To not know how to get a new bathroom?

[LittleGwyneth]

I can't work out if I'm being really stupid, or if it's actually quite hard to work out.

I'm late twenties, own my own flat for the first time, and want to get the bathroom redone. But where do you start?! Do I buy a load of stuff from a website and then hire a plumber? Or hire a plumber and ask them what to buy? Will they do the walls - painting / tiling? Could they change the overhead lighting? Because no-one should ever have to be naked under the current fluro horrors in there.

Any rough ideas how much a bath & shower, sink, loo, might cost? And if someone might be able to tell me if I can fit some wardrobes or something in there?

All wisdom very gratefully received.

I'm in central London if that's relevant.

I also recommend a purely bathroom fitter. Had mine done by a jack of all trades builder and I'm not 100% happy with it. Also think very carefully about what you need from a bathroom. I wanted easy to clean but I've ended up with rectangular tiles with an indent round the edge (metros I think they are called) which are a nightmare to keep clean.
Also be wary of anyone that can start right away. The good ones are booked up for a reason. It's a lot of money, so it wont hurt to wait a month or so.

Op I’ve not done my bathroom for 5 years because I’ve not known where to start. Every time I think about it I get confused!!!!

It's really not as hard as it might seem. Call a plumber and get them round for a quote and a chat (distanced?), when we did ours the plumber gave us a price, he was able to do all the odd bits like a bit of plastering etc but I painted the ceiling and changed some switches. He knew a tiler and gave me his details so I had him give me a quote but then left the two of them to coordinate together. The plumber told us we could use his trade discount in a local plumbing shop so we popped along and chose what we wanted and arranged delivery, and made sure we had the tiles we wanted in time for the tiler.
I also arranged with my next door neighbour to use their loo whilst the plumber was working!

Look on local Facebook or ‘next door’ app fir recommended local bathroom fitters, or even ask in a local builders merchant or hardware shop .

Book the first one to come round for you to talk through what you want, you’ll get a feel for the things you need to decide on /think about . Then you can get a couple more quotes fir the same work . Like a PP said, don’t necessarily go fir the cheapest .
They will be able to order and arrange for everything to be fitted.

I’d avoid plumbers quotes as they charge more than builders

Mine was £200 for the plumber as per the quote
A plumbers quote was £3000 more than the builders and I had a few come in

A plumbers quote is useful for saying what's possible / not possible with the plumbing, you don't have to go with it. We got one and they told us some options would increase cost / not possible. In the end we got a builder in who subcontracted work to plumber when needed but it meant I didn't buy the wrong things. If everything is staying in position and nothing new added you may not need it but if you are adding anything in that needs plumbing would recommend it and quotes are free.

First find a decent builder. Ask friends, neighbours, ask on your local Nextdoor. Good builders probably won’t be available straight away, more like in a month or two, so that gives you time to plan your new bathroom and start ordering the stuff for it. You want a general builder - he will be able to bring in his trusted plumber, tiler etc at the right times. Much easier than finding them all individually.

Then go to an independent bathroom showroom. Someone like West One Bathrooms, Alternative Bathrooms, Fulham Bathrooms. CP Hart are stupidly expensive. Bring a plan showing the dimensions of the bathroom and existing layout. They will help you design a new bathroom, including choosing the fittings. Then they will order the fittings for you, You can do it all yourself, but since it’s your first time and you’re in London (ie it’s worth spending the money to make it look like a professional job) I would suggest getting the help.

You may want to choose tiles separately rather than via the bathroom company. Lots of good tile places in London, all over but there seem to be loads in Fulham and Clerkenwell in particular. Try eg Domus. Once you have found your tiles shop around online for price.

PS make sure any builder you consider has done lots of bathrooms - no good getting a side return specialist. Ask to see a recent job, if possible.