Bathroom suites - how much? And where from??

[Spaghettivongole]

We're completely revamping our bathroom and an architect friend has very kindly drawn a plan of the layout including some storage etc. He also recommended the bath, basin, etc. to get so off I trotted to the local independant bathroom shop to get a quote... £5000 for the lot! It includes bath, toilet, shower tray, basin plus cabinet and all taps etc. It all looked lovely but I don't really have a clue so am now wondering whether this is crazy and it would be better just to go to Homebase or somewhere?

What's costing you £5K? If you are using Homebase or anywhere like that you'll be paying a premium. Try to find out where trades people shop near you for much better prices.

We did my bathroom for under £1K. That was new bath, cool taps, basin with vanity unit, mirror, toilet, above-bath shower head (ceilings not high enough for proper shower!) wall tiles, floor tiles, towel rail, sliding shower-screen.

You can see it here actually, as we're selling.

We got the bathroom suite and shower screen from building supplies shops towards the Archway end of Holloway Road, London N7. The toilet was £45!

Alternatively, we found Wickes to be very reasonable indeed when we wanted a new kitchen. I wonder if they are the same for bathrooms?

The most expensive thing in my bathroom was the taps on the bath!

Thanks aufaniae. Your bathroom looks great. Holloway Rd isn't far from us so I think I'll take a trip up there.

I had thought Homebase etc. were the cheaper options, maybe that isn't the case! I'm not sure how it got to £5k myself but I do have a detailed quote... Let me have a proper look... Bath £300, basin £300, cupboard for basin £500, toilet £250, cistern etc. £300 (!), shower tray £500, heated towel rail £400, taps and shower head etc £1500!! So maybe we should look for cheaper taps! But do the costs for everything else seem ok then?

How much is your house worth? Your architect will have specified the bathroom as a percentage of its value. They generally think spend on the kitchen+bathrooms should equal 15% of the house's value, which is why you see £2000 baths in so many London showrooms .

FWIW, the prices don't seem so very shocking to me. I assume you're getting brand names for that price ie Bette or Kaldewai; Bristons etc. You can certainly shop around, and local plumbers' merchants are your best bet.

Good taps are worth spending on. They 'lift' your bathroom the same way a good bag can add some style to a plain chainstore outfit. Plus manufacturers like Hansgrohe offer better guarantees and technology.

There are a few shops in Holloway Rd, I forget the name of the one we got the stuff from in the end but it was the big one!

i agree about the taps. The bathroom suite is cheap cheap! But we splashed out on the taps (excuse the pun!) as they make it I think.

Aston Matthews, Aufaniae? Very smart

Thanks thisoldgirl. That does make sense - our property in worth a fair amount as we're in a good part of London so actually our total spend on the bathroom actually will work out at much less than 5%. When you look at it that way it seems ok! And yes, they are branded goods, Bette and Duravit mainly.

he obviously thought that you wanted to spend £5,000

You can also get a bathroom suite for £500, or even £150.

You decide.

Yes, good taps make a huge difference. Nothing lasts as well as chromed brass.

Piglet John - I feel honoured to have your input since you were listed in the "celebs you'd like to marry" thread earlier. Did you see it?

Anyway, so where could I shop that would be cheaper but still reasonable quality? Homebase/B&Q or somewhere like British Bathroom Center. Or Bathstore?

B&Q not great quality IMO.

I remember visiting Bathstore and being totally underwhelmed and found them really pricey.

I think my last one came from Homebase.

Don't like the styles in B&Q

If you go for a white suite, you can browse all sorts of basin and loo shapes in builders merchants or combos like Wickes. I like Armitage Shanks but I don't think they're on the Domestic Retail market any more.

Personally I would avoid a cistern hidden in a wall, or one with two semi-circular buttons on the top. Both are troublesome when they go wrong.

I really like Aquilisa showers and Bristan taps, but there are other good ones. I prefer UK manufacture and design to flashy imports, most of which (especially Italian ones) are intended for much higher water pressure than we get here, even off the mains.

I've been very pleased with plumbworld as a supplier. Try this link

I prefer a shower enclosure to an overbath, preferably bigger or longer than a cube. A powerful extractor is essential.

I would be reluctant to buy a suite that I hadn't seen and handled.

I find that "Bloggins Bathroom Centre" or "Boggins Discount Bathrooms" are no cheaper or better than anywhere else.

I don't recall having many marriage proposals in the last couple of weeks but may be willing to consider applications.

we are just doing our bathroom and the quotes have come in at £3600, that is everything from a new (plastic) ceiling with spot lights, down to the new flooring, including tiles, built in toilet and basin, bath and shower

we have gone to an independent show room, the suite and shower have cost about £1700, its all guaranteed for 10 years.

Avoid the Bathstore. We have a pedestal sink (higher priced range) which chips if you drop a cotton bud in it. Dreadful quality.

You should look to spend money on things in this order: taps, tiles, bathroom suite.

Lots of online retailers sell quality brands at lower prices to high street showrooms.

Tiles don't have to be £££££ - you can get lot of fired earth lookylikeys from tile outlet type places.

Sorry, should reall ave written don't scrimp on things in this order. Can't reiterate more that taps are worth spending money on.

I would NOT recommend anyone to buy from Betterbathrooms. Their customer service is probably the worst I have ever come across.

Order placed on Thursday the 18th, it was still not dispatched until Tuesday the 23rd. Spoke to customer services someone called Colin answered the phone who was rude, I asked to speak to a manager and was told he is busy on another line and someone will call me shortly. No manager had called so then I called again and Janine answered the phone who requested another call back as apparently managers were all on the phone again and promised a call back shortly. After several hours had passed I phoned again to speak to Steph who said she couldnt keep me on the phone to wait and speak to the manager and she would have to hang up on me.

As soon as I told her I will write to all the directors of the company if a manager didnt speak to me within 20 minutes she suddenly found that a manager was available to talk on the phone. Paddy, the line manager came on the line who was as useless as the other bunch couldnt care less that his team were pathetic and made false promises and rubbish excuses as to why the order still hadnt been dispatched after 5 days despite EVERYTHING on the order was IN STOCK!!!

The order was cancelled and a refund has been promised to be made in 2-3 working days. Lets see if this promise is dealt with or not.

Do not buy from them, do not be fooled by the low prices they offer. I can almost guarantee that if anything goes wrong with the products you order in the future they will not give a damn! DONT waste your money!! My order was for £2,447.86.

I have done a company check on the company and found
The company directors are:
Peter Stevens (The main owner)
Colin Stevens (Most likely Peter's Son)
Paul John Thomas Gilbert
David Colclough