Installing bath when there is just a very basic shower?

[Budikka]

I have the chance to buy a flat which does not have a proper shower/bath. It basically has a "bathroom" with a toilet and a sink installed, plus a drain in the corner and a mixer shower above it. So although there is a curtain to pull across, you are basically standing on the same floor that you stand for the nearby toilet. The shower is not a separate "box", if you understand me. I have seen these on the Continent and I presume that the floor is laid with a slight slope, so that the water pours towards (and down) the drain!

Is it a big deal to install a new bathroom suite? I mean, the drain and the water pipes to supply the hot and cold water are there, so should it be that much of a problem? Plus I would like to have a bath, rather than a shower. The size of the room is 2.54 x 1.33 m (8'3 x 4'4).

It's a bit of a big deal. Would take about 2 weeks and cost about £7-10k depending on the tiles/fittings you choose. They have to retile as they have to rip everything up to fit the new pipes, so you can't get around that bit.
Source: recent quote for an en suite half refit when all I wanted to do was replace the flooring and they explained even that is impossible without ripping everything out because it all sits on top of the floor. £9k labour only was the quote for ours but is suspect it's a slightly bigger room than yours.

Hi, thanks so much for the helpful reply. The time thing would not be a big issue, I was more interested in finding out the likely cost. What you say makes sense, so I will budget (factor in) £10K for the cost of the bathroom.

I wonder if it might be cheaper overall to just overhaul the whole bathroom? Meaning, at the time, to just install a "nice new" sink and toilet as well. The existing ones are perfectly fine, but if I get a nice new fitted bath, that might put the rest slightly in the shade...

Thanks, your reply has been a great help.

@Budikka It shouldn't be too much of a problem. What kind of floor do you have? If it's concrete, you should be able to rip out all the appliances & check it with a spirit level to see which parts are sloping. Then you could screed the whole floor to make it level & smooth. If the soil stack runs through the bathroom, you can connect all the wastes to it. Otherwise, you could dig out the floor drain & connect the bath waste to it.

Now don't laugh! But you can get temporary pop up baths on Amazon! I know this because I only have a shower and I was tempted but it wouldn't fit in our shower cubicle - you don't have that problem! Suppose it depends how often you'd want a bath? I only wanted one every so often and would have got a pop up one if I could make it fit

a glass shower screen could easily be installed & a 'ridge' to contain the water to the shower area.