A survey conducted by Toolstation with homeowners and trade professionals has gathered insights into common mistakes made during bathroom renovations. The most frequent errors include installing poor drainage systems (52%), using cheap materials (50%), and not sealing amenities correctly (48%). Additionally, 95% of experts advise against homeowners handling the electrics themselves, but 10% of homeowners would still attempt it.
The bathroom is one of the most important and regularly used rooms in the home, so any renovation work can seem disruptive and time-consuming. Whether it’s an update to the amenities to make sure everything is in working order, or a spruce up with the style to keep up with the latest trends, at some point homeowners will need to have a bathroom refurb.
To help homeowners with their bathroom renovations, Toolstation spoke to trade experts to gather an insight into their previous experiences and their top tips for updating the bathroom. Toolstation also surveyed 2000 UK homeowners to uncover how they manage a bathroom refurb, and how much of the work they would do themselves.
With so many factors to consider in a bathroom renovation, it’s easy for mistakes to be made.
The most common mistakes experts see are:
• Installing poor drainage systems (52%)
• Opting for cheap materials or amenities (50%)
• Not sealing the amenities correctly (48%)
• Not consulting experts (44%)
• Not Planning the layout properly (42%)
• Not installing a sufficient extractor fan (40%)
• Using unsuitable materials (39%)
• Incorrect electrical installation (25%)
• Little space between amenities (21%)
• Not enough or too much lighting (19%)
Cara Yates, bathroom category manager at Toolstation, says: “With the bathroom being one of the most used and important rooms in the home, we know how critical it is for a bathroom refurbishment to go smoothly and quickly. We hope these insights from trade professionals and other homeowners will help anyone that is planning to renovate their bathroom.”
Interestingly, homeowners expect to renovate their bathroom every six years on average, which is more regularly than the trades advise. More than half of trade professionals (52%) say a bathroom should be renovated every nine-to-ten years, and more than a quarter (27%) say 11 years or more.
The expiration date of your bathroom does depend on a range of factors, such as the materials used, as one expert says, “A good bathroom installation should be good for 20 years – taps and valves will [however] need more regular replacement”.
On average, the trade experts say it will take a professional eight-and-a-half days to complete a full bathroom renovation, but if a homeowner wants to do this themselves, they say this could take 22-and-a-half days. That’s nearly three times as long as calling out a specialist.
To help with planning what facilities to use in the meantime, Toolstation asked experts to outline how long each task takes a professional to complete. The majority (75%) agree it takes under three hours to plumb in a toilet and sink, and to wire in ceiling lights and wall lights.
| 0-3 Hours | 4-6 Hours | 10-12 Hours |
| Plumbing in a toilet
Plumbing in a sink Wiring in ceiling lights Wiring in wall lights Laying linoleum flooring Installing a shower tray Plumbing in a shower |
Installing a bathtub
Plastering the walls Stripping out the old amenities Laying tiled flooring |
Tiling the walls |
Likewise, more than two thirds (67%) say it takes under three hours to lay the linoleum floor, and more than half (54%) advise that plumbing a shower can take the same amount of time. However, installing a bathtub is said to take longer, around 4-6 hours to be installed. Tiling the walls is the job that takes the longest time to complete during the whole bathroom renovation.
Which jobs should be handled by a professional?
| Bathroom DIY job | Experts think it should be left to a professional |
| Wiring in lights | 95% |
| Installing an extractor fan | 82% |
| Installing a shower | 75% |
| Installing new pipes | 75% |
| Installing a heated towel rail | 71% |
| Installing a new radiator | 63% |
| Installing a bathtub | 61% |
| Adjusting previous pipes | 59% |
| Installing a toilet | 57% |
| Tiling the walls | 50% |
| Installing a sink | 48% |
| Changing taps | 34% |
| Stripping out the old amenities | 21% |
More information can be found here: https://www.toolstation.com/campaigns/surviving-your-bathroom-refurb
