UKC

Hey all, throwing yet another left field question to the UKC masses as you havent let me down yet.

Im looking to convert our small shower room to a wet room. Ive asked for a quote from a local company and they have quoted an eye watering figure. Im also slightly concerned as Ive had a kitchen done by a local firm before and they cocked something up and subsequently refused to put it right. This is leading me to a national where protection might be better if something goes wrong.

I seem to recall that there was a Dolphin Bathrooms but I cant find them. Would someone please recommend a decent company.

Thanks

Richard

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

A friend is currently getting a full new bathroom installed, including 3pc suite, finishings and lighting etc. Wickes are doing it all so he had one point of contact / complaint, should it come to that. Think he said it was costing about £5k for apx 4sqm bathroom.

In reply to Fraser:

Thanks. I'll enquire.

Also, weird, I cant make out why I gained two dislikes for that post. There wasnt a mention of Trump anywhere. Do they make new bathrooms from the bones of Collie pups or recycled Octavias?

In reply to Fraser:

We had ours done recently.
6mtr square room.
Old Bath, toilet and sink ripped out and all tiling removed, new toilet in a different place to original one, no bath but a large walk in shower in a different place to the old bath.
New sink and cabinet in same place as original one.
Boiler moved from bathroom to other side of the wall in to the spare room.
Re tile all walls and lino floor.

We got a few quotes.
Typically there are 4 price zones.
Zone 1, the Polish plumber why quoted me 2.5k.
Zone 2, independent kitchen and bathroom company quoted 4k with 100% payment on satisfactory completion.
Zone 3, B&B, Wiks type place quoted 5.5k
Zone 4, Dolphin quoted 8k.
We have seen similar price differences in the kitchen and bathroom price's in our old house and in our new one.

We went with the second zone in all cases.
The only problem we had was with the bathroom in our new house, everything was fine but the toilet would not clear without 2 or 3 flushes.
The guy came back and altered the waste pipe but it didn't help so he got the manufacturer involved but they couldn't come for a month.
He asked for payment which I refused based on the contract saying 100% satisfactory completion.
He was not happy and asked for a 90% payment with just £400 held back until the toilet was sorted but I pointed out the contract again.
Ultimately he bought a new toilet and installed it all the while complaining that it was costing him money but I stood firm, my contract was with him not the manufacturer.
Once it was sorted I paid in full.

In reply to Dax H:
Hmm. Thats strange. I couldn't find Dolphin via Google. Have you got a link please?

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:
A google for "Dolphin Bathrooms" found this:

http://www.dovcorbathrooms.co.uk/blog/view/who-were-dolphin-bathrooms


Dolphin bathrooms were the biggest of their kind, a direct sales company specialising in designing and installing fully fitted bathrooms.

If you're in need of an expert team to design and install your new bathroom just like Dolphin bathrooms did, then try this similar free design service.

Part of the larger Homeform group, together with Sharps fitted bedrooms and Moben kitchens, Dolphin bathrooms dominated the home improvement industry for some 20 years.

Focusing on home design visits, where a trained bathroom designer would visit you in the comfort of your own home and discuss your needs, the Dolphin team would handle your bathroom from design to completion.

What happened to them?

Dolphin bathrooms, along with the Homeform group went into administration in 2011. While Sharps managed to survive, both Moben and Dolphin bathrooms closed down for good.

This left thousands of customers out of pocket, some 3000 people out of work and a rather large hole in the bathroom industry as a result.

And this:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8594784/M...


Looks like UKC advice may be a tad out of date.

In reply to Chris Harris:

Yikes. I had no idea. Bit of a Rumbelows moment it would seem.

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

I got my new bathroom at The Bath Store. They gave me a list with local 'approved fitters' on it and I got various quotes, going with a mid range one from a guy who came with some great imaginative ideas about using the space optimally, even though it meant moving the waste pipe.

In reply to Chris Harris:

That's interesting, it was around 2010/2011 when we got the bathroom done.
Glad I didn't go with them.

In reply to Dax H:


Equally interesting in your post:

"We had ours done recently.
Zone 4, Dolphin quoted 8k."

Recently?

In reply to Chris Harris:
I guess the definition of 'recently' may depend on one's perception of time? A topic for another thread.

In reply to Dax H:

Was this a like-4-like comparison of identical quality items ?

In reply to Chris Harris:


In the context of a bathroom renovation that you would get done maybe every 15 years or so.
If asked I would have said in the last couple of years but when someone posted about Dolphin I asked the wife and apparently it was 6 years ago.
Time flies.

In reply to Jim C:


Polish plumber was for an ikea kitchen.
B&B was their own.
Indepent guy was brand names like mira for the shower etc and cabinets from their own source, quality seems good.
Dolphin was again branded gear and their own cabinets.

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

Dont read to much into it. Mobile phone screens and fat fingers mean things are often accidently swiped/clicked

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

We went with a local plumber who was well regarded and established (also qualified for electrics, which helped), and ordered all the bits ourselves. Pleased overall - he charged a bit more than estimated but there was real additional work due to unforeseen complications. Personally would much rather deal with an individual with a reputation to think of than a faceless large company.

No idea why you would want a wet room though - sounds like a recipe for leaks to me ...

In reply to MG:

You might have been better to get your plumber to go with you to order the bits, he will likely have a trade card and save you a bundle
( or just give him the list, and let him get them , and split the savings)

In reply to MG:

Ditto. It's 'how things work' for getting jobs done for anybody I know. Sheffield being quite a small city or seeming village-like can help.