House Overhaul

[WKayani]

All

Recently found this forum and glad I did...its brilliant, lots of great tips and some excellent advice. However, I need a little help.... We have recently moved into a house in Ashford, Middx and want to completely renovate. Unfortunateyl, I just dont have the time to start DIY projects and if I do, I never finish them !!

We basically need the following doing:
1)A new Gas Boiler (Conventional system to Combi - remove all old tanks, boilers and in with new Combi etc (3bed semi with 1 bath and 1 shower room).
2)A new Bathroom (completely rip out old and in with a new)
3)A new Kitchen (completely rip out old and in with a new)
4)Laminate flooring hallway and family room.
5)Split garage into 2 creating a small study area. Board, insulate and light.

The question : would it be better and cheaper if I approached a single company to do all or should split, i.e B&Q for bathroom and Kitchen, A local Gas company for Boiler, etc. Not sure what B&Q charge to fit kitchens/bathrooms these days but surely they would be more expensive from finding someone myself ? Or am I wrong ?

Any advice would be appreceiated.
Happy New Year Guys.

Waz

 

[breezer]

my opinion, i would get lots of quotes from different companies for each "project" as most big companies will sub contract it out anyway.

the only advantage of one comapny is you only have one person to moan at

 

[AdamW]

When B&Q fit kitchens and bathrooms, as far as I know they subcontract local fitters in. I have heard fitters on these forums who have grudges against such large companies as apparently they aren't good at paying in a timely fashion!

Plus there is the issue that they will send whichever contractor is available; you might get a good one, you might get a bad one. If you get in your own fitters then you can choose them after looking at their portfolios or even speaking to past customers. As with any job you will get fitters who just bang a kitchen in as quickly as they can to get the money, and you will get fitters who lay awake at night worrying if your worktop will be 0.5mm higher at one end.

Asking friends within a few mile's radius who have had work done can reveal good tradesmen and bad tradesmen.

Something I might suggest, if you have more than 2 people living there then you might want to reconsider the combi idea. They are great in theory but they can be a bad idea if you have more than a couple of people. Plus my few experiences of combi-fed showers have been disappointing (lack of pressure, takes a while before you get hot water coming through)... I am sure that many people will disagree with me, but I bet just as many will agree!

If you are going for a full-renovation, perhaps you should investigate other routes that will be able to give you a skin-bruisingly powerful shower. If you are going for a posh panel-shower then a combi is unsuitable as it can't provide enough flow for the bodyjets AND the handset. If you haven't guessed, I am a man who takes showers seriously

As an aside, I took my driving test in Ashford, was the nearest test centre to the family homestead in Upper Halliford.

 

[WKayani]

Thanks for the info so far.

On the combi front..there are 4 of us (2 Adults and 2 kids). Combi appealed because of the lack of tanks, etc and not having to warm a cylinder full of water when I dont need it all.

On a side, what are better built kitchens...MFI or B&Q? MOBEN rang me and want to come around but I have a feeling, that could be expensive !!!

 

[breezer]

MOBEN rang me and want to come around but I have a feeling, that could be expensive !!!

why not let thenm then you can use it for a "dipstick" price.

We have an MFI kitchen, we had to go to them

 

[Johndug]

You're right! it would be likely to be expensive. In my opinion, MFI kitchens are better than B&Q. Probably B&Q get fewer complaints than MFI, but purely from a fitting point of view. Over the years, I've fitted several MFI kits for myself and daughters. I would suggest you draw up your own plan, select the style and price range you like, order it during sale time, then get a local fitter from local recomendation. I agree with others - I prefer a conventional boiler.

 

[DAZB]

Lately we have started to fit Combi Boiler systems for the Central Heating and Bathrooms but also fit Electric showers to avoid putting more pressure on the system but that is mainly because we are usually fitting out 4 and 5 bed rental properties where the demand is likely to be high.
As for kitchen's , I always use Howdens who I think are owned by MFI and they have a good range of styles and will come and visit and do a full planning service for you. Like the previous post advised you would be better to get a few quotes covering the whole job and the individual jobs too and it is a good idea to have someone who has been recommended to you from a happy customer so if anyone you know has had similar work done lately ask them for their details.