How to get a new bathroom

DJ123

Hi 

I would like to get a new bathroom, and need someone to fit it. There's a few things that I need to be done as part of this as well, including patching a whole in the ceiling (sounds worse that it is - it's above a cupboard), removing old, live, electricity cables that go through this hole, adding an extractor fan, and adding a radiator. So I guess I need a plumber, builder and an electrician to carry all of this out. My question is, who do you get in touch with to kick it all off? And would I have to go to multiple different people, or would it be common for one individual to be qualified to do all of it?

Sorry if this is a daft question.. I'm just not really sure how to approach it.

Thanks a lot for your help!

SuzieSue

You need a bathroom fitter.  They should be able to do most of the work and should also be able to arrange for an electrician to do the work that they can't do.  You need to be very careful as bathroom fitting is a skilled job and there are lots of rogue workmen around.  I would be careful if you use sites like Checkatrade as they often don't publish negative reviews.  Ask your neighbours if they or anyone they know have had a bathroom fitted.  Even if they recommend someone, you still need to ensure that they know what they are doing.  Also, get at least 3 separate quotes.

twopenny

I've asked 2 plumbing/heating engineers (plumbers + heating is a regular combination) and if they are experienced they know the other trades and will quote you as one.

We also have some good house renovators and I chose one that was doing a neat and tidy job judging by his work in the front garden of my neighbours house. They tend to advertise on their vans with which bits they are skilled at doing  but choose one that's got a smart van and working on a smart house and ask the owner. When I see them regularly in the same area you know they are doing a decent job. I'm now adept at snapping these vans for details using my phone.

You can probably get a list of local tradesmen from the bathroom supply shop and then see whose van you see around. Avoid anyone that can do the job next week and ask friends and neighbours who they use.

At the moment I've had to ask 4 to ask for quotes on my bathroom and got 1 because some are too busy to quote, some just quote but will take months to come. Everyone at home this year is getting work done on their house so they are exceptionally busy.

DJ123

Thanks for that both! Very useful. I have definitely noticed that it's difficult to get hold of people to do work, which really surprised me! Thanks again

SuzieSue

DJ123 said:

Thanks for that both! Very useful. I have definitely noticed that it's difficult to get hold of people to do work, which really surprised me! Thanks again

Yes, the best fitters are booked up months in advance.  Depending on where you live, it is difficult to find a good bathroom fitter.  Yes, asking at your local plumbing merchants or bathroom supplier is a good idea, but again, it is no guarantee of quality.  I can't stress enough how careful you have to be.  You just need to a search on this forum to see what happens if bathroom fittings go wrong.  It can be very difficult and expensive to remedy the issues.  Also, as good bathroom fitters are so hard to find, the quotes will probably be around double or even more than you are expecting.  People think that just because they have a small bathroom that it will be cheap to replace.  If you do a search on this forum (including Is This Quote Fair at the top), you will see the prices people have been quoted.

scottishblondie

Go on recommendations if at all possible.  We have just had 2 bathrooms done by a building/joinery company that did a lot of work on my brother's house including bathrooms.  I wouldn't really have felt comfortable going with a completely unknown person.  They did all the manual labour, plumbing and electrics (2 man team) and had a plasterer and tiler that they use regularly come in for those bits.

They're coming back next year to do my mum's bathroom, and to do the building work on a roof replacement for us - again for the specialist bits (zinc roof) they have another guy that they call in.  It took about 6 months for them to fit us in, although in the end it happened at short notice as another job they had booked was cancelled.  The job was more expensive than I had anticipated, but their work has been impeccable and they were incredibly tidy.

DJ123

Thanks for that. Definitely seems to be something that you have to be really careful with!