bathroom suppliers - recommendations please

[fussychica]

DH is about to start on refitting the bathroom - not before time.

Any recommendations for suppliers of loos, basins, showers & screens etc. Have looked at lots of websites but would like to know if any Mnetters have any recommendations before I start ordering stuff.

anybody but BATHSTORE! terrible.

someone on here recommended a great tile website.....

Go to a bathroom showroom in order to touch and feel first and to have an idea of how much you have to spend overall. Top end will be Laufen/Matki. I kitted out 3 bathrooms/ensuites plus 1 cloakroom recently and went for ROCA & Ideal Standard sanitaryware, Bristan & ROCA taps, Hansgrohe Raindance showers, 8mm thick sliding shower doors from Bathstore (I had no problems with customer sevice/delivery) and 8mm thick shower enclosure from B&Q. Shower trays from Ideal Standard. I sourced them all separately from Plumbase, Bathstore & B&Q. Tiles came from an independent tile shop which was beat Topp Tiles siginificantly on price. I am really pleased with the quality of my shower doors from both Bathstore
and B&Q.

I refitted the bathroom at my old house and only had a teeny budget. I went to look at what was around at places like Bathstore but then I went with Plumbworld and they were great in terms of service, delivery and quality. The curved shower screen I bought for my P bath was a fraction of the cost of the identical equivalent in Bathstore. Very impressed.

Another vote for plumbworld.

I don't think they advertise Clearance publicly, but if you put "Clearance" into the search field on their website, you can see it. There are sometimes fantastic bargains to be had. I have been very pleased with quality and service.

on ebay their user name is plumbworlduk

btw unless you have high water pressure both hot and cols, avoid flashy stylish taps such as Italian designs with tails the size of pencils and restrictive internal waterways. UK plumbing is lower pressure than most countries, even from the mains, and they will give poor flow. Don't get mixer taps if your cold is at mains pressure and your hot is from a tank.

The best tap maker I know is Bristan. You can sometimes get factory clearance bargains off their website.

Ceramic disk taps, which have a quarter-turn or a joystick, are generally less reliable and more difficult to service than taps with a capstan head and a rubber washer. Chromed brass is far more durable than gold plate, enamel, or lacquered brass.

Interesting thread - thank you.

I have just measured my bath and found that the bath is 1m 67cm, but every bath I look at is 1m 70cm. Is it possible to get smaller bath or do I chisel the wall somehow, or use the tried and tested method of ramming it in with a hammer.

if you mean that the bath is tight against a wall at each end, you will probably have to chisel out the plaster in a groove for the ends of the bath to fit into. It needs extra care to seal the tiles down into this without damp getting in. You can buy a special sealant strip that is fitted then tiled over. Point this out to the person fitting the bath and the person doing the tiling before they start work.

Thank you PJ (not sure what you prefer) seems rude to call you piglet when you always so helpful to us.

Thanks guys for all your replies - I'll be checking that lot out - particularly clearance as I have a limited budget. PJ great practical advice as always.

I got a fab price on some Twyford taps by getting a reasonable 25% off quote from one supplier - I said I had to dash so could they email it to me. I then took that and an even better price I found on line to a local plumbing showroom/merchant and he beat the prices. On my bathroom basin taps (3 of them) I got 55% off and 35% off the bath taps.