Bathrooms - any recommendations?

socookin

Hi All,

I want to do a new bathroom in my new flat.

Does anyone have any good recommendations?

I don't mind spending a bit, but I just want to make sure that it's great value for money and good quality.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers,:money:

ognum

socookin wrote: »

Hi All,

I want to do a new bathroom in my new flat.

Does anyone have any good recommendations?

I don't mind spending a bit, but I just want to make sure that it's great value for money and good quality.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers,:money:

Not much information here, are you planning to spend £2k or £20k or £50k!!!

How big is the room, are you having separate shower and bath etc etc etc.

Hezzawithkids

We're planning a new bathroom too and have been to see a few showrooms and some plumbers merchants to get ideas - we now have quiet an impressive collection of brochures Rather than buying a complete off the shelf package we prefer picking and choosing the various components from different places, it takes a bit longer but you get the result you really want. We always try to use local tradesmen and check them out via checkatrade.com rather than national chains (like Wickes or B&Q) because we believe in supporting the local community. Get at least 3 people in to quote, not only will you get a good spread of costs they will also give you lots of ideas about designs, layout, function, etc. Having said that we've had some very good service from our local City Plumbing, but that may be done to the showroom manager who gave us some very good advice as well as pulling out all the stops for us on delivery times etc when we were refurbishing our en suite.

One thing we have learned is to stay away from Victoria Plumb or bathstore.com. They may be cheap but the goods are imported from China and are of very poor quality - cheap veneers etc, so if you're happy to pay a bit extra for British or European made goods then it will be worth it in the long run, especially if you are going to stay in your flat for a while.

You'll need to check the type of system you have, pipe widths etc. If you are planning something like a power shower the pressure in the existing system may mean you'll need to install a pump. Among the many decisions you are going to need to make take care when choosing taps. There are different styles but some are only suitable for high pressure systems - we found this out to our cost and are now needing to replace ours!

Lastly, we have a "remote control" switch for the shower which sits on the wall outside the shower cubicle and it is the best thing since sliced bread - I highly recommend getting one! It means that you can warm the shower up to the right temperature before you get in without getting any wet arms or having to do the "safecracker stance" with the controls!

Good luck whatever you decide!

socookin

ognum wrote: »

Not much information here, are you planning to spend £2k or £20k or £50k!!!

How big is the room, are you having separate shower and bath etc etc etc.

I have no idea how much a bathroom costs on average - I'd say from £5-8,000 (if that's reasonable). Bath and shower 3m squared room.

Thanks Hezzawithkids -- that's really useful info and I'd definitely like to explore this route as it's good to use local suppliers and tradesmen where possible.

Cheers.

Malks

Avoid Victoria Plumb, we made the mistake of using them. I will never recommend anyone ever uses them, as there customer services is awful.

Gave us a delivery date and never turned up. (The night before we were emailed to confirm, and they still missed the date, numerous phones calls chasing got us no where)
Rescheduled the delivery date – and tried to deliver to the wrong address, although I had repeatedly checked where they were trying to deliver too.
Quality is alright – but the plumber wasn’t impressed with the fittings, he ended up buying better quality ones.

They refused to acknowledge their mistake over the missed delivery, in the end after downloading the letter for missed delivery from this site, and starting a smalls claims court proceeding against them they finally admitted it was their fault and compensated us for taking time off work on the day they specified the delivery would happen, but never arrived. Turns out after speaking to the courier company that did deliver in the end, that Victoria Plumb have a very bad reputation when it comes to delivery times.

Use locally merchants – the quality is better and you are dealing with someone face to face. It may cost a bit more, but at least you are seeing what you are getting before it arrives.


The Plumber recommended Plumbase or City Plumbing, which we ignored to our peril!

PlutoinCapricorn

Shopping around for the 'hard stuff' is a good idea. Topps Tiles had a very good selection; I got a very good quality German shower bath; towel rail from eBay... the workmen were all personally recommended by neighbours.