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Reading a bathroom quote

What a bathroom quote should itemise, and what to ask if it does not

A single figure on one line is not a quote. It is a number somebody is willing to revise once the walls are open.

Most bathroom disputes are not about the quality of the work. They are about a figure that moved, and it moved because the quote never said what it covered in the first place.

Strip out and disposal

Taking the old suite out, lifting tiles, and getting all of it off the property. Skip hire or tip runs are a real cost and they belong on the quote, not in a conversation on day three.

First fix, itemised by what moves

Pipework and waste runs to each position. This is the line that decides the price, because leaving the suite where it is costs a fraction of moving it. A quote that does not say whether anything moves is not priced yet.

Ask for it per position: basin, WC, bath, shower. Then a change to one of them is a change to one line rather than a renegotiation.

The two lines that move a bathroom price are whether the waste moves and whether the floor comes up. Both are knowable before anybody starts.

Tiling, by area and by rate

Square metres, the rate, and whether it includes adhesive, grout and trims. Large format tiles and anything laid on a diagonal take longer and should be priced as such rather than discovered later.

Tanking behind the shower is separate and it is not optional. If it is not on the quote, ask where it is.

Who supplies what

Every quote should say plainly which items the customer buys and which the fitter supplies. Mixed arrangements are fine and common, but they need to be written down, because a missing waste kit on the day is a lost day either way.

Where the fitter supplies, the quote should name the models. Equivalent is not a specification.

What to ask if a line is missing

None of those are awkward questions. A fitter who has priced the job properly can answer all four without going away to think about it.

In this article

Want it itemised?

Every bathroom quote we write is broken down by line, and the figure only moves if you change something or the floor turns out to be rotten.