Costs
How much does a new bathroom cost?
The honest answer to what a new bathroom costs, and why two identical looking rooms can be thousands apart.
Almost every enquiry we take begins with this question, and most people have already found an answer online that turned out to be useless. The reason is simple: a bathroom price is not a product price. You are buying a number of days of skilled labour plus a shopping list, and both vary enormously.
Rather than quoting a figure we cannot stand behind, here is how the money divides up and which decisions actually move it.
Labour and products split the budget roughly in half
On a typical complete renovation, about half the cost is the work and about half is what you buy. That surprises people who have priced up a suite and assumed the fitting would be a small addition on top.
The labour half is the part you cannot shop around on without changing what you get. Removing a room, altering pipework, plastering, waterproofing, tiling and fitting takes the days it takes.
What increases the labour side
Anything that changes the shape of the room or the position of water. If the new layout matches the old one, the plumbing work is modest. Move the bath, form a level access shower or knock a separate toilet into the bathroom and the day count rises.
- Moving the bath, basin or toilet to a new wall
- Forming a level access shower or a wet room floor
- Removing a wall or an airing cupboard
- Remedial plastering once old tiles come off
- Strengthening or levelling a timber floor
What increases the product side
Tiles and brassware are where budgets quietly double. A large format porcelain, a frameless screen and a concealed cistern will cost several times a basic suite with small ceramic tiles, without a single extra hour of labour in some cases.
If money is tight, our advice is consistent: spend on the shower, the taps and the waterproofing, because those are used daily and expensive to put right.
Why we will not quote from a photograph
The single biggest variable is the condition behind the tiles, and no photograph shows that. Crumbling render, a soft floor or corroded pipework can add days. We survey the room, write down what we found and price against it, so the figure holds unless you change the specification.
Comparing quotes properly
Line quotes up by scope, not by total. Ask each firm who plasters, who waterproofs the shower area, who removes the waste and who seals the room at the end. A cheaper quote that omits two of those is not cheaper.
Questions
Frequently asked
Is the survey and quotation free?
Yes. Martin visits, measures the room and sends a written scope and price at no cost and with no obligation.
Why can two similar bathrooms cost very different amounts?
Because the specification and the hidden work differ. Tiles, screens and brassware vary hugely in price, and so does the condition of the room behind the old tiles.
Can I supply my own bathroom products?
Yes, many of our customers do. We will quote for labour and preparation and check your product list works in your room before anything is ordered.
Will the price change once work starts?
Only if you change the specification or we uncover damage that was hidden. In that case we tell you the cost before continuing.
Where should I spend if my budget is limited?
On waterproofing, the shower and the taps. Decorative items can be upgraded later, but the parts behind the tiles cannot.
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