Toolstation Study Reveals Bathroom Renovation Mistakes

Toolstation spoke to homeowners and trade professionals to gather tips and insights into bathroom renovations

• 95% of experts warn against homeowners DIY’ing the electrics in their bathrooms, but one in ten homeowners say they would still give this a go, despite this guidance

• The most common bathroom renovation mistakes trade experts see are installing poor drainage systems (52%) and the use of cheap materials and amenities (50%)

• It can take a homeowner up to 22 days to complete a bathroom renovation, compared to 8.5 days for a trade professional – that’s nearly three times as long

The bathroom is one of the most important and regularly used rooms in the home, so any renovation work can seem disruptive and time-consuming. Whether it’s an update to the amenities to make sure everything is in working order, or a spruce up with the style to keep up with the latest trends, at some point homeowners will need to undergo a bathroom refurb.

To help homeowners with their bathroom renovations, Toolstation spoke to trade experts to gather an insight into their previous experiences and their top tips for updating the bathroom. Toolstation also surveyed 2,000 UK homeowners to uncover how they manage a bathroom refurb and how much of the work they would do themselves.

Which jobs should be left to the professionals?

While some homeowners may attempt to complete some, or all, of a bathroom refurb themselves, trade experts warn that some jobs should be left to the professionals.

One-in-ten homeowners (11%) say they would wire in their own lights, but 95% of the trade professionals surveyed warned against that. In fact, one bathroom and kitchen fitter from the East of England stressed, “Any electrical work is covered by Part P, so needs to be done by a qualified person.” Part P is a rule introduced by the government that ensures people are protected from fire and electrical shocks. Failure to stick to this rule, and the homeowner/landlord will have to remove the work and may be criminally charged.

Experts also say that installing an extractor fan (82%) and installing a shower and new pipes (both 75%) should be left to those that are qualified. The most common jobs that homeowners would attempt to do themselves are stripping out old amenities (28%), changing the taps (22%) and laying the flooring (22%). 

While stripping out the old amenities and changing the taps sit at the bottom of the list of the jobs which should be left to the professionals, more than half of the experts (55%) say laying tiled flooring should be completed by an experienced tradesperson. 

The most common bathroom mistakes

With so many factors to consider in a bathroom renovation, it’s easy for mistakes to be made. The most common mishaps homeowners have made are:

• Not including enough storage space (22%)

• Opting for cheap materials or amenities (21%)

• Not installing a sufficient quality extractor fan (16%)

While some mistakes may just be a hindrance, others can be more serious and will need to be resolved by trade professionals. The most common mistakes experts see are:

• Installing poor drainage systems (52%)

• Opting for cheap materials or amenities (50%)

• Not sealing the amenities correctly (48%) 

Bathroom refurb insights from the professionals

Interestingly, homeowners expect to renovate their bathroom every six years on average, which is more regularly than the trades advise. More than half of trade professionals (52%) say a bathroom should be renovated every nine-to-ten years, and more than a quarter (27%) say 11 years or more. The expiration date of your bathroom does depend on a range of factors, such as the materials used, as one expert says, “A good bathroom installation should be good for 20 years - taps and valves will [however] need more regular replacement”.

On average, trade experts say it will take a professional eight-and-a-half days to complete a full bathroom renovation, but if a homeowner wants to do this themselves, they say this could take 22-and-a-half days. 

The most popular way professionals say homeowners can cut down the time of a bathroom renovation is to keep the layout the same. If the layout can be kept as close to the original as possible, this means no large pipes will need to be moved or re-installed.

Other timesaving advice includes having a clear plan of what the homeowner wants to achieve, preparing the area in advance, and decluttering the space so there is room to work. It’s also key to ensure all the necessary materials are available and undamaged before starting the project. 

Cara Yates, Bathroom Category Manager, at Toolstation says, “With the bathroom being one of the most used and important rooms in the home, we know how critical it is for a bathroom refurbishment to go smoothly and quickly. We hope these insights from trade professionals and other homeowners will help anyone planning to renovate their bathroom.

“As well as typical requests professionals see, we also asked for some of their most uncommon requests too. Some of their customers have asked for two toilets, a urinal, and even vinyl laminate on walls.”

More information can be found here: https://www.toolstation.com/campaigns/surviving-your-bathroom-refurb

Source : Toolstation

Image : iStockphoto.com / 1289147288

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