My First Solo Bathroom Estimation

Today marked a big step for me: my first solo bathroom estimation, based in Caversham, Reading. I was the first on site, responsible for assessing the scope of work and identifying which additional trades we’d need to bring in. In the end, we required a tiler, a plasterer, and an electrician — the latter being someone my dad has worked with before and who came recommended by the customer.

There were quite a few unexpected challenges along the way. For instance, I initially thought the raised toilet was designed for elderly comfort. After discussing it with the customer, we agreed it would look neater without a standard toilet on a step, and decided to install a comfort-height toilet directly on the floor. But after removing the step, I realised we couldn’t get a new pan connector to fit — definitely something I’ll watch out for in the future.

Another issue was the lack of space under the shower tray to run pipes. The bath also sat very low, so we had to dig into the concrete floor to accommodate the shallow P-trap. On top of that, the existing waste pipe had been concreted in, and the customer hadn’t ordered a bath panel, meaning we had to use a standard adjustable one.

There were several similar hiccups — for example, the rainfall shower and the vanity unit didn’t allow enough clearance for the 1½-inch waste and the 22mm hot and cold supplies. Although the job ended up taking longer than expected (something I hear all the time), my dad always says: “It’s only a problem if you can’t get out of it.”

I’ve updated my spreadsheet with all these lessons, so next time I’ll have a sharper checklist and be better prepared.

Onwards and upwards.

~ Patrick