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Labour is roughly half of any bathroom: a full refit is 1-2 weeks of plumber, tiler, electrician and sparks-certified extraction. Keeping the layout is the single biggest saving: soil pipes don't like moving. The suite itself is cheaper than people think (a respectable full suite from GBP 600): tiling area and shower glass are where mid-range budgets quietly climb.
What The Bathroom Renovation Cost Calculator Works Out
- Estimated total: the price band for your specification plus any layout change and underfloor heating. GBP 4,000 to GBP 5,500 buys a budget refresh (new suite in the old layout, sensible tiling), GBP 6,000 to GBP 9,000 the mid-market's full strip-out with quality fittings and a proper enclosure, and five figures the tile-everything, rainfall-and-niche high end.
- Rough split: labour reliably absorbs about half of any tier. A full refit is one to two weeks of sequenced trades: strip-out, first-fix plumbing and electrics, boarding and tanking, tiling, second fix, and certified extraction and electrical work.
- Where budgets blow up: rotten boarding and antique pipework behind old tiles, showroom tile upgrades, and the heated-rail-mirror-niche accessories layer that arrives after the quote.
- Layout and underfloor heating: repositioning the WC or basin adds around GBP 1,500 because soil stacks move reluctantly; electric underfloor heating at several hundred pounds fitted is the small luxury with outsized approval ratings.
- Extra tiling (advanced): tiling area beyond what the spec includes, at your tile price plus about GBP 45/m2 for the tiler. Tiling is the budget's quietest climber: large-format porcelain is fashionable and adds substrate-flattening labour.
- Shower upgrade (advanced): a walk-in enclosure and low tray around GBP 900 more than a standard cubicle, or a fully tanked wet room with a linear drain around GBP 2,000 more. Waterproofing in the wet zone is the never-economise line.
- Electrics (advanced): extractor fan, downlights, shaver socket and a heated towel rail circuit, all needing Part P certification, commonly GBP 300 to GBP 800.
- Several bathrooms and contingency (advanced): the grand total multiplies the per-room figure and adds your contingency percentage; the pot shows the cash to hold back. 10% to 15% is the seasoned advice.
- Time without a bathroom (advanced): an estimate of working days from strip-out to final clean by spec tier, plus extra days for layout changes, wet rooms and heavy tiling. One-bathroom households should plan the gap before the plumber arrives.