To buy a bathroom from homebase?

[Me2Me2]

Are they ok?
What is the difference between wickes, homebase, bathstore? My mind is aboggle. We have a homebase nearby though so that would be easiest

Just google "homebase bathroom reviews"

Who's fitting it? Always better to hire a plumber and get him to purchase the bathroom from a local merchants. 1, its cheaper and 2, if there are any issues with the suite the plumber can resolve directly.

Personally I'd go with a local tradesman gained through word of mouth every day of the week.

Thank you for starting this thread. It's a question I'm really interest in as we really need a new bathroom as well.

I had the Homebase bathroom consultant visit a couple of months ago and we went through all the options and came up with the best solution for our small space. I chose a very simple bathroom suite and plain white basic tiles and very simple taps but I was astounded by the quote. I thought it was ridiculously expensive for what it was.

I'll try the independent plumber option I think. Thanks for that suggestion Percy.

I've had the conversation with my Mum this morning as she's thinking of having her bathroom done. The nice thing with the independent is he'll know a labourer who'll strip off the old tiles, he can then get on with the plumbing. He'll have a tiler he usually uses so he can arrange for them to come as soon as he's done.
And then of course being able to get the suite from a local merchants will be a heck of a lot cheaper.

We went to bathstore etc when we had ours done, picked up brochures, chose a style we liked and then showed the plumber who organised it all at a much cheaper rate.

My top tip would be this....

Several years ago we redid our bathroom in what was 'in' at the time. Very Romanesque tiles and terracotta. Within 2 years I hated it. When we redid it I insisted on white tiles, white suite and black vinyl flooring. I then used bright hot pink towels and bathroom accessories to make it stand out. When I get fed up I go for another colour (currently bright lime towels and accessories). White tiling never dates and can be accessorised with any colour. Whats in now looks great now but think on how it will look in five/ten years time.

Ours is from Wickes and despite them having a bit of a bad reputation we were really impressed. It looks fab and came out less than £5000 for a complete refit with spotlights in ceiling, flooring and fitted cupboards.

Homebase are incredibly expensive and not very good quality. By all means get them to come out and provide cad drawings and a quote, gives you something to compare against.

Try sites like Mybuilder.com, read the reviews, look at the photos invite the ones you like the look of to give you a quote. They will often advise on the best places to buy suites from (invariably the internet Qs supplies, Victoria Plumb, Victorian Plumbing, Better Bathrooms etc) the quality will be better than Homebase.

Thanks all. I've got a quote from a mybuilder recommended local guy for the labour so it's the materials I need to decide on. I think now we'll visit wickes and bathstore for contrast and not bother with homebase. I hear good things about screwfix but they don't have a big selection.

Steering clear of en vogue, Percy. We want to move in a year

Homebase quote was eye wateringly high.

Bath store stuff is decent quality , not super duper though. Their customer service is great though - and if you order loads of stuff in the sale then need to swap eg the taps after the sale has ended, they will honour the sale prices for the new items too

I bought my bath, basin and toilet from Homebase because they had the ones I liked. I then got our local plumber to fit it and source/fit the shower too. The hardware I bought was lovely, a good price and good quality too.

You can mix and match as you like.

One tip I'd give is, if you can stretch to it, go for underfloor heating (as well as a radiator). It's perfect for those spring and autumn mornings when it's not cold enough for central heating but a bit of warmth around you is appreciated.

Home base is quite expensive we are getting ours from wickes once Dh can bloody choose he is fitting it though

Victoria Plumb and Better Bathrooms have a lovely selection for a great price, much cheaper than Homebase or B&Q

it depends - I bought the cheapest bathroom suite possible in homebase and my plumber fitted it. it was cheaper than going through him. I got panelling from him for the walls which we installed - spent around £500 on it and it's great.

but....if you want something sparkly and special then probs not.

Mum recently got hers done and now absolutely swears by "trust a trader" website.

I used Homebase for my kitchen and bathroom. I wouldn't do it again.

My friend had a Homebase bathroom fitted by an independent plumber. Within months the enamel was cracking on the bath. Homebase agreed to replace if and pay for the work, then it happened again. The whole sage lasted about a year, she had spells of having to store a replacement bath (in a small flat) till the plumber could come, it was awful. Based on that, no way.