Do bathroom showroom retailers have insane markup?

mi-key

ComicGeek said:

mi-key said:

plumb1_2 said:

mi-key said:

I find unless you are buying VERY high end fittings then they are all pretty much the same these days. Let's be honest, they are all mass produced in the same Chinese factories.

If you look at this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154156485730 for £160 and this

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/394312372606 for £15 I would be very surprised if they didn't originate in the same factory.

I actually bought the £15 one for my kitchen. It is pretty good quality and works perfectly, no leaks and looks really nice with no damage or rough edges etc.. , and if it only lasts 5 years I can buy another one

I’ll give you 12 months max before the powder coating starts to peel.

Well the last one I  had lasted 7 years, so I am happy to take the risk... And that didn't peel, just developed a drip

It doesn't state that it confirms with the Water Supply Regulations, which is a legal requirement for all water fittings, and is very unlikely to do so. Hopefully you haven't been drinking water from the tap for the 7 years.....

Also see a lot of these cheap taps with fake WRAS stickers, with slivers of metal coming out in the water flow. Really can't see it's worth taking the risk with these cheap and untested taps.

Is WRAS Approval Compulsory?

The WRAS approval scheme itself is voluntary. Manufacturers are under no obligation to have their products WRAS approved, and homeowners are (in general) under no obligation to have WRAS approved products in their homes.

It is only compulsory for new builds. 

As the regulations and WRAS are recent things, how many houses do you think have old taps that were not checked, and are perfectly safe? 

Ganga

jennifernil said:

 Both the bathrooms we recently replaced were original to the house and 33 years old, Armitage Shanks sanitary ware and Aqualisa showers, good solid stuff.  Only changed because we wanted showers instead of baths, and everything was coloured, as was the fashion in the 80s.

In fact the brassware was still like new so we reused the taps. 

We did visit a bathroom showroom, the amount of stuff on display was bewildering.  In the end we decided to stick with names we knew, stuff which felt solid, and shapes we liked.
Then we shopped around on line for the best prices.

Toilets are Ideal Standard back to wall with Aquablade flush, cisterns from Grohe, inset basin from Ideal Standard, shower trays Mira non-slip, showers Aqualisa, enclosures Kudos hinged door 1200x900.   The enclosures were the most expensive items, but none of the items were what I would call inexpensive.   All items look good and feel very solid.

We retained one set of existing bespoke furniture, adding new white end panels, and my OH made the cistern units in white himself, after looking at how the ones on display were constructed.  Second, smaller, bathroom got all new furniture as not so much required.

We also splashed out on solid Iroko countertops and plinth, fitted by OH, as a good contrast with all the white.

New lights, radiators, towel warmers, full tiling and flooring and a few other bits and pieces were also purchased.

Total spend on the above for 2 bathrooms was in the region of £7500.

Is the Anti-slip coating good? we have ordered the same shower tray as my wife is one of those people who are convinced that they are going to slip /fall on any non dry surface ( you should see her on snow and ice, like Bambi in the Walt Disney film )

jennifernil

Yes, we have found the ones we bought to be very good, we have the Mira Flight Safe model.  Quite reasonably priced too.

ComicGeek

mi-key said:

ComicGeek said:

mi-key said:

plumb1_2 said:

mi-key said:

I find unless you are buying VERY high end fittings then they are all pretty much the same these days. Let's be honest, they are all mass produced in the same Chinese factories.

If you look at this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154156485730 for £160 and this

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/394312372606 for £15 I would be very surprised if they didn't originate in the same factory.

I actually bought the £15 one for my kitchen. It is pretty good quality and works perfectly, no leaks and looks really nice with no damage or rough edges etc.. , and if it only lasts 5 years I can buy another one

I’ll give you 12 months max before the powder coating starts to peel.

Well the last one I  had lasted 7 years, so I am happy to take the risk... And that didn't peel, just developed a drip

It doesn't state that it confirms with the Water Supply Regulations, which is a legal requirement for all water fittings, and is very unlikely to do so. Hopefully you haven't been drinking water from the tap for the 7 years.....

Also see a lot of these cheap taps with fake WRAS stickers, with slivers of metal coming out in the water flow. Really can't see it's worth taking the risk with these cheap and untested taps.

Is WRAS Approval Compulsory?

The WRAS approval scheme itself is voluntary. Manufacturers are under no obligation to have their products WRAS approved, and homeowners are (in general) under no obligation to have WRAS approved products in their homes.

It is only compulsory for new builds. 

As the regulations and WRAS are recent things, how many houses do you think have old taps that were not checked, and are perfectly safe? 

But there you are, you're just proving you don't understand it.

WRAS approval scheme is ONE way of proving compliance under the Water Supply Regulations. If you had quoted the full text from above, just rather just a small snippet:

'Is WRAS Approval a legal requirement? While all water fittings and associated materials must by law conform with the Water Supply Regulations, there is no legal requirement to obtain WRAS Approval; it is simply the easiest and most reliable way of demonstrating compliance.'

The Water Supply Regulations have been around in their current form since 1999. I'm not talking about 30 year old taps that people still have on their houses (which probably weren't made in Chinese factories without any checks) - it's a legal requirement for any new tap installed, whether new build or replacement tap.

maydin

you can a bathroom worktop from House of worktops, you cat a small piece of wood or compact laminate, which in turn will definitely be cheaper than an expensive vanity worktop, plus it will also look modern and stylish. You just have to figure the cabinets underneat

nofoollikeold

Even before the current Water Supply Regulations came into force, there were local bylaws which very broadly enforced the same standards.  Although local, these bylaws were pretty much standardised throughout the UK, with slight differences in Scotland.