A bathroom can be a pretty big investment, and one that takes careful planning and consideration before the work can be carried out.
It’s something you will have to go through at least once in your home, especially when things break or become worn down past the point of repair.
While the price of your new bathroom will tend to vary depending on the company you go with, if you do it yourself, and the new fixtures you buy, we are still able to give you a good estimate, answering your biggest question: how much does it cost to fit a bathroom UK?
Typical Bathroom Installation Costs
Before we get into details about the specifics of bathroom redecoration, let’s take a look at some of the typical installation and labour costs, as well as the average amount of time it takes to get the work done.
As we have mentioned before, the price will likely vary a little depending on the contractor you go with, as well as the furnishings you purchase.
Basin: the price for a new basin to be installed will usually vary between £70 and £120, and the job itself will only usually take an hour or two.
Toilet: for a new toilet to be installed, you are usually looking at £75 - £140, and this will normally take a maximum of three hours to complete.
Bath: this tends to cost quite a bit more because of the size and the additional work included, so you are looking at prices between £130 and £220 on average, with the work time being around five hours.
Shower: a standard shower is often around £100 to £120 for installation, and it tends to take around three hours to complete the work.
Also Read: Best Shower Wall Panels
Electric Shower: we get into more details about this particular type of shower later, but you should expect to spend between £100 and £150 on the plumber and the same on the electrician, with each spending around two or three hours on their respective tasks.
Shower Enclosure: if you are wondering how much to fit a shower enclosure, you can expect to pay between £150 and £250 for the labour, with the work taking up to four hours to complete.
Taps: these are quite inexpensive, so they should only cost you between £50 and £80 to install, with the timeframe being around an hour.
Tiling: for tiling work, the price varies according to the size of the room and the amount of space you want to be tiled. Prices tend to be between £400 and £1000 (sometimes more) with the work taking between one and five days to complete.
Underfloor Heating: this form of heating will usually cost around £350 to £850 for installation, with the work lasting anywhere between five hours and two days; depending on the size of the job.
Extractor Fan: for these, the price is usually somewhere between £150 and £240, and the actual work process usually only lasts up to four hours.
Complete Renovation: when we refer to complete renovation, we mean every aspect of your bathroom. From ripping it all out, disposing of it safely, and putting all the new stuff in (including re-tiling) For this, you should expect to pay between £3000 and £5000, with the average job length being around 10 days.
Standard Installation: this is just for the bathroom fixtures, and it will often cost between £2000 and £2500 with an average labour period of around five days.
DIY or Professional Bathroom Installation?
Really, this is the first big decision you are going to need to make – do you want to do all the work yourself or hire a professional? While doing it all yourself might seem like the cheapest option, it isn’t necessarily the best, and you might find that you have bitten off more than you can chew.
Bathroom renovation often calls for a plumber, electrician, tiler, and painter. The latter two are easier to undertake yourself, but the former should be left to the experts.
Want to know some of the big advantages of hiring the professionals to do your bathroom? Take a quick peek at our top reasons below:
Of course, you always have the option to take the DIY route, but we would strongly advocate for the use of professionals when you are working on creating your dream bathroom.
Factors Affecting the Overall Cost of Bathroom Installation
While we have taken you through the majority of the individual features in the first section of this guide, there are some general factors that will affect the overall cost of your bathroom installation.
Here, we will take you through each of them, a little more information, as well as the rough costs you can expect to incur as a result.
Electrical Work
This particular section of electric work isn’t in reference to showers, but instead to the lighting and similar fixtures such as sockets.
Depending on the amount of electrical work you want to be done, as well as the specific pieces you would like installed, you can expect to spend an average of £300 on this.
Flooring
This is a big one, and the costs vary massively because it can depend on the type of flooring you choose. At present, vinyl is one of the most popular on the market, likely because it has become so much better in terms of quality in recent years.
The rough price for this is around £300 to £400 depending on the size of the bathroom, and stone or tile can easily cost double this or more.
General Plumbing
While we looked at individual plumbing tasks, there may be other work that needs to be carried out, including alterations to the existing pipework layout. For extras such as this, you could end up forking out around £700 for the work, possibly even more if it is extensive.
Bathroom Suite
These are quite good little bundles because they come with everything included. When you pick these up, you should take the time to find a contractor that is reliable and trustworthy because they also tend to be quite expensive to buy.
Usually, the installation cost for these is around £1000 for a standard (and that includes all installation work), although budget suites tend to be a little less, and the luxury ones a little more.
Old Bathroom Removal and Waste
This is a really important aspect of the process to remember, because the removal of your old fixtures and any waste that comes with it needs to be removed in a professional and legal manner.
The company you hire will be able to dispose of it for you, but you should be warned that they have to pay business rates and so it will often turn out to be quite a substantial additional fee. Although, some companies will include the cost of removal in their quote, so make sure to confirm that first.
If you only have a small amount of waste, you could hire a skip and arrange the disposal of the waste yourself, but this can be a lot of hassle, and it will still cost you money to get the work done – just possibly not as much as the contractor you hired would charge.
Going with the professionals does mean you know that everything is being disposed of correctly, and you don’t have the additional stress of trying to throw it all away yourself.
Straight Swap or a Whole New Installation?
This refers to electric showers and the two types of installation that can be undertaken. The straight swap is where you take an old electric shower unit out and replace it with a new one. It requires minimal work, and is a relatively easy process.
The whole new installation is when you are installing an electric shower unit for the first time, and this means that a lot of new work has to be done on the area, and new electric cables wired up and linked to the bathroom.
This will require the electrician to do a lot more, and the job will likely take longer as a result. It is not uncommon for brand new installations to take around two days.
Further Reading: Fitting Shower Tray DIY Guide
Choosing the Right Unit
You need to make sure that you choose the right unit for your needs and your home, especially as there are actually a few different types you might not have been aware of. A lot of it comes down to how your water is supplied – gravity fed, mains supply, or combi boiler.
All you need to do is check the requirements and specifications on your chosen power shower to make sure that they match the water supply so that you know they are compatible. It only takes a moment, and it tends to be clearly listed information.
Do I Need a Plumber and an Electrician?
The short answer is, possibly. Your best bet if you want to save a decent amount of money is to hire an electrician that is also a plumber (or vice versa).
This means that only one person needs to do the work, and you don’t have to worry about calling two separate ones out so that you can use your shower.
It is usually a simpler job if you are just replacing an old shower unit with a new one, and in these cases, you will find that the electrician will either charge a lot less, or the plumber will be able to do it themselves as they tend to be trained to perform basic electrical work for straight up shower swaps.
If you are performing a whole new installation, the work is increased, and the electrician must be there to ensure safe set-up, especially as new cables need to be run and linked up to your fuse box.
Extra Costs
With your electric shower, there are a few additional costs that you need to consider before you book the work. They are as follows:
FAQ's
Q: Is a wet room expensive?
A: Bear in mind though that a wet room usually needs to be fully tiled on the floor and walls so it can be costly. This is why wet rooms are often perceived as the more expensive option. A job well done will cost more but is essential for a successful end result.
To Conclude
We hope that this has given you a clear idea of how much your new shower room will cost, as well as some insight into the options available to you with regards to hiring a professional or undertaking the task yourself.
While there are some aspects we would strongly recommend leaving to the experts, there is also quite a bit that you can do yourself – and we have plenty of guides to help you figure things out.
What did you think of our shower room pricing guide? Are our estimates on point, or do you think they are off the mark? We love hearing from you and would like to know more about your recent bathroom renovations, so feel free to leave us a message in the comments below.
