How to Find a Reliable Bathroom Fitter

Contents:

1. What Is A Bathroom Installer or Fitter?

2. What Does A Bathroom Fitter Do?

3. Questions To Ask Before You Hire An Installer

4. Finding A Local Reliable Bathroom Installer

5. How To Choose A Bathroom Fitter

6. Bathroom Fitter Prices

7. Other Considerations

Key Takeaways:

• A bathroom fitter can complete the entire job, from fitting the new suite to sorting out the electrics and installing the tiles. This makes the project easier to manage.

• Always ask for their qualifications before going ahead. Look for NVQ Level 2 or 3 as a minimum.

• Get three quotes from three different installers to properly compare and ensure you’re getting the right deal.

• Reviews and references matter, so check Google, social media, Trustpilot and TrustMark for accurate reviews.

• Check they have the right insurance in place before the work begins (public liability is the most important).

  

What Is A Bathroom Installer Or Fitter?

A bathroom fitter is someone who can replace a bathroom in its entirety, rather than a tradesperson who specialises in one focused area, such as an electrician or plumber. They are in charge of installing the bathroom itself, as well as amending the plumbing (if required) and fitting the final details, such as tiles, lighting and accessories.

This makes the project far easier to manage and coordinate, with a small team completing everything instead of hiring one plumber, one electrician, one tiler, etc. It usually makes for a smoother experience, and it makes sense to hire the people that specialise specifically in bathrooms.

What Does A Bathroom Fitter Do?

A bathroom fitter can complete snagging jobs, such as fixing leaking pipes and reapplying sealant, but they can also do much bigger jobs, like:

• Removing and installing a new bathroom suite

• Shower panel installation

• Wet room installation

• Waterproofing

• Plumbing and electrics

• Tiling

• Installing storage and custom cabinets

• Lighting.

Questions To Ask Before You Hire An Installer

Before you go ahead and find or choose a bathroom fitter, there are some questions you should ask yourself first, including:

• What is my budget?

• What do I require from a bathroom fitter?

• What style/design/layout do I want?

• Do I need someone who can complete the design and installation for me?

• What are the timeframes?

• Is there any part of the refit I want to do myself?

• How disruptive will the work be?

Even if you don’t have the answers to these questions right now, just noting them down is a good idea, and you can ask the potential installer later. When you understand what you want and the budget you have, a designer or installer will be able to help you reach the end goal much more easily.

Finding A Local Reliable Bathroom Installer

We recommend that you use the methods below to form a list of three bathroom fitters you like the look of. These can be narrowed down at a later date.

Go Through Your Bathroom Supplier

Some bathroom suppliers, like us at Easy Bathrooms, actually have their own team of installers so you can purchase the bathroom and have it fitted, all by the same brand. For this reason, our Simply Install service is really popular and includes:

• An initial installation survey

• At-home measuring

• Removal of the old bathroom and tiles

• Plumbing and electrics completion

• Waterproofing

• New bathroom installation

• Tiling

• Clean-up.

When combined with our Simply Design service, you can have your bathroom designed and installed in one handy package, with a 2-year installation guarantee.

Use Site Directories

Another good place to start is popular site directories, including Checkatrade or MyBuilder. You can search for the job that needs doing (such as bathroom installation) and narrow down the search to find tradespeople in your local area. What’s even better, you can easily see reviews left by other people.

TrustMark is another good one to use that is the only government-endorsed scheme.

Ask Neighbours And Friends/Family For Recommendations

Recommendations will always be a great way to find a tradesperson like a bathroom installer. Ask around your neighbours, friends or family that have used someone reliable recently, and see if they’ll provide the person’s or company’s details. Even better, you’ll be able to see the work they completed in person to gauge how up to standard it is.

How To Choose A Bathroom Fitter

Once you’ve found a few bathroom fitters in your local area, it’s time to choose the right one for the job.

Check Their Qualifications

First, you’ll want to check that they’re qualified to do the job they have. You can check accreditations, such as the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE) to see if they’re registered there. Other bodies include:

• Water Regulations Advisory Scheme (WRAS)

• NICEIC or NAPIT (for electrical work)

• Association of Plumbing & Heating Contractors (APHC)

While being registered with these bodies isn’t a necessity, it’s a ‘nice to have’ to determine how experienced someone is.

You can also check their qualifications. Most bathroom fitters should have an NVQ Level 2 or 3 in Plumbing and Domestic Heating as a minimum.

Look At Their Customer Reviews

Reviews are extremely telling, so you should try to find reviews on their Google business page, their social media pages, on Trustpilot or on some of the sites mentioned above (TrustMark, Checkatrade, etc). These will help you to see where other homeowners had issues or where they were really impressed.

Ask For References

Don’t be afraid to ask the fitter for references from previous clients. These are usually a little more specific than reviews, and you may even be able to get in touch with the person to speak directly.

Get A Quote/Price

If you’re happy with all of the above, you can ask the bathroom installer to give you a quote. We recommend that you get three quotes from different companies/people to compare. They’ll probably need to come out to the house to survey the room for maximum accuracy.

Once you have the quote, ensure that you have it in writing and that the costs are broken down so you can see the individual cost of each aspect of the project more easily. This will save any confusion later.

Another thing you may want to confirm at this stage is a payment schedule. See if the bathroom fitter can accommodate a payment plan for you to pay off the work in instalments

Bathroom Fitter Prices

As we’re talking prices, how much can you expect your bathroom installation to cost?

Some fitters might charge by the day, some by the hour or some simply by project. The price will also depend on the size of the bathroom and the complexity of the project (whether the layout, and therefore the pipework, is changing, for example).

As a ballpark figure, it’s thought that installation of a new bathroom (i.e. just the labour cost) will be between £2,000 and £4,000, possibly more for those living in London.

This is why it’s so important to gather your quotes before committing, so you can ensure you aren’t overcharged unnecessarily.

Other Considerations

There are some other minor considerations to account for, including:

Logistics

It’s important that you understand when the bathroom fitter will arrive and when they will leave. Do they work over weekends or only Monday to Friday? Do you always have to be around when they work, or are you comfortable to leave them with a key so they can come and go?

You might also want to find out if they will leave their tools there overnight or take them away at the end of each day.

While these seem like simple questions, it’s handy to know the answers in advance so you aren’t surprised when they turn up on a Sunday morning.

Knowledge of Building Regulations

It’s essential that your bathroom installer understands and follows building regulations. Before they start, ensure that they do have this knowledge and that they’re up to date on any changes for compliance and safety reasons.

Insurance

Insurance is essential in case anybody gets injured or something gets damaged while they’re working. Your bathroom fitter should have valid public liability insurance, as well as professional indemnity insurance (this would cover them if you were to make a claim about negligent work). Should you hire a company, check that they have employer’s liability insurance, too.

Public liability insurance is the main and most important one, so ask for proof of this before the work commences.

Why Use Easy Bathrooms’ Simply Install Service?

Take the stress out of your bathroom renovation with our Simply Install bathroom installation service.

This is one of the easier ways to have your bathroom fitted by reputable installers, all of which are vetted and DBS-checked, and the entire process is managed by a dedicated account manager who coordinates everything on your behalf.

The team turns up on the scheduled start date, removes the old bathroom and gets to work installing the new one. All installers wear shoe covers and lay protective flooring for your carpets. Once the job is done, they give everything a good clean down, too.

Book an in-store appointment to start planning your new bathroom today.