BathEmpire

Tips for hiring tradespeople to install your bathroom

Posted on 08. Mar, 2011 by Charlotte Laing in Advice

If you’re buying from BathEmpire, you’re obviously a pretty savvy consumer – you know that you can get a great quality bathroom for less simply by buying direct from us.

Once you’ve bought the bathroom though, you’ve got a choice to make… do you DIY or call on the services of a qualified tradesperson?

Recent research from the Halifax has found that 13% of people ask for help from friends and family to complete their bathroom makeover, instead of paying for professionals.

If you’re considering following their lead though, the same research may make you think twice.

Halifax found that, on average, more than one in six DIY jobs goes wrong, with a typical cost of £426 to put botched bathrooms and kitchens right again.

So choosing to DIY could be a false economy, and end up taking you longer.

We always like to be helpful, so we’ve thought of a list of things to consider if you’re getting in professional tradespeople to install your BathEmpire bathroom.

1. Will the work be done in one go?

Having a bathroom fitted can be a disruptive, so you ideally want it to be done as quickly as possible.

By choosing tradespeople who have plumbing, electrical and tiling skills, if all are needed, or at least ones who work with colleagues with the skills they don’t have themselves, you’ll save time, money, and there’ll be less disruption.

2. Are they qualified?

Renovations need to conform to the building regulations. These cover everything from ventilation, to drainage and waste, energy conservation and electrical safety.

If you employ a builder, confirm that he or she will be responsible for compliance but remember that it’s still important for you to know what’s required because as the building owner you’ll have to put things right if there’s a problem.

3. Get a comprehensive quote

One of the main things that people are worried about when hiring tradespeople is that the cost will spiral out of control, so try to make sure this doesn’t happen to you by getting three comprehensive quotes for the job.

If one quote is vastly lower than the others then you may be right to be suspicious that the cost will be revised once the job has begun, so perhaps choose the mid-level quote, or at least get the quote in writing to protect yourself.

Another good idea is to ask for references from previous customers – good tradespeople should be happy to oblige.

Also, get a price for the whole job, rather than a day rate – otherwise the incentive is for the work to be dragged out over more days than necessary.

Make sure all of the following is included in your quote if needed:

• Removal of old tiles (and disposal of them)
• Removal of old bathroom suite (and disposal)
• Making good of walls for re-tiling
• Any initial electrical work needed
• Fitting of skirting
• Installation of new suite
• Tiling of walls
• Tiling of flooring or laying of other floor covering
• Plumbing in of taps
• Painting of walls
• Second fix electrics

Is there something we’ve forgotten? Are you a professional tradesperson who has advice for homeowners wanting to install a new bathroom? We’d love your opinions

Tags: bathroom installation, bathroom renovation, bathroom tradespeople tips, DIY tips bathroom, hiring a plumber to fit bathroom, installing bathroom, new bathroom ideas, white bathroom suite