Building work and replacing a bathroom

smile71

I have been trying to get quotes for the installation of a basic bathroom tiling and putting in laminate floor. Shower that runs off taps and a screen. What should I expected to pay? I had a builder become quite angry after giving me a quote for the bathroom and posted on a forum for the whole world to see.  I only had  a budget of top end £2,000 and he seemed to think I was being selfish for wanting a bathroom for that much. Recently I was quoted £2,500 and eventually paid £850 for replacement of a small shed roof and a lot of quotes seem quite high generally for building work. I have started to become very upset because all I want is to get quite a lot of building work done and getting people to quote and do any work is nearly impossible. Yes I have tight budgets but I am prepared to be reasonable and only do what I can afford. I have been going round in circles for months. Help!

ouraggie

Was the £2000 with you supplying the tiles, flooring, etc?

smile71

No that was all in

smile71

I paid £900 about 4 years ago with me doing the tiling and the floor so I thought this was reasonable

flashg67

I was getting quotes for 3-4k to fit out a new ensuite from scratch so 2k might be tight unless you can source some budget/end of line fittings & tiles. I eventually did mine myself and it cost me nearly 2k (using decent-ish fittings and tiles). Anyone who gets angry just at the quoting stage needs to be avoided anyway IMO! If they don't want to do the job, why not just say so!

rach_k

I think you're being unrealistic.  We paid £3,600 to have a new bathroom fitted this year (new room, so nothing old to rip out but plumbing was in place) and that was with us providing everything apart from basic plumbing bits, adhesives and grout.  

When we had our teeny tiny bathroom done several years ago (it's 1.5x1.7m, so like a small en suite really), we paid £2000 for that with everything supplied, but that was very basic and, due to the size, tiles and flooring were very limited.  I'd expect to pay more now as prices will have gone up since.

Those are South London prices but with somebody we know is reasonably priced for a good job.  

There's no point getting upset.  That will probably hinder you getting anybody willing to do it - if a tradesperson is decent, they won't be short of work, so anybody who looks like they might be difficult could be somebody they avoid, or somebody they quote higher for to cover themselves in case you turn out to be a nightmare!

Can you ask around (local Facebook groups seem good for recommendations, the local mum groups always have plenty to say here!)?  If you know somebody is generally well-priced and professional, you'll know they're most likely doing the same for you.  If you're getting a different response, you'll know you aren't being reasonable in your expectations.  

-taff

All in? Plumbing, taps, bath, toilet, shower, tiles, grout and flooring? Have you priced up what materials will cost? Because also, I think you're being unrealistic.

TELLIT01

My brother-in-law is a builder and one of his pet hates is people purchasing the bath, often the cheapest they can find, and then blaming him when it flexes so much that the seal around it fails after a comparatively short time.  Stripping out the old bathroom, installing new along with tiling, flooring, decorating and disposal of the old suite all takes time and costs money.  It's probably best part of a weeks work, so that's best part of £1000 for labour alone.