Bathroom Installation - Expensive?

KellyWelly

I have been quoted £3900 for the following:

1. Knock through dividing (plasterboard) wall between bathroom and toilet to make a room approximately 1700x2600. Plaster board up one door to leave single door to room. This wall is just plasterboard that was put up (I don't know why) when an extension was put on the back of the house and half the bathroom used as the hallway.

2. Remove all old suite, tiles etc. The plumber was not intending to take away the rubbish but when I asked he said he 'could probably sort something out'.

3. Remove two radiators.

4. Make good the walls.

5. Install new bath, sink, toilet including furniture (vanity, toilet unit, small drawer unit with a worktop over). This does involve moving the sink and bath from their current locations - almost a straight swap, the toilet is staying in the same place and being replaced with like for like.

6. Plumb in new shower - with concealed valves, not an electric white wall mounted one.

7. Tile walls (not floor).

The fitter is not doing any of the electrical work, I have to employ somebody else to move the light switches and light fittings and also move the extractor fan and an old redundant socket that I think may have been a shower point in the past. I'll have to get them back again after everything else to wire the shower as well. He is also not doing any of the flooring - not sure if this is because his wife's family own a local flooring and carpeting company! I am supplying the suite, shower, radiator, tiles, taps, furniture, and anything else needed he will supply the wood (I assume the skirting), pipework and grout. He will (afaik) be working on his own.

I could have had it all in, everything included (including flooring) from Dolphin Rip-off bathrooms with their top range fittings for £8500 (if you took the finance option, the usual tricks) so I think this is a really expensive quote considering it's labour only. I've asked him to send me a proper full breakdown of the quote to see exactly what he is quoting for what to see if I can do a bit myself and save some money, but is this just what I should expect to be paying? I live in Herefordshire where wages are lower than the national average and so I wouldn't expect to pay as much as people in the South, for example. I have budgeted £4000 total for the work including the suite and I'll have to borrow money if it is more and I just can't wait another year or six months to have it done.

Thanks for your help.

Roseberry_2

I'll come up from Surrey every day and do it for £ 3,895!!

Seriously though, it seems to me (from how you have described the work) that it's very nearly a factor of 2 out and that would include tiling the floor as well and ALL the building materials excluding tiles and suite. Does he anticipate sticking the tiles up with grout? I see no adhesive on his list.

Skirting with tiles looks naff!

The big unknown is what are the walls like after the old tiles are taken off? If it needs boarding and skimming you could be looking at another £ 400 including mats.

The electrics - always difficult to second as I'm not a sparks but say another £ 500 to be safe.

So I think £ 3.9k is taking the mickey a bit to be honest.

Your £ 4k total budget might be a bit thin though depending on whether it needs replastering or not but it's probably not light years away although difficult to tell site unseen.

You need to get at least 2 more quotes for comparison purposes frankly.

Best of luck.

KellyWelly

I agree about the skirting, I wanted to tile the walls and floor with the same tiles and have a continuous effect, apparently this makes the room look bigger but I also think it would make it easier to clean.

I have a good friend who is an electrician so I will definitely get mates-rates - he has done work for me before and refused any payment. My best friend's husband is a plasterer as well, so I know I can get those bits done cheap/free. The plastering won't be too much I think, there's only a row of tiles 2 high around the bath up there currently, the walls are all tidy - it would only be a skim to tidy up when everything's taken out, I think.

Believe it or not, I have phoned four other fitters and this one was the only one who has bothered to come and look at the job in the two weeks since I rang them.

plumb1_2

Roseberry wrote: »

I'll come up from Surrey every day and do it for £ 3,895!!
.

I'll book a hotel and do it for £3750

Roseberry_2

plumb1 wrote: »

I'll book a hotel and do it for £3750

Rats - OK then a B&B for £3600. See KW you CAN get the price down.:beer:

Roseberry_2

KellyWelly wrote: »

I agree about the skirting, I wanted to tile the walls and floor with the same tiles and have a continuous effect, apparently this makes the room look bigger but I also think it would make it easier to clean.

Umm that can work but I've always taken the view (reactionary blighter) that it's wall tiles for walls and floor tiles for tiles.

I have a good friend who is an electrician so I will definitely get mates-rates - he has done work for me before and refused any payment.

Make sure he can self certify Part P notifiable work then. A bathroom is a "special location". At this stage you really should be thinking about a sparks that can work to the 17th edition as well.

My best friend's husband is a plasterer as well, so I know I can get those bits done cheap/free.

That can be a good way to ruin a friendship if it all goes wrong!!

The plastering won't be too much I think, there's only a row of tiles 2 high around the bath up there currently, the walls are all tidy - it would only be a skim to tidy up when everything's taken out, I think.

In which case the tiler can make good with a spot of Rapidset before tiling.

Believe it or not, I have phoned four other fitters and this one was the only one who has bothered to come and look at the job in the two weeks since I rang them.

Unfortunately I do believe it. The message is that they re either too busy at present or don't really want the job for onereason or another. If there's that much work up there perhaps I'll relocate!

jimm24

Not uncommon at all,I'm getting call after call from people who have not had a bathroom fitter turn up,gives us all a bad name?

samirkhan1

anone knwo any good bathroom fitters in teh north london area?

Thanks

[Deleted User]

ooh i'm in north london/herts and want to find out how much it would cost to replace a bath/sink + re-tile a small bathroom.. any rough guestimates?