Bathroom Installers in Cobham, Surrey
Experienced bathroom installers in Cobham
Gary James Bathrooms installs complete bathrooms across Cobham and the villages around it. We are a small, hands-on firm rather than a franchise, and every job is fitted by our own full-time team in company vans. Gary has been installing bathrooms for over twenty years and is on the tools with the team.
Most bathroom problems are not skill problems, they are handover problems. A tiler waits on a plumber, an electrician drills through a tanked wall, and nobody owns the bit in between. That cannot happen here, because the same team carries out the plumbing, the waterproofing, the tiling and the fitting to one plan.
You will see the same faces from the first day of strip-out to the final wipe-down, and you will have one person to ring if anything needs attention. That is worth more on a three-week job than any showroom.
Areas We Cover Around Cobham
We cover the whole of KT11 and the roads leading out of it, from Cobham High Street and Church Street through to Stoke d’Abernon, Downside, Tartar Hill and the large houses along the Fairmile. Cobham is a real mix of period cottages, substantial detached homes and newer executive builds, and the install has to suit whichever you have.
We also work throughout the surrounding area, including Oxshott, Esher, Claygate, Effingham, Leatherhead, Ripley and Ockham. If you are anywhere between Cobham and the A3 and you are not certain we reach you, just call and we will confirm. We serve Surrey and Hampshire.
Our Bathroom Installation Services in Cobham
A new bathroom in Cobham usually means the room comes out completely and goes back in properly. We install the whole thing ourselves, from the strip-out through to the last bead of silicone, so the finish is not decided by whoever turned up that morning.
What a new bathroom in Cobham involves
We remove every fixture, fitting, tile and the floor covering, cap the pipes and make everything safe. Unlike a lot of installers we take up the existing floorboards as well, so we have complete access to the plumbing, waste runs and electrics beneath.
The waste goes via skip hire or professional collection rather than sitting on your drive for a fortnight.
Cobham covers everything from period cottages near the High Street to substantial post-war houses out towards the Fairmile and Stoke D'Abernon. The age of the property changes the job considerably, so we survey properly before quoting rather than working from a room size and a wish list.
A new floor before anything else
New tongue-and-groove pine floorboards go down, topped with a full layer of tile backer board. That gives a solid, level, waterproof base and it is why the finished floor does not flex or crack along the grout lines later.
Older Cobham properties in particular tend to have floors that have moved over the years. Taking them up and starting again is the only way to get a genuinely flat finish under large-format tiling.
Older Cobham properties frequently have floors that have been altered more than once, with joists notched for pipework that is long gone. New tongue-and-groove and a full layer of backer board give a level, stable and waterproof base, and it is the only honest way to know what is underneath.
Concealed first fix plumbing
Pipe runs are hidden in walls, floors or neatly boxed only where there is genuinely no alternative. We use industry-standard WRAS-approved plumbing fittings and premium McAlpine waste fittings.
Getting the falls and connections right at this stage is what stops the gurgling wastes and slow drains that show up months after a cheaper install.
Running pipework inside walls and floors takes longer than boxing it in, and it is worth it. Nothing tracks across the room, the finished space feels larger, and cleaning is far easier. WRAS-approved fittings and McAlpine wastes are used throughout as standard.
Planned, compliant electrics
New LED downlights, an inline extractor fan ducted through the loft and vented externally, modern wall switches and a premium LED mirror with a built-in shaver socket and anti-steam pad come as standard. The electrical work is carried out by qualified, insured specialists.
Because the electrics are planned alongside the plumbing rather than after it, there is no drilling through a tanked wall to chase a cable in later.
Bathroom electrics are zoned work and must be installed and certified accordingly. Downlights, an inline extractor ducted out through the loft, the mirror circuit and the shaver socket are all planned at first fix by qualified, insured specialists, not added in afterwards wherever a cable happens to reach.
Enclosure and full tanking
We build the walls properly using 100% waterproof tile backer boards rather than plasterboard or a skim. The shower tray or bath is installed as a permanent part of the enclosure and every wet zone is tanked before tiling starts.
This is the stage that decides whether a bathroom is still sound in ten years, and it is completely invisible once the tiles are on. It is also the first thing a cheaper quote quietly leaves out.
The enclosure and the tanking are designed as one. Trays are set level and bedded properly, upstands and corners are sealed as a continuous membrane, and every pipe penetration is treated. Water finds any gap eventually, so there is no sense leaving one.
Fitting, finishing and handover
A Grohe close-coupled toilet, Grohe bar mixer and wall-mounted bath shower mixer, a tailored vanity basin unit with a matching Grohe tap and a chrome electric towel rail are all included as standard.
The ceiling is finished in moisture-resistant paint, decorative silicone goes into every internal corner and around the sanitaryware, all fittings are tested and the room is cleaned before we hand it back.
Second fix is where a bathroom is judged. Silicone lines, tile edges, the way a door clears the new flooring and whether the extractor actually pulls are the details people notice daily. We go through the finished room with you and deal with anything on the spot.
Why Cobham homeowners choose Gary James
We are a small firm doing a small number of jobs properly rather than a big one juggling many. That shows up in the parts of a bathroom you cannot see. Here is what you can expect.
- Our own team, not subcontractors. The people who start your bathroom are the people who finish it.
- All trades to one plan. Plumbing, waterproofing, tiling and fitting are coordinated by the same firm, so nothing falls between them.
- Over 20 years installing bathrooms. Gary works on the job rather than leaving it to others.
- Nothing hidden before it is right. Because we do first fix and second fix, we are never covering up somebody else’s work.
- Fixed price after a proper survey. Confirmed once we have seen the room, so it does not creep afterwards.
- Premium fittings as standard. WRAS-approved plumbing, McAlpine wastes, Spanish porcelain and Grohe brassware are included.
- Clean site, clean handover. Rubbish removed, fittings tested and the room wiped down before you get it back.
- One number to ring. If anything needs sorting after handover, you speak to us and we come.
Start your new Cobham bathroom
If you are planning a new bathroom in Cobham, Stoke d’Abernon, Downside or anywhere nearby, give Gary a call on 01483 323989 or email gary@garyjamesbathrooms.co.uk. We will come and look at the room, talk through what you want and give you a clear fixed price with nothing hidden in it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you subcontract any of the installation?
The plumbing, waterproofing, tiling and fitting are all done by our own full-time team. Electrical work is carried out by qualified, insured specialists we work with regularly, because that is where bringing someone in genuinely improves the job.
What is included in a full installation?
Everything from strip-out and waste removal to the final fittings: new floorboards with tile backer board, first fix plumbing with WRAS-approved and McAlpine fittings, planned electrics, full tanking of every wet zone, Spanish porcelain tiling, and Grohe toilet, taps and mixers with a tailored vanity unit and chrome towel rail.
How long does a full bathroom renovation take?
A full renovation takes a minimum of three weeks, so we ask you to allow a four-week period from start to finish. The exact time depends on the size of the room and the spec. Because we strip back to the brick, lift floorboards and tank every wet zone before tiling, we do not rush the hidden stages.
Do you offer free quotes and surveys?
Yes. We will come to you, look at the room, talk through what you want and give you a clear fixed price. There is no pressure to go ahead. Call 01483 323989 or email gary@garyjamesbathrooms.co.uk.
Will the same people be here every day?
Yes. It is our own uniformed team in company vans rather than whoever happens to be free that week, so you are not letting a different stranger into the house every morning.