• Adding colour to your bathroom

• Buying a new bathroom (Part 1)

• Essential, but never boring….toilets!

• How to pay for a new bathroom?

• A guide to bathroom furniture

Should I use a builder to install my bathroom?

Buying and fitting a new bathroom is a big decision. Mistakes can be expensive to put right so it is worthwhile doing all your research up front – design, choice of sanitaryware as well as the installation. Whether renovating, modernising, extending, or adding an en-suite or cloakroom, a new bathroom is a worthy investment and can not only improve your day to day living but also add value to your property. Sadly, get the installation wrong and you will wish you’d never started!

Installing the sanitaryware yourself ensures you’ll keep initial costs low but fitting a bathroom can be complicated and therefore you may incur additional costs further down the line if you need to bring different skilled tradesmen on board. Hiring a bathroom installation expert or builder that has all the skills needed to install the different bathroom elements from the beginning might be more expensive, but in the longer term may well be worthwhile.

There are several trades involved in fitting a bathroom – a plumber, electrician, tiler, and most probably a builder. Depending on the state of the room beforehand you may also need a plasterer and while you may want to tackle the decorating yourself, if you are short of time or lacking in confidence, then a decorator will also be required.

Some reputable builders may be able to carry out all the work themselves otherwise they will be able to oversee and manage the project whilst drawing upon, hiring and co-ordinating the various trades on your behalf.

There are 3 key factors when deciding on whether to use a builder to manage the project or whether to rise to the challenge yourself - budget, level of DIY skill and timescale.

There are also several common scenarios when using a builder to manage the project or oversee the renovation is recommended. These include:

• Installing a new bathroom from scratch – when bathrooms are being installed within an extension or where bathrooms are being installed in rooms which previously had other uses.
• When building regulations, approval or compliance is required.
• When internal walls need to be knocked down or built – especially when these walls are structural ie. load bearing.
• For the creation of a wet room where the structural calculations, waterproofing and drainage need to be precise.
• When party walls (walls that are shared between you and a neighbour) are liable to be affected by the installation.
• When existing floors need to be reinforced to incorporate new fittings such as luxury roll top baths made of robust, heavier materials.
• When fixtures and fittings are being supplied from several different sources rather than one single source.
• When you are under time constraints – sourcing, communicating, and organising all the various tradespeople takes up a lot of time and energy.






Using a builder to manage the project calling upon known trusted tradespeople who are skilled in their trades may cost a little more but will undoubtedly save on time and should be far less stressful.






8th Feb 2021