Thread: Decided I should use plumber.... any advice?

Guys, im sorry but im rolling around the floor laughing. This is the age old dilemma of "how much ill save if i do it myself".
Gooner, u should of found a plumber/ bathroom renovator to do the whole job. It would have saved you time, money, and the big one, a whole heap of stress. I,ll do a quote for you....
Dear Mr Gooner i have pleasure in submitting this quote for your new ensuite,
(day 1) Remove existing PC items, wall and floor tiles and wall linings.
Change plumbing and drainage to suit new fixture positions.
(day 2) Reline walls, Install 90mm cornice and make good all plasterwork.
Prime for waterproofing.
(day 3) Waterproof with CAT 1 membrane. (cpl hours and go surfing)
(day 4) Fix wall tiles (supplied by client), grout and recoat waterproofing.
(day 5) Fix out everything on walls, shower taps, shelves, towell rails, etc Lay floor tiles ( supplied by client ).
(day 6) Install toilet and vanity, phone through shower screen order.
Collect money and go surfing.
total cost
$4210.00.
all pc items by client.

decent quality pc,s for this job prob about $2000.00 max.
I used to be a "do it yourselfer" until i got pretty quick at what i do and i realised your better off to do what u do well and let others do what they do well. Happy renovating!

That quote is pretty standard,

I'll give you another tip tho gooner,

Allot of times for a DIY'er to go out and buy what they need to do the job will cost them more than if I go out and buy it all and install it.

Why because I get huge discount from the suppliers, For instance a Caroma Concorde pan and cistern

• retail-$300
• my price-$120

That leaves you with $180 for me to install it

I do understand that you'd like to do alot of the work yourself, but I think maybe you've underestimated the cost involved, that said- If you draw up a detailed drawing, and take good pictures of what you've done I'll let you know if your making any huge mistakes. Just don't go nut's if I tell you you need to rip it all out- considering you'll be getting my time for free.

Originally Posted by jedmanrocks

This is the age old dilemma of "how much ill save if i do it myself".

Gooner, u should of found a plumber/ bathroom renovator to do the whole job. It would have saved you time, money, and the big one, a whole heap of stress. I,ll do a quote for you....

Nah.. It's not primarily about saving money. It's about doing it myself. It is a project. Trust me, I have learnt many times over that most bigger DIY jobs end up costing just as much or more than calling someone in. Just a couple of months ago I decided to polish my own floorboards. It took 3 solid weeks and cost me just as much as calling someone in to do it.

However, am I happy I did it myself? Damn right. Do I (and my wife) give me a pat on the back every time I sit back and admire the result? Damn tooting.

The bathroom renovation is not a stress job. I can take my time about it. We are in no rush.

I have a 41 step plan on how to do it, and slowly I am getting through it. Cost to me? I estimate around $6000 easily. Maybe $7000. If it costs more, then so be it.

Quality of the job? Well I take my time and research a lot. If I spend 2 hours doing something, I have probably researched it for about 5 hours. If it doesn't turn out right I have no problem ripping it out and starting again. (I did this 4 times with the plumbing before I was happy with it

Originally Posted by bricks

Allot of times for a DIY'er to go out and buy what they need to do the job will cost them more than if I go out and buy it all and install it.

Part of the fun is going out and finding the shower we are happy with.. the tiles we want…. Finding the solution for how we lay it out and what kind of vanity we should get, etc etc.

In the end it will be yet another room I can walk into and feel proud I did it myself. I know the effort I put into it and will be confident that I did it right.

For a DIY type of forum, gee you guys can be killjoys