Don’t Trust Yourself, Trust Checkatrade – bathroom remodel
by
Checkatrade

It’s not unheard of to get a friend to help you on your bathroom renovation, or even to try to fit it yourself. However, this more often than not results in a disappointing outcome or even worse – a complete re-do. We understand the temptation – at first sight, it seems lighter on the wallet, however, this is incredibly risky and not always the case. When underestimating a task as significant and complex as bathroom fitting, you can end up having to spend up to thousands of pounds more than the original cost would have been, for a professional to come in and rectify any mistakes.

We spoke to Checkatrade tradesman Adam of Bartlett Home Maintenance, about bathroom DIY disasters.

Plumbing

The serious risk with a DIY bathroom job is poor plumbing. If not done correctly, your plumbing can cause leaks behind the tiles and through the ceiling, which, as you can imagine, can cause incredible damage to the room. Leaving you with an incredibly expensive and disruptive situation.

Bathroom remodel experience

A good fitter will not only have the many skills it takes to complete a bathroom to an excellent standard but will also advise the client the whole way through the process. They will have the expertise and experience that is necessary and will most often advise on design, helping you to utilise your space to its highest potential.

Before: an unfinished job left the client completely overwhelmed

On one particular job, Adam met with a client who had enlisted a friend to help them fit their bathroom, resulting in a bathroom so poorly installed that the client was unable to step foot into the room without feeling completely overwhelmed. Adam had realised on the first visit that the client needed a fair amount of help and guidance, especially in the design process. The layout of the bathroom was presented in a way that the room was lacking space, and the hexagonal flooring that the friend had laid didn’t fit the look of the room.

Advice & Guidance

Paying for the certified professional help allows you to pick their brain on bathroom sets too. You could find a cheap, ‘that’ll do’ bathroom set, but often they won’t last very long at all. For a bathroom, you need to be investing in good quality, long-lasting products, as you really will be using them every day. Especially with important purchases such as bathroom fittings, as the last thing you want is water damage.

Making the most of the space

The layout of the bathroom was improved by moving the units around to create more space and more dynamic flow, something that the bathroom was lacking before Adam began his work.

The tiling design was changed slightly to improve the look. Adam laid a beautiful rectangular slate tile that perfectly accented the black shower enclosure.

After: the final design – Providing more space and a better flow

Summary

“It’s the small details that really turn a good fit into an excellent one. Leaving the property clean every evening, arriving on time every morning and making sure that the care and attention that you put into a fit, shines through at the end result!”

Adam explained to us how the final benefit to getting a professional in is the ‘no-mess, no-stress’ experience for the client. You can take the problem and put it into a professional’s hands, and that can be priceless.

“All in all, we left the client with a beautiful bathroom, that they were delighted with, even asking us to come back and not only refit their second bathroom but to do some major renovations on their mother’s property shortly.”

As with most things, you get what you pay for. By going straight to a Professional and certified bathroom fitter, you will avoid an expensive disaster downfall.