Bathroom fitting…when to comment?!

Giblets46 · 16 Aug 2022

Hi, just getting a bathroom fitted and apparently the guy will finish tomorrow, but had a quick look round and a few issues making me a little concerned. And don’t want to jump to conclusions as I know many things are sorted when they get tweaked at the end, but:
*there is a cut in one of the panels, it’s between two units, not sure how it would be sorted (presume the panel is reversible so not sure why that wasn’t done to hide it)
*bottom of one of the doors looks like the edge has been damaged somehow (if it was like that out of the box surely he should have told me, along with the cut in the laminate I now have concerns!)
*the end of the Plinth, the cut has made a dogs breakfast of the edge, assume caulking would cover that, but it’s quite a big gap and not a lot of play to being the gap together !
*the units seem to have been fixed on the wall quite high (he has sealed the worktop to the wall already), the toilet unit has a large gap under, the plinth has the large gap on the top (under the units). Hoping he will adjust the units tomorrow. He did install the units before the laminate (karndean) floor was down.

Should I be bringing (some/ all) these things up now, or wait til he has finished?! Unfortunately I am in the office most days so won’t get the chat with him (and the missus doesn’t was to challenge him (though he is no way threatening or anything!))

^woody^ · 16 Aug 2022

Don't be shy. Tell him tomorrow as soon as he gets there. Obviously, the better you frame your words the more receptive he should be.

But all those things are genuine issues and should be corrected.

Bod ... · 16 Aug 2022

Some of those cuts look as if I did them. I fit bathrooms but I do what I'm good at and get different trades in to do what I'm not good at.

Start by making him a cup of tea and a sandwich, instead of bacon fill with chum and then he will understand what a dogs dinner is .

Giblets46 · 16 Aug 2022

Thanks for the advice, unfortunately I’ll be away at work by the time he gets to mine.

Justin Passing · 17 Aug 2022

Askt him to ring you at work asap. Then he knows there's an issue asap.....

freddiemercurystwin · 17 Aug 2022

Phone in sick, you're work will still be there tomorrow for you to do, your bathroom fitter won't be. They should have all been addressed the moment you saw them, scuffed/split panel's need replacing and cut ends need to be square and sealed. And on that 4th pic (apart from where he's miss drilled a screw or something and burst the laminate, why is that bit of exposed carcass (or whatever it is) showing through? All of those panels are going to fail after they get wet.

Dork Lard · 17 Aug 2022

Once caught a kitchen fitter making good his shoddy cuts using a wax crayon the same colour as the laminate.

Made him put everything right, but I now use the same technique quite a lot

opps · 17 Aug 2022

He does seem to be fond of white silicone, It looks like he has used everywhere that a panel meets the cupboard carcases.

The panel with the split in it- has that still got the clear plastic coating on it?

diy_fun_uk · 17 Aug 2022

He's probably not a bathroom fitter ... he's someone who's fitting bathrooms.

conny · 17 Aug 2022

Have to admit, for a qualified fitter, it looks quite shoddy. The cupboard door is definitely a replacement, however, if it was damaged on arrival he should not have fitted it. As he has now fitted it the supply company, quite rightly, will refuse all responsibility and say something like, "It's been dragged across the ground to cause that damage." You, nor the fitter, cannot prove it wasn't.
The plinth should have been scored across with a sharp knife to prevent the chipping when sawing it to length.
The 'infill' panel in the second photo should have been fitted closer to the front to hide the carcass edge and the split panel in the last photo needs replacing as turning it around or upside down will not hide the damage.
If you haven't paid him yet, (and I hope you haven't), tell him you will be retaining a percentage until it is rectified and you are fully satisfied with the installation. If it's a big company write to them complaining and include photographs of ALL the things you are not happy with. If he is a one-man company then you will have to deal with him direct but get everything down in writing.

diy_fun_uk · 17 Aug 2022

conny said:
Have to admit, for a qualified fitter, it looks quite shoddy. The cupboard door is definitely a replacement, however, if it was damaged on arrival he should not have fitted it. As he has now fitted it the supply company, quite rightly, will refuse all responsibility and say something like, "It's been dragged across the ground to cause that damage." You, nor the fitter, cannot prove it wasn't.
The plinth should have been scored across with a sharp knife to prevent the chipping when sawing it to length.
The 'infill' panel in the second photo should have been fitted closer to the front to hide the carcass edge and the split panel in the last photo needs replacing as turning it around or upside down will not hide the damage.
If you haven't paid him yet, (and I hope you haven't), tell him you will be retaining a percentage until it is rectified and you are fully satisfied with the installation. If it's a big company write to them complaining and include photographs of ALL the things you are not happy with. If he is a one-man company then you will have to deal with him direct but get everything down in writing.

Who said he's qualified

Giblets46 · 21 Aug 2022

So he has apparently finished, and a number of things I expected him to sort appear to have been left…. Really not sure inviting him back to resolve is the best solution now.
*top of tiling on wall above the bath. Big gap… left open… needs filling as a minimum, but surely he should have adjust the gaps between all tiles to ensure there was no gap at the top.
*work top. Is this a dangerous above the bath? I raised this and he said some people like the extra surface. (Also note tiles at the eaves, small gap). I reckon he just didn’t have the tools to cut it.
*other end of the work top.to cover the saw tooth mark, he’s moved the panel behind the toilet over leaving a large gap on the left.
That gap between the units (best way to fix this?! Thicker panel on top?! Not sure why he chose that size for the gap, I thought it was to make the sink central to the window but it’s a good inch off centre
*poor finish for grouting by the door.

Giblets46 · 21 Aug 2022

Also just spotted the tiling…. The tiles are the same size….

opps · 21 Aug 2022

Giblets46 said:
Also just spotted the tiling…. The tiles are the same size….

Assuming that he used the same tile spacers, surely the tiles are not all the same size? that said, yeah he could have used wider spacers.

opps · 21 Aug 2022

The overhang at the edge of the basin- is it supported?

Bathroom fitting…when to comment?!

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