Bathroom- where to save or spend

[audreyroberts]

Hi
We have £1500 absolute max to spend on fixtures and fitting for a bathroom. Bathroom is 7ft square.

Been quote £2000 for fitting - so that is told spend on £3500.

Just wondering where to spend and where to save.

Need wc, basin, bath, shower (over bath), towel rail, tiles and taps.

I was thinking of going for a cheap suite and taps from 'better bathrooms' and spending on some classy tiles. Sort of travetine effect. Dh thinks we should go for standard tiles and get good quality taps. while my mum thinks best to just buy everything medium quality.

All advice apprecited as never done a bathroom before.

We got a cheap bath/sink/toilet from B&Q (metal/enamel baths look better quality). Cheap tiles that I love from toppstiles. Towel rings/toilet roll thingies etc cheap from B&q. Very expensive cabinet, taps, shower curtain rail thingy from a specialist bathroom shop. And the fabbest radiator/towel warmer from B&Q.

I'll see if I can find a photo to stick on my profile so you can get an idea.

£2k is too much for fitting.
Although I guess it depends on the pipework needed. I think I paid about £300 for plumbing, £300 plastering, £250 tiling about 5 years ago. Now even if that was cheap, it is still less than half what you've been quoted. How many quotes have you had?

Cheap suite, though enamel cast iron bath if you can stretch to it though. Cheapest White tiles with two rows of border tiles IYSWIM. Are you practical, if so then do tiling yourself, as not difficult. I can up load a photo of mine if you want?

Also plumbed in not electric shower better.

If you can afford it, get travertine tiles but that is AFTER taps. Spend money on taps and heated towel rail first, tiles 2nd, then suite. But do get a hidden cistern if you can (if you're looking for resale)

Shower screens show quality in thickness of glass, ceramic basins - no quality difference, wall hung with chrome trap - is a cheap stylish option. Baths - if you are in a hard water area and don't have a water softener then go for an acrylic bath. I have bought tiles from fired earth which were £35/sqm - they sold almost identical tiles for £230/sqm they were hand finshed but really who would have noticed. And my guest ensuite was tiled with £7/sqm - again Fired Earth sold similar at £35/sqm - they were a little thicker but no other noticeable difference.
Taps can be cheap and look fine. Toilets need to work well - buy a good quality robust one

Have a look online - I got Grohe taps from somewhere (can't remember where) but they were end of line and were massively discounted

I've uploaded some photos of mine, but they haven't come out too well.

And don't tile the whole room - tile wet areas and paint the rest.

Re the toilets working well. That's true, but my plumber recommended getting a cheap toilet and then buying a good quality syphon (the bit inside) from a plumbing suppliers as the only reason cheap toilets don't work is the rubbish they throw in as an afterthought.

Good quality toilet seat is a must too.

I did my guest ensuite for around £1300 with basic Hansgrohe shower, Ideal standard basin with Crosswater taps, Laufen Toilet - it was my cheapset bathroom but it still looks great - less understated that the others, I was bolder with the decor to draw attention from the slightly more pedestrian fittings.

Save the money by buying a cheap bath, basin and loo from Wickes/BandQ. Also buy cheap tiles from Topps Tiles and only tile half the wall.
Buy good quality flooring, as the bathroom is a high traffic area, and get it fitted professionally.

Thanks eveyone for the advice. Seems all agree the cheap suite is a good save, so wil def do that.
I wasn't going to tile the whole room - just 2.5 walls and the bath panel.

Will check out topps tiles tomorrow. Been to porceleosa and fell in love with their stuff!

In terms of 2000 being too much for fitting, i had quotes from 3 places and they all come in around that much. (incules false ceiling and lights). We are keen to just have a company come in and do it in 5 days rather than trying to manage it ourselves as have two toddlers and dont want bathroom out of action for too long.