We are renovating our ensuite and looking do it without spending a bomb! Do any DIYers have any recommendations on where to find good prices on englefield shower, floating vanity and tiles?! Is trade depot any good, or poor quality? Thanks!
Bathroom renovations and trade depot
Ma on 18/06/2022 - 09:01
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I'm not sure how to tell the difference (like in terms of quality, etc), but I just buy the cheapest available. Bought shower from TD, toilet from Bunnings, I stocked up when vanities are on clearance (cos I was planning a renovation). They are all working fine, no major issues.
Yep, the best thing to do is just shop around. Spend a few months beforehand (if you can) watching prices, looking for clearance/reduced stock, sales. You'll also get a better idea of what you want and what constitutes a good deal. Ask for discounts or package deals, see if you can use vouchers or points to pay for things, and make sure you get points or cash back using a credit card for maximum effect.
It's also worth signing up for a Bunnings Powerpass account if you can. You don't need to own a company, you can be a "sole trader" (ie DIY Cheapie) and get an account, although someone here mentioned recently that getting a 30-day account will get you significantly better deals, but they may need additional verification for that, I'm not sure.
You can also get a Powerpass card with a good discount tier by joining the ‘NZ Property Chat Group Forum’ on Facebook. I have no interest in property investing but got one this way. Once joined, search for the Bunnings discount link, which will send you through to an Assetlab form. Fill it out and you get the card in the mail in a week or two – all free and very easy.
Depending on where you are, we used placed like crown bathrooms https://www.crownbathrooms.co.nz/ for our showers. Reno was 2 years ago and it's still holding up well. We went to trade depot and decided against it. Taking down and re-doing areas if the product failed will cost you more than what you saved.
I've used TD for my bathroom and been about 2 yrs and no issues. Got toilet, vanity, taps and bath. Also got cook top. Hopefully they'll last long.
Trade depot is fine but can take a week or two for delivery. They are really well priced in comparison to others. We have bought a decent amount of stuff from them and always been happy - when things have gone wrong they have sorted.
But my tip is to know what you want to do then keep a lookout on trade me. I have bought a lot of new stuff that people have bought but no longer want etc. As long as you know your sizes and have the overall view in place then you can pick up a lot of pieces for a fraction of the price.
I've found that TradeDepot stuff is generally better quality than similarly priced stuff at Bunnings/Mitre10. They often have a better range too.
Customer service is pretty poor however.
Trade depot is well priced. But a massssssive headache.
You'll be lucky if your not going back and fourth sorting out missing, damaged, broken pieces.