Services · Bathrooms
Bathroom Fitters in Hertfordshire —designed, plumbed and finishedstart to finish.
Full bathroom refurbishments — strip-back, first-fix plumbing, waterproofing, tiling coordination, bespoke vanity joinery, second-fix and decoration — under one contract, so nothing is left to chance and no trades are pointing at each other.
£1M public liability · 12-month workmanship guarantee · one accountable installer.
Experience
20+ years
Public liability
£1,000,000
Rating
4.98 / 5
Trust a Trader
Guarantee
12-month workmanship
Certified
BM TRADA · City & Guilds L3
Overview
What a Barnett's bathrooms project actually covers.
What it is
A complete bathroom refurbishment service — strip-out, structural adjustment if needed, first-fix plumbing and electrics, tanking and waterproofing, tiling coordination, sanitaryware install, bespoke vanity and storage joinery, mirror and lighting fit-out, and decoration.
Who it's for
Homeowners in Hertfordshire replacing an existing bathroom, adding an en-suite to a bedroom or loft, converting a WC into a shower room, or fitting a bathroom into a new extension.
When you need it
When the current bathroom is leaking, tired, poorly ventilated, or simply unusable for a growing family. When you're building an extension and want the plumbing designed in properly, not squeezed onto whatever wall the drawings allow.
Why it matters
Because a bathroom that isn't waterproofed properly at first fix will fail — quietly at first, then expensively. And because the difference between a bathroom that feels considered and one that feels cheap is almost entirely in the tiling and joinery.
What goes wrong
The cost of getting this wrong.
Bathrooms are one of the two rooms in the house where poor workmanship shows up as damage, not just aesthetics.
Risks if ignored
- —Wet areas not properly tanked, leading to leaks through the ceiling below within two to five years.
- —Waste runs under-sized or under-graded, causing slow drains and permanent smells.
- —Extract ventilation missing or under-specified, producing mould in the corners and paint peeling off the ceiling.
- —Silicone joints applied over dust and moisture, splitting within months.
- —Tiling laid onto a substrate that flexes, causing grout lines to crack across the floor.
Common mistakes
- —Buying the suite before planning the plumbing — some layouts simply won't work in older Hertfordshire houses without significant work.
- —Choosing floor tiles before checking substrate — heavy stone tiles need proper floor build-up they rarely get in a refit.
- —Skipping the ventilation upgrade and blaming the paint.
Our process
How a bathrooms project runs, step by step.
01
Design & specification
We measure the room, discuss layout options and sanitaryware, flag any structural or plumbing constraints, and agree the specification in writing.
02
Quotation & contract
Fixed itemised quotation covering strip-out, first fix, materials, sanitaryware, tiling, joinery and decoration.
03
Strip-back & inspection
Existing bathroom removed to substrate. Any hidden damage, poor plumbing or damp is flagged and priced before we cover it back up.
04
First fix
New plumbing, waste re-routing, electrics for shaver sockets, mirror lights and extractor, extract ventilation ducted to outside.
05
Substrate & tanking
Floor and wall substrate prepared, wet areas fully tanked with membrane and taped joints — the single most important stage in the whole job.
06
Tiling, sanitaryware & joinery
Tiling coordinated with a specialist we've worked with for years, sanitaryware installed, bespoke vanity units fitted.
07
Second fix & decoration
Taps and shower valves terminated, mirrors and lighting hung, silicone lines run cleanly, paintwork completed only once everything is dry.
Benefits
What you actually get from Barnett's Bespoke.
Waterproofing done properly
Full tanking in wet areas is a standard inclusion — not an upgrade — because it's the difference between a bathroom that lasts twenty years and one that leaks in five.
Ventilation planned, not patched
Extract fan sized to room volume and ducted to outside, not into the loft void.
Bespoke storage joinery
Vanity units, shaving cabinets and airing cupboards designed and built to fit your exact space.
One contract, one guarantee
Plumbing, tiling, joinery and decoration all under Barnett's Bespoke — one 12-month written workmanship guarantee covers the lot.
Clean strip-out and disposal
Existing bathroom removed, skip provided, site swept — included in every quotation.
Realistic programme, honestly quoted
A full bathroom refurb is 3–4 weeks of real work. We tell you that up front and stick to it.
In detail
The specifics behind the bathrooms.
Materials, methods, variations and the things that actually decide whether the finished job holds up over the decade after we hand it over.
Types of bathroom we fit
Family bathrooms, master en-suites, guest en-suites in lofts and extensions, walk-in wet rooms, downstairs cloakroom and WC upgrades, disability-friendly and level-access bathrooms, and full sanitaryware refits into existing tiling where the room doesn't need a full strip-out.
Materials and waterproofing
Foamed cement backer boards for wet walls, tanking membrane and reinforced tape for joints and seams, decoupling matting under floor tiles to prevent grout cracking, and premium silicone rated for wet environments on every wet joint.
Ventilation done properly
A bathroom extract fan sized to the room's cubic volume, running on a humidistat plus timer, ducted through insulated ducting to a wall or roof vent (never into the loft). This is the single most cost-effective upgrade in any bathroom refurb — it removes 90% of mould problems permanently.
Working with Hertfordshire's older plumbing
Cast-iron waste stacks, lead water pipes, half-inch supply feeds and unvented cylinders installed decades ago — every renovation in older Hertfordshire housing stock brings surprises behind the wall. We open up, flag properly, and quote extras honestly rather than hiding them.
Recent Work
Real bathrooms projects from our workshop and sites.
FAQ
Answers to the questions we're asked most.
Straight answers on cost, timing, guarantees and coverage — no marketing filler.
- How much does a bathroom cost to refit?
- A mid-range family bathroom refit typically runs £9–£15k including sanitaryware and tiling. A high-spec en-suite or wet room with bespoke joinery typically runs £15–£25k+. We provide fixed itemised quotations.
- How long does a bathroom refit take?
- A full refit typically takes 3–4 weeks. A simple sanitaryware refresh (like-for-like into existing tiling) is normally 5–8 days. We'll have a written programme before we start.
- Can you fit an en-suite into a bedroom?
- Yes — subject to being able to run soil pipe and ventilation. We'll assess feasibility at the site visit before quoting.
- Do you supply the sanitaryware or should I?
- Either. We can source from suppliers we trust for reliability, or fit client-supplied suites — we'll flag anything about the specification that concerns us before install.
- Do you tile the bathroom yourselves?
- Tiling is coordinated with a specialist tiler we've worked with for years — under our contract, on our programme, to our finish standard.
- Do you handle the plumbing certification?
- Yes — including any Part P notifiable electrical work via a certified electrician, and gas safe work where a combi or system boiler is involved.
- Do you cover the whole of Hertfordshire for bathrooms?
- Yes. Barnett's Bespoke works throughout Hertfordshire, into north London and southern Bedfordshire — including Buntingford, Bishop's Stortford, Stevenage, Hertford, Ware and Hitchin. We're based at Great Hormead Hall, Buntingford, and travel from there.
- Are you insured, and what guarantee do I get?
- Every project is covered by £1,000,000 public liability insurance and a 12-month workmanship guarantee. Charlie Barnett holds a Level 3 City & Guilds NVQ in carpentry and joinery, a CSCS Blue Skilled Worker card, and is a BM TRADA registered fire door installer. We're also a Trust a Trader member with a 4.98/5 rating.
- How quickly can you start?
- Larger projects are usually booked four to eight weeks ahead. Small joinery jobs and single-day repairs can often be scheduled sooner. Contact us with a rough scope and postcode and we'll come back with a realistic start window.
Ready for a bathroom that lasts twenty years?
Send us a photo of the room and rough dimensions. We'll come out, measure properly, and put a fixed quotation in writing.