Where are the best places to shop for bathroom refurb goods? Post Reply

[cookie22]

Hi,

I'm in the process of gaining quotes for refurbing 2 bathrooms in our house that are in much need of modernisation. I also need to start the ball rolling on finding new supplies for those bathrooms - bath, showers, sink vanity units, toilets, taps etc.

I've looked online, and there are a lot of cheaper places, just not sure I trust them. Have looked at CP Hart and West One, but they are pretty expensive and with 2 bathrooms to do and a baby on the way, I think they are probably out of our price range at the moment. Any suggestions for reasonably priced bathroom supply stores? Bath Store is probably an option, but would love to know if there are any other recommendations?

Thank you.

x

[HalcsMum]

Hi I have had a good experience with Bathrooms at Source on Garrat Lane. It's a family run business and their customer service is very good. I rang them many times over a few months and they always remembered me and my order and were very flexible and helpful with various issues. I think they describe themselves as starting at mid range. I had a tight budget and they really worked with my to keep to it. I found them to be on a par or cheaper than Bathstore for what I wanted. And Bathstore infuriated me by ringing several times after I had got a quote to keep lowering price or claiming a discount was about to expire.

[HalcsMum]

Not that you usually complain when somewhere lowers the price (!) - I just mean I felt I couldn't trust them and their hard sell was off putting.

[pie81]

Burge and Gunson in Colliers Wood are great - prices not too far off internet shopping and a big showroom and advisers who know who supplies a sink in the size you need etc.

Bathstore don't offer many options - they're fine if you only want to see a few mid range (ish) options and lots of choice confuses you, but if you want a big choice then go elsewhere.

[cookie22]

Yeah, I agree Bath Store have limited options, which is one of the reasons I'd rather go elsewhere. Thanks for the heads up on their sales tactics too Halcsmum! I'll check out those suggestions, thank you both.

x

[pie81]

Lots of bathroom shops in Fulham too. Bathroom Discount Centre is similar to Burge and Gunson, but a bit smaller showroom.

I liked Alternative Bathroom Company - it's queenstown road or wandsworth bridge road, can't remember which. (or possibly somewhere else! but near here anyway).

[Katy_emma]

We used bathroom discount centre in Fulham and they were great. Prices v competitive and customer service so good I kept commenting on it! Would highly recommend

[BFW]

Can also recommend bathroom discount centre. We have just finished a bathroom refurbishment and used them. Very helpful !I made quite a few mistakes and they were happy to exchange some products that I had to send back!

[csml]

Another vote for Bathrooms at source. Their customer service is exceptional. They recently supplied and fitted a bathroom for us and we are really happy with the end result. Plus they are a local family business and keep their prices competitive, especially if you are on a budget.

[Tpa]

For traditional, it's cheapest to have your cupboards built or use the Savoy range at The Bath Store. I used a mixture of those and the Bathroom Discount Centre in Fulham to do up 4 bathrooms. I found B&Q/Homebase/Wickes too limited in choice.

Quality: I have found the Bath Store's products to be really very good quality and design for a great price. BDC has far better choice of fixtures if you want to spend a bit more money on certain items, because it carries all the lines. However, one of their cheaper range hand showers broke after a month and had to be replaced (which they did on the spot when I went into the store with it). My Bath store hand shower feels much more solid for about the same price. They also have a long warranty on everything, so you don't need to worry about things falling apart

Service: The Bath Store customer service by phone and email was wonderful. With Bathroom Discount Centre, they never responded to my calls or emails, but if I went into the store, they were quite helpful.
Bath Store will also provide layout design for you, which I don't think BDC does.

The Bottom line: If I had to do them all again, I would have gone to The Bath Store first, done my layout plan and bought most of my items there. I would look at BDC to see if there is anything of better design in there and thrown that in ad hoc. BDC is not really going to help you figure out the plan of your room but if you know what you want and can get there in person, then I think they are a good option and the builders know them very well. Pricewise, I think BDC can be cheaper, especially with a builder discount, but Bath Store has tons of sales and discounts too, so they can come out equal.

[pie81]

Yes, that's true, places like Bathroom Discount Centre and Burge and Gunson aren't going to help you design the look and layout of your bathroom.

They started off as suppliers to builders/plumbers, so they are really suppliers of the various units/parts - they can advise in the sense that they can say "X manufacturer does large size shower screens, here is their catalogue to flick through/here is one on display" but they won't say "We think a large shower screen will look good there".

If you want a design service you need to go to Bathstore or one of the CP Hart/ West One Bathrooms type places I think.