The shower tray arrived, the tiler didn't
Day one, strip-out. Day two, first fix plumbing. The electrician was due day three for the extractor and shaver socket but is stuck on another job. The plasterer can't board until he's done. The tiler, booked for day five, has to be moved, and his next free day is next week. Meanwhile the vanity unit arrived damaged, and the customer has been without a bathroom for a week longer than promised.
The plumber spends his evenings ringing trades and suppliers to reshuffle the week, and the customer hears about the new dates last.
Why bathroom jobs slip
A bathroom is a sequence of dependent steps, each done by a different person, often subcontracted, plus deliveries from different suppliers. The plan lives in the lead plumber's head and a few texts. When one step moves, everyone after it needs to know, and working that out takes phone calls nobody has time to make.
| Step | Depends on |
|---|---|
| Strip-out | Skip, customer clear-out |
| First fix plumbing | Strip-out, products on site |
| Electrics | First fix, electrician availability |
| Boarding or plaster | First fix plumbing and electrics |
| Tiling | Boards dry, tiles delivered |
| Fit-off | Tiling done, sanitaryware undamaged |
Product lead times make it worse. Some sanitaryware and shower enclosures take weeks to arrive, and a delivery date given at order can change. If nobody checks the delivery before the job starts, you can strip out a bathroom and then wait for a tray.
What slips cost
Every delayed trade pushes everyone behind them. Subcontractors lose days and charge for it or go elsewhere. Customers without a bathroom get upset, and complaints often focus on communication more than the delay. And damaged deliveries found on fit-off day stop the job dead.
It also affects your subcontractors' loyalty. Good tilers and electricians have a choice of who to work for, and they prefer firms whose jobs are ready when they arrive.
Your own plumbers lose time too. When the tiler cannot start, the plumber often ends up waiting on site or driving back later to fit off, and both eat into the margin on a job that was priced for a tidy sequence.
The job plan we build
- Template plan: a standard bathroom sequence, adjusted per job, with who does each step and how long you allow.
- Trade confirmations: each trade gets a message ahead of their day asking them to confirm, and the lead sees who has.
- Delivery checks: deliveries are logged with expected dates, and the customer or fitter photographs items on arrival so damage is found early.
- Knock-on alerts: when a step moves, the plan shows who else is affected and drafts messages to them for the lead to send.
- Customer updates: the customer sees what's happening each day and gets a message when anything changes.
- Snag and sign-off: a final snag list is completed with the customer and closed with photos.
The lead plumber stays in control. The plan suggests who needs to be told when something moves, but the plumber decides and sends the messages, so trades still hear from a person they know.
Bathrooms that finish when you said
Everyone knows their day and confirms it. Damaged products are found when they arrive, not when they're needed. When something slips, the knock-on is visible straight away. And customers who are kept informed are far more forgiving.
It also gives you a record of what really happened on each job, which helps when pricing the next one. If bathrooms with a certain type of shower regularly run a day over, you can see it and allow for it.
Suppliers can be added to the plan as well, so a delayed delivery shows up alongside the trades it affects, rather than being discovered when the van arrives empty.
Is this your bathroom work?
- Bathroom installs regularly overrun.
- Trades turn up before the site is ready, or don't turn up.
- Damaged products are found on fit-off day.
- Customers complain about not being told what's happening.
- The job plan is in one person's head.