Should I hire trades or can I do it myself?

When starting a bathroom renovation project, the decision of whether to do some or all of the work yourself or to hire a professional hinges on various factors:

• How good your DIY skills are
• Your deadline and how much time you can realistically dedicate to the project
• The scale and complexity of the work

Bathroom renovation projects can involve many individual trades, including builders, plumbers, electricians, plasterers, tilers, carpenters and decorators. If you use a general builder or contractor, they can often manage the whole project, including hiring and coordinating all the required trades.

Scenarios where hiring professionals becomes crucial include:

• Creating a new bathroom from scratch or in a room that wasn't previously a bathroom, or any other scenario where you will need building control approval
• Making significant structural changes, removing, moving or constructing new walls, especially anything load bearing that will require calculations by a structural engineer
• Dealing with walls shared between you and a neighbour (party walls)
• Needing to reinforce the floor to take the weight of new fittings, i.e. a freestanding stone bath
• Installing a wet room with the complexities of the waterproofing and drainage

If you're confident your bathroom renovation project doesn't fall into one of these scenarios and are still keen to do the work yourself, you might want to avoid fixtures and fittings that require more specialist knowledge to fit, like wall–hung sanitaryware!

You may also consider purchasing all your fixtures and fittings from a single bathroom specialist that provides an installation service.

Finally, you'll need to do your research and ensure you are up to date on what you will require certification for, e.g. any new windows and all the electrics including new lights, sockets and electric radiators or underfloor heating.