If you need new central heating, new bathroom and a wall knocking down ....

[notbeeny]

Do I need a plumber to do the heating and bathroom and a builder to knock the wall down?

We want to buy a house which needs a new boiler and about 5 extra radiators on top of the ones already there.

The bathroom is small with a separate toilet and large cupboard next to it - so the plan is to knock them all into one bigger bathroom.

Would I get a builder to knock the rooms together and then get a plumber?

Or do I need a company that does plumbing and building.

I'm not very good at this already!

You can get a building company that will do it all for you but it will be much more expensive. You can use a plumber and separate builder but they will blame each other for anything that goes wrong. If the wall is not supporting (and they rarely are between bath and loo) you could knock it down yourself if you don't mind dealing with a lot of dust and dirt. Bear in mind you will also need a plaster and tiler once the bathroom has been fitted so that's two more trades to fall out with .

lalalonglegs - if we do buy this house, will you be my friend please!

If you knock a wall down yourself, do you just need a plasterer to make good the edges?

But we probably would need a builder to do it as there would be a doorway to be filled too.

Yes, I'll be your friend (but I'm very bossy ).

Oh, and to fit a door, you'll need a carpenter/joiner...

I would try and find a small, local builder who will co-ordinate the work for you.
If its a one man band he may not be VAT registered which will save you some money and it would much easier than trying to co-ordinate a builder/plasterer/plumber/heating engineer etc.

Ask around for recommendations, estate agents often know decent local builders.

Ooh thank you.

We wouldn't need a door fitted, just the door to the bathroom removed and blocked up iyswim.

I shall start hunting down builders.

And are plumbers and heating engineers different or do some do both?

Some do both, but not all good bathroom fitter-type plumbers do heating as well.

Good to know - thanks!

BTW, if you need a door filled, then it's a job for your plasterer. He'll stick a couple of pieces of plasterboard in the opening (I recommend you put in some sort of insulation which may help with noise as well as heat loss) and then skims over the top.

I have a one-man band doing a similar thing here.He coordinates the plumbers when needed and does the actual building work himself.You will also need some electrical work done at some point.I would also echo what Panacotta has said.

It depends on your plumber or your builder. My DH is a plumber and has someone who helps him with more building type stuff so may be your plumber could do that.

Or ask your builder if he knows/has a good plumber.....simples!