is "bathstore" any good?

[goingbacktowork]

Hi. We are looking at replacing 2 bathrooms. We don't want stuff that is going to break but not top of the shop either. The plumber has told me there is nothing wrong with the bathstore sanitaryware at all. Is that right? I would have them in the wickes/B&Q area (which the plumber said not to touch). So does anyone know if the bathstore stuff is any good? Many thanks

we have bathstore stuff in our bathrooms - we bought 3 toilets, 2 sinks and a shower cubicle, shower head, taps etc. really happy with all of it. great range and they almost always have offers so i think it's really good value. def worth a look. ours was all fitted nearly 2 years ago and is still in good working order and looking good. delivery was really quick too.

Def better than b and q I have used them a fair bit and I like the designs esp the plainer stuff

I've got some bathstore stuff - it's fine although I do think prices are a bit toppy unless you get a very good sale discount. Some of their basins and storage are beautiful.

We got our bathroom suite from them, very happy, good quality and good pricing in the sale - but they seem like one of those places where there is always a sale on, so I definitely wouldn't buy at full price.

My Mum order her bathroom stuff from there in October and had nothing but trouble. Wrong things delievered, items not in stock when they were told they would be, really crap returns service. She ended up having to live with a huge boxed bathroom set in her tiny terraced house all over Christams becasue they would not collect the wrong stuff they had delivered. I'd never use them.

We bought a shower, toilet and sink from the bathshop. Not particulary impressed with the plumbing accessories.
For example: The handle of the shower door loosens itself despite being regularly tightened. The glass door is not properly aligned within the shower frame so gets stuck when closed. The self closing device on the loo seat no longer works and the overflow plastic device in the sink is broken.

This is all in an ensuite bathroom in the loft which is rarely used.

I'm a fan - have used on 5 bath/shower rooms/loos in the last 8 years. Never had any problems with delivery etc. Had a problem with some slow-closing loo seats ( dodgy hinges) but they have since changed the design and they seem better. I think they can be pretty good value if you get stuff in the sales - which seem to be on most of the time.

We are just in process of having Bathstore stuff fitted.

So far so good. We did have a cracked loo seat, but phoned them & they arranged an immediate replacement. They also did a lot of the planning.

We bought all the furniture/sanitaryware from them, but the taps, heated towel rail, underfloor heating, actual shower & pump etc we bought separately. Much cheaper to not get it all from the same plaee - their mark-up on those things is very high.

We have bathstore fittings in our family bathroom and cloakroom. They look fab and much better quality that B&Q or Homebase.

try screwfix - sometimes you can get the same stuff cheaper!

I have used them for my last two bathrooms and no issues.

There appears to be a number of Bathstore threads here and so I am 'covering all the bases' by posting this message on all of them. That way, anyone considering a Bathstore purchase should be given the chance to read about my views and experiences. I class myself as a very knowledgeable and competent DIY'er and have installed 7 bathrooms from scratch in my time. I set myself a high standard of workmanship and feel therefore I can speak from a position of a fair amount of experience.
The quality of Bathstore products is typical of the mass production methods they employ. The carcasses are melamine faced chipboard so are no different to many other suppliers. Therefore, when you look at their prices, they appear to me to offer poor value for money. After discount a typical cupboard carcass is over £100 which, when you consider what it's made of and the quality of the finish seems a lot.
Move on the the fascias and things only get worse. The one I have just installed on behalf of my daughter was the Portfolio range and a 600mm fascia pack (two small pieces of veneered/painted chipboard), after discount was £228; an absolute rip off in my opinion.
I suspect they really want you to use one of their approved fitters. Therefore beware if you are planning DIY or using an independent. The installation instructions are incomplete and fail to cover all of the processes required. There is no dedicated support team; instead you need to speak to the supplying store. In my experience, the two stores I used were staffed by teams who knew nothing about the installation process. If you're lucky, you might get to speak to one of their fitters if they are in the store at the time of your call. However, don't count on that solving any problems; the gent I spoke to seemed to know very little and gave the impression that he wasn't to happy to help 'an amateur' anyway.
To sum up, in my opinion, Bathstore initially impress with their showroom displays but drill a little deeper and they seem to offer very poor value for money and are not 'tooled up' to give quick support during independent installation. So, shop around and you will almost certainly find something better.

We brought Bathstore stuff for our downstairs toilet and it’s discoloured after about 4 years. I’m surprised your plumber said it was ok, most plumbers I know won’t touch it cause it’s cheaply made and the parts fit badly. It might be worth seeing if your local plumbing merchants have a showroom or catalogue so you can get an idea of better quality sanitaryware