Your installation will go off without a hitch if you follow the steps outlined in our step-by-step guide to selecting and working with a professional bathroom fitter.
Perfect Bathroom
Putting in a brand-new lavatory.
is the kind of skilled work that is typically best left to the experts. So the question is, how do you locate the ideal candidate for the job? Almost forty percent of respondents to our study of persons who have had bathrooms built during the past ten years claimed that they had located a professional fitter on their own as opposed to using the service of a bathroom retailer or a company that was recommended by the retailer.
The majority of respondents explained their decision by stating that they preferred to choose their own tradespeople, while some explained that they had purchased their bathroom from a company that does not offer a fitting service. Continue reading for some advice on how to locate a fitter in the event that you need to employ someone to ensure that your newly installed bathroom looks its absolute best. Find out which bathroom brands are regarded as the greatest and which are regarded as the worst by thousands of previous buyers before you make an investment.
1. Look for recommendations and previous customers’ reviews while searching for a bathroom fitter.
If you need someone to carry out specialised work in your house, asking your friends and family for referrals of people they have worked with in the past is an excellent place to start.
2 Examine some photographs of the work that they’ve done.
If you want to examine examples of the fitter’s previous work, look at their website, their social media outlets, and, if necessary, their Trusted Traders profile. Have they participated in any work that is comparable to yours? Do they offer any of the specialised services that you’re searching for, such as bathroom design, wet rooms, or wheelchair accessible showers and bathrooms?
3 Make sure you check their credentials.
Find out if the installation has been given a seal of approval or accreditation by an organisation that you know you can rely on. In this category are organisations such as the Kitchen Bathroom Bedroom Specialists Association and the British Institute of Kitchen, Bedroom, and Bathroom Installation (BiKBBI) (KBSA). Trusted Traders gives their stamp of approval to bathroom fitters who successfully complete a comprehensive assessment procedure that includes background checks and an examination by professionals from Trading Standards.
In most cases, trade organisations and other types of endorsing bodies will establish standards that their members are expected to adhere to and provide customers with access to impartial complaint resolution procedures in the event that something goes wrong. Do not simply take a company at its word if it claims to be a member of any associations or schemes; instead, check to see if it is listed on the website of the relevant organisation.
4 Get many quotes
In order to have a better understanding of the market pricing for your specific requirements, you should get at least three different quotations. You need to make sure that extras like waste disposal are covered in the price, in addition to the cost of the supplies and the labour. These supplementary expenses can quickly add up. Check to see if the trader has a minimum charge; if they do, it may be more cost-effective to get multiple works done at the same time.
5 Determine whether the installation will rely on specialists or other subcontractors.
Because installing a bathroom needs a diverse set of talents, you should inquire of the tradesperson which aspects of the task they handle themselves and whether or not they employ any additional help. Find out who the contractors are that will be handling any aspects of the task that will be subcontracted so that you can verify that they have the necessary skills, experience, and insurance coverage. Inquire as to who will be responsible for each individual component of the installation. You don’t want to find yourself in the middle of a dispute between two traders if there’s a problem with any of the job.
Installation subcontractors
If the fitter doesn’t utilise subcontractors, you might need to hire specialists for some aspects of the job, or you could just wish to do so. For instance, if you’re utilising non-standard materials like mosaic tiles, it’s possible that a professional tiler may finish the project more quickly and at a higher standard than you could on your own. There are some tasks that ought to be carried out only by somebody who possesses the appropriate expert abilities. Work involving gas must be carried out by an engineer who is registered with Gas Safe, and work involving electricity must be carried out by an experienced electrician.
Employing a professional who fits bathrooms
After you have identified the ideal candidate for the position, proceed with the hiring process only after you have completed all of the necessary papers. In addition to requesting a formal price, you should inquire about the insurance coverage held by your merchant. Every business that deals in goods or services ought to carry public liability insurance, in addition to other insurance to cover any employees they might have. Any significant undertaking ought to be accompanied by a legally binding contract that the parties involved must agree to sign at the outset. This agreement must comprise the following terms and conditions: The overall expenditures The schedule for making payments Dates for the beginning and end of the project. Verify that you have a complete understanding of the conditions of any insurance or guarantees that are provided by the merchant. Utilize the Which? Trusted Traders service to locate local bathroom fitters who have been vetted and approved by our organisation in order to meet your needs.
The price of installing a bathroom
Bathroom
Because purchasing and having a completely new bathroom built from the ground up installed might cost thousands of pounds, you will need to create a budget that takes into account your requirements. On the portion of our website devoted to bathroom suites, we look into the pricing, as well as ways that homeowners have suggested you might save money. Visit our page on updating a bathroom on a budget if you only want to replace a few items, update a few things, or repair a few things in the bathroom.
No matter what it is that you want done, your fitter may request that you pay a portion of the total price upfront to cover the expense of ordering the necessary supplies. Contracts for large jobs should include payment terms that specify when any deposits or instalments need to be paid and when those payments are due.
Ask yourself why the trader wants the full amount or the most of it up front if this is the case. In the event that the work is not finished to your satisfaction, you will be in a better position financially if you stipulate that a sizeable portion of the payment won’t be payable until after the project is brought to a successful conclusion. Get the payment terms you’ve agreed upon documented somewhere, even if it’s just in an email; this can help clear up any confusion that may arise in the future.
