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Needing a new bathroom suite

TheCatWoman

Mum and I have decided to renovate our shower room and toilet, you'd think this would be easy, we've picked the tiles for the shower enclosure, new flooring now for the basin and toilet, what a faff! I'm just about getting my head around everything being in millimetres instead of the centimetres I measured, I can just about convert cm's to mm's, but the thing thats causing the most problems is the toilet, most of them celebrate being low, my knees aren't getting any younger and I don't want to feel that I've accidently wandered into a childrens bathroom and have my knees up round my ears! And the cistern/flush too, they're all tiny, we have one upstairs and it's useless it's supposed to save water but you need to flush it twice to make everything go away.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Parents

  • Getting the old tiles off the wall can be hard work, also having a flat surface for the new tiles. The level of the toilet can probably raised. I would probably ask a plumber for an all in one quote replacing the toilet/matching with sink and bath/shower equipment and do everything together. 

    [this is my experience from previous property a few years ago] The other thing I'd say (from practice) is choose a British plumber (or someone you know) to install it. I made the mistake of choosing a Portuguese one who despite being told to cover the floors didnt. Slovenly practices of his laborer lead to damage of the hallway walls and floor. I had thought I was employing him to do the work. He also turned up on a Saturday and asked me to pay him when the work was incomplere So if someone is undercutting local rates don't be fooled they usually use a less competant assistant who isn't paid properly.  

  • in reply to pietro_21

    It's what I'm hoping for, rather than seperate trades, it's annoying to have to ask someone else to things that a few years ago I could have done myself, like the tiling. Getting trades is always a problem, everytime I see one of my neighbours having work done I go and ask them if they're happy with the work and would recomend the trades people they've used, I've built up quite a good collection of contacts. Some always seem to be a problem, plumbers being one of them, my parents had a terrible cowboy in to do the shower room some years ago and the whole lot had to be ripped out, the floor wasn't level so water ran backwards away from the drain and leaked through the wal damaging plaster in the hall, they left two water pipes uncapped that led to water running out through the back wall of the house. After my Dad died and Mum went to get it fixed, she phoned a number of plumbers and they either said they were to busy and a couple wanted to talk to her husband and on finding out she was a recent widow asked to speak to her son. There are still quite a few dinosaurs like this, who either won't take work from a female customer, or will and agree with her only to do what they think you ought to have not what you're paying them for. In my experience, it dosen't matter what the nationality of the trade is, but thier attitude and ability to comunicate and not to think of how they can rip off the client.

    Trouble at the momment is they're all so busy, most of the tourist places shut over January and part of February to do any refurbishments needed, plus all the usual stuff of boilers not working.

  • in reply to TheCatWoman

    I haven’t heard of not taking work from a female customer. The biggest thing is getting them to do what they agree to. They always say they can do something better in reality they always discover new problems or don’t put things back how they were. 

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  • in reply to pietro_21

    Unfortunately it seems quite common, especially amoung the older generation, I'm told some believe that a woman will commission work and then her husband won't pay for it, or they don't feel able to talk to women as a woman won't understand. 

    If someone commissions work and a 3rd party, in this case a husband refuses to pay, then I'm not sure what anyone can do about it. But refusing to work for women without first talking to a male relative, is akin to victim blaming, many women live alone and have worked hard for the house they want and have a right to be able to have the fixtures and fitting they choose, unmediated by a man.

    I don't know why some feel that a man will understand them, many men I know can talk a good game, but have no knowlege or experience of building work and just agree with the builder rather than dent their ego.

    One of the problems with having work done is finding unexpected problems, therefore a 10-15% contingency should be added to the overall amont you wish to spend. This is particularly so in older houses where things may have been bodged by previous owners.