I've resolved to "do up" our two bathrooms in 2015. This will not entail "creating a whole new look" - I'll redecorate, possibly re-tile, and I'll replace the rather ancient basins that we have.
As a starter, I didn't immediately bin the B&Q "Kitchens'n'Bathrooms" catalogue that came with the paper this weekend, but actually looked through it: some of their kit looks quite nice, and it's certainly "competitively priced".
"Avoid like the plague", or "decent"?? Any opinions, chaps?
TIA John
I find independents often have better price/quality deals.
In message , Another John writes
We bought a *cheap* bathroom set from them two years ago for a couple of hundred. We never installed the (fibreglass) bath as it looked too flimsy - it was an extremely cheap add-on to the rest of the suite, so no real surprise there. We used the bath taps but have already replaced them this year with more robust units (not from B&Q). I'm in the middle of replacing the loo inlet valve because the input thread split. You may be luckier if you've got more to spend! HTH.
Look carefully at anything like cupboards, worktops, etc. Don't know about B&Q, but bathroom items like this tend to be extremely expensive crap - falls apart as soon as it gets wet.
Some friends bought a basin and cupboard unit (not from B&Q) and asked me to put it in. Basin turns out to be made of some type of resin, and comes with warnings about being damaged by very hot water, or by being left wet for a long time - WTF? The bottom of it has a flat area which fails to drain all the water away, so it will be left wet, and result in scale deposits. The cupboard is plastic covered chipboard. The plastic edges have (mostly) been rounded off to just about expose the chipboard edge to any moisture, except one edge that was missed and is sharp enough to cut you.
They were so pleased with their "designer" wash basin unit, which I expect will last 6 months, if they're lucky.
Missed the OP's post, but we put in a B&Q own brand (Cooke and Lewis) ceramic wash basin and toilet a few years ago, as part of a loo and shower room refurb. Very pleased with it. Has to be made by one of the big sanitaryware manufacturers, probably to their normal production standards, as you can't knock that stuff up in quantity in a garden shed.
Dunno about other Cooke and Lewis stuff though.
The plumber who did our bathrooms was strongly against B&Q (and other sheds) because (he said) that the parts don't last and then they change the range and you can't get replacements.
Could just be a grumpy old sod, but AFAIK plumbers tend to buy from plumbers merchants.
For any cabinets etc. I would go to Howdens or similar since the sheds order stuff on 8 week lead times with another 8 weeks wait for all the bits missing or wrong in the initial delivery.
Oh, and Merry Christmas ;-)
Cheers
Dave R
Whatever you do, avoid BnQ own-brand bathroom/kitchen sealants like the plague! They're pure s**te.
I would not expect any longevity issue with porcelain parts. My own WC was a basic B&Q one 10+ years ago, which turned out to be Royal Dalton when I took the B&Q packaging off.
Watch out for imitation porcelain though ;-)
The exepnsive bits are the taps. This is the bit you need to check out thoroughly as it's where these el-cheapos cut the corners. Usually made in China and out of monkey metal that will fail in a few years if the water round your way is aggressive. Examine the standard of chrome plate, this is another area where corners are cut.
Be specially careful of thermostatic items. bog standard taps are the best. Be sure to install all taps so that they can be easily maintainted/changed.
Cheap baths, best to install additional supports to what's provided.
A sample of one who I know has used them for Kitchen stuff is yes, its good, but be aware they do sometimes seem to have vital bits missing, well there is a surprise, I expect the packers are on minimum wage and not exactly taking pride i ntheir work? Brian
I don't trust B&Q with deliveries. Friend had her bath delivery cancelled at the last minute. Great when you've just smashed up the old one. They've buggered me about more than once as well
I've installed two bathrooms, a shower room and a downstairs toilet using B&Q kit and all have been fine.
OP here: thanks very much everyone -- very useful feedback here!
I will look at the B&Q stuff, and I'll also look at IKEA stuff (a friend has installed an IKEA bathroom and it's very nice ... but he's a very good worker!)
[Just for info: I won't be renewing the bath: it's a good old steel (cast iron?) one (1961), enamel is ropey by now, but I believe it can be resurfaced.]John
Pressed steel can be just as good. I've fitted a couple of Kaldewei ones, a make which someone here recommended originally.
/I won't be renewing the bath: it's a good old steel (cast iron?) one (1961), enamel is ropey by now, but I believe it can be resurfaced.]/q
In situ?
Jim K
Yes ... if the people who used to do it are still in business. I looked into it a few years ago, but never got round to doing anything about it because I backed off the bathroom renovation. I'm going to see if the guy I was in communication with is still doing it.
This sort of thing:
John
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