Fully Managed Service vs. Hiring Individual Trades: Which is right for my bathroom project?

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So, you’re thinking about a new bathroom. 

Almost immediately, you hit the big question: do you manage all the different trades yourself to save a bit of money, or hand the keys to one company to handle the lot?

It’s the classic dilemma, a real tug-of-war between cost and sanity. My promise here is to give you a completely transparent, no-fluff breakdown of both paths so you can see which is genuinely right for you.

To get started, here are the essential things you need to know.

Key Takeaways

• The Core Conflict: Choosing a renovation path is a trade-off. It’s the potential for lower upfront costs when you manage it yourself versus the certainty and peace of mind that comes with a fully managed service.

• The Reality of Self-Management: When you hire individual trades, you’re also taking on the full-time job of a project manager. The initial quotes rarely include the hidden costs of your own time, the stress involved, or the price of fixing mistakes.

• The Value of a Managed Service: A fully managed service includes comprehensive project management, a single point of contact, and the coordination of vetted specialists. The investment is in a guaranteed, high-quality result without the headaches.

• When Hiring Trades Makes Sense: To be honest, this route can be a good fit for very small projects (like replacing a tap or a single toilet), if you already have tradespeople you know and trust implicitly, or if the absolute lowest price is your only goal.

The Renovation Dilemma

Let's be honest, we've all heard the horror stories. A friend gets let down by a tradesman who doesn't show up, or a small job descends into a nightmare of mess and spiralling costs. It's this deep-seated fear that makes choosing how to run your bathroom project such a big decision.

After 15 years of renovating bathrooms all over Stafford, Stone, and Stoke, I’ve seen it all. I’ve seen projects run like clockwork, and I’ve been called in to fix the disasters left by others. This guide is based on that real-world experience, to help you avoid the common pitfalls.

A Tale of Two Projects: An Honest Comparison

The Self-Management Route: What You’re Really Signing Up For

When you decide to hire individual trades, you’re not just the client anymore—you instantly become the project manager. To be honest, I don't think people always realise what that truly involves.

You're the one responsible for finding, vetting, and hiring every single person. Then you have to create and manage the entire schedule, which is a massive job in itself. You need to coordinate all the deliveries and solve the inevitable problems and disputes when one trade blames another.

To figure out if this is for you, you have to ask yourself some hard questions. How much is an hour of your personal time really worth? Can you genuinely afford to take time off work for unexpected deliveries or to meet trades on-site?

And more than that, do you understand the correct sequence for a renovation? For instance, knowing that the first-fix electrics have to happen before the plastering is essential. How will you react when there’s a dispute? It’s a lot to take on.

The True Cost of Self-Management: More Than Just Money

The price on paper can look tempting, but it often doesn't include the hidden costs. Think about the cost of skip hire (which can be £280-£400 a week), protecting the rest of your house, and crucially, the cost of rectifying mistakes if something goes wrong.

The biggest hidden cost, I would say, is your own time and peace of mind. For a busy professional, or for someone trying to manage this for their parents from a distance, the hours spent coordinating and the stress of it all can quickly outweigh any initial savings.

This reminds me of a young couple I worked with recently in Stone. They’d managed their first renovation themselves to save a bit of money and, in their own words, it was a "horrible experience".

They told me about the sheer chaos of trying to coordinate people who didn't turn up when they said they would, the constant stress of not knowing if the work was being done right, and that awful feeling of being completely overwhelmed.

For their next project with us, they said the number one reason for choosing a managed service was simply for the peace of mind. They’d learned that the real cost of their first project wasn't just financial.

The Fully Managed Service: The Peace of Mind Option

With a fully managed service, you hand all that stress over. You get a single point of contact—usually me—who takes complete ownership of the entire project. We handle everything, from creating the schedule and ordering materials to managing the team on-site every single day.

Our process is built on using a dedicated team of in-house specialists, not generalist handymen. Our plumbers only plumb, and our tilers only tile. Because they work together all the time, they know exactly how each other works. The tiler knows precisely how our plumber sets the pipes, which completely eliminates the blame game and delays you so often get with separate trades.

Imagine a typical week. When you're managing it, Monday starts with the plasterer calling in sick, which pushes the tiler back. On Wednesday, the electrician puts a wire in the wrong place, but you don't spot it until the tiler arrives on Friday and points it out. The project is now delayed, and you've spent the week firefighting.

Now, imagine that same week with us. On Monday, I call you to say the plasterer is unwell, but not to worry, a trusted replacement from our team is already scheduled for tomorrow with no impact on the final timeline. You get one phone call. At the end of the week, you get a simple update. The project is on track, on budget, and completely stress-free for you.

When Hiring Individual Trades Can Be the Right Choice

To be completely fair, there are times when managing the project yourself makes perfect sense. This route can be a great fit if:

• It's a very small, simple project: For example, you're just replacing a toilet and basin without moving any pipework or re-tiling.

• You have a team you already trust: You've used the same reliable plumber and electrician for years and you know their standard of work.

• The absolute lowest price is your ONLY priority: And you're fully prepared to trade your own time and accept the significant risks involved.

Some people think about a hybrid approach—using a managed service but supplying their own tiles, for instance. I would say, be very careful here. It often creates major issues with liability.

If a toilet you supplied is faulty after we've installed it, who is responsible for the cost of the extra work to remove and replace it? It can void guarantees and end up causing far more headaches than it saves.

Making Your Decision: A Clear Path Forward

So, the choice isn't just about the numbers on a quote; it's about what you value more. Is your priority the lowest possible price, accepting that you'll have to invest your own time and take on all the stress and risk of managing the project? If so, hiring trades yourself for a small job might work for you.

Or is your priority a guaranteed, high-quality result delivered without any of the hassle, where you can trust an expert to handle everything? If you value your time and your peace of mind, then a fully managed service is likely a much better fit.

If that sounds like the right path for you, the next step is a simple, no-obligation chat. Let's talk about your project. You can call me on 01785 596002 or fill in the form on our Start Your Project page.

Our Final Thought

Ultimately, the right choice is the one that fits your budget, your timeline, and, most importantly, your tolerance for stress. I hope this honest guide has given you the clarity you need to make that decision with confidence.

A bathroom renovation should be an exciting journey, not a stressful one.