber you fel you can trust. Ask a few round and ask the open question, "What do you recommend for a new water system?"

The proper response has to be a load of questions to you which should include, but not be limited to, how long are you staying in the property, what your HW requirements are, what you budget is and what your running cost priorities are.

All in all you'll get a good feeling about someone and when you do go with them.