Decent plumber to fit bathroom

[David Smithz]

Hi There,

I live in a council flat that has the shared stack pipe running through the bath room. I'm not too technical but also the waste pipe for the toilet makes it difficult to move from it's current location. Currently the sink over hangs the bath and all this leads to me having to make compromises (e.g. the max space for a bath is 1600mm).

On top of all this I have three people living in the flat and have to do my best to keep things not out of action for too long (if I start on a Friday I can get two - three days when it would be OK to be without the toilet and bath).

I have just been quoted £2750 including VAT for work that I'm told will take a week to complete in total. I have to buy the parts on top of this which is about £1500.

This price does include tiling around the bath, changing a radiator into a towel rail (and moving the piping a bit) and installing a mixer shower which currently is not there, but it seems like a lot of money to me.

Does this seem a ridiculously cheap rate, or do I just have to save some more pennies and go for it.

I know it's very hard to judge from my description but I originally budgeted £1000 for the labour.

Ideas and input welcome.

Kind regards

Dave

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

Heh! you're going to shell out a couple of grand to revamp a council flat bathroom? you must be barmy.

[David Smithz]

"The3rd Earl Of Derby" >

Heh! you're going to shell out a couple of grand to revamp a council flat

More then that, total cost would be £4500!!! that price was for labour only. But remember, I have bought the flat, it's mine and as the previous owner bought it from the cancel, the bathroom was not renovated for many many years. It must be from the 60 and really needs work.

One reason for the high cost, is because of the weird shape. Currently the cistern is on the wall. It needs to come down, but there is sort of no where for it to go. Hard to explain in text without knowing the correct jargon, but it means I can't just go and get the cheap bathroom from B & Q.

Anyway the important thing I need to know is, should I be able to find the labour cheaper. If so, where should I look?

Is there a website for Londoners (or any other UK folk) to find decent workman. If not I'm thinking of making one. Can't see it being a big way of making money or anything, but at least I would be able to find a decent plumber.

Any more input welcome.

Cheers

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

Hah! my apologies then I thought you where renting. Now if you had said "ex-council flat" :-)

Seems steep to me,but then again I have no idea of london fitters prices. Someone might help on here,keep with it.

[Chris Cowley]

The thing about decent plumbers in London is they charge loads of money. And who can blame them? Not me, that's for sure. It's not as if they're exactly fighting over scraps of work at the moment.

Assuming your £2750 quote for a week of labour is for 5 full working days then, if the plumber is competent, reliable and professional, £550/day doesn't seem that out of the ordinary to me; 80-odd quid/day of that will be going to the VATman for starters. I paid just under a £1000 for 2 days labour to have a combi-boiler fitted last year (actually, it was 2 and a bit days as the plumber had to work late on the second day to complete the job, but I had a fixed-price quote).

The labour cost would probably be less if you did-it-yourself, of course! A decent DIY manual, a bit of studious planning, and perhaps a few well-placed questions to this group will see you right. I speak from experience. Worth considering, perhaps?

[Richard Faulkner]

In message , David Smithz writes

In Manchester I get a bathroom refitted, including labour, tiling, and parts, (e.g. bath, W.C. handbasin, thermostatic shower, pipes, taps etc.

- everything), for £2300 + VAT to £2500 + VAT, and I've had some strange spaces to fit over the past few years. Half as much again in London??

[Steve Rainbird]

Where I live the (Hampshire) there is a "buy with confidence scheme" run by the council. You could look to see if your council runs a similar scheme.

[DJC]

My wet room measures no more than 1m x 2m, less the soilstack running down the corner. To rip out all the 20 yr old fittings, fully tile and install new fittings took over two weeks. But they managed to get the WC back in operation each night. This is in central london and the cost was calculated on a daily rate of £250 per man/day. Total hours on-site was ~125 and final price for labour was £4,500 +vat.

So the price you quoted doesn't seem unreasonable to me!

Having recently employed three different plumbers to move a cooker, put in a boiler, and the above; also having shower screen made to measure and fitted. My conclusion is that if you don't DIY then the labour cost will be as much as the materials. It could be more for a small job, or cheap materials, in which case you need to consider the DIY option. In the case of things like bathrooms, the need to get the job done reasonably quickly and not be held up by unexpected problems favours getting someone in to do it.

[John Stumbles]

Sounds about-right to quite-reasonable for London