Situations and planning
Building a schedule around a bathroom suite with a long lead time
The short answer
Some sanitaryware, baths and bespoke furniture can take weeks longer to arrive than the building work itself takes to complete, so the order in which you place orders matters as much as the order the trades work in, confirming delivery dates before booking a fitter avoids a finished shell sitting empty.
How to approach it
Get a firm delivery date in writing from the supplier before booking the fitter's start date, rather than working back from an estimate that can slip.
Where a specific item has a long lead time, ask whether the rest of the job can be sequenced to finish just as it arrives, keeping second fix as the final stage rather than idle time mid-project.
Have a fallback plan if the item is delayed past the booked fitting dates, some fitters will do other jobs and return, others need the slot rebooked, and it's worth knowing which before it happens.
Check the item on delivery against the order before the fitter needs it installed, since a damaged or wrong item found on install day causes far more delay than catching it on arrival.
Your questions answered
Should I book the fitter before or after ordering a long lead-time item?
Order the item first and get a confirmed delivery date, then book the fitter around that, booking a fitter before you know the delivery date risks a costly rebooking if it slips.
What if the item arrives damaged just before the fitter is due?
Check deliveries as soon as they arrive rather than leaving the box until install day, so there's time to raise a replacement before the fitting slot is lost.
Keep reading
Questions about planning around a long lead-time suite?
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