Fair Price for plumbing in a new shower?

[simple]

I'd like some views on what would be a reasonable price to do the following:

• Remove a bath and run piping from the current tap end to the current head end and then up the wall.
• Construct a frame at this end to conceal the pipework, board it in, apply tiles (or fit a shower panel) and fit a thermostatic shower valve and shower riser.
• Construct a plinth for the shower base in order to create a better run off for the waste.
• Fix in shower screen.
• Shower valve/riser, base and screen are already purchased.

The one quote I've had was pretty much what my monthly take-home pay is and I suspect he's taking the urine. I have another fella coming at the end of the week to give a quote, but given the last quote I actually have no idea of what is considered reasonable. If £1k+ is reasonable, I'd rather take two weeks off work and do it myself.

 

[jonnyswamp]

What part of the country are you, do you live in a house with off road parking or a third floor flat
What about the space where the bath was, is it going to be tiled/skimmed and painted or are you going to do the remedial work
Too many variables to comment
Post a photo

 

[simple]

Second floor flat in gloucestershire. Easy access and parking. I'd be doing the remedial work.

I don't have photos on me as I'm away from it at the moment. Back tomorrow night. I put a thing up on rated people and their website was coming up at 100 -250 which I thought was probably on the low side.

 

[rpm]

Will the water supply suit the shower you have brought, will the pipes need to be increased or decreased in size, do you have a water tank or is all mains fed, do you have a combi boiler supplying the hot side of the water, are the walls bare painted or tiled?
I`ll stop now as you`ve probably got the drift of where I`m coming from.

 

[mfgs]

1k seems cheap for all that.

 

[Allgoode]

Good username, very apt.

You have not included any pics to give members an idea of room shape/size.

1k as a ballpark seems potentially ok but a lot of variables that can be encountered as mentioned above.

An easy looking job can very easily snowball into a more complicated job as you remove things and discover all those lovely variables that were previously unseen.

You could break job down and get pricing for tiling separately to see costing for that side. It will surprise you on costs of this alone as if the bath had normal height of tiles along edge the removal of them may damage plasterboard under which could need replacing at additional cost.

Plus if you were having a large walk in type shower then would need completely tiled etc.

There is also waste disposal charges, company running costs, insurance, etc that he will be factoring in so the 1K figure suddenly does not go so far.

The plumber will only see a portion of this as a wage & not the full 1K

Oh if forgot, the taxman will also want his cut / pound of flesh as usual,

Thanks,

Andy

 

[plumberpete]

dont under estimate how much work and skill is involved in doing this.the last thing you want is water going downstairs.a shower is totally diferent from a bath.

 

[Darren Jackson]

I have to say that 1K does sound about right for what you have described. But hard to say without surveying the job.

 

[Old Account]

As @rpm has already asked what type of system have you got? You need to be aware of what type of shower valves and taps you are going to install. Some systems need to have low pressure taps. I also think 1k is well to cheap considering what you want to have done. First of you will definitely need some proper water proofed walls, either quality boards, or green plaster boards which need water proofing anyway but in time it will not be sealed anymore so my recommendation is wedi or jacoboards. Quality work shouldn't be underpaid but you've got the right to be cautious as also people take a Micky.

You could go easily online check materials and prices and then you can ask for labour. I think it doesn't matter what area or what city you live as quality will be everywhere similar priced.

 

[Darren Jackson]

I have to say that 1K does sound about right for what you have described. But hard to say without surveying the job.

Forgot to mention thats Labour only. As the cost of tiles & material's etc can vary so much depending on what you want and like.

 

[simple]

Oh ok, well that's helpful. Was just a bit thrown by the rated people site saying it would be under 250. Looks like it will be washing in the kitchen sink for forseeable future. Thank you for your input.

 

[Old Account]

Oh ok, well that's helpful. Was just a bit thrown by the rated people site saying it would be under 250. Looks like it will be washing in the kitchen sink for forseeable future. Thank you for your input.

Ratedpeople, they just give an estimate on the job. By the way you could setup your money as a customer at ratedpeople. You are able to up until 50k

 

[townfanjon]

Oh ok, well that's helpful. Was just a bit thrown by the rated people site saying it would be under 250. Looks like it will be washing in the kitchen sink for forseeable future. Thank you for your input.

All these type of websites are an absolute joke in my opinion .

 

[Gareth Harris]

Not that i would want to undermine the quote you have been given, But I'm sure advice from trading standards recommends getting at least three quotes for the work - that way you have something to compare against.

You will however need to ensure the quote are comparable - what fittings etc will be used - what accreditation does the person quoting hold - what guarantee do they offer on the work? Each person/company will have different overheads.

At the end of the day you get what you pay for - make sure the person doing the work is suitably qualified and insured - you shouldn't be afraid to ask to see their credentials.

There are a few websites where you can find properly qualified and insured tradespeople to do the work.

 

[Stanios]

To be honest someone who can plumb, tile and do frame construction in decent time and to a good standard deserves that money. The only way to make a good living on bathroom jobs is it charge a good premium because they often involve unforseen work and customers who will ring you two years later expecting a new shower.
I've met quite a few plumbers who gone bust over bathroom jobs because they quoted "reasonably"

 

[oz-plumber]

If £1k+ is reasonable, I'd rather take two weeks off work and do it myself.

If you take that option - make sure you send us the pics of the finished product!!
Or for that fact - if you get the bathroom done for cheaper than you have been quoted, send in the pics.
For a second fact - if you take the original quote - send those pis in also.

 

[cr0ft]

My view on bathroom work is either the customer is willing to pay my rates per day (£250+Vat per day) to do the whole thing myself and manage it for them, or they can pay me for the plumbing and arrange the rest themselves. We are based in Lincoln (supposedly less well off than Gloucestershire) and we have no problems filling our diary with clients at these prices.

I didn't learn plumbing, electrics, plastering, tiling, basic carpentry and how to paint (not sure the last one involves much learning ) to charge my business out at £150/day and pay myself minimum wage out of that.

£1k for labour sounds very cheap to me, cowboy cheap to be honest. You are making the classic mistake of ignoring all of the costs the person coming in to do the job for you has to cover before they can even pay themselves a wage. All of which have been well documented on here before.

Would you expect to take your car to a garage and have them charge you what the employees earn per hour? Of course not, the business has lots of costs to cover!

We'd be charging that out at about 6 man days of work assuming it was a straightforward job. Second floor flat will add a huge amount of time to that job carrying stuff up and down.

Increasingly as a country people complain about cowboy tradespeople on one hand and then moan about tradespeople being too expensive on the other. Doesn't take a genius to work out that if you grumble about price you will end up employing a cowboy!

 

[Callsimon55]

I'd like some views on what would be a reasonable price to do the following:

• Remove a bath and run piping from the current tap end to the current head end and then up the wall.
• Construct a frame at this end to conceal the pipework, board it in, apply tiles (or fit a shower panel) and fit a thermostatic shower valve and shower riser.
• Construct a plinth for the shower base in order to create a better run off for the waste.
• Fix in shower screen.
• Shower valve/riser, base and screen are already purchased.

The one quote I've had was pretty much what my monthly take-home pay is and I suspect he's taking the urine. I have another fella coming at the end of the week to give a quote, but given the last quote I actually have no idea of what is considered reasonable. If £1k+ is reasonable, I'd rather take two weeks off work and do it myself.

£

 

[Callsimon55]

This is £3500 at least. I know you will not like this reply but any less is asking for problems. Its water,it is where you live, its therfore important.

 

[Callsimon55]

My view on bathroom work is either the customer is willing to pay my rates per day (£250+Vat per day) to do the whole thing myself and manage it for them, or they can pay me for the plumbing and arrange the rest themselves. We are based in Lincoln (supposedly less well off than Gloucestershire) and we have no problems filling our diary with clients at these prices.

I didn't learn plumbing, electrics, plastering, tiling, basic carpentry and how to paint (not sure the last one involves much learning ) to charge my business out at £150/day and pay myself minimum wage out of that.

£1k for labour sounds very cheap to me, cowboy cheap to be honest. You are making the classic mistake of ignoring all of the costs the person coming in to do the job for you has to cover before they can even pay themselves a wage. All of which have been well documented on here before.

Would you expect to take your car to a garage and have them charge you what the employees earn per hour? Of course not, the business has lots of costs to cover!

We'd be charging that out at about 6 man days of work assuming it was a straightforward job. Second floor flat will add a huge amount of time to that job carrying stuff up and down.

Increasingly as a country people complain about cowboy tradespeople on one hand and then moan about tradespeople being too expensive on the other. Doesn't take a genius to work out that if you grumble about price you will end up employing a cowboy!

 

[Callsimon55]

Totally agree

I have to say that 1K does sound about right for what you have described. But hard to say without surveying the job.

well Darren I do not think you understand what is inolved. A bath is typically 168x 70. This needs tiling or shower wall. Nuance shower wall ( the only one worth fitting would be £750 before installation charge, tiling about the same including installation. Tray and screen £600. Pipe work timber and boarding £500. Diposal £165. Labour..... what ever you charge.

 

[Darren Jackson]

Totally agree

well Darren I do not think you understand what is inolved. A bath is typically 168x 70. This needs tiling or shower wall. Nuance shower wall ( the only one worth fitting would be £750 before installation charge, tiling about the same including installation. Tray and screen £600. Pipe work timber and boarding £500. Diposal £165. Labour... what ever you charge.

I do not need to be told the size of a bath thankyou very much, & I know exactly what is involved. I have been doing this for 32yrs & must have done over a 1000 bathroom refurbs etc. Did you click on my link to see who we are and what we do? If you read the full thread mate you will see the 1k is an approx labour only price, going on what the OP provided. This price of course would not be accurate without a site survey being carried out. I guesstimated 5 days labour at £200 a day which is the going rate for bathrooms in my area...And I buy wholesale mate even with my 15% mark up, your prices are well overpriced your getting ripped off. But thanks for your input.