High deposit asked for before starting job - is this normal?

All depends on which company you go for. Small companies ask for 50% and rest on completion.
One man band companies usually go the the higher deposit to pay for materials and a weeks wages in advance.

Hi ,I know it's a rough market out there and not many reliable trades engineers or companies but why going with a supplier quote which is surely charging you 30% to 50% more than how much a bathroom fitting normally costs.
A trades person should go with 50% deposit on the day the works commencing, 25% middle of the project and the 25% outstanding at the end would be ideal.

God bless!

It depends on the cost of the materials and fittings really. I know a lot of people want the materials bill paid before starting work so, although there is a possibility of losing time, they are not losing money as well if the customer doesn't pay.
Ask him what this figure represents, make sure he gives you some sort of written contract/receipt and look into his reviews.

70% is a bit cheeky to be honest I usually ask the clients to get the materials so when I have half the work done I get half the labour cost and the rest when I finish this way if and it does happen a lot if clients don’t pay iam only out of pocket for my time and not for materials aswel but 70% upfront is risky try come to an agreement we’re you buy the materials and you’ll pay half the labour costs when his half the work done and the balance when finished and your happy with the end result

There isn’t any normal practice… it’s what is mutually agreed between client and tradesmen… problem is it might seem the wrong way round but if you look at it from a tradesmen point of view… they have to supply all the materials and labour (a big cost) on the understanding that they will be paid for this at the end of the job which is simply a big huge risk… they too have families and homes to feed and keep… not everyone is honest… if you go to a supermarket and do your food shop you pay for the goods before you take them home….

On the clients side there trusting a good job will be done and done when stated… so there is a big risk either side… I prefer to go 50/50 so risk is equal unless otherwise agreed with clients as everyone is different.

It's not normal or professional in anyway. I would avoid at all costs

It depends on the cost of materials as with the prices going up some people ask for money upfront to get materials
Tell them to give you a list of materials they need and ask them for a labour only price and you buy the materials
Then you pay them when the job is complete and you are happy

25% is a reasonable deposit it should all be put on the contract and agree by both parties