A DIY newbie says money-grabbing builders wanted £5,000 to do up his bathroom – but he did it himself for just £750.
Will Evans, 26, and his partner discovered shortly after buying their home that the bathroom was leaking, rotting and falling to bits.
The content creator and his partner got a quote to get a new professional one installed and were shocked when they were told they'd have to cough up £5,000.
So, Will and his partner, with the help of other family members, decided to fix it themselves.
And, by doing so in their spare time outside work over a three-month period, they managed to saved themselves more than £4,000.
Will, from Devon, told LatestDeals.co.uk: "The bathroom was a mess, leaking and all rotten when we moved in. So we had to get it sorted asap so we could move into our new home.
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"The shower tiles were not tiled in properly and therefore the shower water leaked down the back of the shower and onto the chipboard floor, rotting it out completely.
"When we moved in, we turned the shower on and the water went straight through the floor into the living room below.
"We got a quote from Wickes for a professional bathroom installation but it would have set us back £5,000. We managed to pull off the entire project for just £745 which we are very proud of."
Will said that with the help of his partner's dad they managed to pull the bathroom apart, but when they removed the shower tray they found a horror sight.
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He said the entire floor was "black and decomposing".
Will continued: "We did some research and went for a low-budget design to fix it.
"We luckily have a builder in the family who had a lot of experience and skills to help us and provide us with advice.
"We used the internet to look for options that were cheaper. My partner used a lot of Pinterest posts and Instagram to find ideas and inspiration."
The 26-year-old said they shopped around to find the cheapest deals, adding: "The new shower came from Victoria Plumbing for £200 and the cabinet cost £50 from B&Q.
"We got new lino for the bathroom, which cost a total of £150 from King’s Carpets in Barnstaple. We also re-used some of the items to keep costs down. We kept the old shower tray, towel rail and toilet."
He said they stripped the old bathroom using a hammer and chisel.
Will continued: "After pulling up the rotten chipboard we saw the shower was leaking from the u-bend part of the pipe, so this needed replacing to stop further leaking. We then replaced the chipboard in most of the en-suite."
We managed to pull off the entire project for just £745 which we are very proud of.
The family used a plasterer to remove the tiles and do the walls, and an electrician came in and installed some spot lights and a fan.
Will said the supplies cost them £45, and the work was done by a friend who didn't charge them.
Breaking down the costs, he said: "We purchased new skirting boards and stuck these on. We purchased a sink wall cabinet, shower glass and frame, as well as shower boards, for £300.
"We installed the sink back in, the toilet back in and the new shower, with help from my partner’s dad.
"When fitting the new waste pipe for the shower we quickly learnt that it wouldn't be a straightforward job. The previous plumber must have done a dodgy job as all the pipe work was in the wrong place.
"Therefore, we had to re-install the waste pipes as well. However, a friend did this for us for free.
"The last part of the project was having flooring put down, we chose laminate flooring because of its low maintenance."
Will added: "We were able to save money on this part of the project as we got new chipboard for free from a friend. Our friend also did the installation for free.
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"The job of the en-suite took us 2-3 months mostly due to us both working full time as well as my partner’s Dad working full time too, this meant we had less time to get jobs done.
"It was also winter which made it harder to do work in the evenings when it was dark."
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