Guarantees, insurance & aftercare
A bathroom is finished the day the fitters leave — but it has to keep performing for the next twenty years. What stands behind it once the van’s gone is just as important as the finish itself: the workmanship guarantee that covers the fitting, the insurance that protects your home while the work’s done, and the aftercare that means someone actually answers the phone if a silicone line lifts or a valve drips. This guide explains all three in plain English, so you know exactly what you’re getting with your full bathroom installation — and what to check before you sign.
Three different protections, often confused
People lump “guarantee”, “insurance” and “warranty” together, but they cover different things and it pays to know which is which. A good fitter carries all of them, and can explain where one ends and the next begins.
Workmanship guarantee
This covers the labour — the quality of the fitting itself. If a tile works loose, a joint weeps or silicone fails because of how it was installed, a workmanship guarantee means the fitter comes back and puts it right at no cost to you. It’s the fitter standing behind their own hands.
Product warranty
This comes from the manufacturer and covers the goods — the shower valve, the toilet, the taps — against faults in the product itself. Warranties vary hugely by brand, from a couple of years to a lifetime on some ceramics, which is one reason good kit matters.
Public liability insurance
This protects your home and other people if something goes wrong during the work — accidental damage, a mishap on site. It’s not about the finish; it’s about carrying the risk of the job so you don’t have to. Every proper fitter holds it.
The neat thing about a supply-and-fit job from one accountable team is that the first two are joined up: because we both supplied and installed the bathroom, there’s no argument about whether a fault is the part or the fitting. It’s covered as one. That’s a real advantage over a supply-only arrangement, where the lines between product and labour can blur when something goes wrong.
Why these protections matter so much in a bathroom
Of all the rooms in a house, a bathroom is the one where standing behind the work matters most — and where a fitter who cuts corners can hide it longest. Two things make it special.
The faults are hidden and slow
Much of a bathroom’s real work lives inside walls and under floors — pipework, waterproofing, falls. A corner cut there doesn’t show on handover day; it shows up months later as a damp patch on a ceiling or a smell that won’t shift. A guarantee that runs for years, not weeks, is what protects you across that gap. It’s the reason we pressure-test the pipework before we close a wall — and stand behind it afterwards.
Water is relentless
A bathroom is under attack from water every single day. The smallest failure — a hairline in the tanking of a wet room, a silicone line that shrinks — can, given months, cause real damage. Aftercare that responds quickly to the small stuff is what stops it becoming the big stuff. A fitter who vanishes leaves you to catch these things yourself, usually too late.
This is exactly why we treat the guarantee and aftercare as part of the job, not a marketing line. A bathroom we’re proud to put our name on is one we’re happy to come back to — because we don’t expect to have to.
What a proper guarantee package covers
Not all guarantees are equal, and the detail matters more than the headline number of years. When you’re comparing fitters, here’s what a solid package looks like — and what to read carefully.
In writing, not verbal
A guarantee is only worth having if it’s written down, with clear terms. “Don’t worry, it’s guaranteed” over a handshake gives you nothing to point to later. Ask for it on paper before work starts, alongside your fixed quote.
A sensible length
Long enough to cover the period when installation faults typically surface. Read what the term actually covers — some headline-grabbing long guarantees have so many exclusions they cover very little in practice.
Clear on what’s included
A good guarantee spells out that it covers the workmanship — the fitting of the suite, tiling, sealing and pipework. You should be able to see at a glance what you can call about and what falls to the product warranty instead.
A named point of contact
It should be obvious who you call and how. A guarantee from a trader with no fixed number is a guarantee in name only. With us it’s the same team and one number — the people who did the job.
Backed by insurance
Public liability insurance sitting behind the work means that if anything goes wrong on site, your home’s protected. Ask to see the certificate — a proper business produces it without fuss, as covered in our guide to choosing a fitter.
Honoured without a fight
The real test of a guarantee is what happens when you use it. A good fitter treats a callback as a chance to protect their reputation, not a nuisance to dodge. That attitude is worth more than any number of printed years.
Your consumer rights, and what a guarantee adds
It’s worth knowing that a written guarantee sits on top of the legal rights you already have — it doesn’t replace them. Understanding both means you’re never left unsure where you stand.
What the law already gives you
Under UK consumer law, work should be carried out with reasonable care and skill, materials should be of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose, and the service should match what was agreed. If a fitter falls short of that, you have rights regardless of whether a separate guarantee exists. These protections apply to any tradesperson you engage.
What a guarantee adds on top
A workmanship guarantee makes things concrete and easy: a clear promise, a set period, a named contact, and a fitter who returns to put installation faults right without you having to argue the law. It turns “you have rights” into “just give us a call”. For most homeowners that certainty — knowing exactly who to ring and that they’ll come — is the whole point.
One honest note: no guarantee covers everything forever. Fair wear and tear, accidental damage, neglect of basic upkeep, or faults caused by someone else working on the room afterwards generally sit outside it — and that’s normal and reasonable. A good fitter is upfront about where the line falls, so there are no surprises the day you need to call. If in doubt, ask before you sign; the answer tells you a lot about the fitter.
How we handle aftercare
Handover isn’t the end of the job for us — it’s the start of the guarantee. Here’s what you can expect from us once the bathroom’s in and we’ve cleared the site.
A proper handover
We don’t just hand back the key. We walk you round the finished room, show you how the shower valve, extractor and any controls work, and hand over the manufacturer paperwork and warranties for the fittings, all in one place.
Care advice that lasts
We tell you the simple things that keep a bathroom looking new — how to keep grout and silicone healthy, why the extractor matters, how to avoid the everyday habits that age a room early. Small steps that protect your investment for years.
One number to call
If something needs attention, you call the same team that did the work — not a call centre, not a directory. We know your bathroom because we built it, so we can put things right quickly and properly.
Written guarantee & insurance
Your workmanship guarantee is in writing, backed by full public liability insurance, so you’re covered both while the work’s done and long after. No small print surprises, no vanishing act.
Callbacks taken seriously
A callback is a chance to keep our name in good standing, so we treat it that way — promptly and without quibbling over whose fault it is. Because we supplied and fitted the room, it’s simply ours to sort.
Built to not need us
The best aftercare is the call you never have to make. Everything upstream — proper waterproofing, tested pipework, quality fittings — is aimed at a bathroom that just works, year after year, so the guarantee mostly sits unused.
Your part: keeping the bathroom in good order
A guarantee is a two-way thing. We stand behind the fitting, and in return a bathroom asks a little basic care to stay in the condition it left our hands. None of it is onerous — it’s the same handful of habits that keep any bathroom looking new — but it’s worth knowing, because neglect is one of the few things that sits outside a workmanship guarantee. We’d rather you never lose out on a technicality, so here’s the honest guidance we give every customer at handover.
The single most important habit is ventilation. A bathroom that isn’t aired properly grows damp, and damp is what ages grout, lifts silicone and, over time, damages decoration. Run the extractor while you shower and for a while after, and the room looks after itself; ignore it and you’ll be chasing mould that was entirely avoidable. It’s why a good extractor fan is never the place to economise. The second habit is keeping an eye on the seals. Silicone around a bath or shower tray does a hard job and, years down the line, may need refreshing — a small, normal piece of upkeep rather than a fault. Catch it early and it’s a five-minute task; leave a gap open for months and water finds its way behind the tiles.
Beyond that, it’s mostly common sense: clean with products that suit the surfaces, don’t use anything harshly abrasive on brassware or acrylic, and deal with a drip or a loose fitting when you spot it rather than living with it. If ever you’re unsure whether something is upkeep or a fault we should cover, just ask — a quick call is always cheaper than a wrong guess, and we’d far rather tell you it’s covered and come out than have you worry about it. This is the quiet, unglamorous side of a bathroom that lasts, and it’s part of the same promise as the fitting itself: a room that stays a pleasure to use, whether it’s a family bathroom in Plymstock or an accessible bathroom fitted for the long term.
Guarantees & aftercare FAQs
What’s the difference between a guarantee and a warranty?
In everyday use, a workmanship guarantee covers the labour — the quality of the fitting — and comes from your fitter, while a warranty usually covers the products and comes from the manufacturer. A leaking joint is a workmanship matter; a faulty shower valve is a product one. On a supply-and-fit job from one team the distinction rarely troubles you, because the whole bathroom is covered together and we handle any manufacturer claim on your behalf.
How long should a bathroom installation be guaranteed?
Long enough to cover the period when installation faults typically show — which is generally the first few years. But the length matters less than the terms: a long guarantee riddled with exclusions can be worth less than a shorter, honest one that’s actually honoured without a fight. Read what it covers, check it’s in writing, and confirm who you call. How a fitter answers those questions tells you whether the guarantee is real.
What happens if something goes wrong after you’ve finished?
You call us — the same team that fitted the bathroom, on the same number. Because we know the room and stand behind our work, we come back and put any installation fault right under the workmanship guarantee, without quibbling over whose fault it is. Most callbacks are small and quick; the point of the guarantee is that you’re never left wondering who to ring or whether they’ll turn up.
Does insurance cover accidental damage during the work?
Yes — that’s exactly what public liability insurance is for. If something is accidentally damaged in your home while the bathroom’s being fitted, the insurance covers it, so the risk of the job sits with us, not you. It’s separate from the workmanship guarantee, which covers the quality of the finished fitting. A proper fitter carries the insurance and can show you the certificate before starting — always ask to see it.
Proud of every bathroom we fit
A bathroom that’s backed, not just built
The finish is only half of it — what stands behind your bathroom afterwards is the rest. We give you a written workmanship guarantee, full insurance and real aftercare from the same team that did the work. Tell us about your room and we’ll give you one clear, fixed written quote.