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Can anyone recommend a reliable company to repalce the 100-year-old kit in our bathroom please? B&Q is nearby and some of the fittings seem very cheap, but I seem to have heard bad reports of them in the past.
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d, you'll probably find that there are 50 small outfits within spitting distance of you so the only recommendations from here can be of major chains. Not something I'd go with personally and Martin would be upset at the principle!
John
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I think the B&Q merchandise is OK, but some of the 'sales consultants' earn large amounts of commission which must be paid for by the customer.
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"... some of the 'sales consultants' earn large amounts of commission which must be paid for by the customer."
I'd be surprised if places like B&Q pay a *lot* of commission. And surely any outlet will pay by results, in a sales driven role?
Last edited by: smokie on Fri 11 Mar 11 at 09:56
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...I'd be surprised if places like B&Q pay a *lot* of commission...
I sat through a B&Q employment tribunal a few years ago.
Some of the figures seemed high to me.
Fenlander says in another post he paid £2,500 for a kitchen for which the all-in-ones were quoting £4,000.
That sounds about right, commission of £1,000+.
Buying the units/suite and employing someone to fit it is a good way of ensuring you don't get ripped off.
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I saved 10,000 pounds doing this with my two bathrooms and cloakroom.
10k. Still can't quite believe it.
It's the route we're now looking at for our kitchen. Initial quotes show a difference of..........guess how much?
Yep, 10k.
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I've just had 2 bathrooms and a cloakroom refitted, using sanitary ware from "bathrooms4all". It's good quality stuff, and any minor problems we have had with it have been dealt with promptly, efficiently, without question and without further payments.
I then employed a local recommended plumber to install it all and I'm well pleased with the result.
I have heard bad things about bathstore.com from customers and from installers. I'd avoid them if I were you.
Last edited by: Alanović on Fri 11 Mar 11 at 09:53
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I fitted a new bathroom and cloakroom last year. Bought decent but good value stuff from local sheds and fitted it all myself. I did wonder about having someone do it and found by far the most satisfactory would have been a local plumber/bathroom fitter who would work at a daily rate to put stuff in I'd bought.
The folks that handle the whole job inc tiling/flooring get the price to figures you can hardly believe you're hearing. When a half reasonable budget suite inc taps etc can be found locally at £400 and they're quoting £4000 for the whole job it's hard to see where the extra £3600 goes.
Same for the kitchen. Paid about £2000 for the units and £500 for a daily rate fitter... ended up with a kitchen that the whole job places priced around £5000
Last edited by: Fenlander on Fri 11 Mar 11 at 10:19
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What is a "fitted bathroom"?
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>> What is a "fitted bathroom"?
two steps up from a tin bath in front of the fire :)
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>> >> What is a "fitted bathroom"?
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It means the overhead cistern is still attached to its cast iron brackets, rather than being largely supported by the lead pipework.
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If one is so minded, one can buy fitted furnishings for bathrooms these days, much in the way one can for kitchens. Not much to be confused about, surely?
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Having been involved in the refurbishment of about five bathrooms/cloakrooms and a couple of kitchens over the last ten years or so, I would definitely second the idea of buying the goods yourself and employing a professional to install.
One of the two kitchens was installed by B & Q and they had to be brought back to re-do a lot of jobs - it was a hassle.
The key to it is getting the reliable, reasonably-priced professional. You need personal recommendations. Once that is sorted, he will give you free advice about what stuff to get, or you can follow your own ideas.
You can also mix professional installation with DIY - for example, get your plumber to do all the stuff that carries water and then do the tiling yourself. This means you get your bathroom into service quickly, while you keep the costs down by doing the cosmetic stuff yourself.
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Fresh from doing plumbing in my kitchen ( unplanned!!! ) and recently my daughters flat.
A little advice re service valves - those that are on supplies to taps, loos and especially mains fed showers ( those valves that need a screwdriver to operate) .
A cheap 15mm unit has a flow of about 10mm. The cheap 10 year old one under my sink snapped. Usually an odd sort of finish to them.
I bought proper substantial chrome ones with a full 15mm flow from my proper plumbers shop and they cost £4.50 for two.
Nastie cheap ones in e.g Wickes were £4.50 each.
So IMO beware or sheds.
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With taps be wary of cheap ceramic disc taps that have a limited flow rate. Many are designed for use with mains high pressure use in mind. With a loft mounted storage tank the pressure will be insufficient for a decent flow rate.
Cheap ceramic sinks should be checked for moulding imperfections around the waste which will make sealing problematic.
I had a free standing fibreglass bath from a reputable manufacturer (but badged from Homebase) that was badly moulded around the waste so that a seal was impossible. Give them credit though, a replacement was delivered very promptly.
And from personal experience if you tile the floor watch that you have sufficient clearance for the bath waste! I solved the problem by using black rubber 'shoes' on the metal bath feet to gain 8mm and it also had the benefit of stopping the bath trying to move/slide on the tiles.
If you want the feel good factor of a heated floor with out the expense, reroute the central heating radiator feed pipes under the floor so that they run in front of the sink and shower door.
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>> With taps be wary of cheap ceramic disc taps that have a limited flow rate.
>> Many are designed for use with mains high pressure use in mind. With a loft
>> mounted storage tank the pressure will be insufficient for a decent flow rate.
Good point. Our new taps fall in to this category, and the flow rate is appalling. We are fortunate that we're about to change the boiler to a combi though, and this will give us the necessary pressure at the taps.
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If you have a fitted bath, i.e. one with a bath panel or two, then poke a load of insulation around it before finally fitting the panels. The water stays warmer longer and it's more quiet - especially downstairs.
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"it's more quiet - especially downstairs"
No more comments about blowing bubbles in the bath?
John
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Fitted bathrooms - Tooslow
