What to Consider When Hiring a Bathroom Fitter

Renovating can be a big investment, so it's really important to hire the right people for the job.

We know how it is! You’ve scoured the web for that perfect bathroom suite, picked out some gorgeous tiles, and settled on a powerful new shower. You’re now itching to get the work underway.

Once you’ve got your heart set on a renovation it can be hard to resist hiring the very first bathroom fitter available.

However, jumping in and hiring someone without doing all of the necessary due diligence could lead to you paying over the odds or, worse still, getting a below-par installation.

So, we’ve put together the following list of ideas and advice to help you pick out the best fitter for the job.

4 Things to Do Before Hiring Someone for Bathroom Refitting

Ask for Lots of Quotes

Once you’ve narrowed your search down to a shortlist of 3 or 4 bath fitting professionals, get in touch with each of them to request quotes. This can help you build a better picture of what sort of costs to expect - and even help you cross any expensive ones off your list.

Though some may charge for quotes, the overwhelming majority of bathroom fitters will be more than happy to provide you with an estimated total cost of the job for free. Just be sure to provide clear and extensive details of what you need - if you unintentionally undersell the job you could be in for a shock later on when you receive that invoice!

It’s also important to always ask for these quotes in writing - be it in a letter or via email. A verbal agreement over the phone won’t help you out if your bath fitting and shower fitting costs are way higher than what you agreed on further down the line!

Look At Their Portfolio

When picking a person or a business for bathroom refitting, we highly recommend that you ask for a portfolio of their past work first.

Most reputable businesses will keep a collection of images of the work they’ve carried out - either on their company website or available on request. Taking a look at this will allow you to see if their work is of a high standard and if they have experience installing bathrooms of a similar style to yours.

This is extremely beneficial if you’ve got an unconventional bathroom as you’ll be able to see if the fitter has dealt with similarly tricky jobs before.

Read Online Reviews & Word of Mouth

Most established businesses can be easily found by searching for them online. If this is the case, you’ll likely find a bunch of reviews of them. Read as many of these as you can to get a better understanding of how good their work is and they’ve tackled jobs like yours.

Alternatively, try asking your friends for recommendations of fitters. If you live local to the fitter in question, you may even be able to seek out word of mouth appraisals - try asking friends on social media if they’ve ever hired them before.

Hiring someone for bathroom refitting is a bit different from other household investments. You’re not only putting trust in the skills of the tradesperson - you’re also trusting this person to spend a significant amount of time in your home. Seek out reviews that mention the character of the fitter - a friendly face can make the hassle of bathroom renovation so much easier!

Ask For References

If you’re willing to be extra thorough, you can outright ask the fitter for references from recent satisfied customers.

If said fitter did an exemplary job, it’s likely that the customer will be willing to spare a few minutes to have a chat about how their renovation went on the phone or online.

Though not possible in our current climate, you’d be surprised at how many are willing to give you a quick tour of their bathroom to have a closer look at the quality of the work. After all, the final result of your renovation - be it a bath fitting or a shower fitting - should be something to shout about!

If you successfully cover all of the above, you should be left with an ideal candidate. Congratulations are in order! Once you’ve made all the necessary arrangements and signed contracts the contracts, your dream bathroom shouldn’t be too far away.

What Costs Should I Expect?

When it comes to bathroom installation, it’s hard for us to give a solid estimate of what kind of prices to expect as there are so many variables involved. Everything from the size of the bathroom to the types of tiles, fixtures and fittings you choose can impact the cost of installation. Even the part of the country you live in can drastically change the price of installation.

We hope you found this brief guide to hiring a bathroom fitter useful! If you like the products feature, try our collection of bathroom suites. For all other kinds of bathroom inspiration, stick with us here on the Victorian Plumbing blog.