Each showroom from B & Q to independents have their own brands and are difficult to compare like for like. I have tried asking traders to quote me but it is a small bathroom.job and they seem to insist on a total price and very reluctant to breakdown into labour and parts so I might compare.
Are bathroom suites and fittings, and floor tiles, much of a muchness? I'm guessing I need a branded shower though for running off the combi as the present one? Do I choose a suite myself, if so how best to compare quality/price, do brands matter, and then simply ask the tradesmen for the price of labour?
Any advice would be much appreciated as I'm ready to have it done but both tradesmen so far are reluctant to breakdown the materials or explain the above issues. Maybe they see it as too much hassle for a small job? I just want both to be clear from the off so that there is no dispute or arguments at the end.
Any advice much appreciated. Thanks Colin
PS. I know it is not DIY, I would not have the confidence myself, but no ohter obvious place to ask? Thank you.
======================================= Two recent bad experiences prompt me to reply.
- Unless you have formed a trusting relationship with the plumber, do not let him choose the fittings (i.e. the shower unit, the taps, etc) on your behalf. I have learnt this the hard way. Some tradesmen, if allowed to do so on your behalf, choose cheap and nasty fittings, so that they can keep their quote at an attractively competitive price. You could be saddled with fittings that you do not really like, and have to pay him again for the labour of taking them out and replacing them with something that you do like. Therefore, you must go to B&Q (or wherever else) and choose all the fittings yourself. Then specify your chosen fittings to the plumber. The salesman at B&Q should be able to tell you the part numbers to identify the fitting you have chosen.
- Even when you choose the fitting yourself, you can sometimes come unstuck. This is what happened to me when I chose the very cheapest shower unit at B&Q. It looked exactly the same as, but was half the cost of, another shower unit of similar design. I paid my plumber to install it, and it worked well for the first month or so. Then the temperature control failed. Since then, I have had the choice of taking showers a bit hotter than I would really like, or paying my plumber a second time to take the shower out and replace it with the non-cheapjack version. I have chosen the too-hot-shower option.
The plumber might be reluctant to quote labour and parts separately because he gets trade discounts on all the parts he buys. If you do not allow him to make this little profit he will probably increase his price accordingly, so that he makes the required overall amount of money from the job. I don't blame him for that, he has a wife and three children who want to eat. So it is best, both for you and for him, if you choose the fittings but allow him to buy them on your behalf and to quietly pocket the trade discount.
If you choose a gravity-fed shower, you need to know how high the water-level in the water tank is above the position of the shower head. Gravity-fed is the cheapest option, but you need to have sufficient pressure (from the height of the water level) to make it work. The alternative of an electrically pumped shower is more expensive. It gives a better shower with a greater flow of water, but is less environmentally friendly. More CO2 per shower. You need to talk both to your plumber and to the salesman at B&Q when you make this decision.
Regards Richard Chambers, Leeds.