Home improvements - is there a best time of the year to buy a new kitchen or bathroom?

bannanna

Hello
All these Black Friday deals have got me thinking, is there a best time of the year to snag a kitchen or bathroom in the sale? In people's experience, are Black Friday / Easter / January sales false savings with additional costs added elsewhere? Am I best off just haggling as best I can during normal times?
The house I am buying needs these two rooms doing as a priority and wondering when I'll get the best deal!
Thank you

AskAsk

best time to get these is the best time to get the builders, and that is in the winter.  they are less busy in the winter and so will give you a more competitive quote.

Ebe_Scrooge

AskAsk said:

best time to get these is the best time to get the builders, and that is in the winter.  they are less busy in the winter and so will give you a more competitive quote.

Just to play devil's advocate, an alternative point of view is that plumbers will be busy attending to broken boilers and heating systems, so will be busier :-) 

Always assuming the OP needs someone to fit the said bathroom/kitchen for them.  Whilst certainly not a small task, it is possible to DIY either project as long as you've got a reasonable amount of experience - admittedly it's not a task to tackle if you're new to DIY.

AskAsk

Ebe_Scrooge said:

AskAsk said:

best time to get these is the best time to get the builders, and that is in the winter.  they are less busy in the winter and so will give you a more competitive quote.

Just to play devil's advocate, an alternative point of view is that plumbers will be busy attending to broken boilers and heating systems, so will be busier :-) 

Always assuming the OP needs someone to fit the said bathroom/kitchen for them.  Whilst certainly not a small task, it is possible to DIY either project as long as you've got a reasonable amount of experience - admittedly it's not a task to tackle if you're new to DIY.

plumbers don't tend to do the heating in my experience, they are the heating engineers.  people generally like to leave work in their house that is not emergency to when it is warmer so the builders are less busy during the colder months.

FreeBear

AskAsk said: best time to get these is the best time to get the builders, and that is in the winter.  they are less busy in the winter and so will give you a more competitive quote.

But later in the year, it is generally warmer and dryer, so stuff like cement, plaster, and tile adhesive will go off quicker. Without the rain outside, less muck will be be brought in on boots. You'll also get a longer working day out of them as it will be lighter in the mornings & afternoons - Important if they are working on a day rate rather than a fixed price.

As for kitchens/bathrooms being cheaper in the sales, I suspect if you haggle real hard, you can get similar pricing any time of year.

bannanna

Thanks all, to be honest I hadn't even considered that the cost of labour might vary. I was thinking more around deals on the materials, appliances etc. I have absolutely no idea what a new kitchen costs but I'm betting it'll be more than I first think..!

I definitely don't have enough experience to do much more than put together flat pack furniture and decorate but I really would love to learn DIY..! No time like the present but I think a whole kitchen is a big first step 

Really helpful tips, and food for thought. 

AskAsk

i find labour costs are significant for kitchens, so saving on labour costs can be a bigger factor than saving on the kitchen purchase.  best rule of thumb for kitchen is stick 10k for it and stick 5k for a bathroom.

Ebe_Scrooge

AskAsk said:

i find labour costs are significant for kitchens, so saving on labour costs can be a bigger factor than saving on the kitchen purchase.  best rule of thumb for kitchen is stick 10k for it and stick 5k for a bathroom.

Do you mean 10K just in labour costs to fit a kitchen?  Blimey, can I come and work for your company?!  Even if it takes a week to fit (and that's being extremely generous), then that's £250 an hour in labour !

To the OP, it's not even so much the cost of labour, it's more the availability.  Aside from the previous - very sensible - advice about the weather etc. (not quite such an issue as if you were having external building work done, but still a consideration), it's just down to when a fitter is available.  You'll be wanting them to come in and do the job in one go, not fit you in piecemeal around other jobs.

Overall, it's probably most sensible to find a "builder" you trust, ask them when they're available, then buy the kitchen/bathroom units at a time to suit them.  It's false economy to rush out and buy them on Black Friday or whatever - you should be able to negotiate a reasonable discount at any time.

One final point - make sure the "builder" comes round to actually look at what needs doing, and gives you a proper quote.  Depending on what you want doing, there are potentially a lot of variables.  Any competent "general handyman" would be able to assemble cupboards and fit them - but you may need a joiner, a plumber, an electrician, a tiler.  A decent outfit will either have these tradesmen working for him, or have trusted subcontractors, or be qualified and competent to do some or all of these jobs himself - but at the end of the day, you need to let him see what you want doing so that he can give you an accurate quote.

[ For "him", please read "him/her" :-) ]

AskAsk

Ebe_Scrooge said:

AskAsk said:

i find labour costs are significant for kitchens, so saving on labour costs can be a bigger factor than saving on the kitchen purchase.  best rule of thumb for kitchen is stick 10k for it and stick 5k for a bathroom.

Do you mean 10K just in labour costs to fit a kitchen?  Blimey, can I come and work for your company?!  Even if it takes a week to fit (and that's being extremely generous), then that's £250 an hour in labour !

To the OP, it's not even so much the cost of labour, it's more the availability.  Aside from the previous - very sensible - advice about the weather etc. (not quite such an issue as if you were having external building work done, but still a consideration), it's just down to when a fitter is available.  You'll be wanting them to come in and do the job in one go, not fit you in piecemeal around other jobs.

Overall, it's probably most sensible to find a "builder" you trust, ask them when they're available, then buy the kitchen/bathroom units at a time to suit them.  It's false economy to rush out and buy them on Black Friday or whatever - you should be able to negotiate a reasonable discount at any time.

One final point - make sure the "builder" comes round to actually look at what needs doing, and gives you a proper quote.  Depending on what you want doing, there are potentially a lot of variables.  Any competent "general handyman" would be able to assemble cupboards and fit them - but you may need a joiner, a plumber, an electrician, a tiler.  A decent outfit will either have these tradesmen working for him, or have trusted subcontractors, or be qualified and competent to do some or all of these jobs himself - but at the end of the day, you need to let him see what you want doing so that he can give you an accurate quote.

[ For "him", please read "him/her" :-) ]

no, 10k for everything for the kitchen, including labour costs.