A customer sends three photographs of her bathroom and asks for a price. It is a small room and it seems like a straightforward question.
The price depends on whether the layout changes, what is under the floor, whether the walls will take the new tiling, what the existing pipework is, what specification she wants and whether anything unexpected appears at strip out.
She is quoted a range. She interprets that as evasiveness, and the firm that gives her a confident figure from the photographs wins the job and issues variations later.
The first question: is the layout changing
Replacing like for like in the same positions is a different project from moving anything. Moving a toilet in particular is a drainage problem rather than a plumbing one.
Why moving a toilet is the expensive change
Soil pipe routing needs a fall and is constrained by joists and structure. A new position can mean lifting floors, boxing, or in some cases a pumped solution.
What is behind the walls
Stud, masonry, dot and dab or tiles on tiles. This determines what the new tiling can be fixed to and whether preparation work is needed.
What is under the floor
Joist direction, condition, existing pipework and whether the floor will take the intended finish. Discovered at strip out and decisive for the programme.
The condition of the existing pipework
Age, material and whether it can be reused. Older systems frequently need more replacing than anybody hoped.
The specification range
Fittings, tiles, shower type and finishes span an enormous range. This is the part the customer controls and it moves the total more than most people expect.
The tiling area and complexity
Full height, part height, floor and any pattern. Tiling is a substantial share of a bathroom cost and it is priced by area and difficulty rather than by room.
The electrical element
Lighting, extraction, shaver points, underfloor heating and anything requiring a new circuit, which brings its own requirements and certification.
The ventilation requirement
Frequently inadequate in existing bathrooms and frequently a requirement in a refurbishment, which means a route and a fan rather than an afterthought.
The waterproofing
Tanking behind showers and wet areas, which is invisible once finished and which is where failures originate, which is the ground in bathroom project sequencing questions.
The making good and decorating
Ceilings, any adjacent rooms affected and final decoration. Frequently outside a quotation and always part of what the customer actually spends.
Give an indicative range with the variables named
Honest, useful and defensible. A range with the reasons stated is better service than a confident figure that becomes a series of variations.
Explain why the visit is in the customer's interest
A firm price that does not move, a realistic programme and no conversations about extras. Framed this way, customers request the visit rather than resisting it.
Capture what can be captured before the visit
An assistant that establishes whether the layout is changing, what the property is, what the customer wants, what the budget range is and what is currently there gives an indicative range immediately and takes a request for a survey worth making. The scoping detail sits in bathroom installation enquiries that need scoping, the same survey argument in survey and volume estimate questions, and the openness in ai receptionist pricing questions. See pricing, run the numbers on the chatbot ROI calculator, and the sector view sits under plumbers.