With rapidly changing prices in our business, we can no longer provide a monetary guide on how much the bathroom renovation will cost. We now review our prices every two weeks in order to ensure that the amounts we charge will cover all the costs associated with the refurbishment. As a general rule of thumb, full bathroom refurbishments start around £7000-£8000 in total and can go to around £20 000 for very complex bathrooms.
We have a series of spreadsheets that enable us to calculate your prices. We take the following variables into consideration when preparing a quote:
The age of the old bathroom
Effect on price: Very High
As a simple rule of thumb, the older the bathroom, the more expensive the project.
- Older bathrooms have older styles of plumbing and we need special connectors to adapt new plumbing systems. For example, there are still bathrooms with lead pipes (this was banned in the 70s due to its effects on health) or even ceramic waste pipes and connectors. The newer the bathroom, the more modern the plumbing systems, so easier to adapt them to new plumbing systems.
- Some bathrooms still use lath and plaster walls, which are not suitable for tiles or panels. This is something that will affect the price significantly since simply removing the lath and plaster takes considerable amounts of time (and sometimes more than a skip just for this)
- Even in bathrooms that are relatively new, if they’re over 20 years old, the high humidity affects the walls/ceiling/subfloor to the point where replacing everything is the only option. Not speaking of the smells impregnated everywhere, the best option is to replace everything if possible.
The type of construction
Effect on price: Very High
There are various types of buildings. Even newer houses have different types of construction techniques.
- Solid walls are particularly difficult to work with, especially if you want to change the layout of the room. For example, fitting a wall-mounted vanity unit takes 3-4 hours of labour in total. If the wall is solid, moving the drainage inside the wall and fitting the vanity unit can take 9-10 of labour. If it were a granite wall, it would be basically impossible to do this.
- Solid walls are less common in modern builds
- There are different types of solid walls, the worst-case scenario is granite. Drilling/cutting granite can be done only with diamond-impregnated drills/tools, which are very expensive and slow.
- Solid flooring makes things extremely difficult to move. Lowering the drainage, for example, takes maybe 5-6 hours of work on a property with suspended flooring. If the floor has reinforced concrete, it can take 20-30 hours. Usually, when we have solid flooring and there’s an absolute need for a level access shower, pump drainage is usually cheaper.
Layout
Effect on price: High
Changing the layout usually is expensive in terms of materials and labour. The worst-case scenario is when we have solid walls and flooring, making things very difficult to move.
- Moving the toilet is usually the most problematic part of layout changes. Since the soil pipe is very large (100mm, 4 inches) it can’t go through floor joists, so even when having a modern built house, it’s still difficult to change the position of the toilet.
- There are still ways to move the toilet, sometimes relatively inexpensive. It’s relatively easy to move the toilet if it’s on the same wall and you’re ok with a box built at the bottom of the tiles/panels. When having custom-built units (or vanity unit + toilet unit) we can run the toilet pipes to the bottom of these units.
- Converting a bathtub into a shower also poses some challenges. Depending on the existing plumbing, this can be done in 2-3 hours of labour time, but sometimes it’s simply impossible to lower the drain enough.
- You can still have a shower instead of a bathtub, but we would have to build a platform for the shower, so the drain has enough slope to drain properly.
The shape of the room
Effect on price: High
Having a room with 4 straight walls and no protrusions in the walls + a standard height ceiling is the ideal scenario. Almost all modern houses are like this.
- The more corners you have in a room, the more difficult in terms of both labour and materials. For example, a room that has a single box protruding from the wall can take 5-6 hours extra for tiling (since you’ll need trims/to cut all the tiles and so on). This is specific to older houses that have boxes built on the walls/floor. When we cut a tile, chances are that we are not able to use what’s left of it, so this will mean extra tiles need to be ordered.
- Angled rooms (with sloped ceilings) are very difficult to work in. It’s hard to find a design suitable for this + it takes longer for the trades like plastering or tiling on those areas.
- Very tall ceilings make things more difficult, especially if you need the ceiling plastered or other work to the walls. Replacing the plasterboard, for example, already takes a significant amount of time. If the room is taller than 2400, then a standard height plasterboard won’t get to the ceiling. This means that a small scaffolding has to be erected and two people complete the small bit of plasterboard at the top of the room. Since it’s not a full piece, it will take longer to tape, fill and sand the plaster filler as well. All in all, having a higher ceiling means that it can double the time to do certain tasks like plastering, painting, and tiling.
- This can also create issues with the panels (which are only 2400 tall), meaning that you’ll be left with a gap if you choose this option
- It’s usually cheaper to lower the ceiling to a normal height. This is not always possible since it might interfere with the window.
Size
Effect on price: Moderate
The size of the bathroom is not as important as one might think. There are more materials in a larger bathroom, but the labour is not significantly different. This is why small bathrooms tend to be somewhat expensive since it doesn’t make a huge difference if you have a much larger room in many situations.
This is explained by the following
- In a bathroom, you usually have a single toilet, single shower, single sink, and single lighting which means that the price is relatively the same
- Decorating a large room is usually the same as decorating a small room. The materials are insignificant and the labour time it’s usually not the large area that you decorate, but the corners of the room that need precision (and you have the same amount of corners)
- Flooring is usually the same for both big and small bathrooms. Let’s say you want vinyl click flooring, you’ll need two packs even for the smallest bathrooms. For a room 50% bigger, you still need 2 packs. The labour will also be the same. This is because the hardest part is not laying the flooring as full planks, but when you have to do the edges of the room (that needs cutting) or around the sink/toilet. In fact, it’s harder to work in a small room, since you simply don’t have room for manoeuvring.
- Tiling is extremely easy on flat surfaces that need cutting. The labour is usually with cutting (around corners). Large rooms have the same amount of corners usually as small rooms.
- You can have two people working in a larger room, some things are complicated to handle on your own and it’s faster when there are two people working (for example a large glass which weighs in excess of 50 kilos). In a small room, there is not enough space for two people working.
Flooring
Effect on price: high
Doing the flooring (and subflooring) properly is really important. Especially with suspended flooring, they keep the weight of all the bathroom products. Doing it properly makes a big difference, so this is a part that you want it done properly.
- The condition of the subfloor is extremely important when it comes to the flooring time. If everything is done properly to the subfloor, the vinyl click flooring takes 2-3 hours to fit, while tiles take around 7-8 hours in total. If the subfloor has to be completely redone, you’ll need to add 5-6 hours to this + additional materials.
- Tiling is generally much more expensive than vinyl click flooring, and vinyl click flooring is more expensive than lino. Although linoleum flooring is the cheapest option, you should try and use better flooring if the budget allows it.
- Large tiles require even further work, the larger the tile, the more stable the surface has to be. If it’s not stable enough, the tile will come loose in time and the grout will crack.
- Epoxy grout helps with the floor grout, but adds around 1-2 hours of extra labour time + some additional materials. It’s usually a cost worth spending since you won’t have to regrout in the future (it’s much stronger than standard grout)
- Underfloor heating adds 7-8 hours in total. This is because underfloor heating it’s not just a matter of installing the underfloor heating kit, but fitting insulation, preparing the surface, applying a screed and then continuing with the main flooring.
- Making the room a wetroom (no tray for the shower) is the most expensive part when it comes to the flooring, it adds around 20 hours to the projects. This is due to the wetroom system and waterproofing necessary.
Walls
Effect on price: high
There are big differences between panels, tiles or plastered walls in terms of labour time and cost of materials.
- The most affordable option will be UPVC panels since they’re relatively inexpensive and require little labour to install. It takes 10-15 hours to fit panels
- Plaster + paint is the second most affordable option. It takes 15-20 hours to do the plastering and painting in an average bathroom.
- White paint is cheaper than having a white ceiling and coloured walls
- You can choose to do the painting yourself if you want to save some money
- Medium tiles are next in terms of labour time and materials. It takes around 20-30 hours for an average bathroom to do the tiling (including all the work, preparing the surface, tiling, grouting, and cleaning).
- Large, small tiles or hexagonal tiles are the most labour-intensive. It takes 30-40 hours for an average bathroom to the tiling.
- Large tiles are hard to fit since when using large tiles we need special systems to level the tiles (there are slight curvatures in all tiles, but this is accentuated when you have huge tiles). These systems align tiles between them and take some time to use.
- Small tiles require a lot of cuts. Even counting all the tiles takes a long time.
- Hexagonal tiles are extremely hard to align. Tiles are not perfect (they differ in size by a few mm). Usually, this is not a problem when you have only 4 sides, since you combine them so that this is not visible to non-professionals. When you have 6 sides, then it’s much harder to do this (usually we need to use grout slightly larger to hide these differences with hexagonal tiles)
- Mosaic tiles will be the most expensive in terms of both labour and materials. Especially with glass mosaic tiles, you can’t use standard adhesive (otherwise you’ll see dark bits in the back of the tiles), it takes a really long time (50-60 hours if you’d make a full room in mosaic tiles) and they’re really expensive (some of them exceed £500 per square metre, just for tiles)
Ventilation
Effect on price: Low
Ventilation is extremely important in a bathroom. New standards are very strict about these. A well-heated bathroom with good ventilation will last decades with little to no maintenance. Poor ventilation and keeping the room cold will make it damp and can destroy it in a few years.
- The easiest is to replace an existing extractor fan. This takes around one hour.
- Modifying the wiring so the extractor fan works with a timer adds another 1-2 hours to the project.
- Drilling an extractor fan through a normal wall + fitting an extractor fan with a timer takes 4-5 hours in total.
- An inline extractor fan (above the shower) with a timer that can be ducted outside (but not through the roof) takes 6-7 hours in total. This is the ideal situation, but you need to have loft access above the bathroom and ideally a gable wall or soffit where to run the ducting.
- An extractor fan through a granite wall takes the longest. It takes 10-15 hours in total to fit one.
Recesses
Effect on price: Low
Recesses are great, but it’s not always possible to fit them due to the existing wall structures. When we have an empty wall, we can do this to maximise the space.
- A simple recess when having panels it’s the simplest, it takes 4-5 hours in total. It takes so long because we have to build a structure around the recess + make the box out of plasterboard + waterproof it all around. Ultimately, we’ll have to use trims around the edges to complete it.
- A recess when having tiles takes a little bit more 5-6 hours in total.
- An illuminated recess takes around 1-2 hours extra, depending on the source of electricity + we might need to use a 12V transformer + IP-rated lights if in a splash area
- Each recess requires similar work, so having two recesses means double the price
Lighting
Effect on price: Low
Lighting can change the look and feel of a room. Proper lighting can create the effects of a larger room, which is really useful when almost everybody has a small bathroom.
- A single large LED light is going to be the most affordable option in both labour and materials. It takes 1-2 hours to fit a single light in the same position.
- Downlights are really popular and a good option, but in a bathroom, we need to use IP-rated downlights which are more expensive. Furthermore, wiring the downlights takes a considerable amount of time.
- It takes 2-3 hours to replace the downlights (if the wiring is already done)
- It takes 5-6 hours to fit new downlights if you don’t have the wiring done. The problem with this is that you’ll need to allocate time for plastering (if you weren’t planning to plaster the ceiling) or the UPVC ceiling. This is necessary since we often have to run channels for the wires.
Bathroom products
Effect on price: Moderate
The bathroom products are relatively inexpensive in the big picture. While there are some products on the luxury side, the main bathroom products are not that expensive. Choosing certain products can have a large effect on price (due to extra labour involved)
Toilet type
Effect on price: Moderate
Depending on the toilet you choose, the labour price can vary significantly.
- Close-coupled toilets are the cheapest to fit, it takes 2-3 hours in total to fit a toilet
- Back-to-wall toilets with units take around 5-6 hours in total to fit + require some additional materials like joinery bits and pieces
- Wall-mounted toilets (in a unit) take around 6-7 hours in total to fit + additional materials are moderate in price due to extra joinery bits and pieces + more expensive plumbing parts
- Wall-mounted toilets (in the wall) take around 9-10 hours to fit. There will be significant costs with the plumbing parts since they’re expensive. Because they’re inside the wall and hardly accessible, we use the best plumbing parts we can find. The additional materials (connectors, quality cistern, wall frame, push button) can easily exceed £600-£700.
Bathtub type
Effect on price: moderate
There are various bathtubs to choose from, some of them simpler than others in terms of fitting.
- Straight bathtubs are the easiest to fit. It takes 5-6 hours of labour time in total.
- With straight bathtubs, you can choose to have a tiled side on the bathtub instead of the original panel. This adds 3-4 hours of labour time in total and a little bit over £200 of additional materials
- P-shaped bathtubs or L-shaped bathtubs are more difficult to fit, they take 6-7 hours in total usually.
- Freestanding bathtubs tend to take 9-10 hours of labour time in total because you need more work to the flooring (since the flooring has to be done underneath the bathtub in this case), the bath filler usually comes from the wall or floor.
Shower enclosure and walk-in shower
Effect on price: low
Choosing a different type of shower enclosure or walk-in the shower doesn’t usually affect the price too much, the labour price is relatively constant.
- There will be a higher price if you want us to lower the drainage. This is not always possible due to the current plumbing system.
Sink
Effect on price: high
Choosing a pedestal sink compared with a custom-built storage solution is going to be very different in terms of both labour and additional materials.
- The most affordable option is to use a pedestal sink
- A simple vanity unit is the second most affordable option. Please only use this if you have an extractor fan or if you’re very careful with opening the doors/windows after taking a shower + you use your heating properly. Cold and non-ventilated rooms allow for condensation to form, and long term they can destroy units.
- A wall-hung vanity unit is a little bit more expensive to fit since it takes longer to move the pipes in the wall. Suppose it’s a like-for-like replacement (replacing another wall-hung vanity unit). In that case, it’s not a problem, but redoing the plumbing to allow a wall mounted vanity unit takes a long time (especially if the wall is solid).
- Custom-fit units. This is the most expensive option since it takes a long time to assemble all the parts necessary for this. It’s basically a small kitchen in miniature (it has all the elements of a kitchen: worktop, panels, sink, doors, raising legs, plinth, pelmet, cornice, doors, hinges, and panels). All these have to be assembled, which takes a considerable time + the materials are very expensive. A vanity unit is mass manufactured, meaning that it’s always going to be cheaper to use a ready-built unit. It usually takes 10-15 hours to do this (more if it’s more complicated, like having an L design)
- Although expensive, this maximises the storage space the most. Since most bathrooms are so small in the UK (especially the city bathrooms), you want to maximise this as much as possible.
Radiator
Effect on price: Low
In a bathroom, most likely you’ll have a towel radiator instead of a normal radiator.
- Replacing a towel radiator like like takes around 1-2 hours
- Fitting a towel radiator instead of normal radiator takes around 3-4 hours
- Changing the radiator so the pipes are coming from the wall instead of the floor takes 4-5 hours in total and requires around £200 extra in additional materials. This assumes not having a solid wall.
Accessories
Effect on price: Low
You can have a few extras:
- Towel ring: less than an hour of labour
- Toilet roll holder: less than an hour of labour
- Shaver socket: 1-2 hours of labour
- Toothbrush charger: 1-2 hours of labour
- Electric mirror: 2-4 hours of labour
- Electric cabinet mirror: 3-5 hours of labour
- Making the radiator dual (so it can be heated during summer without switching on the heating): 2-3 hours of labour
All of the above show why it’s so hard to estimate how much your bathroom would cost without visiting the property.
