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Original poster

Bathstore quality - is it OK?

35 replies

FishfingersAreOK · 20/07/2012 18:51

My builder suggest I go for Twyford or Ideal Standard bathroom stuff - but we had already seen and liked some Bathstore stuff which are nor replicated by these two manufacturers. Is Bathstore stuff OK? Or should I go back to the drawing board and find something I like from the others? Please advise/share experiences.

OP posts:
HandMini · 20/07/2012 19:33

I don't have personal experience, but I think Bathstore is owned by Wolseley (big listed building and construction firm) and they have a good reputation.

mummytime · 20/07/2012 19:43

We have a store within 2 minutes of our house and it looks fine. Could you get to one of their stores?

Ponks · 20/07/2012 20:09

Depends what you are after. Our builder suggested Bathstore but after less than a year the vanity unit cupboard we got is starting to look tatty. The shower valve needed replacing after a few months. In future I would think twice.

thisisyesterday · 20/07/2012 20:11

no!

we had ours from there and it's shitty. really... don't!

Original poster
FishfingersAreOK · 20/07/2012 20:12

Interestingly our builder said that whatever happened not to get the shower stuff from Bathstore.

Was contemplating whether to include a vanity unit - didn't really want to for aesthetics but been considering for storage reasons - maybe this is an excuse to let my heart rule...

OP posts:
QuintessentialShadows · 20/07/2012 20:15

We fitted our Bathstore bathroom 12 years ago. The toilet, the vanity unit, lasted until now. The units were even through the tenants from hell who wrecked the rest of the house.

I cant fault them.

Got new units from there again when we upgraded the bathroom. Except the vanity, got that from Ikea.

Pics on profile, actually.

amazonianwoman · 20/07/2012 20:22

We have a Bathstore pedestal wash basin in our downstairs loo - the Savoy one. It was installed probably around 2 years ago and the bowl has at least 4 chips in it. The original 1930s basin upstairs is still intact. So I definitely wouldn't recommend Bathstore on that basis!

EclecticShock · 20/07/2012 20:25

I've got a sink and it's great. However I did youse ideal standard for everything else and much much cheaper. Look online.

EclecticShock · 20/07/2012 20:26

Builders hate bathstore...

EclecticShock · 20/07/2012 20:26

That might be because bathstore offer to fit and this takes money away from builders...

cestlavielife · 20/07/2012 20:44

Try Bathroom heaven it is good quality. Sourced from china so good price.
www.bathroomheaven.com/

AngryGnome · 20/07/2012 20:55

We had a bath store suite fitted nearly 2 years ago, and it is great. Really reasonably priced, decent quality, and it was fitted quickly with no hassle (which was great as I was 8 months pregnant!).

I'd definitely recommend them based on our experience.

thisisyesterday · 20/07/2012 20:57

quint.. yes my parents got their stuff from bathstore about 10 years ago now and it has also lasted brilliantly. which is why we went there.

can only assume that the quality has gone downhill lately.

PanicMode · 21/07/2012 13:19

No, I wouldn't recommend them. The quality is rubbish - now comes from China mostly and isn't very well made. The original cowboys who did our bathroom were happy with it, but the new plumber that we have (who I really rate), said that he advises clients to go elsewhere because it doesn't last. We had to replace the shower after a year because it broke and it was just out of warranty. We went for an Aqualisa shower head on the advice of the new plumber and it's great and comes with a 5 or even 10 year guarantee. The soft close loo lid has also broken twice, and the bath has chipped where a child dropped a toy onto it. I won't buy from them again.......

ChasedByBees · 21/07/2012 13:28

We had a bath plug and waste fitting from there. In two months the waste fitting split and sent a whole bathtub of water through a ceiling.

PantsOnFiore · 21/07/2012 13:34

NO NO NO! My builder advised against them, I didn't listen, had the same basin delivered 4 times before we had one without a chip. Horrendous customer service at the local branch. Head Office were great but couldn't force the local branch to act decently because I believe they are franchises.

tricot39 · 22/07/2012 21:56

Bathstore are only a retail outlet so we chose stuff we saw in their shop and bought it from elsewhere with better customer service!

The suite seems to attract a lot of limescale but is good quality stuff from Italy.

The shower valve was built in; made by crosswater. Been a nightmare. The instructions are minimal and it needs regular servicing. Having been built into the wall it is not simple to replace. Don't do it!

janmoomoo · 22/07/2012 22:30

We got all our bathroom and downstairs loo stuff from there three years ago and have had no problems at all, it still looks lovely and as good as new. I steered away from their "click clack" plugs because they looked like a recipe for disaster, but we wanted a massive walk in shower and they were half the price of anywhere else. Not had any problems.

Builders/plumbers hate anything that isn't from a trade store as they can't mark it up.

myron · 23/07/2012 12:15

I have installed 2 of their Glasshouse sliding shower doors in recent weeks and am pleased with them. They are good quality 8mm glass with decent hinges/handles and they were half price from Jan right through to June! (I wanted 8mm glass and couldn't stretch to 3 x Matki doors so hunted around for the best I could get within my budget) Got Ideal Standard shower trays & baths, ROCA WCs & basins & Bristan/ROCA taps and Hansgrohe diverter shower mixers so I chose what I wanted (the best quality I could buy for my budget imo) from mainly plumbers' merchants. I was looking at Bathstore Thermaform baths but went for the Ideal Standard Idealform Plus baths instead. It's a matter of being selective. A lot of what they sell is style over substance though.

monniemae · 26/07/2012 14:54

Urgh Bathstore. We've had real nightmares with them. We also had builders/plumbers recommend against them but to be honest that was mainly because they couldn't be arsed to read instructions. all our stuff is two-three months old so I can't vouch for longevity; but the sinks and toilets seem fine quality. However, I'm not convinced it was worth the extra money compared to others eg victoria plumb etc.. We went for bathstore because we needed next day delivery which of course was a swiz.
Shower from next - amazing. And ideal standard are v highly recommended

DMS64 · 05/02/2015 13:27

I have had a shower and various taps from them and over the last 4 years they are all coming loose , breaking and looking shabby. Poor quality and much of it made of plastic. I would not recommend. Also spare parts are exorbitantly expensive.

agnesrose86 · 05/02/2015 13:36

We got toilet, sink and taps from bath store 6 months ago ish. I have no complaints about the quality and really love the style, couldn't find anything similar but they aren't great in terms of customer service if anything goes wrong. My builder was very against them too.

christinarossetti · 05/02/2015 17:30

I've had good experience with Bathstore customer service.

We fitted a new bathroom in 2007 and the sink tap and bit inside the toilet cistern malfunctioned a few years later (the latter quite common in London due to hard water apparently).

On both occasions, they sent us replacements promptly and free of charge, despite them being well outside warranty.

So not stellar quality, but easy and cost free to mend if they go wrong in y experience.

maviso1 · 14/05/2015 13:59

I had my showroom fitted out with bath store products, unfortunately i've had to return the shower head twice now as it corrodes within a year, the chrome is faulty. Also the show hose has broken and leaks (we hardly every used it) and the mirror doors have also tarnished. I certainly wouldn't buy from the Bath store ever again, and the warranty is only 2 years.

BingBong36 · 14/05/2015 15:49

Absolutely crap. The shower broke twice, the tap broke, the toilet handle broke... Don't do it!!