Questions people ask

Do you charge to come and look?

No. Quotes are free and there's no obligation.

Can you give me a rough price over the phone?

Every job is priced on its own, as every job is different. I'm not VAT registered, so there's no VAT to add.

For a small job, a photo or a good description is usually enough for me to give you a rough idea. For anything bigger I'll need to take a look first, as I won't know what's wrong until I've seen it.

How do I pay?

Cash or bank transfer, whichever suits you.

How does a quote for a bathroom work?

I'll come out, take a look at the room and go through what you'd like. Then I'll work out a price and send it over to you.

If you're happy to go ahead, I come back out to get the exact measurements before I order anything.

How a bigger job goes

Do I buy the bathroom suite, or do you?

Either. Plenty of people choose their own and buy it from a local merchant, and I price for the fitting. Or I can find it for you and include it in the quote.

If you're buying it yourself, local is better. If anything's wrong with what you've ordered, they'll sort it straight away. The big online shops can be a nightmare to get to sort anything out.

Tiles, or wall panels?

I do both. Most of the bathrooms in my photos have waterproof wall panels (cladding) instead of tiles, often on the ceiling too. I'll tell you what I'd put in your room when I come out to look.

What floor would you put down?

The best thing would be vinyl click flooring. It's water resistant and easy to clean, and I can fit it as part of the job.

Can you move things around?

Yes. I've moved a bath to the other side of the room and added a shower, and I've swapped plenty of baths for walk-in showers. Moving things means new pipework and waste, sometimes under the floor, so it's more work than a straight swap. I'll let you know what's involved when I look.

Can you make a bathroom in a room that isn't one?

Yes. The smallest one I've done was a coal shed. It needed a new insulated ceiling, the floor levelled, the walls panelled, a new window, a shower cubicle, a comfort-height toilet and an extractor fan. There's no central heating in that house, so I fitted a water heater under the basin. A massive amount of work but a complete transformation.

See it before and after

What about the electrics?

If the bathroom hasn't got an extractor fan, I'll core the wall for one, and that's included in my quote.

I'll arrange for an electrician to call and give you a price for the wiring, and that gets added to the total at the end.

How long does a bathroom take?

A bathroom can take from five days up to two weeks, depending on the work needed.

What if you find something else wrong once the old bathroom's out?

If I find a problem you couldn't see, I'll show you and explain what's wrong and what's needed to fix it. On bathrooms that often happens once the old suite is out.

Can you swap the bath for a shower that's easy to get into?

Yes, I've been doing them since 2018. I take out the bath and fit a walk-in shower with plenty of room, grab rails to help you in and out, and a shower you can't knock onto cold by accident.

Where the rails go depends on who's using it, so it's best I take a look with them there.

Accessible bathrooms

Can you fit a higher toilet?

Yes, a comfort-height toilet. It's a bit higher than a standard one, so it's easier to sit down and get up. I can find one for you and fit it.

Is it worth ringing you for one small job?

Yes. Half-hour jobs are most of my week. If you've got two or three, save them up and I'll do them all in one visit.

The usual small jobs

Will you fit an outside tap kit I've bought?

Not the kind that clamps onto the pipe and uses a piece of garden hose. I won't fit those, as they have too many problems later on. I run it properly in copper, with a valve inside so you can turn it off for the winter. If you've already got a proper tap, I'm happy to fit it.

Outside taps

I've had a go myself and made it worse. Will you still come?

Yes. Just tell me what's been done, so I know what I'm looking at.

Do you work on boilers?

Unfortunately I don't work on boilers, as I'm not Gas Safe registered. You'll need a gas engineer.

If your boiler keeps losing pressure though, it could be a leak somewhere on the system, and a leaking radiator, valve or pipe is something I can sort.

Can you fit a smart thermostat?

Unfortunately I don't. They're wired into the boiler, so you'll need a heating engineer.

Can you move a radiator, or add one?

Yes. I drain the heating down, run the new pipework (often under the floorboards) and fill it all back up. I'll give you a price once I've seen where the pipes run.

My radiator's coming away from the wall

I can sort that. If the brackets or fixings have gone I'll order new ones, and if the radiator has to come off, I drain the system and fill it back up afterwards.

One radiator stays cold. Is it broken?

Often it isn't. After any work on the heating it's quite often just an air lock. Give it a week or two, and if it's still cold, let me know.

Can you get hot water to a sink with no hot supply?

Yes, with a small electric water heater at the sink. I've fitted them in a garage, an outbuilding, and a new bathroom in a house with no central heating.

Water's coming through. What do I do first?

Turn the water off at the stopcock first. It's usually under the kitchen sink, and you turn it clockwise until it stops. If you can't find it or it won't turn, tell me when you ring.

If you smell gas, that's not a plumber's job. Ring the gas emergency line on 0800 111 999, open the doors and windows, and don't touch the light switches.

Once the water's off, most leaks can wait until the next weekday. Give me a ring then and I'll let you know when I can get to you.

Do you do emergency call-outs?

No, and I don't work weekends. If it can't wait until a weekday, you'll need an emergency plumber.

There's a damp patch on the ceiling under the bathroom

Give me a ring. It's often the seal around the shower or bath, sometimes a pipe or the toilet. It's best sorted early, before it damages the ceiling.

How long have you been going?

Since 2018.

Is it just you?

I work on my own, and get help on the bigger jobs.

Will I know when you're coming?

I usually text to say I'm on my way.

If something holds me up, I'll message you and we'll find another day.

What about the mess?

I bring dust sheets and floor protectors.

What if something's not right afterwards?

If there's any problem with the work afterwards, let me know and I'll come back out as soon as possible and sort it.

Where do you cover?

I cover Aberdare and the Cynon Valley, including Cwmbach, Aberaman, Abercwmboi, Cwmaman, Trecynon, Cwmdare, Hirwaun, Penywaun and Mountain Ash. Not sure if I cover you? Just ask.

Can I see what other people say?

Yes. My reviews are on Google, and my Facebook page has photos of jobs going back to 2018.

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