Support for self builders: Geberit's videos

[ToughButterCup]

I dunno about you, but for someone like me who has never  ever done much round the house - and now finds himself building a house (!) - the Knowhow videos provided by Geberit are very reassuring now that we're almost in  First / Second fit mode.

 

The production standards for the videos  are very high indeed : just as high as their prices. My argument is that since we can't find reliable trades people operating at a fair price, having a company that takes online video support very seriously  becomes a huge factor in the purchase decision.

 

Starry-eyed I am. Dangerous.  In the interest of balance, give me a healthy slap in the face with a wet fish.

 

Tell me why I should NOT buy Geberit.

 

[PeterW]

Cracking stuff and easy to fit too. It may be expensive but when you have fitted it you’ll realise why as it “just works”..

 

 

[epsilonGreedy]

About 8 months ago I posted a link to a long Skillbuilder episode covering a complete bathroom fitout. It seemed to have a commercial link with a Bristol supplier of non Geberit equivalents.

 

My post drew critical fire because:

1. Buildhub experts seem to have an instinctive dislike of YouTube experts.
2. On BuildHub there is a deep belief system that the Geberit toilet is the most significant human invention since the wheel.

[ToughButterCup]

9 minutes ago, epsilonGreedy said:

[...]

My post drew critical fire because:

[...]

 

Sign of a healthy organisation: critical examination of what we all do is vitally important.

[Big Jimbo]

I think a lot of the others have now caught up. However, the back to wall toilets for me are a no no. Being able to do anything by sticking your hand through the flush plate...... Really, have you ever tried it ? perhaps i have shovel hands, but i think thats a joke. I do use back to wall toilets, but always design, and build in a shelf or something to allow top access to anything i hide in a wall. Perhaps that is me just being over cautious.

[PeterW]

13 minutes ago, epsilonGreedy said:

On BuildHub there is a deep belief system that the Geberit toilet is the most significant human invention since the wheel.

 

Not really ... it’s just the best at what it does and at the price point is incredible value for money. 

 

I can probably have one of the frames installed and trimmed in an hour. Board and skim up to the flush retainer and then it is a 2 minute trim with the multi tool and the flush plate is another 5 mins. Pan fitting is 15 mins tops as the fitting system and pipes are intuitive, easy to mark and have quad seals so leaks are not a worry. 

 

So that  is a concealed cistern with pan installed inside 90 mins. At £30/hr for a plumber, that’s £45 installed. Total cost inc the frame is less than £250 and you can use any pan you want. 

 

Cheapest cabinet based system that is worth fitting is £180 for the unit with the cistern and still is north of an hour or so to fit. And that’s for something with a 1 year warranty ..? Inbuilt cisterns start at £30 but would you want something with no name attached fitted at the back of a wall you can’t get to..? For the sake of £100..??

 

4 minutes ago, Big Jimbo said:

Being able to do anything by sticking your hand through the flush plate...... Really, have you ever tried it ? 

 

Yep - refitted a Geberit flush unit and it took less than 20 mins. Their stuff is designed to be taken apart and is modular - also you can get spares for everything such as the syphon washers so they are very maintainable. 

 

As a note, Geberit now own Twyford and all the toilet internals are now Geberit throughout so that’s worth considering if you are on a budget.

 

The Twyford fast fit frames though are not Geberit copies and are not Geberit parts ..! 

[epsilonGreedy]

20 minutes ago, recoveringacademic said:

Sign of a healthy organisation: critical examination of what we all do is vitally important.

 

 

And so are competition and options.

 

BuildHub sometimes feels like a single party state that should be renamed The Revolutionary Socialist Republic of Geberit.

[Jeremy Harris]

4 minutes ago, epsilonGreedy said:

 

And so are competition and options.

 

BuildHub sometimes feels like a single party state that should be renamed The Revolutionary Socialist Republic of Geberit.

 

I've probably fitted around a dozen toilets and cisterns over the years. 

 

None have been Gerberit.

 

The five I've installed in the last ten years have all been built in to fitted cabinets, for the reasons @Big Jimbo gives; I prefer easy access to all the parts that may possibly need replacement.

[PeterW]

5 minutes ago, epsilonGreedy said:

 

And so are competition and options.

 

BuildHub sometimes feels like a single party state that should be renamed The Revolutionary Socialist Republic of Geberit.

 

Its well off the mark ... see note above about Twyford to start with, and then work through what everyone else has fitted.

 

There is a wide variety fitted, but if I was asked for my personal opinion, I would only fit Geberit for the frame systems and then use any porcelain brand  - if cost isn’t a challenge then I specify Villeroy & Boch for the whiteware. You can equally fit a Rak, or other mid range pan etc but that’s again a very quick change over. 

 

This plays into the fabric first arguments - these Geberit frames are first fix items so you do not want to be changing them in the near future, same as taking the view on using Hep2O etc

 

 

[epsilonGreedy]

30 minutes ago, Big Jimbo said:

...However, the back to wall toilets for me are a no no. Being able to do anything by sticking your hand through the flush plate...... Really, have you ever tried it ? perhaps i have shovel hands, but i think thats a joke. I do use back to wall toilets, but always design, and build in a shelf or something to allow top access to anything i hide in a wall. Perhaps that is me just being over cautious.

 

 

The last posh hotel I stayed at had a new wall hung toilet but like you they incorporated a shelf into the wall for ease of access.

 

I will fit Geberit later in my build because as a diyMax self builder I value a well documented design and fitting procedure. The access issue remains an open question, not sure if I want to add keyhole surgery to my growing list of DIY skills.

[ToughButterCup]

9 minutes ago, epsilonGreedy said:

[...]

because as a ... self builder I value a well documented design and fitting procedure.

[...]

 

Thats the hook, right there.

Perhaps it's because I really appreciate the hard work behind the design and coding the videos.... 

 

[nod]

I’m no plumber 

But I’ve fitted four Geberit on our house Very easy to fit and the final fit after tiling is a doddle 

Great quality