What to Ask an Accessible Bathroom Installer

Questions about the survey

A quotation given without seeing the room is a guess with a number on it.

• Will you survey the bathroom in person before quoting?
• Should the person who will use the bathroom be there? (The answer should be yes.)
• Will you check the floor construction before proposing a level or low-step tray?
• How will you decide where the rails and seat go?
• What happens if you find something unexpected once the room is stripped?

Questions about the specification

Ask for the specification in writing and itemised. Vague line items are where the surprises live.

• What is the slip resistance of the flooring and tray surface in the wet area?
• What will the grab rails be fixed into, and will they be load-tested?
• How is the wet area waterproofed behind the finish?
• Is a thermostatic anti-scald valve included?
• What ventilation is being provided or upgraded?
• Is the seat fold-down or free-standing, and at what height?
• Is removal and disposal of the old suite included?
• Is making good — plaster, paint, flooring edges — included?

Questions about price, VAT and paperwork

You should leave with a written, itemised quotation. Refusal to put it in writing is the answer to the question.

• Is this a fixed written price, and what would change it?
• What VAT rate applies to my circumstances, and why?
• If VAT relief applies, who handles the eligibility declaration?
• What is the payment schedule?
• If a council grant is involved, can you quote in the format the council requires?
• What guarantee covers the workmanship, and what warranties come with the products?

Questions about how the job will run

Living through the work is the part people underestimate, particularly in a one-bathroom house.

• Who is my point of contact day to day?
• Will the same team be here throughout, and are the trades coordinated by you?
• How many days will the bathroom be out of use, and where do we wash meanwhile?
• Is the water or electricity off at any point, and for how long?
• Who clears the waste, and when?
• What are the working hours, and will someone need to be home?

Questions about the company itself

Accessible work is a specialism. It is reasonable to ask whether it is what the company actually does.

• Is accessible and mobility bathroom work your main business or an occasional job?
• Can I see photographs of bathrooms your team has actually installed?
• Where are you based, and do you regularly work in my area?
• Have you worked to occupational therapist specifications before?
• What is the registered company name, and can I check it?

Answers that should give you pause

A price quoted over the phone without a survey. A discount that only exists if you sign today. Grab rails fixed with plasterboard plugs. Silicone described as the waterproofing. A refusal to itemise. A promised completion date given before anyone has looked at the floor. None of these are automatically dishonest, but each one is a reason to ask a further question before signing anything.