How Much Does It Cost To Fit Bathroom Fittings?

Job Costs

job	Description	labour
	You are buying the actual fittings!
1	If it’s just one shelf or a loo roll holder you want fixing	£50
2	If you want 2 things fixing.	£75
3	If you want mirror, shelf, soap dish, loo roll holder etc etc…that’s half a day’s labour etc	£95

Bathroom Fittings…Loo Roll Holders, Soap Dishes, Towel Rails etc.

I’ve said this before and (you’ve guessed it), I’m going to say it again. I don’t think I’ve ever fixed anything to a bathroom wall using the screws or wall plugs that came with the blessed thing.

They might work for fixing the odd (small) feather to a wall but a towel rail?

Now, substituting longer, meatier screws isn’t a problem, unless the screw heads are designed to be visible. That usually means chromed and domed headed, or some sort of trendy zinc coloured nonsense. Your builder bless him, won’t have any of these and if he does, they will only be the last set of useless screws he was supplied with (which for some ridiculous reason, he decided to keep, in case they ever “came in handy”) and I’ll be blowed, they’re still too short!

You may have to get used to an “ugly screw substitute”!

Now another problem he will have is finding a bit of wall that isn’t made of porridge and has no hidden pipes and cables in it. Unfortunately, you want your mirror right there above the basin, so he’s committed to drilling his holes in just one place and what if the wall is plaster boarded? There are reasonably well-designed fittings for plasterboard “stud” walls but they come with their own screws and these are not exactly pretty.

Then of course there’s the tiling to drill through. Even if he isn’t drilling close to a tile’s edge (fatal), even if he does it every day (lunacy), he will wish he’d become a bomb disposal chappie instead (doddle). Tiles break when being drilled and you didn’t keep any spares did you?

I guarantee that if he has to fix three or more fittings, there will be a problem.

He knows this, that’s why he is going to charge so much. But then you can always do it yourself (ha ha) and at this point you must indulge my delight in (mis) quoting lines from films…..
(I can see old Clint now).
”Do ya feel lucky…….. Well do ya…… punk”?

FAQs 'traffic light' guide

What's easy about this job…
Open or Close

If all goes, well, it's just a couple of screws and job done!

What's tricky about this job…
Open or Close

Drilling into glazed tiles isn't always easy. Make sure any silicone BELOW the drill point is covered with masking tape. Red brick dust WILL discolour your silicone.

Potential problems with regards to this job…
Open or Close

If the tiles are incorrectly bedded, the tile being drilled could crack. This obviously will need replacing. Do you have a spare? It may not be easy to get a replacement that matches.