Looking for a builder

I can recommend www.eeservices.eu

I can recommend you finally go metric and 1/2 the ball park figure.

A colleague just had his redone and he got all types of offers/devis.

His bathroom is around 8x10 and he had offers from 3500 euros to 9000 euros and he also had it fully tiled, installed a shower, sink/mirror, hooks, towel racks, etc.

Why the big difference? Depends on what you want. You can get a shower cabin for 100 euros, or you can get a fancy one for 1200 euros.

Builders I believe get a TVA discount, so instead of them paying 20% or whatever the Belgian TVA is, they pay 6% (don't quote me on that as I forget the number). What happens then is that many will try to sell you high quality materials or very expensive tiles, and will tell you, if I remodel your bathroom, then you have to get the items through me. But don't worry, I get them at a discount. But like I said, then they will get you the most expensive stuff.

What you don't realize is that you can go get your own tiles/sink/mirror/etc and even with the high TVA, you might pay less, mainly because the builders are pushing the expensive stuff.

That's why if I were you, first thing I would do is, go to a store like Sanimex and get an idea of what buying stuff like sink/mirrors/tiles/tile installation material will cost you. In my friend's case, sanimex had the best prices at the time. But get on google, type carrelage Bruxelles, and visit some of these stores to get an idea of prices just on the items that will go in the bathroom.

Many of the carrelage stores sell bathroom items (shower cabins, sinks, etc) too.

In these stores they will also give you a devis. Take pictures of your current bathroom, go to the store, select the materials items you like and then ask them how much would it be to install it. Once you have one devis, go to another store and see what they tell you. And if you like to haggle, you can even say, well, I was at xyz store and their total was this. Some will then start lowering the price.

Also, july is coming. Many of these stores will have decent discounts in bathroom sets/tiles, etc, so july is a good time to do the shopping. Although some stores will say, we always have discounts. :)

But once you know the type of tile you want, the type of mirror/sink/shower you want, then it is easier to look at more concrete prices. Also, once you know the prices, you can get devis from builders and you'll have a better idea if their so called discounted materials are actually discounted.

JBMAC is spot on. In Brussels there is this Facq mafia in Brussels with almost the totality of local plumbers. They have some sort of agreement with that supplier and they request to shop in there if you want to renovate your bathroom. I went to have a look and prices were, i think, super-inflated.

So I also shopped around and found a great tile shop in Artselaar (http://www.carobati.be/), where you can find a great selection of italian tiles and also plenty of end of series offers at 50% of the original price. And the tiles are good!

For bathroom furniture I had very good deals with X2O in Brussels near Ikea (http://www.x2o.be/fr), their line is quite nice and stylish at competitive prices.

Then I found a company that could do tiling and plumming.

The total cost of the renovation was actually below what a Belgian company quoted me for making the plumbing ONLY!!! (and having a look at what was done I think I could have actually done the plumbing myself...)

The 6%/21% VAT deal is that repairs/improvements to a building over x years old (I think x=5) are only taxed at 6% so long as the work is done by a professional who provides an invoice.
Even if you buy all the stuff yourself and pay 21% VAT, the work will still only be taxed at 6%.

You can also import all sanitary equipment (often half-price of FACQ) from
www.reuter.de or www.megabad.com. Megabad has a showroom in Cologne. You then pay the builder for installing the stuff (negotiate flatrate). As it is new original merchandise, no worries about warranty (I used Reuter).

I can highly recommend the person who did my (small) bathroom and also several neighbours' bathrooms. Ten years' experience in high-end renovations. Worked previously for interior design company. Excellent advice on lay-out and choice of materials. Impeccable attention to detail at reasonable price.
To get maximum value for money, I would avoid using a builder who then uses unqualified, illegal workmen. Better to use an honest, decent, hard-working independant builder.

Hi, Opera Fan, can you please give me the contact of this person that you're talking about? Thank you

Hello Chevlaura,

Here is the email for the fantastic builder who did new bathrooms for my friends and neighbours (and myself). Really knows his stuff.
dusanpetrovsky1@gmail.com