Bathroom Refit London

AKG23

Hi,

Looking to refit a small (1.55m x 2.57m) bathroom:

• Build small partition wall at the end of the bath so as wide as a bath ~0.75m and ~2m tall (there is window at the other end meaning we can't put a shower there).
• Installation of new toilet, bath, shower and sink all in the same place as currently (other than the shower which would move from one end of the bath to the other.
• Tiling the floor, full wall for the shower/bath area and the 1.55m wall where the window is and halfway up for the remaining space.

Seeing as I've had four quotes I'm probably looking for a miracle that they're all unfair but I can't believe how expensive they've been! The quotes so far have been £4500-£6750, I understand that being in London I should expect a premium but my parents from the North West had similar work done to an excellent standard a few years ago for only £1500. None of the plumbers I've had quotes from have given any breakdown either which is disappointing and making us even more confused as to what is driving the price so high.

Any advice would be appreciated - thanks!

phill99

I run a kitchen and bathroom fitting company. We are based in South Essex. Anything beyond an hours drive from put base is a non-starter as it means we have to leave at silly-o-clock in the morning and are forever clock watching as you don't want to get stuck in traffic on the way home. So working days are shorter: a 10 day job takes 12 days, which you pay for.


Additionally, the basic costs of working on London now are simply outrageous. If I take into account the Congestion Charge, ULEZ Charge, diesel and cost of parking, I have just spent best part of £100 before I set a foot in your door. Times that by the length of the job (lets say 2 weeks) and that adds £1000 to the bill, which you are paying for. You'll be lucky to get a plumber of electrician under £400 a day. A tiler is similar, £300 for a plasterer and not far off of that for a decorator. So your quote of £4500 is pretty cheap.

AKG23

Thanks for your feedback. We’ve tried to only look at local plumbers, we are not in the congestion charge zone and we have parking so these things shouldn’t be adding to the job costs. How things are looking we’re going to have to DIY it.

Doozergirl

A full bathroom fit is a proper building job. Stripping everything back to start again with a base that will last as long as you want it to, that's really the starting price. In London, it's cheap.

starving_artist

I'm doing similar works in London to a bathroom 2m x 2m. More plumbing (soil pipe is being moved to another wall), less tiling. Quotes ranged from £5500 to £12,000 ex VAT excluding bathroom suite, fittings and tiles.