Should a Bathroom Fitter Manage the Other Trades?

For bathroom installers

If you have agreed to deliver the complete bathroom, then in most cases I think somebody needs to take ownership of coordinating all the different people involved.

That does not mean you personally need to be the plumber, electrician, tiler, plasterer and decorator. In fact, pretending you can competently do every specialist trade yourself is not something I would recommend.

What it means is that if the customer has employed you to take the bathroom from strip-out through to completion, somebody needs to understand the overall job, the sequence and how every trade fits into it. Quite often, that person is you.

A bathroom is one project, even when several people work on it

The customer sees one bathroom. Behind that finished room, there may have been a plumber, electrician, tiler, plasterer, joiner, decorator, shower-screen installer and perhaps other specialists.

Each person might only see their own part of the project, with the plumber concentrating on the plumbing, the electrician on the electrics and the tiler on the tiling.

Someone still needs to be looking at the bathroom as a whole. Coordination becomes critical as plumbing, electrics, wall preparation, first fix and finishes start to depend on one another. If nobody owns that overall picture, it is very easy for one perfectly reasonable decision by one trade to create a problem for the next.

Nobody cares about your project quite as much as you do

This is something I learned over years of running installation businesses. Good subcontractors are incredibly valuable. I have worked with people I trusted completely and would happily use again and again.

But it is still important to remember that your bathroom is one of a number of jobs they may be involved with. For you, it is your customer, your quotation and your reputation. And if something goes wrong, there is a very good chance your phone is the one that rings.

That doesn't mean hovering over good tradespeople or trying to tell them how to do their job. It means staying interested in the project, knowing what has happened and checking that one stage is ready for the next. You are making sure the finished job is heading in the direction you promised the customer.

Project management has value

This is something installers can be guilty of giving away. If you are arranging the electrician, booking the tiler, coordinating the plumber, changing the programme when something moves and dealing with the customer throughout, that is work. It takes time and organisation, and it carries responsibility.

The customer could choose to employ all those people individually and coordinate them themselves. If instead they employ you to take care of it, project management is part of what they are buying. Don't treat it as free simply because you aren't holding a tool while you're doing it.

Use the right people, not simply the cheapest people

Good subcontractors are worth a lot. A good tradesperson or subcontractor isn't cheap, but what is the actual cost of one who isn't?

The lowest-priced tiler isn't cheap if you have to spend three days sorting their work. The cheapest plumber isn't cheap if you have a leak after handover. A poor electrician can create far more serious problems.

That does not mean paying whatever somebody asks. It means judging subcontractors on their ability, reliability, communication, professionalism and the quality of the work they leave behind, not simply their invoice.

Build a network before you desperately need one

This is one of the big differences between simply being able to fit a bathroom and building a resilient installation business. If you only have one plumber, one electrician and one tiler you can call, sooner or later one of them will be unavailable when you need them.

People become ill, their own jobs overrun and family things happen. They go on holiday too.

Good installation businesses gradually build networks. That does not mean constantly changing subcontractors. Quite the opposite. If you have people you work well with, look after those relationships. But having more than one trusted person you can call can make a huge difference when a bathroom is stripped out and the next trade suddenly can't attend.

Your customer does not particularly care that your usual tiler has another job running late. They care that their bathroom currently doesn't work.

Give subcontractors enough information

You cannot expect somebody to arrive and fit smoothly into a project they know nothing about. Give them proper notice. Give them the address, dates, scope of work, what materials are being supplied, what stage the room should be at when they arrive and what needs to be completed before the next trade comes in.

Give subcontractors the project information well in advance so they can plan their own business as well as support yours. Communication cuts both ways. A good subcontractor is running their own business too. Make it easier for them to do a good job for you.

Don't programme people on top of each other

Bathrooms are normally small rooms. There can be a temptation to think that having more people there will automatically make the job go quicker. Often it does the opposite. A plumber, electrician and tiler trying to work in the same small bathroom can simply get in each other's way. There are also stages where one person's work needs to be finished before the next person can reasonably start.

Good project management is not about cramming as many trades as possible into the programme. It is about getting the right person there at the right time.

Make responsibilities clear

If several trades are involved, make sure everybody understands what they are responsible for.

• Who prepares the wall before waterproofing?
• Who actually applies the waterproofing?
• Who installs the tray?
• Who seals around it?
• Who supplies a particular material?
• Who tests what?

Many disputes start in the gap between two people who each thought the other one was doing something. A simple written scope with your subcontractor can remove a lot of that uncertainty. It does not have to be a 40-page contract for every small job. But scope, timing, payment, standards and responsibility should not exist only in everybody's memory.

Guarantees between you and your subcontractors matter too

It is worth thinking about guarantees between your business and your subcontractors too. If a subcontractor carries out part of a bathroom and there is a problem later, understand what responsibility sits between their business and yours.

Do you have a written agreement? What workmanship guarantee are they giving you? What happens if remedial work is required? Are they appropriately insured for what they are doing?

Public liability insurance is not generally a blanket legal requirement for every self-employed trade in the UK, but government business guidance says businesses working with the public should consider it because it covers claims for injury or property damage arising from business activities. Depending on the work and circumstances, other insurance and regulatory requirements can apply.

The point is not to collect paperwork for the sake of it. The point is to know who you are putting into your customer's home and what happens if something goes wrong.

Specialist work needs specialist competence

Being the main contractor does not mean doing everything yourself. Bathrooms can contain electrical work, plumbing, drainage, ventilation and sometimes structural or other specialist work. Use competent people for the work being undertaken.

Electrical work around bathrooms is a particular example. In England, electrical work around baths and showers can fall within Building Regulations requirements, and competent-person schemes provide a route for registered installers to self-certify appropriate work. Rules differ across the UK, so check what applies to the location and work rather than assuming every bathroom follows exactly the same process. Knowing your limits is part of being professional.

Quality control still belongs somewhere

Using subcontractors does not mean switching off until they send the invoice. If you are responsible for delivering the project, have sensible points where you check that the room is ready to move onto the next stage. Have quality-control checkpoints throughout the installation, rather than leaving everything until the end.

That matters particularly in bathrooms because so much work gets covered. Once the floor goes back down, the wall is boarded or the tiles go on, checking the previous stage becomes much harder. Find problems while they are still easy to fix.

Don't undermine the trade you employed

There is another side to management. If you have chosen somebody because you trust their knowledge, let them use it. There is no point employing an experienced electrician and then trying to tell them how to wire the bathroom because the programme says they should be finished by lunchtime. The same goes for plumbers, tilers and everyone else.

Your job as the person coordinating the bathroom is to make sure the complete project works. Their job is to bring expertise in their particular area. Good project management respects both.

Keep the customer informed through one clear route

Customers can become confused very quickly when several trades are giving them different information. The plumber says one thing. The tiler mentions something else. The electrician asks the customer to decide something you thought had already been agreed.

If possible, have one clear point of communication for changes affecting the project. That does not mean trades cannot speak to the customer. It means important decisions should find their way back through the person responsible for the overall job so everyone remains on the same page. One main communication route reduces confusion and helps changes get dealt with before they become problems.

Should a bathroom fitter manage the other trades?

If you have sold the customer a complete managed bathroom installation, then yes, I believe managing the overall sequence and the people involved is part of the service you are providing. That does not mean doing everybody else's trade. It means making sure the project works as one job.

Choose good people and build strong relationships with them. Give them proper information and notice, with clear responsibilities and agreements.

Check appropriate qualifications, competence and insurance where needed. Give good trades enough room to do their jobs properly. And remember that project management needs to be allowed for in your price.

The customer isn't only paying you for the hours you physically spend fitting. They are also paying for the experience, network and organisation that gets the finished bathroom delivered.

Every Install can help

Clear information before installation makes coordinating other trades much easier. Every Install includes practical tools for defining the scope, surveying the project and keeping everyone clear about what has been agreed.

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