Toilet Renovation

Accomodation, House and Garden
1
HI Folks,

We are interested to renovate our toilets this year. and have checked with Hornbach for the materials and handworks.

It looks the materils are rather ok and affordable but the handwork is far more expensive (more than 30K for three toilets).

Do you have any insight or suggestions?

2
Do it yourself?

3
It is just taking away old toilets, putting in the new one and then re-tiling?

4
It is both, puting new and take the old

5
I guess it will never fly in here

You need certifikate.

6
Just toilets or whole bathrooms (bathtubs, sinks, tiles)?

7

What does that 30K include?

For a total renovation of three bathrooms, as in demolition, plumbing/pipes work, re-tiling, new fixtures, new furniture, lighting, electric work?

Or is it just replacing three toilet fixtures?

If the former, that’s a very good price. If the latter, outrageous.

So… if you could list what work is being done, we could probably advise you better.

While there are some things that require a certified plumber, there is lots you can do on your own. Just replacing the toilet fixture is one of those, FYI.

If you have a free-standing house you can likely do more yourself. It’s when your work could possibly impact others - as iconnecting to existing plumbing in a building of flats, that engaging a professional for some of the things you’d be tempted to DIY can be prudent.

Also, have you tried renovero? List the job, see what kind of offers you get.
https://www.renovero.ch/de/?kanal=se…SAAEgKLuvD_BwE

Or, Hornbach has a service to connect you to Handwerk companies when you purchase their products - sometimes you can get a better offer through that service.

Also, you should be getting a discount on materials if purchased through the Handwerker.

ETA:

Snap, LP.

8
You most likely don't......

9
I wouldn't buy toilets from a hardware store, too often they bulk buy and parts can be a problem. Reuters.de is the place online for bathroom supplies, I have been using them for years and their waiting times are usually reliable but I always call and check. I have a couple of plumbers who will install what I supply but they are a rarity.

10
I thought Reuters tended to specialise in financial news rather than sanitary hardware?

11
It's all gone to shit these days anyway.

12
If quality and price is a concern then going DIY is your best bet. You can buy the better quality Geberit system parts and there is no quality issue. I have bought those toilet kits for 100chf, they do work, but in Switzerland water leaks can be expensive. Best value (free) is a little used modern toilet from a property being demolished If you are updating to a wall mounted toilet for easy cleaning a quality Geberit wall mount kit from a DIY chain is the way to go.

13

I misread this as "sanity hardware"

Now, that's a product I could use.

14
When I moved, the toilets were old to say the least.

Over the last two years (an evening here and there in my free time), I've renovated two of the three toilets myself.

Tiles and ceramic items have come from Italy (on trips there to see family). Taps and whatnot, I got in Germany (ordered online, even things like Grohe are cheaper there). Pipes (steel) I got in Switzerland (as too long to bring back) and the plastic pipes from Germany again.

Tools I mostly had, only was missing the hydraulic pipe crimp used here - bought that secondhand in the UK (delivered here), and when not in use I put it on sharely. So far, it's already paid for itself.

The only issue I've had was finding an electrician and plumber to sign off on the work - the first I did through a friend (for free). The second, I had to pay 200chf for someone to come and comment that it was "neater than he had seen".

It's definitely feasible to diy it. I removed three layers of overlapping tiles...

15
There is not the difference there once was in prices between OBI or Bauhaus in Switzerland and Germany but in Germany the range of stock is much larger. If you go to Germany you can claim back VAT on purchases of up to 300chf per person, so the slightly cheaper price plus VAT refund makes a difference.

16
Or claim the whole VAT back of 20% in Germany and pay the Swiss equivalent of 7.7% on large orders

That's what I do for Leroy Merlin in France + the 10% discount for large orders and I am getting my toilets for over 20% off! Went with Jacob Delafon, as someone said, be careful of what you buy in the DIY stores - they have a lot of "crap" so make sure to read the comment sections on the products - arguably wall mounted toilet does not flush as well and is a pain to fix if there are any issues. Having done properties in the UK, I stay well clear of the wall mounted stuff, don't get me started on macerators, just don't. (Love a good toilet forum post for my long diatribes)

17
As mentioned by RTN though, buying from Reuter.de or Megabad.de will save you a fortune. Our Bauherr took a look at the items we ordered and told us that they would have cost double to buy them in Switzerland. This was when the Euro was 15% more expensive.

Only issue we had was that the plumber wasn‘t allowed by his guild to offer a warranty on the parts as he hadn‘t bought them. No problem installing them though.

We went to the Reuter store in Düsseldorf and made an appointment with someone who made sure everything was compatible with each other. There were some minor issues, but the customer service people picked it up and recommended alternative parts.

18
many thanks to all.

I will check the materials from Germany for sure, Italy might be a bit difficult for us who are living near Germany.

DIY it will be a bit harder, but I can also check with other handworker. Once I was Horbach a lot of worker and admins are over there, I suppose their overhead is relatively high -- meaning high price for almost everything especially the services.

19
DIY is OK if you are artistic: The real skill with toilets is artistic tiling. Just remember this to be a plumber: Sh1t doesn't float uphill, payday is Friday..