Updating a bathroom - how to do it?

[Kathysclown]

Our house is around 15 years old, and is showing signs of wear and tear. The main bathroom needs a general 'touch up', but the actual bath/sink/shower and toilet are good, so I don't think I need to bring in a bathroom fitter. The things that I think are needed are:

• replacement of all taps (very furred up with immovable limescale)

• new floor tiles (currently have Amtico, not sure how difficult that will be to remove before a new floor is laid?)

• paining of walls and woodwork (existing tiles around the bath are fine).

So given it is not a full bathroom refurb, I am not sure what kind of trade person I need to bring in? DIY is definitely NOT something myself or my husband can tackle easily (past track record of uselessness) - although I would be happy to do the painting.

Do I need a plumber to do the new taps? Do I need a flooring company to lay the new floor tiles? Or would a 'handyman' tackle all of these jobs together??

Not sure where to start on what I think is actually a pretty small job.......

include a water softener in your budget

A plumber will do a better and quicker job than a handyman

Sanitary appliances cost less than you think

If the old floor is chipboard underneath, it belongs on the skip anyway.

Have a look under the bath and see what condition the floor is in.

If you have any pop-up wastes put them in the skip as well and get ordinary wastes with plugs

Thanks Pigletjohn - we don't have pop up wastes, but what is the problem with them?

If we got a plumber in, they wouldn't do the flooring as well, would they?

pop-up wastes have a hole underneath, where a rod moves to lift the stopper.

Holes in pipes leak. With age and wear, they leak more. I'm told that if you regularly take them off to clean, adjust and lubricate, leakage can be reduced.

Some plumbers might do flooring, but they are not usually much good.

I've renewed my horrible chipboard with stained WBP ply, which is much better. Chipboard is unsuitable for anywhere that water is found.