Is it usual for the bathroom fitter to buy all the materials?

[Seainasive]

Bath, shower panels, taps, basin etc? He uses his favourite suppliers who seem to be really expensive. I checked and could buy the same make & model sink and bath taps and the shower online and save a thousand pounds easily!

Find a different bathroom fitter ?

I bought my bathroom from a shop and they organised the fitter. The fitter supplied things like pipe work and he did get the shower and radiator for me, since the shop I bought my bathroom from didn't have what I needed in stock.

That's not good.
Mine shopped around and also asked me to choose and buy a few things myself - taps and mirror for example. He also suggested a few websites where prices were very competitive. Plus what to look for in terms of durability.

Nope, don’t think so. We chose and bought all our materials, such as sanitary ware, tiles, etc for our bathroom and then paid the fitter to fit them. Fitter supplied pipework, grouting and sealant of my colour choice

Either way is usual. Id say many prefer to supply their own (you choose though). They have what they need delivered at the right time, they can use a discount with a supplier, are happy with the quality of the fixings etc, they can add a bit on to the quote for arranging this/don't pass on their discount to the customer. Or customer can arrange what they want but this might cause delays etc

We recently sourced and bought various bathroom things - shower fittings, cabinets, basins, taps and got a fitter to fit them - he admitted he could not have got the same items cheaper (we mostly used Victoria Plumbing)but more than happy to do the work

They usually buy it themselves, mark it up a little to sell it to you, but should still be cheaper with trade discount

I bought mine both times I've had my bathroom done, but did ask their advice for a few bits. The first time I looked at supply & fit arrangements but they didn't have what I wanted/liked.

Thanks all. I am happy to go with the exact products that he likes to use but I don’t want to pay over the odds for them. He’s quoted separately for labour so I’ll see what he says when I suggest I buy some/all of it.

and if he’s not happy I will find someone else!

I chose everything from a supplier where the fitter got a trade price. We split the discount.

Proved to be really useful as when the tiler broke the bath, it was up to the fitter to replace it. He owned everything until I paid the final installment.

We had to buy all our own, suite, wastes, shower and flooring which meant we had to store it all until he had a window to come do it (and delays meant the return dates had passed). We saved a lot by shopping around but also our inexperience meant that we had bought the wrong sizes in some of the fittings (bath waste, taps, underflooring etc) luckily we bought a lot from Screwfix and they have a good returns policy and we could nip out and exchange things the same day but the bathroom fitter was grumpy about us buying the wrong things as it meant delays and I thought at the time it would have been better if he sourced it all.

I chose and he bought.

The exception were the tiles where the shop allowed me to use his discount (at his suggestion).

They fitter should get them cheaper surely ? They usually get a trade discount . If its say a white shower base I just let them choose, they see so many they know the best brands where we only but obviously I'd pick taps etc we'd send a WhatsApp with pictures of different types.

Say you want labour only

I always buy my own, if the fitter wants to use his supplier I tell him to go ahead if they price match. They never do!

We chose our bathroom, tiles, flooring etc but from suppliers that the installer used and had an account, worked for us.
Don't forget that if you supply materials and it is wrong, faulty or late arriving you are stopping the fitter working/delaying completion and could be charged accordingly as you have taken supply out of their hands.

One thing to keep in mind is if you organise everything and there's an issue with anything then that can cause fitting delays or extra costs. It's also an issue later if there's a problem which is materials rather than fitter related. I would probably try to negotiate with the fitter for supplies at a more reasonable mark up.

Surely you'd choose your own taste in suite, taps etc? And you need to sit in the bath and check it's comfy.

Oh we chose what we wanted, but from the fitter’s preferred catalogues. And then he sent me 2 quotes, one for labour and one for the materials. If he gets a discount, he doesn’t seem to pass them on.

I bought all my own fittings when I had mine done. The fitter provided tiles but only because he had a bunch and it was a small bathroom so he did me a good deal as it benefited us both.

He will put a mark up on what he supplies so its definitely cheaper to source yourself.

Yes but I fell out with my fitter and it was awkward not having the receipts so I’d ask for them next time or pay myself.

Normally there is a discussion about it to decide who is buying the products, them or you . The customer should be able to choose the products and where they get them from

We bought stuff for our bathroom refit but it turned into a nightmare because the fitter wasn't familiar with the brands and the instructions were shit. So it could be that there's a good reason why your fitter has his favourite suppliers.