How to Choose a Bathroom Fitter in Nottingham: What to Ask

What to check before you hire a bathroom fitter

Set a budget, and decide whether the layout is changing and which fixtures you want, Checkatrade’s bathroom fitter costs guide advises. On Checkatrade’s figures, a bathroom fitter’s day rate is £320 to £480 and full bathroom fitting labour costs £1,500 to £3,000, and the guide suggests a contingency of around 10% to 15%. Speak to at least three contractors and ask each one for a quote, Checkatrade’s hiring guide advises.

Questions to ask a bathroom fitter

Put the same questions Checkatrade suggests to every fitter you are considering, and note the answers side by side.

Question	A good answer includes
Have you done similar projects?	Bathrooms like yours, such as the same layout change or a wet room
Can I see examples of your recent work?	Photos of recent bathrooms, or a showroom you can visit
What does the quote include?	Every part of the job itemised, from removing the old bathroom to testing and commissioning
Are the electrics included?	Who does them, whether they are in the price and who certifies them
Who does the tiling?	Their own team or a tiler they bring in, and which walls and floors get tiled
Do you have public liability insurance?	Yes, with a current certificate you can see
How do you handle unexpected issues?	How extra work is priced and agreed with you before it goes ahead
Do you give a guarantee?	A written guarantee saying what it covers and for how long
When will the toilet, shower and basin be out of action?	The days each one cannot be used

To see bathrooms in person before you choose, several of the Nottingham bathroom fitters we compare have their own showrooms, including Connelly Home Centre on Jennison Street in Bulwell, Goldswan Bathrooms in Arnold and A1 Kitchens & Bathrooms on Valley Road. In Hucknall, Hallam Interiors’ showroom at Whyburn Business Park has 25 displays across two floors, and Bransons’ showroom on Watnall Road is open 7 days a week.

Who does the plumbing, electrics and tiling

Some bathroom fitters do most of the work themselves, while others coordinate electricians, plasterers and tilers, Checkatrade’s bathroom fitter costs guide says. A fitter is not necessarily cheaper than hiring the trades separately, it adds, but one person coordinating the work is simpler.

Goldswan Bathrooms says its own team does the plumbing, electrics, tiling, plastering and flooring, with one project manager as the point of contact, and A1 Kitchens & Bathrooms says it employs its own fully trained fitters and can fully tile the room. Matt Wregg Plumbing & Bathrooms in Carlton project manages and arranges the tradesmen who work alongside him.

Bathroom fitter qualifications and insurance

What to look for depends on the project, Checkatrade’s bathroom fitter costs guide says, and its list covers plumbing qualifications, Part P compliant electrical work, Competent Person Scheme registration, public liability insurance and relevant experience.

An installer registered with a competent person scheme can self-certify that notifiable electrical work in a bathroom complies with the building regulations, the Planning Portal says. You do not need building regulations approval yourself for electrical work or gas installations carried out by a competent person, Nottingham City Council says.

Grain Plumbing & Heating in The Park is endorsed by Which? Trusted Traders and listed on the Which? bathroom fitters page for Nottingham, so a membership like that can be checked before you hire.

How to compare bathroom fitter quotes

One fitter may include the plumbing, electrics, tiling and waste removal while another prices some of them separately, so compare itemised quotes, Checkatrade’s bathroom fitter costs guide advises. Each quote should show the labour, removing the old bathroom, plumbing, electrical work, tiling, flooring and waste disposal, a line for testing and commissioning, and VAT if it applies, the guide says. Decorating, flooring and making good the walls are often assumed to be included when they are not, it adds.

Get estimates in writing, Checkatrade’s hiring guide advises, since a verbal estimate often leaves out important details and a written one protects you if things go wrong.

Quote or estimate

A quote is a promise to do the work at an agreed price, while an estimate is only the trader’s best guess, Citizens Advice says. A trader cannot charge more than a quote without a good reason, such as extra work you agreed to pay for or an obvious mistake, and a rise in their own costs is not one. Under an estimate, the final price should be reasonable.

Contract, payments and building regulations

Before you sign, confirm the schedule, with the timing and duration of each stage, and a payment schedule, Checkatrade’s hiring guide advises. The contract should be signed and dated by you both and set out the cost, payment terms, site address and schedule, it says, and a contractor who will not provide a contract is a red flag. Giving the go-ahead makes a contract even if nothing is written down, Citizens Advice says, so put the terms in writing first.

If you are employing a builder, the responsibility for the building regulations will usually be theirs, Nottingham City Council says, but you must confirm this at the very beginning. If you are the owner and the work does not follow the regulations, it is you who will be served with an enforcement notice, the council says.

Guarantees and your rights if the work goes wrong

Guarantees differ in length and in what they cover. Goldswan Bathrooms offers a 2 year guarantee on every installation, while SB Interiors Design & Installation offers a 1 year labour guarantee on full bathroom installations, plus the manufacturer’s guarantee on products and tiles.

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, work must be done with reasonable care and skill, Citizens Advice says. If the fitter supplied the goods as well as the work, you can ask them to fix a problem, and if they supplied only the work, you can get a refund and stop them doing more.

If they cannot or will not fix the problem, ask for a partial or full refund, which should arrive within 14 days of agreeing the amount, Citizens Advice says. If the job runs late, you should give the fitter a second chance to finish, it adds, unless you made clear the work had to be finished by a set date.