Hello everyone,
I know my title is a bit ambiguous. I initially wanted to write “toilet cartel,” but that wouldn’t be nearly as funny.
We received a first quote for the sanitary fixtures, and I’m really taken aback. I carefully researched the prices for the items I want online beforehand. I can’t accept paying €980 (about $1,070) in this quote for a washbasin that I can buy online for €250 (about $270)! That’s over 300% more. Where do these prices come from, generally speaking? I understand that the manufacturer, the supplier, and finally the installer all want to make a profit… but is there no way to get these items cheaper, the ones the installer will install?
I just don’t understand why we’re supposed to pay an additional €7,700 (about $8,400) for a few things we want done differently. Our general contractor doesn’t care where we source the bathroom fixtures, so we’re not tied to this one supplier.
How did you handle this? Did you just accept the extra cost? Or did anyone dare to organize and have these things installed independently?
Thanks in advance for your advice!
I know my title is a bit ambiguous. I initially wanted to write “toilet cartel,” but that wouldn’t be nearly as funny.
We received a first quote for the sanitary fixtures, and I’m really taken aback. I carefully researched the prices for the items I want online beforehand. I can’t accept paying €980 (about $1,070) in this quote for a washbasin that I can buy online for €250 (about $270)! That’s over 300% more. Where do these prices come from, generally speaking? I understand that the manufacturer, the supplier, and finally the installer all want to make a profit… but is there no way to get these items cheaper, the ones the installer will install?
I just don’t understand why we’re supposed to pay an additional €7,700 (about $8,400) for a few things we want done differently. Our general contractor doesn’t care where we source the bathroom fixtures, so we’re not tied to this one supplier.
How did you handle this? Did you just accept the extra cost? Or did anyone dare to organize and have these things installed independently?
Thanks in advance for your advice!
Well, I just had to save money there, no shame in that. We also have these frames. At least we have glass….
Since we moved in, we have consistently made it a habit to clean after showering (one minute). I do it myself regularly after showering, even with serious injuries/surgeries. And when you clean the glass panels, you clean the tiles at the same time. I’m telling you: it looks like it was done yesterday, but both bathrooms have been in daily use for two years. That little effort pays off.
If you don’t do that, I think you can completely forget about these cheap shower enclosures after a short time, because they get totally stained and ruined. If you care about something like this, you either clean like we do or you buy more expensive materials like you did.
Well, the installation. I was there. Good thing professional installers handled it. Actually (careful with this word), it’s simple, but if you want everything to fit straight, neat, and tidy, three hours fly by quickly. And that’s before the silicone seals are done.
Best regards
Thorsten
P.S. If we had children or teenagers in the house who didn’t care about that, I would have designed the bathrooms differently.
Since we moved in, we have consistently made it a habit to clean after showering (one minute). I do it myself regularly after showering, even with serious injuries/surgeries. And when you clean the glass panels, you clean the tiles at the same time. I’m telling you: it looks like it was done yesterday, but both bathrooms have been in daily use for two years. That little effort pays off.
If you don’t do that, I think you can completely forget about these cheap shower enclosures after a short time, because they get totally stained and ruined. If you care about something like this, you either clean like we do or you buy more expensive materials like you did.
Well, the installation. I was there. Good thing professional installers handled it. Actually (careful with this word), it’s simple, but if you want everything to fit straight, neat, and tidy, three hours fly by quickly. And that’s before the silicone seals are done.
Best regards
Thorsten
P.S. If we had children or teenagers in the house who didn’t care about that, I would have designed the bathrooms differently.
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Bieber08155 Apr 2016 22:43Bautraum2015 schrieb:
Additional costs arise here only from: faucets, washbasins, toilets, door handles, shower doors/partitions. You can easily install shower walls later on. We chose a shower door after signing the contract. For this, we obtained a firm offer from the local sanitary trade (wholesale/retailer) for the door including delivery and installation. Then we got a second offer for the exact same model from the general contractor. The result: the general contractor’s price was just below the trade offer (now probably 9 out of 10 people would say: Both are overcharging us!). Anyway: Shower walls are a simple matter—get comparison offers and install later if you prefer.
Faucets can also be easily replaced later. All you need is the right tools (no special tools required, common wrenches are enough) plus some hemp fiber or Teflon tape (the latter is easier for non-professionals to use).
In my opinion, door handles only need to match the “substructure” and can otherwise be changed later as well.
Washbasins and toilets can also be swapped out reasonably easily, but that requires more effort and may involve sealing with silicone. This is advanced DIY (I’m serious—not rocket science, but not for beginners—and it takes up your entire Saturday: hardware store in the morning, bathroom work in the afternoon). Also, you then have the old items lying around unless you’re planning a bonfire party...
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alter00295 Apr 2016 23:43We are also building with a general contractor, but I took out the plumbing installation. A friend is handling that for me, as well as the heating, and I know he won’t overcharge me. If in doubt, I would look for a plumber on MyHammer, and if things go well, you might even arrange to buy the sanitary fixtures yourself.
After nearly getting overwhelmed by the bathroom selections and the provided quote, we drastically cut back on the options and ultimately stuck with the standard, only paying extra for the shower walls. I don’t expect the installation to be completely straightforward, as it needs to be both waterproof and perfectly aligned.
Regarding shower doors: About 4 years ago, we renovated the bathroom in our old apartment. There, we wanted to install a straight shower screen with a width of 120cm (47 inches). The price at the DIY store (not a specialist retailer) was around 800 euros and up. I then ordered one on Amazon for about 400 euros and installed it myself. The installation and quality were acceptable.
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