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Original poster

Cost of new bathrooms

28 replies

LarrytheCucumber · 13/04/2017 07:31

I know a lot depends on the fittings chosen, but what would you expect to pay for one family bathroom (bath removed, shower and tray fitted, new loo, basin, vanity unit, extractor, labour for tiling) ensuite, (replace existing suite, fit new suite and extractor, replace shower, labour for tiling) downstairs loo (replace existing suite, labour for tiling). We have no idea what is a reasonable price. Anyone any ideas?

OP posts:
DropZoneOne · 13/04/2017 07:37

Our family bathroom is costing £7k through Wickes. That's top of the range shower and taps, towel rail with electric element, underfloor heating, fully tiled, built in vanity and wc unit with 1200mm cupboard over.

You can of course do it much cheaper (labour is about £4k of the total) but we wanted the ease of having a big company behind it, after trouble with a local gardening company two years ago.

GimbleInTheWabe · 13/04/2017 07:43

We're having our bathroom redone (bath, loo and basin removed, tiles stripped, radiator removed and heated towel rail installed and then all new units installed in same place and new tiling on walls and floor). It's going to cost £3000. It's a relatively small bathroom but I'm in London.
It's pretty much: £850 for plumber who is also going to strip everything. £750 for tiling. £550 for tiles (topps tiles) and I think about £800 for all the bath etc.

Top tip - i put some stuff in my basket at Victoria Plum and because I left it a few days they sent me an extra 5% off Wink

Original poster
LarrytheCucumber · 13/04/2017 07:45

Ah, forgot the heated towel rails in family bathroom and en suite. We have chosen an Aqualiesa shower for main bathroom and an electric Mira one in ensuite. Not sure about 'top of the range' we just chose what we like.
That's very helpful Dropzone.

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RNBrie · 13/04/2017 07:45

We did a total gut job on our family bathroom (including replacing the joists and floor) and it cost £8k. Our loft bathroom had a new shower, retiling and redecorating and it cost £2k. We are in south London.

Lizzylou · 13/04/2017 07:46

Our family bathroom is currently being redone and will end up costing around 12k. But that includes a lot of hidden work replacing the previous owners bad renovations beforehand. That is for completely gutting, plastering, new suite including bath, flooring etc.
5-8k would be around right price if you haven't bought a house completely bodged beforehand.

Original poster
LarrytheCucumber · 13/04/2017 07:57

The quote we are considering is £14,500 for the three rooms.
It includes labour for tiling and a few extras like fitting proper locks to doors, painting doors and ceilings, painting walls in downstairs loo, as we are not having that fully tiled, but not the actual tiles. Also includes skip hire.

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Bearbehind · 13/04/2017 08:03

It depends how much of that is labour.

If you've chosen really high spec fittings then it might be reasonable.

If it's fairly standard fittings I'd be getting more quotes as £14.5k sounds high.

RNBrie · 13/04/2017 08:22

Have they been recommended to you? Our builder's quotes always seem a bit high but we know he's reliable and the quality of work is outstanding. We know there will be no unexpected extras so we are happy to go for his slightly higher quotes.

Also - as Bear said - a lot depends on the costs of your tiles and fixtures.

RNBrie · 13/04/2017 08:26

Just seen that it doesn't include the actual tiles. In which case it's a lot. I think £14.5 would be reasonable all in but not if you still need to buy tiles on top of that.

Kiroro · 13/04/2017 09:03

London. I paid £4k to £5k labour for a smallish fully tiled bathroom (inc plastering walls) EXCLUDING fittings and tiles (you can spend as much or as little on them as you want).

Original poster
LarrytheCucumber · 13/04/2017 09:31

He has 40 positive reviews on one of the rated traders sights, which is why we asked him for a quote.£7,000 is labour.
We paid around £8,000 for a much bigger bathroom at our last house - separate bath and shower, whereas here we are replacing bath with a shower. This bathroom is fairly standard bath, basin, loo side by side. They are not squashed together, but you couldn't call it large. En suite is basin, bath, shower tray side by side. Again not huge but not cramped either. Downstairs loo just has hideous fittings so we thought we would get it all done at once.

OP posts:
Bearbehind · 13/04/2017 09:40

The trouble with good builders is they are very busy so can afford to up their quotes because they are often booked up months in advance.

£7k labour is a lot but, given it will include 20% VAT it's not extortionate.

On the other hand £7.5k for standard fittings with no bath or tiles sounds bonkers to me

ShortLass · 13/04/2017 15:18

I'm having very similiar, Cucumber: replace bathroom suite, ensuite and downstairs loo. The only difference will be a new stud wall in ensuite as I'm making it a bit bigger to fit in a toilet (only shower & sink in there at present). I'm not having a separate shower in bathroom, but will have a mixer shower with new shower pump.

Labour: £5,100
Sanitary ware: £4,000 (just under)
Wall tiles: £1000 (just under)

Doesn't include flooring, new ceiling lights, electrics or painting non-tiled bits. If plumber was going to tile the floors of bathroom & ensuite for me, he would have charged £300 labour, but I am getting karndean.

I will also be buying a bathroom mirror and cabinet on top of this.

I'm in the south east.

ShortLass · 13/04/2017 15:20

Mine also doesn't include removal of waste as the builder is in and plumber is using his skip, by arrangement.

I was quoted a total of £19,000 for all of it by a bathroom company (everything included except Karndean which requires specialist fitters to ensure their guarantee)

ShortLass · 13/04/2017 15:21

Mine also doesn't include heated towel rail/radiators, but they're less than £60 each. Fitting by plumber is included in cost.

Sorry for the bitty posting.

ShortLass · 13/04/2017 15:23

I will need to pay for plastering on top of this. But plasterer is in doing other work in the house, so shouldn't be too much.

This really is my last post on this. I reckon about £11k for the lot.

Original poster
LarrytheCucumber · 13/04/2017 16:41

I hadn't seen Karndean until yesterday. Is it good for bathrooms? I had assumed we would have tiles. Downstairs loo and en suite currently have carpet Shock

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ShortLass · 13/04/2017 16:48

I'm going for Karndean as it is warmer underfoot than ceramic/porcelain tiles, but looks tile-like.

I'm going for Cumbrian Stone in my bathroom.

Cost of new bathrooms
DropZoneOne · 13/04/2017 18:12

We have karndean in the kitchen, it is warmer than tiles but in the end I went for tiled and underfloor heating as my mum has that and I love the feeling of a warm floor on a cold morning!

"Top of the range" - get wickes brochure, find most expensive of pretty much everything. I gave the designer free rein having told him what I needed (decent shower, bath that wouldn't crack when 15st DH got in, lots of storage, lots of warmth, easy to clean). Also told him my job involved looking round luxury hotels and I had bathroom envy. The only thing I agreed was OTT was the button that heated up the water before you got on the shower.

Haven't chosen the tiles yet because the ones I liked at first were £150 a Sq m. Had flashbacks to the garden where I picked out a garden he'd done and said I liked the patio. Ah yes he said. That's Italian slate.I've quoted for Indian sandstone. There's a £3000 difference 😂

Original poster
LarrytheCucumber · 13/04/2017 19:49

DD has MS. Would Karndean be slippery on a wet floor? We had textured tiles in last house which were ok.

OP posts:
ShortLass · 14/04/2017 07:51

Karndean is textured to resemble stone or wood. Some of it is very textured. Less slippery than tiles. Many, if not most, carpet shops do it. Worth popping in somewhere local for a look and a feel. They tend to have it out on display boards so you can get an idea of how it will look when laid on a floor.

TheFirstMrsDV · 14/04/2017 12:05

I used Tile Mountain for wall tiles. They are much cheaper than Topps etc.
I used Victorian Plumbing for fittings. They are NOT the same as Victoria Plumb and I don't know how they get away with it but they do. I had no problems with quality or supply.

I have porcelain wood-look planks in my upstairs shower room. They have a RD? rating of 11. That means they are highly non slip.
We put that horrible specialist flooring in OH's wetroom (he has MS). I hate it. I wish I had stuck to my guns and put the wood stuff in.
Check the ratings of any flooring. It will tell you if its ok for your DD.

Shortdarkandfeisty · 14/04/2017 12:09

I've refurbed 2 bathrooms recently and I paid £6k labour for one and £4k labour for the other, which was more or less the same size, as I got a different, better plumber to do it. So I'd expect to pay around £6-7k total for a bathroom, including all sanitaryware and flooring. But it all depends, if you go for a £6k Catchpole and Rye bath then of course it'll be more. I think the quote you've had sounds fairly high.

Original poster
LarrytheCucumber · 14/04/2017 21:47

Bit confused ShortIf you expect to pay £6-7k for a bathroom then is £14,500 for a bathroom, en suite and downstairs loo really that high?

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Shortdarkandfeisty · 14/04/2017 21:52

Hi Larry, sorry, no I suppose it's not! Does that include sanitary ware?

I think for a small bathroom Labour alone should be four to six k

I would check what's included - e.g. Flooring, tiling, ceiling painting, lights, cupboards, towel rails etc. I was naive with my first one and didn't check so ended up paying extra for several items

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