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Original poster

Sourcing bathroom fixings and fixtures to save money?

27 replies

SleepFreeZone · 12/09/2016 13:18

Any advice as to the best approach? I want fitted furniture that encompasses a WC abs basin. A p shaped bath, towel rail, white tiles. Nothing too exciting.

OP posts:
MargotLovedTom · 12/09/2016 13:19

Screwfix? Don't think they do tiles though.

minijoeyjojo · 12/09/2016 13:24

Ask for a discount? Or get a tradesperson to buy for you? We got ours at 35% of RRP because the builder ordered it through grant and stone.

Original poster
SleepFreeZone · 12/09/2016 13:27

The tradespeople all seem to suggest that sourcing things yourself will always beat the trade discount. We are just desperately trying to get the bathroom done for less as all the quotes have been so high so far.

OP posts:
Original poster
SleepFreeZone · 12/09/2016 13:28

We have quite a few discount tile places nearby so I plan on going in and seeing how much I can get a large amount of white tiles for.

OP posts:
Ragwort · 12/09/2016 13:36

I'm in the process of replacing my bathroom and it is so expensive .... I hate the advertisements that say 'new bathroom for £295' or whatever. I've paid just over £1.5k for the fittings (did choose very expensive panels so that could have been avoided) - labour costs will be at least another £1.5k .... and it is such a tiny room Grin. You need so many different bits and pieces and they all add up.

Good luck.

namechangedtoday15 · 12/09/2016 14:20

Where are you OP? We've just gone through this.

Original poster
SleepFreeZone · 12/09/2016 17:30

We can't seem to get labour costs below £3000 where we are!! I think it's brilliant that everyone is so busy but fucking hell its a nightmare when you need work done.

We are in the East of England, smack inbetween Bedford and Cambridge.

OP posts:
Ewokewok · 12/09/2016 17:34

We went to a posh bathroom shop. Talked through what we wanted with the saleswoman. She printed off list for us to bring back when we ordered.
We took the list to a local plumbing merchant and bought it far, far cheaper.

I feel a little bit bad for the saleslady but not enough to not do it againWink

SuzyLucy · 13/09/2016 05:04

Soak.com

wowfudge · 13/09/2016 07:03

There was a thread on here a while ago where someone had found that you can buy an unbranded Kaldewei steel bath from somewhere like Screwfix. What is your budget OP? Have you tried eBay? There are often brand new bits and pieces on there as well as eBay shops selling bathroom fittings.

Original poster
SleepFreeZone · 13/09/2016 07:38

Thanks all Flowers

Budget is 5k, and the room is small. Al quotes are coming in around the 8k plus mark 😁

OP posts:
atticusclaw2 · 13/09/2016 07:44

Ive just priced up two en suites. Each is coming in at £3k for fixtures and fittings plus labour. That includes tiles flooring, mirrors, towel rails, lighting, taps etc

Mainly victoriaplumb and some ikea (although I could save more by not having the ikea hemnes sink units)

Fitting costs will depend on whether you're moving things from their current locations.

atticusclaw2 · 13/09/2016 07:45

Although that is for ensuites, they are decent sized bathrooms with baths

namechangedtoday15 · 13/09/2016 08:43

Not local then but Johnsons tiles are amazing value for money (their factory is based in Stoke but they also deliver). We sourced beautiful large format tiles from there for £20-30 a square metre when we'd seen very similar tiles for £60-70. We also used bathrooms.com and bathshop321.com plus a local plumbing merchant. Some places are cheaper for baths, some for vanity units. If you shop around you can get great deals.

PigletJohn · 13/09/2016 09:42

Good quality taps and showers make the most difference. Bristan for taps and Aqualisa for showers are my favourite.

Cheap ballvalves leak. Pegler are much better.

Pop-up wastes leak. Buy a plug.

Buy a WC with a cistern lid that you can lift off easily. No button on the top.

Nothing stands up to wear and cleaning as well as chromed brass.

Having decided to buy good stuff, see if you can get it on clearance or discount. I am fond of Plumbworld but they seem to have sacked their incompetent buyer and improved stock control :-( so they have fewer bargains this year. Put "clearance" into their search engine. Last year's taps are just as good as this year's.

Occasionally you will see good retailers put their clearance items onto ebay, but examine the "shop" and feedback carefully.

Original poster
SleepFreeZone · 13/09/2016 10:01

Thank you, fantastic advice, I agree about buying quality products but we don't care about which shape WC etc. I shall goggle clearance abs those makes and make a list 👍👍

OP posts:
katyk81 · 13/09/2016 10:09

Bathroom Clearance Outlet in Cranfield is good. It might be a bit of a trek depending on where exactly you are but he would deliver to your area. Just give a ring before if you planned to go to the showroom as he tends to open for appointments rather than being there all the time.

Failing that you could Google bathroom distributors in your area and give one a ring to ask them to put you on contact with some showrooms that they recommend.

Original poster
SleepFreeZone · 13/09/2016 12:20

Oooh I used to work in Cranfield!

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Pradaqueen · 14/09/2016 04:16

Tons of tiles or walls and floors for good online prices, efficient delivery and a handy online size calculator. Agree with Pigletjohn re quality of fittings if you are staying for a while/years. eBay is your friend if you know exactly what you need.

bouncydog · 14/09/2016 08:11

When we did our bathrooms I got a couple of designs done then took the best bits and did my own. I sourced the fittings from a mixture of online and local suppliers, then worked with my carpenter to get everything exactly right. Tiles were sourced from a local store at a good discount and we paid an independent tile fitter to fit them all. Underfloor heating was again sourced at a good price and independent electrician did the installation. This all takes a bit longer than a 1 stop shop but the savings are huge.

atticusclaw2 · 14/09/2016 10:15

Just had a labour quote in for £1500 including tiling. Makes each bathroom about 4500.

Original poster
SleepFreeZone · 14/09/2016 21:48

Atticus I am jealous Envy

OP posts:
atticusclaw2 · 15/09/2016 07:45

Might be worth just getting a few more quotes though? Ours is from a property maintenance company rather than a plumbing firm (they obviously still employ plumbers).

fitzbilly · 15/09/2016 07:51

There is a website where you explain the job and builders offer you a quote, we used then, I think it's called find a builder, and got a lovely young man just starting out, so his prices were very low, we paid him just over£2500 to do three bathrooms and tile the kitchen floor and conservatory floor. We're in the same area you so you could give that a try?

I sourced all the materials, some of eBay shops, done from Victoria plumb in the sales, and the cheapest tiles came from a place in St neots next to screwfix, worth looking there?

atticusclaw2 · 15/09/2016 07:52

The other useful thing with using a more generalist company is that they're interested in an ongoing relationship with you and so won't be out to con you. We live in a large house (but have little spare money as a result) and the minute anyone drives up to the house they seem to add an extra 2k to everything. The proper maintenance company however can see that there is the prospect of work on other things if they do a good job and quote a reasonable price.