How much should I budget for a total bathroom refit?

[nogoodatDIY]

We need to refit the bathroom completely, how much do I budget for? New suite/tiles/electricals/labour/rubbish removal? We live in central London if that makes a difference.

Also any wise tips on how to ensure it's done on time (DH particularly keen to ensure we avoid disruptive delays) would be most appreciated.

I went to Bathstore during a sale a few weeks ago and to buy a new loo, steel bath, fairly fancy sink, cabinet underneath, tap for sink, over-bath shower, bath screen and water controls for bath/shower came to about #2,200. If you're just going to put the suite in the same position as the old one then the labour should be a few hundred. Tilers - well depends on the size of the room - we had our bathroom done for about #400 a couple of years ago (but that was a friend of a friend, not huge room) and obviously tiles etc on top of that. Electrics, depends what you want done. I live in Clapham.

If you want it done quickly then get an independent company to do it all rather than sub jobs out to electrician, plumber etc - generally they aim to get in and out but you have to be really careful which company you choose.

I would budget £8-10k for bits and labour, about 50-50 in terms of cost.

Depends how fancy you want your suite and fittings.

If you go to B&Q or bathstore then probably £5-6k all in.

If you want wall to wall Villeroy & Boch then you're looking at more like £12-£15k.

So Fiddledee sounds about right as a middle estimate.

Getting it done on time: yes use one company. Ask them for the names of the tiler, plumber, fitter, painter etc so you know they have actually got them lined up.

Make sure you have ordered all the materials well in advance of work starting, so they are not hanging around waiting for necessary bits.

Maybe make part of the price contingent on finishing on time? So if they quote £9k, you could say "Ok I'll pay £9.5k if you finish on time and £8.5k if you don't".

Thanks all, very useful. Our plumber will (sort of) project manage the whole thing as he knows the tiler/carpenter/electrician. We're not talking Villeroy & Boch wall to wall (sadly) but ideally reasonably good quality fittings that would last 7-10 years rather than come apart after 12 months. Smallish room though and no change to layout.

I like the idea of making payment contingent on timely delivery, DH pushing for similar, I wasn't sure tradesmen would go for it.

How long should the whole affair take? Have 2 small DCs rather keen on their baths...

Try bathroom discount centre in fulham. They offer trade prices to all customers and free delivery in London. Their website has all the top ranges.

If you can store it have everything on site before the plumbers start as without it they cannot do the plumbing first fix

I have sourced great tiles from tops tiles. Slightly over order as running out causes delays and they will take bak all unused tiles and refund you. Think about how much you actually need to tile as will save you money to have less tiles.

I would allow 3-4 weeks. Just did mine and bathed kids every other day at as many friends as I could or poped them in ensuite shower. Took them swimming at weekend and washed baby in the sink when shecstarted to hate shower ! I asked my builder to prioritize getting bath up and running which they did.

Also in London try the independent bath people, there are some around and wimbledon and herewho deliver in london they also will do a deal with you as far as price is concerned. Found them very reliable as went to west one bathrooms tried everything out and then got it at about a third off.

Alternative have been told Bathstore are very good and reliable.

Also there is an amazing tile shop in fulham that is also independent if you want something a bit different tis the hammersmith end of fulham but can't remember the name!

Thanks all, great tips. Think we'll order suite next week (Chris Stevens up on Holloway Road, North London, have v keen prices), still need to sort out some tiles and new lighting...We go away for nearly 3 weeks so hopefully the bulk of it will be done whilst we're away.
((goes and hides in corner whilst everyone has a laugh at folly of leaving builders to their own devices))

Make sure that you use a qualified electrician to carry out any and all electricl work and if there are new circuits being installed insist on an inspection and testing certificate for the electrical work, do not let a plumber or builder carry out any electrical work unless they are certified to part P of the 17th edition IEE regulations, this is a legal requirement.Bathrooms and kitchen electrics are strictly and legally of limits for DIY work or unqualified workers.

conculainey good point, electrician coming over soon, I will check his qualifications

We just did a bathroom refit in North London. Fittings (inc tiles) was about £2500. Labour and materials about £2700.

Tiles are probably the hardest thing as they really affect whether the room looks cheap or luxurious. We found Topps to be awful and Tile Depot not much better. Ended up getting the tiles from Checkalow - high quality and willing to haggle!

Good luck.

We totally gutted our bathroom in SW London and replaced it with bathstore/fired earth stuff. It cost about £10K. Beware of fancy tiles. Ours from fired earth looked good but required lots of extra sealing because of the crackle glaze and the floor tiles were not "square" and had an uneven surface which made them VERY difficult to lay. Plainer tiles would have halved the time taken to lay them and would not have altered the look that much.

Hello again and thanks both. My plumber recommended a couple of tiles shops, I am yet to drag DH and 2 DCs there, would much rather go to the dentist for root canal treatment :o

How long did your bathroom take jvj and ginandtonic? From ripping out to being able to put kids in bath (even if not completely finished)?

Oh-er! I'm clearly a cheapskate!

£200 B&Q budget bath/loo/sink set.

£30 flooring offcut from a market.

£150 labour for builder.

£120 for shower.
£70 tiles.
£35 grout/sealant.

£200 plumber.

£20 curtains from IKEA
£50 loo seat John Lewis.

We're about to do big bathroom project in the other one though and plan to spend around £10,000 - luxury baths/showers/tiling/lighting etc. You really can spend a fortune on them, but you don't have to. It does help immeasureably if you have more than one bathroom though - then you aren't pressured for time so it's cheaper.

Are you moving things around/is there pipework? We had a total refit (loads of tiles and fittings taken away, pipes moved, new lighting, lots of new tiles, cupboard built for us) and it was around £8k. Tiles and fittings were a touch over £3k of that. It took 2 weeks (during which time we moved out - we only have 1 bathroom/loo), but was a bit of a rush at the end.

Ah good point SlightlyTubbyHali - ours wasn't moving waste pipes or taps. That's when it gets expensive!

Mine was done in the summer and was just over £3000 (not inc flooring) - suite from B&Q (not cheapest but just white & simple), plain tiles, bifold shower screen, wooden bath panel. I kept my old power shower because it worked perfectly so that helped save money too.

Just priced up new bath, loo, sink, plus set of fitted floor and wall units from Bath Store which came to £2100 in their current sale (runs until 31 Jan). And just received quote today from bathroom fitter for £1359. Have priced tiles up at £200.
Haven't yet thought about flooring though.

I've just paid £320 for 192 tiles for bathroom.

Awaiting estimate from fitter but have used him before and know he will do a good job.

Need to spend on electric shower (approx £350)basin & pedestal (£120) bath and taps (£??) then flooring and a stainless steel towel rail to replace the tatty radiator.

Oh - and cost to of fitter and separate tiler.

It will all add it to goodness knows how much!