Watchdog last night, dolphin bathrooms

[Specialone]

Did anybody see watchdog last night about Dolphin bathrooms?
I couldnt believe my eyes, £18k for one bathroom and the work was shocking.
As i fit bathrooms amongst other things, i found the price and standards very poor.
I will stake my house on the materials came to no more than £5k and thats being generous, so £13k for labour and profit, no wonder their customers are peed off.
I could have done it for half that and still made a really good profit and i know 100% the customer would have been happy with it.
The other one they featured was £9k and it looked proper crappy stuff as well so that one was £2k of materials tops.

Im sure the other org plumbers / fitters that saw it was equally shocked.

[Mr Speirs]

I ain't a plumber and it was shocking to me.

[dizzyblonde]

many years ago, after my dad had worked in Saudi for a few years, he needed a job and had to work for Dolphin. In fact I think it was during the recession.
They haven't changed since he worked for them, he got so fed up with them that he used to tell the customers to go to a local fitter! He laughs now....''a grand for a set of taps'' ''feck that'' is his usual comments about them.

Peg works for a competitor, and was laughing his head off at the watchdog programme, and he wasn't surprised at all, rumour is that Dolphin are in financial trouble, well they certainly are going to have it more difficult after Watchdog!

[Specialone]

Even when i do a budget bathroom for somebody, i wouldnt leave them things they higlighted last night, terrible.
People think they are getting better products and fitting when they go to a smart shop and pay top money, how wrong they are.
Most bathroom shops have subbies do the work but claim they have their own fitters.

[tigersaw]

I'm quite staggered how much people pay for bathrooms and kitchens.
My house came with a new kitchen, the workmanship is complete ****e, I'm forever rehanging doors or correcting poor mitering. The new bathroom also looks very nice, but until water can drain uphill the bath will never be of much use.

[Specialone]

I'm quite staggered how much people pay for bathrooms and kitchens.
My house came with a new kitchen, the workmanship is complete ****e, I'm forever rehanging doors or correcting poor mitering. The new bathroom also looks very nice, but until water can drain uphill the bath will never be of much use.


But thats what makes a good fitter / builder, its not just whats on show, but the stuff you do behind walls and under floors that nobody sees.
I have seen exactly the thing you said with drainage pipes running the wrong direction so many times ive lost count ages ago.

[454697819]

its standard in suffolk for pipes to run up hill..

I work in the fit out industy in london and spend £10000's on expensive fittings, it does my head in when people pay over the odds for ****e.

Dolphin bathrooms and kitchens are one of the worst.

It irritates me when ppl blag on about thier expensive bespoke kitchen.. there is no such thing near as damnit..unless it comes from a cabinet maker...

I can order your bespoke kitchen that you paid 20k for from the catalogues in my cupboard at work...


grumble grumble..

[DarrenSV650S]

Did anybody see watchdog last night about Dolphin bathrooms?
I couldnt believe my eyes, £18k for one bathroom and the work was shocking.
As i fit bathrooms amongst other things, i found the price and standards very poor.
I will stake my house on the materials came to no more than £5k and thats being generous, so £13k for labour and profit, no wonder their customers are peed off.
I could have done it for half that and still made a really good profit and i know 100% the customer would have been happy with it.
The other one they featured was £9k and it looked proper crappy stuff as well so that one was £2k of materials tops.

Im sure the other org plumbers / fitters that saw it was equally shocked.

Do you not kind of think the people spending that sort of money are a bit thick? Either that or they have money to throw away, if they can spend £10k+ on a bathroom without even researching prices/getting quotes etc

[tigersaw]

I wonder how much (less) it would cost to get a decent chippie to build a kitchen, using wood, tools and skill, versus the 600mm flat pack crap that costs the earth.
Wideboy?

[454697819]

I wonder how much (less) it would cost to get a decent chippie to build a kitchen, using wood, tools and skill, versus the 600mm flat pack crap that costs the earth.
Wideboy?


depends..

true cost is much greater, however if you were to get a quote from us for bespoke and then one from dolphin, you would probably find ours was cheaper... because they mark it up buy 1000%

[Specialone]

I wonder how much (less) it would cost to get a decent chippie to build a kitchen, using wood, tools and skill, versus the 600mm flat pack crap that costs the earth.
Wideboy?

Im actually a chippie by trade, Gavs a joiner (glorified machinist :)), so he would be more suited to this type of work, i could do it but you would still have to buy the mdf or chipboard panels or use laminated real wood and without large machinery it wouldnt be cost effective, albeit one day i might do one.

I use howdens joinery for a lot of my kitchens which arrive with the carcasses glued together already, all i do is put the legs, hinges and doors on.
Howdens stuff is well made for the money and costs about the same (to me) or even cheaper than B&Q kitchens which you have to assemble yourself.

[Sir Trev]

I saw that programme and had to laugh. Having just put together a B&Q flatpack (Howdens are trade only so I can't get the stuff specialone can), carefully scribing it to the wall, making a simple open cabinet with dowels and laminate board to fill the odd-sized gap, levelling it, attach to wall with brackets, worktop on and screwed down, sealant round the edges, new kick board cut to size and scribed to the skirting... mine looks a whole lot better than theirs. And I'm just an accountant who doesn't mind having a go! I've just replaced all the old doors and cupboard fronts too - take your time and measure twice before cutting/drilling and most people could do their own with basic tools and common sense.

Of course I've only relocated/fitted base units, doors and handles. Wall units would make me consider a well recommended fitter - I know my limits.

I'd love to have a go at making my own bespoke kitchen one day from scratch, making my own cabinets and using some really nice wood. But as it takes me sooooooooo long to do the simple stuff I doubt my wife would let me...

[Viney]

My mate had a kitchen fitted my Moben, and its been refitted twice now. Chipped tiles, cupboards not having the correct amount of screws holding the doors on, cam bolts missing. Shocking to say the least, and as you say, not cheap. If you want a job doing, feck it up yourself :)

[Jabba]

IHowdens stuff is well made for the money and costs about the same (to me) or even cheaper than B&Q kitchens which you have to assemble yourself.

Mrs Jabba went to their Cardiff store this morning with a friend who's husband is "trade". Very nice she says...... oh dear. My wallet is lightening as I type :lol:

[Specialone]

If anybody wants a Howdens kitchen, let me know and I could do a supply only, I'd just call your local branch, get the plan done, tell you the price and you can pay them direct for it.

[dirtydog]

£18k to fit a bathroom! I think I need to put my prices up, the most I've charged for a bathroom is £2k and that included any pipe and fittings that o needed!

Might have a look to see if it's on iplayer later

[Specialone]

£18k to fit a bathroom! I think I need to put my prices up, the most I've charged for a bathroom is £2k and that included any pipe and fittings that o needed!

Might have a look to see if it's on iplayer later

That was everything Inc tiles and all sanitaryware etc, still about £12k too much.
In that £2k you charge, you tile it for that? I sub the tiling as my mate has a tiling firm with 7+ blokes working for him.

[dirtydog]

That was everything Inc tiles and all sanitaryware etc, still about £12k too much.
In that £2k you charge, you tile it for that? I sub the tiling as my mate has a tiling firm with 7+ blokes working for him.


Yeah I do the tiling myself, saves hanging around waiting for other people etc also put down new laminate flooring and painted the skirting boards, door frame and door

the bloke bought his own suite, towel rad, pump etc he even spent something like £350 on a bathroom cabinet

[jeannette]

Dolphin came to quote for me 3 years ago. I just can't think why people actually go with them. he arrived late and said he needed 2 hours (zoinks!) and I said he only had 1...
I got them in because I wasn't sure if the layout would work with slopey ceilings and a freestanding bath, thought that having a CAD design would be helpful.

So - have a reasonable size bathroom, currently a double shower, bath, loo and sink. But narrow.

After fiddling with the software, he came out with a quote of £30k (three zero - yes, OMG!) to put in a wet room floor, shower screen, loo, sink and tile. They also try and insist that you can only use items from their catalogue because everything is tested and against their guarantee. So when I said - "are you for real, I converted a garage, built another garage, opened the kitchen into 2 rooms and made good including a fitted office for half that..."
He said, "oh but that's before discount which makes it 15k."
I went online and priced the parts up for under 2k....

They are unreal - from 30k to 15k - not got the wit they were born with. Still need my bathroom done and I get grumpy every time I have to clean the thing with the nasty bad fitting shower and tiles <sigh>

Salesman talk, I'm sure, but he reckoned that most people spend of average 8k with them on a bog-standard (geddit - see what I did there) bathroom. I didn't see watchdog, but I hope lots of people did.

[Specialone]

Jeanette, if you were closer to me i would have done it for you and im sure it wouldnt be over £4-5k depending on tiles and sanitary ware chosen.

Dolphin are just like conservatory companies, they go in with a high price to see what they can get away with.

People must be fecking mad to pay that kind of money without at least getting another 2 shops / suppliers to quote as well.

The cheapest /most expensive aint always the best, get references if your unsure.

[jeannette]

Thanks :D (in actual fact DH wont release funds for this project - I just have to make him think it's his idea first!). But don't get me started on the conservatory....:D Zomg!

[timwilky]

Re kitchens, I rejected both Howden and Magnet kitchens as being poor quality. Even if I was getting them at trade. I went to a local supplier who gave me excellent service. My brother had refused to deal with them as they wouldn't give him discount. He could not understand why I went with them as they were no cheaper than the places he used.

You know what, one carcass was damaged, when I opened it up. A phone call and a replacement was on my doorstep 15 minutes later. when I unwrapped a 3m length of worktop, there was a chip in the front. Again replaced without a quibble, but I did have to wait until next day, as the truck was already out on a delivey

[Specialone]

Re kitchens, I rejected both Howden and Magnet kitchens as being poor quality. Even if I was getting them at trade. I went to a local supplier who gave me excellent service. My brother had refused to deal with them as they wouldn't give him discount. He could not understand why I went with them as they were no cheaper than the places he used.

You know what, one carcass was damaged, when I opened it up. A phone call and a replacement was on my doorstep 15 minutes later. when I unwrapped a 3m length of worktop, there was a chip in the front. Again replaced without a quibble, but I did have to wait until next day, as the truck was already out on a delivey
Well, i fitted a magnet kitchen for the first time 2 weeks ago, what a pile of ****e that was, the carcasses were 12mm bigger than the doors (???) so even with the doors adjusted right up you could still see 8mm of carcass and it looked horrible.
Wasnt impresses with the build of them either, its dowelled and screwed together, no glue, 1/8 back panel as opposed to howdens 3/8.
Apart from the next step up kitchens like avanti or other colour coded carcass stuff, howdens is good stuff.
I have fitted a lot of howdens kitchens and i havent been back to a single one of them (touches wooden surface).

If you dont wanna spend a lot of money, howdens are the best around imo.

[Bibio]

if you had mentioned Dolphin to my dad he just said 'arsewipe'.

[dirtydog]

Just watched it on iplayer, truly shocking especially for what they've charged for it!
I do a fair few low budget bathrooms for shared houses, the landlords never want to pay for decent stuff as it doesn't get looked after properly and even those have a better fit and finish than those Dolphin ones!

I'm always astounded how much some people charge for a bathroom/plumbing job and still get more work after it

I'm really starting to think I should be charging more lol

[dizzyblonde]

if you had mentioned Dolphin to my dad he just said 'arsewipe'.


Basically what my dad calls em, only slightly more polite;)

Howdens are regarded as cheapest of the cheap, low budget, not particularly good quality, lower than the likes of B&Q. Local authorities use them in their 'affordable houses'. I suppose it depends on the builder that puts the kitchen in, to wether a Howdens kitchen looks good

[Specialone]

With respect, anybody who rates Howdens kitchens below b&q ones have never fitted many b&q kitchens.

They are crap and you have to assemble them yourself.

Dont forget Howdens do a budget range which are really cheap, but their standard range ones are far better than b&q, wicked and the like.

Perhaps there is difference between areas??? But I can't fault the ones I use for the money, their delivery is the worst though, nightmare sometimes to get bits, especially if a new range .

[454697819]

With respect, anybody who rates Howdens kitchens below b&q ones have never fitted many b&q kitchens.

They are crap and you have to assemble them yourself.

Dont forget Howdens do a budget range which are really cheap, but their standard range ones are far better than b&q, wicked and the like.

Perhaps there is difference between areas??? But I can't fault the ones I use for the money, their delivery is the worst though, nightmare sometimes to get bits, especially if a new range .

just gonna say that,

Howdens and Magnet both do Budget ranges... and they are REALLY cheap.

they also sell very good quallity gear.

I ordered a £10k supply only kitchen from Hacker in germany 10 weeks ago, when fitted it looked no better than a good Howdens or magnet, the architect paid his money and took his choice.

When I fitted my house out as a doer upper I used Ikea kitchens. flatpack as cheap as you like, but I got the whole thing for £1500 half the price of magnet and howdens, it was evidently cheap but I could live with that given the price and how long I was going to be living there.

[Sosha]

Guess I'm really cheap.... went for the 33% off Wickes stuff. Would be tempted to nuild in my own carcasses if I ever do it again & just buy the doors.

[Specialone]

Che, it looks like howdens supplied the door into your kitchen as well.

The kitchen looks good mate, ive fitted that same range a few times.
Its a good example to people who doubt the quality of their stuff, their draw soft closures are all blum, so work really well.

BTW i hate fitting the corner basket thingys, they are a pain.

[jeannette]

Che, I think that's lovely - great new home :) I have no idea what my kitchen is! How do you know those things! :D

[speedplay]

Re kitchens, I rejected both Howden and Magnet kitchens as being poor quality.


Dont even look at an ikea kitchen then....:(

[Specialone]

Dont even look at an ikea kitchen then....:(

+1, I have only fitted 1 ikea kitchen, not a fan of them at all, do they still supply them with no service gap at the back ?
Look great in the store, not so great for the fitter :(

[CheGuevara]

Che, it looks like howdens supplied the door into your kitchen as well.

Yup it's also Howdens- we have a matching one on the other side of the entranceway/foyer leading into the lounge.

The kitchen looks good mate, ive fitted that same range a few times.
Its a good example to people who doubt the quality of their stuff, their draw soft closures are all blum, so work really well.

BTW i hate fitting the corner basket thingys, they are a pain.

Thanks - wish I could take the credit. Our builder told us the corner basket was quite difficult as it was the first one they'd fit. It's incredibly handy though, so I'm glad they made the effort.

[SV-net]

I purchased a Bathstore suite in a sale (they always have sales, bit like Carpet Right)! The stuff was ok, and I fitted myself. I did get their fitter to quote and he was about £5k and my bathroom was already stripped out!!! Its small just enough to get a bath, bog & basin. WTF?

[CheGuevara]

Che, I think that's lovely - great new home :) I have no idea what my kitchen is! How do you know those things! :D

Thanks - I only know as I had plenty of opportunity to speak to the builder as they were finishing the house. We chose the worktop (and backsplash) and he told us to check the Howdens site for selection. We had also discussed fitting a Belfast type sink, which he was happy to do, but we couldn't afford it in the end with needing a solid worktop to accomodate it (something for the future).

[speedplay]

+1, I have only fitted 1 ikea kitchen, not a fan of them at all, do they still supply them with no service gap at the back ?
Look great in the store, not so great for the fitter :(

They still come flat pack and still have no service voids.
Makes fitting a ball ache if the walls aren't plumb as you can't scribe the units!

I've fitted one and never again.
If it's an Ikea kitchen, I'm either really busy or really expensive!

[Specialone]

They still come flat pack and still have no service voids.
Makes fitting a ball ache if the walls aren't plumb as you can't scribe the units!

I've fitted one and never again.
If it's an Ikea kitchen, I'm either really busy or really expensive!


What i done IIRC was fit some 3x2 to the wall and screw the units to that, cos i needed the service gap.

Whoever designed these kitchens has never fitted one in the UK, ikea are weirdos anyway.

[Specialone]

I purchased a Bathstore suite in a sale (they always have sales, bit like Carpet Right)! The stuff was ok, and I fitted myself. I did get their fitter to quote and he was about £5k and my bathroom was already stripped out!!! Its small just enough to get a bath, bog & basin. WTF?

Im sure bathstores fitters are all subbies, excluding tiling, so just fitting the sanitaryware, i would charge around £700-£800.