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I'm in the middle of a DIY bedroom to bathroom conversion project after getting lots of expensive quotes.
It's good in that it doesn't matter how long it takes as we can still use the old disgusting bathroom in the meantime. Thats good because it's taking aaagggess, though i am kind of enjoying it.
Quite tricky trying to find time around kids/work etc. though. I literally work opposite a screwfix which has proved very handy for all the trips.
Need to build a bath frame and tile and then it's basically finished. All plumbing, lights, extractor fan, vinyl flooring etc are done. As it's DIY I took extra time to replace the annoying creaky floorboards and fit thicker plywood than recommended to get a really solid floor.
I found plumberparts on youtube to be pretty good.
https://www.youtube.com/user/plumberparts
Demo and strip out yourself might save 400-500 quid off the main job? maybe final redecoration yourself could save a bit too?
Not far off, I do this for a living and charge £375+ Vat to rip out and dispose in a skip I provide, +£10/m2 for tile removal. However, if I was discounting my price to let others to the rip out, you'd better be doing it properly and stripping off all the tile adhesive and anything that would stop me getting straight on with the fit. No way would I let someone 1st fix for me though or prep for tiling, it's always wrong when others have done it.
Just done / doing our ensuite. Small - 760 x about 2.5m. Cost £2K in parts and labour for a ripping out the old units + tiles, then supply and fitting a new high spec shower, and labour for putting in new toilet, sink and vanity unit. Shower included pump etc all up in the loft with associated electrics. It's cost us an additional 1.5K for the toilet, vanity unit, sink, tiles, flooring, shower tray, glass door etc etc. I'm going the tiling, fitting the shower door (f*cking thing - that's not something I want to have to do again), flooring etc.
We had two quotes for the whole thing last year - one at £5.5K, the other at £6.2K.
If we'd gone for cheaper tiles, fittings etc then we could probably have done it all for under £2K.
I also did my own for about a grand versus, a complete guess, 4K pro job.
I chose to do it myself but would not complain about a 4-5k quote. Do not under estimate the time required in planning (technical, not just ‘ooh that colour’), obtaining materials, and labour in fitting them. Took me ages!
Just read the posts again and surprised no one has said get the appliances suspended off the floor. The wc is expensive to do, but basins and cabinets suspended make cleaning far easier. I have tiled floors so just throw a load of water down, let it settle then mop it up.
Much cleaner lines too. Also put in the biggest bath that will fit, think mine's 800mm.
I am very tempted to do it myself, learn the skills and get to buy all the new tools I'd need for the job but we don't have another bathroom to use, I'd hate to put the family in that position where I've screwed something up and we don't have a working bathroom.
Plus looking at the pipes under the bath, I have no idea what the last plumber did but they appear to be intertwined, not a neat job at all, all the bolts holding the basin/wc/bath are rusted to hell which would mean a difficult removal.
I think looking retrospectively, the quotes aren't too bad at all.
To give some context, we had a quote last night for a new bathroom.
Room is roughly 2m square
Old stuff removed, put in a skip and taken away
Fully tiled
New bath, sink, units and toilet
Electric shower
Karndean Flooring
Spotlights in the ceiling
New radiator/towel rail
All labour and trades
£5500
This struck me as very reasonable.
Old stuff removed, put in a skip and taken away
One advantage of DIY is you can avoid this. Trades understandably love skips for convenience but loads of useful materials end up in them. When I did our bathroom the basin and taps went on freecycle, the framing timber got re-used, the built-in glass panel cupboard doors are now windows on my shed. Only things to go to landfill were the tiles, toilet (minus metalwork) and lino.
I would have thought you could just ask the tradesman to save certain items if you wanted to recycle them?
Also put in the biggest bath that will fit, think mine’s 800mm.
We did this as we have two young girls that like to have long playtime baths together still (although that will change soon) - I don't have many baths but it is wonderful to be able to stretch right out when I do.
Just read the posts again and surprised no one has said get the appliances suspended off the floor.
We have also done this and wired up LED striplights to go under the suspended huge double vanity unit which creates a really nice effect.
Just read the posts again and surprised no one has said get the appliances suspended off the floor.
Why? I hate this and would never do it.
My redone bathrooms were around £6000 each 50/50 DIY and tradesmen. But they are very high quality jobs - rooms stripped right back to the studding, 4-6 inches of insulation fitted, new plasterboard, shower areas tanked in a belt and braces style, big baths, new radiators, new suites. Thew part that really cost is the tiling - but the quality of the tilework is better than anything else I have seen and so are some of the hidden things - like the bath being supported on a frame all the way round
I did ours a few years back and it took bloody ages, far longer than I thought it would for such a small room. It did save a lot of money though, we had quotes for £6k and I did it for under £1k. In the end I picked up a load of stuff in an end of line sale from a local supplier.
If I did it again, I'd still source my own stuff but have a pro tiler lined up to tile once I had fitted everything. It took me about half a day just to do the setting out as the walls are out of square in all directions. The actual tiling, grouting and silicone took days and felt like a lifetime!
You could still buy the stuff and get a plumber to fit the bath, toilet and sink for you then arrange your own tiler?
I did ours a while ago, small room completely refitted with Duravit ceramics and Roper Rhodes chromework. Cost around 4.5k all in With a local builders merchant home improvement account but I did have the electrics, floor and plastering done by tradesmen. I would definitely go with wall hung ceramics in a small room, opens it up and is so easy to clean but it increases the cost due to the frame needed for the wall hung cistern (Geberit frame).Be careful how you estimate tiles, the rule of thumb sq.m plus a bit can be waaay out depending on tile size and getting even spacing, take your time and even lay it out on paper if necessary. Fit a water softener as well, it makes a massive difference to scale and scum build up, ours is non existent after 4 years. You will find you are the final inspection department for manufacturers as well, had to send quite a few pieces back for replacement including 2 very expensive stainless towel rails.
Trades understandably love skips for convenience
I don’t love skips but they’re a necessity of the job. A LOT of stuff comes out of a room during a bathroom refit, far more than people realise, to remove without a skip involves having a waste transfer licence and chucking peoples old dirty crap in my van, which ain’t happening! I have a few clients who think skips are too expensive, until they have to get rid of it all in the family hatchback. Anything recyclable on my jobs gets recycled.
Fit a water softener as well, it makes a massive difference to scale and scum build up, ours is non existent after 4 years.
What did you fit out of interest? We could do with something like this.
I've been looking at water softners (very hard water). Ones I looked at were super pricey. Plus I have added complication of a lead supply, which will not be replaced until we do the kitchen in a couple of years
I was caught out with having to pay quite a lot of money (nearly £100) at the tip for plasterboard, tiles and wc disposal for one ford focus's worth of stuff. I have a large pile of tiles in the shed and I'll probably get a skip in next time to get rid of it all as I reckon it will work out cheaper!
If you are going to give tiling a crack - start in the corner least visible, as you will get much better as you do the room. I have a big clinker (brill bit of kit), and an erbauer wet tile saw (ok does the job). I haven't found good drill bits yet, I used expensive ones off screwfix and they take a good 15-20mins to drill a single hole in a 10mm tile (I had to drill 7 for the screen, 4 for mirror, 4 for cupboard, 4 for towel rail..) . The circle cutters I used for the pipework last 2 holes.
Also think about how complex a shape you are making when you box, I didn't and it added a lot of time to the tiling job. (I had an alcove, shelf, full height shower boxin, shallow box in for the sink pipe work, and bigger box in for the concealed cistern...all added time to the job
I fitted a Monarch Midi as there are only 2 of us. Looks after itself and just have to top up salt when needed. Monarch have been very good with backup as well. Cost around £450 I think from the local plumbers merchant.
I haven’t found good drill bits yet, I used expensive ones off screwfix and they take a good 15-20mins to drill a single hole in a 10mm tile
Cant remember the brand but probably erbauer or whatever B&Q's own make is, spade ones not the diamond ones. Went through the tiles in no time at all. Maybe some tiles are different to others but I've used them on everything from stone effect, big glossy tiles, small tiles, thin tiles, thick tiles with no issues.
One thing I did that came out really well is I got a big mirror in a multiple of tile sizes and stuck it straight to the wall ( don't forget to add the distance the tiles are apart)
surely when you tile you start in the middle of a wall working out where the tile edges should be so you do not have slivers on one edge -
BS 5385 Part 1: 2018
https://www.bal-adhesives.com/important-changes-to-bs-5385-1-wall-and-floor-tiling/
I haven’t found good drill bits yet, I used expensive ones off screwfix and they take a good 15-20mins to drill a single hole in a 10mm tile
Must have been porcelain tiles?
Normal ceramic tiles with a standard masonry drill bit would take around 5-10 seconds to drill.
Yes I used porcelain tiles and helped the plumber mount the wall hung vanity unit, he took ages messing about so glad I paid him. Also, he moved and hid all the pipework inside a small wall hung basin, again, I watched him fit it, it's tough getting yoir hands in there.
Good idea underlighting wall hung vanity basin...next time will do.
Tbh now the jobs done well you don't really think about the price.
People tend to forget the cost of decent labour. £150 a day person, 2 guys for a week is £750. I’ve fitted 2 bathrooms now and there’s no way I’d do the tiling. Yes it’s easy but when I can get a pro in to do it for £150 a day why would I do it myself. And when I say pro I mean a pro tiler not a pro bathroom fitter - there can be a BIG difference.
Last bathroom I fitted was in this house, the materials alone were £2300 and that includes bath, sink, toilet (all nice stuff not b and q rubbish), Bristan taps and shower, flooring, tiles and filing, paint, radiator (bought 2nd hand), shower curtain, lighting. Add on a couple of weeks to do it (absolute tops) and you have £4800.
I’ve done big jobs in houses including kitchens, flooring, plumbing etc but fitting a bathroom I hate more than any other job.
Going rate for a good multi-trade is north of £200 a day at the moment. I started as a 18yo apprentice tiler, and that's what I did day in and day out for 10 years, add plumbing, electrical and joinery qualifications. My going rate is £225+ VAT a day.
I have done full refurbs on 4 houses including rewires, kitchen etc and tiling is one of the very few jobs I will always get a pro in for and be prepared to pay them properly. A good tile job makes such a differnce and for an amateur to do a halfway decent tile job takes forever and is rarely anywhere near pro standard