View Full Version : Bathrooms!
:D I am quite excited as mrsp and I have decided to get a new bathroom :thumbs: [I'm easily pleased :lol: ]
We are seeing two bathroom designers at the weekend - one from Homebase and one from B&Q
I wanted to make an appointment with Dolphins too as they have a sale on, but mrsp started hyperventilating and having one of his panic attacks when we looked as they had no prices on anything :rolleyes: [Mrsp's theory being if no prices are displayed it means we can't afford it :rolleyes: :lol: ]
Have any of you had a new bathroom and have any recommendations on which company to use? Or which ones NOT to use?
We need to have the whole lot done for us - tiling etc. as mrsp is not as able as he used to be [arthritis :sad: ]
I can't wait as our current bathroom is a disgrace and reminds us of NFH :angry: :rant: We started decorating it in early 2004 and then NFH moved in and we lost all enthusiasm, downed tools and just left everything :sad:
Since we are sort of winning the NFH battle slowly but surely we have a bit more interest in the house now.
Any ideas?
Eeyores mam
27-06-06, 02:43 PM
Have you looked in Yellow Pages. There may be some small firms that do that sort of thing.
We're getting a shower room done, and to be honest are finding it cheaper, quicker and more of "what we want" to get a little man in! :P I actually put an advert out at work to ask for recommendations and all 4 people we got quotes from were recommended
Have you tried your Council to see if trading standards have a registered traders list? Ours do and everyone on there has to be checked by the authority to get onto the list as a "good" trader
You could also try yellow pages, under things like Home Improvements, Bathroom Fitters or Property Services, little "men" like we have, advertise there.
Or the best way is word of mouth, ask around, do you know anyone who has had similar work done and can they recommend someone? If you don't know, and just get someone in to quote, ask for a reference or somewhere you can view their work
Hope this helps :)
we looked at one with no prices too......and gosh! now I know why!! :lol:
we used a local firm in yorkshire, I would like to say cheap and cheerful....well they were cheerful :lol: and a bit cheaper than the others.
they were recommended by a friend
we have a white P bath and white tiles with a little balck mosiac border around the middle :)
it used to be a pink bathroom suite, with pink tiles and green carpet and a shell shaped pink basin! :lol:
so I was ever so ever pleased when it was done!! :lol:
I hope you get a great deal and are pleased with the reults at the end :clover:
we have a white P bath and white tiles with a little balck mosiac border around the middle
Beth, that's the colour scheme I want :thumbs: .......................... but Mrsp doesn't :cry: :rant:
It's funny as we normally are more inclined to get a small local company in to do work for us, but when we last put a bathroom in we had a local guy do it - on recommendation - and it has been a nightmare!!! That is why we thought we'd go for a bigger company this time round. Guess we were just unlucky :( as everything else we have had done by small local firms has been fine
marieuk
27-06-06, 03:23 PM
Hi SP we had our bathroom done about two years ago now and we had quotes coming out of our ears (we had been planning it for four years as it was an avocardo green suite brown carpet and orange shower curtain and blind :bigeyes: :blink: )
In the end we chose a local company in S yorks to supply all goods and got a little man in to do all work. We decided on a white bathroom suite with black glass tile boarder and huge white tiles we chose a double bath(very deep) an insert sink, white towel radiator 4 big storage units one with half glazed door and the under sink unit has a huge mirror above it and all this came to about £1200 we could have got it cheeper but we would have compromised on style. :o
Our most expensive purchase was our shower doorsx2 they were £900 (well we had put up with green suite for 4 years :D ) they are glass and each door has two sections they are fixed to wall and fold back when having a bath but you pull them round you when in shower, although the shower is in centre of bath it gives the illusion of a seperate shower as the doors "float" over the bath i just wish i could take bathroom with me when we move :cry:
Lve Muk xxxxx
Thanks all
MUK another black and white colour scheme :thumbs: :clap2: I really want that, but mrsp is being a silly billy about it :angry:
Good price :o
We would love a separate shower cubicle really, but that would mean relocating the tank in the airing cupboard and bump the price up a lot I guess.
Decisions, decisions........ :unsure:
marieuk
27-06-06, 03:54 PM
Oh SP thats what i thought about shower but these shower doors are fab (nightmare to clean though :( ) i would def reccomend them, i am cr*p at explaining things so ill see if i can find a picture of them Love Mukx xxxxx
Our shower room is white and black :P White tiles with a black border tile
And guess what - our bathroom is a victorian style suite with freestanding bath and claw feet - and the suite is white - on black - with black and white tiled floor, black and white walls (white over black) and mosaic tiles :lol:
Now I am jealous, everyone has a black and white bathroom except me :cry:
marieuk
27-06-06, 05:39 PM
SP keep working on MrSP i am sure you will win as white and black bathrooms rule!!!!!
Love Muk xxxxxx
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(sp54 @ 27th June 2006 - 4:01 PM) 175298</div>
Now I am jealous, everyone has a black and white bathroom except me :cry:
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And me! Not my thing though - I love my very dark British Racing Green with burgundy ivy border!
You can get bathroom suites very reasonable at Graham the plumbers' merchants. You can even order the bath you pick to be fitted with underwater lighting, jacuzzi or airspa for a very reasonable price - and miles cheaper than any of the swanky bathroom companies will provide one! Bear in mind that a bathroom fitter is NOT usually a plumber )or other tradesman) and will not repair any problems that arise during the work - if thiings come up during the work it can cause delays by the time you get a real tradesman in to sort it!
I got a completely new bathroom, and used a local guy to fit the stuff, it took about a wek all in. I told him what I wanted and he got it for me with a trade discount at Graham's - was well under £3,000 for the whole works, including all fitting etc. It involved stripping off all the old tiles (whole room), and replacing the plasterboard underneath, fitting a new suite including corner bath, airspa (not jacuzzi as I love my bath oils and smellies but they clog up a jacuzzi) and underwater lights (so cool!), full-height tiling above bath including borders, fitted furniture - "Space" range units (never thought I'd get so much storage in such a small space!), wooden bath panel, new electric high-power shower, floor tiling and decorating. The only thing I bought myself was the floor tiles and paint. He did an excellent job too! :thumbs:
It's worth checking out local tradesmen for things like this. Unless you are moving things around (especially the loo)or installing an electric shower where there wasn't one before, you don't actually need a plumber or electrician - my guy was a local joiner, though he got a sparky in to wire up the underwater lighting and airspa, just so it was covered for safety etc. Most things are just a case of "take the old one off and put new one in its place", which any proper tradesman will be able to do. What a blessing - real plumbers are expensive!
Hope you find something you like soon SP - it will keep your mind occupied too! I hope you have a friendly neighbourhood pub who you can run to for the loo during the work if necessary - needs must and all that! :D
And you will finally be able to relax in a nice new bath full of aromatherapy goodies, with a big glass of vino :wine: - bliss! :D
Best wishes,
Don't even mention the going without water thing - I hate that bit :cry:
I like the underwater lights idea :thumbs:
The other thing is, we have a separate bathroom and loo upstairs. If we knocked them into one room it would make a really good sized bathroom, BUT, with three kids who spend hours in the bathroom that may not be so clever :unsure: :rolleyes:
We do have a downstairs loo, but...... anyway, the jury is still out on that one
I still like the idea of black and white, but mr sp is so stuck in his ways :chairhit: :spor:
I have a cunning plan though ...........mrsp has always wanted a little old sports car - call it a big boys toy - nothing flashy, just an old Mazda MX5 convertible [and I do mean old ;) ] Of course, he needs my co-operation............... :thedevil:
Or is that just plain mean? :lush: :drive:
phantos02
27-06-06, 10:22 PM
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(sp54 @ 27th June 2006 - 4:01 PM) 175298</div> Now I am jealous, everyone has a black and white bathroom except me :cry: [/b]
Not everyone SP. Our bathroom suite is a colour we affectionately call 'terracotta poo'. We can't afford to replace it yet so I stripped all the scungey flowery wallpaper off, painted the walls a buttery cream and painted the brown flowery tiles white. Ripped up the pee stained carpet and put down lino which looks like slate tiles. I've attached the 'before' photo... surely yours can't be as bad as this???
phantos02
27-06-06, 10:32 PM
...oh yeah and I forgot to add they had a peach blind that was more mildew than peach, and net curtains because some bright spark decided they didn't need frosted glass in the bathroom windows :blink:
anyway here's the 'after' picture. It's still terracotta poo but it's not half as bad...
:bigeyes: Wow! What a transformation, p.
Our current suite is white, but otherwise like your 'before' picture.
I will have to post an after pic on here when it is done :thumbs:
Wow, that's a real "Changing Rooms" Phantos! (Without the 5 tons of MDF I presume!) Your description of the colour is spot on - UGH! but somehow you've gotten away with it..... well done, that was a BIG challenge! :thumbs:
phantos02
28-06-06, 12:32 PM
Thanks Smoo, when we went to buy the lino I took the 'before' picture with me to the shop and said 'have you got anything to go with THIS?' I got a really funny look I can tell you. We had to get the slate colour because nothing else went with it.
Sorry to hijack your thread SP, I was trying to put into perspective that your bathroom can't really be that bad after all!!
I can't wait until we can afford to get the whole lot ripped out, we don't have a proper shower at the moment and I would love one. Hubby actually never even uses the bath, he goes swimming every day at his gym and uses the facilities there as they are a lot nicer!
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(phantos02 @ 28th June 2006 - 11:32 AM) 175511</div>
Sorry to hijack your thread SP, I was trying to put into perspective that your bathroom can't really be that bad after al!!
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Oh it can :lol: :hihi:
change for the best
29-06-06, 11:39 AM
Is there something about us guys and bathrooms? It seems I am denfinately not alone in the 'not too nice' bathroom department ..... :)
We have a bathroom that's soooooo big we were thinking of putting a sofa in there just to soak up the echo and maybe two baths so's we can bathe side by side ( picture candles & soft Lighting ..... oh err!).
Problem with it at the moment is that when someone takes a shower upstairs whoever is in the kitchen may well get a shower as well! Flippin diy-ers before us fitted the thing and used rubbish grout that's now gone porus ... Mrs CFTB looked under the bath today cos I thought the waste was leaking and reckoned the wall at the side of the bath was like the Niagra Falls!
Sheeesh ..... maybe a brand new Wimpey Home is what we need ......... :sad:
:lol: :hihi: We get a shower in the kitchen too :blink:
We have 2 different bathroom designers coming tomorrow. Can't wait http://bestsmileys.com/bath/1.gif
Well, we got a couple of quotes :bigeyes:
Homebase don't install - we would need to get a little man in, but the price for materials was fine by us as they had a few offers on :thumbs: We need an installation quote now :unsure:
B&Q have a special offer on so long as we order before 9th July. Ok, fine, again the price for materials was fine with the offer, but the quote for installing was :crazy:
We are sticking to the existing layout, so it is just for installing a new suite, new power shower, fully tiling and laying a new floor.
I won't tell you yet - I would love to see if anyone can guess!!!!!
Anyway, neither had the tiles we want [ I'm not winning on my first choice of black & white :( ] so any suggestions on the best place to look for tiles :unsure: are very welcome
StoneHenge
03-07-06, 03:16 PM
Select A Tile are excellent. We just got some from there for our boat and the range was amazing, -plus the advantage is they sell in the quantity that you want. So if it's going to take 150 tiles, they will order and sell you 150 tiles, not 2 boxes of 100 for example.
We were in there hours on Saturday going through them all, there were so many. Anything you could ask. I would give them a go!
Don't know what tiles r us are like as that would have been my second choice to see.
If you have a Ceramic Tile Warehouse or Topps Tiles down your way, they usually have a huge selection at good prices - some are end of line at further discount, so make sure you get more than enough at the time (including allowance for future replacements as well as laying cuts and breakages). They do exact numbers too, other than a few specialist lines - like the one I wanted that was like wooden marquetry, but I only wanted one to frame coz it's cheaper than the real thing and I couldn't tell the difference),but I didn't want to pay for a box of 5!!
Oh, go on.... give us a clue about your plans!! :D :D pretty please..... (*pathetic whining*) - I just love all that; don't forget the before & after piccies for us!! :D
:lol:
Sssshhhhhhhh, don't tell everyone, but B&Q wanted £ 4,130 for installation :bigeyes: :o :lol: :blink:
Not the materials, JUST the installation :lol: :hihi: :hihi: :hihi:
:blink: :rolleyes:
marieuk
04-07-06, 12:45 AM
OMG SP i was going to guess £4500 but for everything :blink: I hope ur rich :P
Love Muk xxxx
coppernob
04-07-06, 01:11 AM
hI sp,I'd buy the suite then look through your Thomson local and get lots of quotes, including VAT. Make sure they are registered and they give you a written quote.Good luck!
:D
Our new bathroom is being started on today :thumbs:
Today, I hear you say, on a Bank Holiday Monday? :unsure:
Yep, we were taken by surprise too :o
We booked these guys a few weeks ago to start on the 28th. Neither of us realised at the time it was a BH. We have been away for a few days and realised while we were away that today was a BH so assumed they would start tomorrow. We were going to ring them and double check, but didn't get back till Sat. evening and didn't want to bother them then, besides, we thought, what bathroom installers would start work on a BH Monday?
They do!!! :lol: :hihi: :hihi:
We were having a lovely BH lie in, as you do :lazier: when all of a sudden mr.sp leapt out of bed :huh: looked out of the window and said 'Oh deary me, the bathroom installers have arrived, darling'. Well, that wasn't exactly what he said :blush: it was more along the lines of 'Oh s***, the ****** bathroom guys are here, get out of bed NOW' and that was the polite version too :lol:
There then followed a Benny Hill Show type few minutes as we raced around like headless chickens, we kept bumping into each other in doorways with our arms full of bathroom stuff :lol: :hihi: I even had the Benny Hill music playing in my head :lol:
Oh well, 'tis started now :thumbs: and they did see the funny side :blush:
:doh: :hiding: :whistle:
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(sidandnancy @ 28th August 2006 - 10:03 AM) 194746</div>
quick sp
fill some saucepans with water!!!
nancy
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:wow:
OMG I forgot that :lol: :hihi: :hihi:
phantos02
28-08-06, 01:58 PM
Oooh how exciting SP I would KILL for a new bathroom atm :)
Your bathroom looks fab from your pic , Phantos :thumbs:
We are in a right mess here :( [and I can't believe how much coffee these blokes drink :lol: :hihi: They must have bladders the size of a bath themselves :rolleyes: :lol: ]
Will put a pic on when tis done - even though I didn't get either my first or second colour choices and had to compromise :sad:
phantos02
28-08-06, 04:30 PM
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(sp54 @ 28th August 2006 - 1:51 PM) 194777</div>
Will put a pic on when tis done - even though I didn't get either my first or second colour choices and had to compromise :sad:
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that doesn't sound right - surely if you didn't order it you don't have to accept it?? I guess a bit late now they have started ripping it all out :sad:
I managed to get purple drip all over my painted tiles a few days ago while dying my best friend's hair - oops. Will have to repaint them now!!
PS which company did you decide to go with in the end?
:D I didn't put that very well - I meant I had to compromise on tile colours because of mr.sp :P :lol:
I just realised - I won't be able to do my roots in the bathroom any more as I manage to get it all over the place too :lol: OMG!!!
In the end we have gone with a small local guy who only does bathrooms. His quote was much better, and I guess the whole thing will come to between £3,500 - £4,000 with absolutely everything taken into account, which is a bit better than £5,500 by B&Q :bigeyes:
phantos02
29-08-06, 02:01 PM
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(sp54 @ 28th August 2006 - 3:57 PM) 194791</div> :D I didn't put that very well - I meant I had to compromise on tile colours because of mr.sp :P :lol: [/b]
Oh now I see!!
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(sp54 @ 28th August 2006 - 3:57 PM) 194791</div>I just realised - I won't be able to do my roots in the bathroom any more as I manage to get it all over the place too :lol: OMG!!![/b]
The only reason the dye took on my tiles was because they are painted with tile paint. I'm sure on a proper ceramic tile surface the dye wouldn't take if you wiped it off quick enough because it's not a porous surface - maybe on the grout but you can always buy a white grout pen from International Paints.
So are they finishing today or will be be a few days yet?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(phantos02 @ 29th August 2006 - 1:01 PM) 194956</div>
So are they finishing today or will be be a few days yet?
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:unsure: It is supposed to take a week as there is a lot to do, so hopefully be finished by Friday -ish!
They are nice guys, the quote was good, and they only do bathrooms so we know they will make a nice job of it, but they do make us laugh so much - they arrive at 8.30, talk to us for a few mins then go and have a cup of coffee and a cigarette before they start work :lol: :hihi: :hihi: . They then stop about every 45 mins - 1 hour for another cuppa and ciggy :lol: :hihi: :rolleyes:
I'm not moaning, we think it is hilarious actually :rolleyes: and so long as they make a good job they can have as many tea breaks as they like IMO :rolleyes:
Horrid being without a shower and basin etc. though, so wouldn't want it to go on too long though :(
I don't envy you sp, the work bit is horrendous but when it's done, it's all worth it :) When I lived at home, Eeyores mam had her bathroom and loo done out, and we lived in filth and being unable to shower unless we went to the next door neighbours, for a week :(
We've also just had our shower room done out, simple job that had 100 glitches, local guy did it at a fraction of the cost of large firms, had it done July, those hot few weeks, I was at screaming point, bless him though, the guy that did it, used to work til whenever, one night he didn't leave until 10.45pm :blink: Now show me a B & Q man that'd do that
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Eeyore @ 29th August 2006 - 1:43 PM) 194981</div>
bless him though, the guy that did it, used to work til whenever, one night he didn't leave until 10.45pm :blink: Now show me a B & Q man that'd do that
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Absolutely :rolleyes: