Bathroom renovations

jos28

I am planning to renovate our bathroom. I've had a couple of prices from bathroom showroom crowds who basically do everything, Plumbing/carpentry/tiling/electrics etc. I want to move the bathroom door back to use up a spare bit of landing space, I want to remove our bath and replace with a walk in shower, new sink/toilet, have floors and walls tiled etc. The prices I have been given so far are way over my budget. Would I be better off hiring separate tradesmen myself. I have plenty of people in mind. Would it work out much cheaper or would it be too much hassle just to save a few quid. I'd love to hear from someone who has done up their bathrooms and how they approached it.

Joey the lips

Another option is to buy the stuff yourself at a good price and hire the individual tradespeople to install and fit the stuff.

I would be happy to advise you if this is a road your considering

antiskeptic

jos28 wrote: »

I am planning to renovate our bathroom. I've had a couple of prices from bathroom showroom crowds who basically do everything, Plumbing/carpentry/tiling/electrics etc. I want to move the bathroom door back to use up a spare bit of landing space, I want to remove our bath and replace with a walk in shower, new sink/toilet, have floors and walls tiled etc. The prices I have been given so far are way over my budget. Would I be better off hiring separate tradesmen myself. I have plenty of people in mind. Would it work out much cheaper or would it be too much hassle just to save a few quid. I'd love to hear from someone who has done up their bathrooms and how they approached it.

That kind of work falls into the remit of a handy(wo)man - someone who's comfortable with all those trades. There are a few of us here who fit that bill. Or you could do a recce on tradesman.ie and get quotes than will be more competitive than your average shop. There are wild variations around at the moment so you need to be able to compare a few offers - just make sure you compare like with like.


If you're not used to hiring .. and more importantly coordinating ... tradesmen, then you're probably best steering clear of that route. Besides, the job is a little bit too bitty to make it economical to involve a separate carpenter/plumber/electrician/tiler/plasterer... especially when some trades would have to come back after other work has been completed.

A handyman who does the lot (including advising you on the comparative cost of bringing the various options to reality, as well as advising on the pro's and con's of the various options) would be your simplest and cheapest solution.

Buford T Justice

I'm with antiskeptic on this one.

Better off with a one man outfit to do the lot.

meercat

if you can get one company to do complete job you may be better off
they will be able to co-ordinate all the tradesmen
the job should be done quicker
and no one will blame someone else for any problems that may arise
you will just be dealing with one company and it should be easier that way and you wont have to pay out until you are completely satisfied
remember shop around and try and get a look at previous work or see can you get a recommendation
there are very strict new regulations for electrics in bathrooms so check if the electrician is fully certified
with individual tradesmen you may not save much in the long run

jos28

Thanks a million for all the advice. I am going away for a couple of days and will be due to get some prices on Monday from the companies that have seen it. Will post back then and figure out what is best to do. I'm even more confused than I was when I started. 4 companies have seen it and they came up with different ideas. Thanks again

meercat

dont mind other ideas
use them for inspiration but get what you want done

skingtile

a job such as this usually works out dearer and seriously more prolonged. with any one of perhaps 4 trades holding up the whole show. been there done that extremely painful. a project of this nature should be completed max 5 days. when you get back itemise a bit better and i can give you an idea of likely cost.

Pud27

Hi,

I would be quite interested in seeing what kind of prices. I am currently looking to renovate one of my en-suite bathrooms into a utility room.

And I have been quoted €7,000!!
I have two more guys coming to quote on Monday - hopefully with a much better price.
€7,000 is way over my budget for this job

skingtile

€7000 . you can get an awful lot done for that these days. cant really see where that cost could be incurred ,could you itemise please.

paddy147

Joey the lips wrote: »

Another option is to buy the stuff yourself at a good price and hire the individual tradespeople to install and fit the stuff.

I would be happy to advise you if this is a road your considering

+1 to what you have said.

Serious serious bargins to be had these days if you pick and buy the stuff yourself.

Full modern bathroom suites for feck all money these days.:)

If you plan it propperly and get the right trades people in,to do their specific job/skill,then alot of money can be saved.

Joey the lips

paddy147 wrote: »

+1 to what you have said.

Serious serious bargins to be had these days if you pick and buy the stuff yourself.

Full modern bathroom suites for feck all money these days.:)

If you plan it propperly and get the right trades people in,to do their specific job/skill,then alot of money can be saved.

Agreed however i always suggest no matter how much you spend on taps etc...Always use a standard shapped toilet..The toilet seat is the first to go and you keep your costs down by having multiple places to buy it. Despite the notion that its not easy to arrange the trades I think it is... Plus ask them what needs to be done so they can do there job.

jos28

So far I have received 2 quotes between €6100 and €6300.
Here's the itemised list of what I hope to get done;
Rip out the bath
Slab and plaster all walls/ceiling
Sheet the floor with plywood
Fit new shower, toilet and basin (toilet and basin will be relocated)
Chrome towel rail
Replace outside soil stack
Tile walls 28 sq yds, floor 4 sq yds
Remove all rubbish

The quotations do not include moving the doors further back on the landing or the bathroom furniture (1 walnut sink unit and 1 long wall hung unit)
I think thats about it.

yoshytoshy

There are companies that are very competitive at this type of work and do a great job ,they've got individual tradesmen for each job ,electricians ,carpenters ,plumbers and tilers.

Unless someone was a bona fide builder ,I wouldn't entertain one person taking on all that work and expect a professional job done.

antiskeptic

jos28 wrote: »

So far I have received 2 quotes between €6100 and €6300.
Here's the itemised list of what I hope to get done;
Rip out the bath
Slab and plaster all walls/ceiling
Sheet the floor with plywood
Fit new shower, toilet and basin (toilet and basin will be relocated)
Chrome towel rail
Replace outside soil stack
Tile walls 28 sq yds, floor 4 sq yds
Remove all rubbish

The quotations do not include moving the doors further back on the landing or the bathroom furniture (1 walnut sink unit and 1 long wall hung unit)
I think thats about it.

You don't supply enough detailed information to be precise (you say nothing of new sink taps or whether the shower is electric). But based on a plain reading and assuming basic quality materials you can deconstruct this quote to get an idea of value.


Materials:

New shower/sink/toilet/towel rail/taps/mixer 750
Slab 80
Plaster/scrim/screws 30
Plywood 30
Plumbing/waste pipe materials 150
Tiles/adhesive/grout 400
Skipbag 60
Sundry 60

1510


View job to price/shopping and delivery of materials/tools to site 1 day
Empty bathroom and prep plumbing/waste 1 day
Slab/ply/plaster 2 day
Tile 2 day
Fit suite 2 day
Fit stack 1 day
Sundry 1 day

10 days for 4700 = 470 per day. That sounds quite steep to me (and I think I'm being a bit generous on the number of days taken)

knipex

antiskeptic wrote: »

You don't supply enough detailed information to be precise (you say nothing of new sink taps or whether the shower is electric). But based on a plain reading and assuming basic quality materials you can deconstruct this quote to get an idea of value.


Materials:

New shower/sink/toilet/towel rail/taps/mixer 750
Slab 80
Plaster/scrim/screws 30
Plywood 30
Plumbing/waste pipe materials 150
Tiles/adhesive/grout 400
Skipbag 60
Sundry 60

1510


View job to price/shopping and delivery of materials/tools to site 1 day
Empty bathroom and prep plumbing/waste 1 day
Slab/ply/plaster 2 day
Tile 2 day
Fit suite 2 day
Fit stack 1 day
Sundry 1 day

10 days for 4700 = 470 per day. That sounds quite steep to me (and I think I'm being a bit generous on the number of days taken)

Your material prices look seriously cheap.

Personally I wouldn't use ordinary plasterboard in a bathroom especially around the shower.

If it was me (and it just was) I would use green plasterboard in the ceiling, marine ply (or treated ply) or concrete board on the walls (especially around the shower and sink) and at a very minimum green plasterboard on remaining walls. (plus marine ply on floor to replace what I just ripped up)

Add all that up and your closer to €400 than €80

Then I would tank the shower (say €100 to €200)

Even at €9 a square yard for tiles you are looking at €219 for wall tiles alone before adhesive and grout and that's assuming a relatively cheap tile with no borders or trim.

Add floor tiles (say €20 a square yard) and you adding another €100.

That's €319 plus allow 10% wastage so say an even €350

Then add the adhesive and grout plus trim etc.

Toilet sink with taps \ mixers and waste traps etc you are not going to get change out of €200 for a reasonable set (and it can be much much more depending on taste)

Chrome towel rail (which I assume will have to double as a radiator) and your talking €300 (more if you have to add an electric element)

Electric shower day €220 for a Triton or Mira. The add the shower switch plus Combined unit for the board and cable and add another €100

Now does he want a built up walk in shower (with a stud wall) or a glass wall fancy enclosure ? Then add tray etc and that could easily be €500 to a €1,000 depending on what is wanted.

He wants the waste stack replaced (lets assume its black) so probably two or 3 lengths of pipe, at least 2 offsets plus whatever you need to connect waste pipes (what does he want simple collars or multi access connection with viewing plate ?) and your up to €100 to €150

Toilet and sink need to be moved so lift floor, waste fitting and pipe, then 40mm and 30mm pipe and fittings (lets assume no serious damage has to be done to joists or nothing to be repaired braced etc) then plumbing fittings (if it was me I would use braided stainless hoses to taps with shut off valves) and your looking at minimum €150 to €200.

Then add extractor, lights, etc and there is another €100 to €200 (again depending on taste).

A skip bag wont take away the old bath and rubbish your talking a skip here so add another €200.

Depending on how its done, what kind of finish he wants etc materials could be €3000 to €4000 easy and I would think an absolute minimum of €2,000 to €2,500

As for time.

Say a day to rip out and tidy up.

Another day to re-route the plumbing, waste pipes etc and first fix remaining plumbing and wiring (and if its an electric shower that could be a long day)

Then slab the ceiling and walls, skim the ceiling tank the shower (and area around shower and sink) at least a day if not two

Tile floor and walls, then grout. Fit shower enclosure, second fix plumbing and electrics another 2 to 3 days.

Then allow a day for painting the ceiling , sorting out the finishing touches etc.

And then you move outside to the stack.

Personally if I was doing it as a one man show I would be looking at 7 to 10 days.

skingtile

havent time tonight,please please please dont skim walls if you are tiling them, it diminishes the whole integrity.

Joey the lips

skingtile wrote: »

havent time tonight,please please please dont skim walls if you are tiling them, it diminishes the whole integrity.

Not to mention a waste of money.

jj build

Tile direct to the plasterboard