ᐅ Custom Bathroom Design Even When Using a Developer (and How to Save Money…)
Created on: 4 May 2016 08:15
G
Gatho
Good morning,
we are currently building a house through a developer. Yesterday, we visited the associated bathroom showroom to look at what is included. Standard sinks, showers, bathtubs, etc... nothing spectacular, but we were already aware of that. However, my wife has very clear ideas about how her dream bathroom should look. The house will have a total of three bathrooms (guest toilet, main bathroom, and a bathroom for future children in the attic). The main bathroom should be somewhat "special." For example, a countertop sink made of natural stone or marble with a nice wall-mounted vanity with a thick wooden countertop and matching fixtures, a bathtub that is a bit larger (with a middle drain), a rimless toilet, and a rain shower fixture. Of course, all of this comes with additional costs.
Especially for the vanity with the countertop sink and stylish fixtures, we were quite shocked – approximately (we don’t know the exact price yet because the developer might add another 10-30%) a 5,000 EUR (about $5,400) surcharge just for that. The other mentioned items are similarly expensive.
We would like to ask for your opinion and experience on this... We are now considering whether to purchase our desired bathroom components individually. For example, from Megabad or other retailers, and then install these items ourselves or have a friend do the installation. Do you see this as problematic, or is "DIY installation" a good option? One example that caught my attention: a rimless toilet cost about 500 EUR (about $540) at the showroom. At Megabad, the same brand (Villeroy & Boch) is available starting at 110 EUR (about $120)!
We understand that the developer offers a five-year warranty on the entire bathroom installation – and apparently charges a premium for this. But is that really necessary? Wouldn’t it be sufficient if the developer installs the bathroom up to the connections, and we have the rest installed ourselves?
Best regards & thanks!
Gatho
we are currently building a house through a developer. Yesterday, we visited the associated bathroom showroom to look at what is included. Standard sinks, showers, bathtubs, etc... nothing spectacular, but we were already aware of that. However, my wife has very clear ideas about how her dream bathroom should look. The house will have a total of three bathrooms (guest toilet, main bathroom, and a bathroom for future children in the attic). The main bathroom should be somewhat "special." For example, a countertop sink made of natural stone or marble with a nice wall-mounted vanity with a thick wooden countertop and matching fixtures, a bathtub that is a bit larger (with a middle drain), a rimless toilet, and a rain shower fixture. Of course, all of this comes with additional costs.
Especially for the vanity with the countertop sink and stylish fixtures, we were quite shocked – approximately (we don’t know the exact price yet because the developer might add another 10-30%) a 5,000 EUR (about $5,400) surcharge just for that. The other mentioned items are similarly expensive.
We would like to ask for your opinion and experience on this... We are now considering whether to purchase our desired bathroom components individually. For example, from Megabad or other retailers, and then install these items ourselves or have a friend do the installation. Do you see this as problematic, or is "DIY installation" a good option? One example that caught my attention: a rimless toilet cost about 500 EUR (about $540) at the showroom. At Megabad, the same brand (Villeroy & Boch) is available starting at 110 EUR (about $120)!
We understand that the developer offers a five-year warranty on the entire bathroom installation – and apparently charges a premium for this. But is that really necessary? Wouldn’t it be sufficient if the developer installs the bathroom up to the connections, and we have the rest installed ourselves?
Best regards & thanks!
Gatho
Good morning,
thank you very much for your feedback!
I would like to try to clarify things a bit more. Both the floor and wall tiles will be installed by the builder, which is fine.
The quoted 5,000 EUR surcharge was ONLY for the vanity cabinet + "special" countertop washbasins (2x) + different faucets (2x). The selection at the bathroom showroom was also quite limited – at least in our opinion. The price was too high for us, so we considered just organizing the cabinet for the countertop basins ourselves. However, we quickly realized online that the countertop basins and attractive faucets are available much cheaper – significantly under 5,000 EUR! That’s why we are thinking about handling everything around the washbasins (cabinet, faucets, basins) ourselves.
As we looked into this further, the idea developed. "Why don’t we also get the toilet and bathtub ourselves?" With the bathtub, you can save around 600 EUR. With the toilet, about 300 EUR. Less than with the washbasins and accessories, but still worth it. The shower faucet with rain showerhead is also available online for much less (250–400 EUR) compared to 1,100 EUR at the bathroom showroom.
I’m still a bit unsure about the bathtub – maybe it’s better to have the builder handle that directly? I’m also not 100% certain whether it will receive tiling on the side; if so, it would be better to have it installed professionally.
But the vanity cabinet, countertop washbasins, faucets for the vanity, toilet, and shower faucet should be manageable to do ourselves, right? It shouldn’t be rocket science – what do you think? How would it work with the toilet, especially regarding the concealed cistern in the wall? Does any toilet model fit any in-wall cistern?
Best regards & thanks!
Gatho
thank you very much for your feedback!
I would like to try to clarify things a bit more. Both the floor and wall tiles will be installed by the builder, which is fine.
The quoted 5,000 EUR surcharge was ONLY for the vanity cabinet + "special" countertop washbasins (2x) + different faucets (2x). The selection at the bathroom showroom was also quite limited – at least in our opinion. The price was too high for us, so we considered just organizing the cabinet for the countertop basins ourselves. However, we quickly realized online that the countertop basins and attractive faucets are available much cheaper – significantly under 5,000 EUR! That’s why we are thinking about handling everything around the washbasins (cabinet, faucets, basins) ourselves.
As we looked into this further, the idea developed. "Why don’t we also get the toilet and bathtub ourselves?" With the bathtub, you can save around 600 EUR. With the toilet, about 300 EUR. Less than with the washbasins and accessories, but still worth it. The shower faucet with rain showerhead is also available online for much less (250–400 EUR) compared to 1,100 EUR at the bathroom showroom.
I’m still a bit unsure about the bathtub – maybe it’s better to have the builder handle that directly? I’m also not 100% certain whether it will receive tiling on the side; if so, it would be better to have it installed professionally.
But the vanity cabinet, countertop washbasins, faucets for the vanity, toilet, and shower faucet should be manageable to do ourselves, right? It shouldn’t be rocket science – what do you think? How would it work with the toilet, especially regarding the concealed cistern in the wall? Does any toilet model fit any in-wall cistern?
Best regards & thanks!
Gatho
Gatho schrieb:
You can easily save 600 EUR on the bathtub. 300 EUR on the toilet. Significantly less than on the sinks and accessories, but still something. You can also get the shower fixture with rain shower head online for much less (250–400 EUR) instead of 1,100 EUR from the bathroom showroom.No, you don’t. Online prices do not include all the necessary fittings and adapters, nor installation and warranty. Someone who just googles a few prices online tends to forget that quite quickly.
F
fach1werk12 May 2016 08:27It’s worth giving the bathroom careful thought. It has the longest lifespan of any room, even more so than the kitchen.
With a stylish walk-in shower, you might want to have as many elements as possible installed flush in the wall. Hard to replace later. We also selected the same budget for our bathroom, and I wasn’t entirely happy with all the choices. But swapping out a different basin is not rocket science. We have a low-cost included fixture that will just serve as a placeholder until we find a favorite piece.
For us, and perhaps for you as well, there is also the option to contact the contracting company carrying out the work to get a cost estimate for any desired upgrades and possibly have them installed additionally. They’re happy to do this since they’re already on site and usually better compensated. This also means you don’t have to coordinate the timing yourself. I’ve already had to reschedule the trades we removed three times—who knows how much longer they’ll tolerate that.
Enjoy designing your bathroom,
Gabriele
With a stylish walk-in shower, you might want to have as many elements as possible installed flush in the wall. Hard to replace later. We also selected the same budget for our bathroom, and I wasn’t entirely happy with all the choices. But swapping out a different basin is not rocket science. We have a low-cost included fixture that will just serve as a placeholder until we find a favorite piece.
For us, and perhaps for you as well, there is also the option to contact the contracting company carrying out the work to get a cost estimate for any desired upgrades and possibly have them installed additionally. They’re happy to do this since they’re already on site and usually better compensated. This also means you don’t have to coordinate the timing yourself. I’ve already had to reschedule the trades we removed three times—who knows how much longer they’ll tolerate that.
Enjoy designing your bathroom,
Gabriele
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