Cost of a bathroom install?

loz_the_guru

Distinguished Member
Joined
Dec 26, 2005
Messages
5,258
Reaction score
196
Points
1,152
Location
Bath
Evening all,

Me and my partner are looking to get our bathroom replaced on a budget. It's tiny (around 4.5 square meters), but would need gutting and re-doing - tiles and existing flooring removed and replaced, suite replaced. We would like part tiling, with floor tiles also.

We don't need top of the line stuff, and have budgeted around £1200 for a replacement shower cubicle (instead of a Bath), sink, toilet and some simple tiles. We've had a look at a few places and i'm pretty confident we can meet this.

Can anyone give us an estimate as to how much the install should cost on top, and if possible how long it should take? We're in the Bath/Bristol area of the southwest. I'll be getting a few people in, but would like some sort of guideline before I do so.
 
It must be 4 years ago now, i had B&Q quote for my small bathroom (it's about 4m square) for tiles shower,basin and toilet, it was £4500.
 
I think the cheapest I've done is about £4.5k all in. The average is about £7.5k I guess.
 
But he's buying the stuff 1st, surely its not £4.5k labour cost to install it!?
 
That was all in.

When I was VAT registered, the customers could buy the suite and tiles and I'd supply the labour and general materials- (plumbing fittings, adhesive, grout, timber, plaster etc) and waste disposal and that would come in at £4K

In fact, the bathroom I'm doing at the moment, the general materials is £700. That is just a standard bathroom.

Easily £100 on high end adhesive and grout.
 
Thanks for the input so far guys, labour does seem to be much more expensive than I was expecting!

Wahreo: do you mind if I ask what sort of company your working for? I'd originally budgeted to pay a builder/plumber @ around £30 an hour or perhaps less for around 50 hours labour. As I mentioned, the bathroom is tiny. This would've given me an all in cost of somewhere between 3-3.5k, given a bit of room to go over budget. Does this seem unrealistic? Any way I could make changes/ do bits myself to make it work?
 
I work for myself.

Forget the size of the bathroom as it doesn't make that much difference.

I don't think I'd get a complete bathroom refit done in a week or even a week and a day for 50 hours.

Virtually impossible to say but I would never price a bathroom at 50 hours labour because I know for a fact I'd lose money.

Even a basic one I'll quote for 10 days.

I go through phases of people asking me if they can save money and I usually tell them It's not worth it because id rather do it all myself.

For example if a customer ripped off every single tile in the room I would take off £100. Barely worth it.

I guess you would only find out what's really involved if you did the job yourself. Most of my customers are amazed at how much is involved and how long things take to get it done properly.

Who knows, you might get a handyman to do it for £1500 or up North I believe the prices are much cheaper. Don't forget to add the cost on for general materials, it'll be between £400 to £800.

Not what you want to hear but it's a realistic cost.
 
Exactly what I wanted to hear, thanks for taking the time to make such a detailed reply. I will speak the few people i've already got booked in, then have a think as i'm not keen to waste anyones time.

What dyou reckon would be a more realistic budget for an installation only job? Any tips as to how to go about finding/choosing an installer?
 
I used to sell bathrooms and regularly used to sell a full suite with tiles and decent adhesive and grout get it fitted by a local fitter and it would come in around £3 - 4K. If you were to do some donkey work first including removing the old stuff and tiles it would bring the labour charges down.
 
Exactly what I wanted to hear, thanks for taking the time to make such a detailed reply. I will speak the few people i've already got booked in, then have a think as i'm not keen to waste anyones time.

What dyou reckon would be a more realistic budget for an installation only job? Any tips as to how to go about finding/choosing an installer?

Probably £2.5k all in but that would include everything excluding the suite and tiles. Very very difficult to say without seeing the job and there could always be unforeseen circumstances once the tiles are taken off.

Adhesive isn't cheap, there are a hell of a lot of fitters that still use ready mixed tile adhesive. I use cement based, it's much more expensive. I use a grout with microban so it doesn't go mouldy- more expensive.

I'd ask to see the fitters public liability certificate. Ask them if they are able to do all the work themselves and ask them what trade they are. Ask to see their qualifications.

Ask to see pictures of their previous jobs. Ask to see in progress pics.

Ask them how they would prepare the walls in the shower area or above the bath. What tanking kit do they use?

Floor tiling- how would they prep the floor?

Shower- how will they connect it?

So many questions to ask and I'd be able to spot a lemon within a minute of them entering the property but then it's my trade.

At the end of the day, you get what you pay for. You can get a reasonably priced suite from B&Q and get an unqualified fitter to install it and you'd probably pay well under £5k for the complete job. Remember- nobody needs any qualifications to install a bathroom in this country.

Everyone is different in what they expect from the finished product. Im sometimes baffled as to what some people accept. I often get shown other bathrooms that customers have had done and most are shocking.

This is what I discovered just this week when ripping out a handyman special:-


image.jpeg

image.jpeg
 
Not the prettiest sight i've seen today! Again very helpful and at least some starter questions to get me going - even the basic stuff about different adhesives is new to me.

I'll see what I make off the guys, but I would rather get something done properly than poorly but cheaply, so will hold fire if needs be until the piggy bank is a bit fatter.
 
6 yrs ago we had the bathroom and ensuite done, I bought everything online then got a friend of my dad who was in the trade to gut the old ones, tile the floors and walls and refit everything, he charged about £1800 but it was cash in hand. I think the whole lot came in at a shade over £5k, about half of what B&Q wanted to fit their own inferior goods.
 
This is what I discovered just this week when ripping out a handyman special:-

Are those tiles laid straight on to the masonry? However did they get them flat?
 
Yes, they used strips of tiles to build the wall out so that it was the same level as the three layers of tiles it had to line up with.

This was to avoid doing the plastering.
 
I can agree with Wahero on the tile adhesive. Our builder used ready mix unbeknown to me. Each one of our tiles must weigh close to 2kg. Massive things they are. Result now is major cracking on the grout as the tiles are pulling away from every wall. Probably looking at a full refit plus we already had 1 leak on a push fit where he should of used copper. Cost us 2.5k up North with us supplying tiles and suite.

Don't buy BQ bath panels either had 3 warp on us though the L shaped baths are canny. Got them in my rentals aswell. Dirt cheap but look the biz.

Did the whole remove tiles before hand. Never again. Caused more damage then enough and not worth the slog. Happy to pay 100 quid next time.
 
Last edited:
B&Q tried to tell us they could only fit certain tiles, from their range strangely enough as if they were too heavy they'd fall off the walls but I ended up getting some massively heavy ones anyway, must be 2 x 1 foot and half an inch thick. The fitter had no issues getting them on the walls with the correct adhesive.
 
I was told later by the tile company that ready mix doesn't cure fast enough or maybe too fast I dunno. When I rocked up with the car dragging along the floor with 11 boxes in the fitter looked sheepish. In hind sight I should of recognised he was out of his depth on the refit. He was white tile kind of guy lol
 
There are limits to what you can hang on the wall.

A plastered wall whether it be brick/block or plasterboard is 20kg per sq/metre

Bare plasterboard is 32kg per sq/metre

Tile backer board is 50kg + per sq/metre depending on brand.

That includes the weight of the adhesive.

porcelain tiles tend to be a lot heavier than the ceramic of the same size.

Yes, ready mixed takes an age to set because it relies on evaporation of the adhesive to dry. If you have a thick bed of adhesive and large tiles, the air can't get in to dry the adhesive. It could take months to fully dry.

Cement based is mixed with water which starts a chemical rection which means it sets quickly. Even the slow setting single part adhesive. It then expands on a microscopic level to grip to the microscopic imperfections of the wall.
 
Currently going through the process of getting a kitchen and bathroom done via B&Q for my mother in laws house, have to say they have been brilliant so far. The design process with them was excellent, never rushed at any point and have spent quite a lot of time with their designer. The bathroom is approx 4m2 and total cost for that is just shy of £5k, this includes ripping everything out, making good and then installing shower cubicle, toilet, basin etc. Tiling is floor to ceiling on all walls and the tiles are a fair old size.

Survey recently done by local tradesman who will do the fitting, he double checked that everything fits and will go in ok, now just waiting for them to install which will begin in November
 
To me one of the biggest impacts in a new bathroom is not the sanitary ware itself (though nowadays I would always opt for a wall hung loo) but the brassware. Good quality taps etc really make a difference but they really do push the cost up!
 
I agree with the above, I won't do labour only jobs anymore, there's always something missing/won't fit, standard is poor.. It's just not worth the hassle.. Bathrooms can also have a lot of hidden extra's/disasters waiting for the unsuspecting fitter, which add time/cost/ which can throw out the fitters works schedule and the customers timescales..
My thoughts are the fitter is better off having a plumbing qualification, they're are a lot of principles in plumbing that builders/joiners/tillers either misunderstand or just don't do..

I'm in Calderdale and the Labour part of the price starts at £4000 with a turnaround time with no complications of 10 days upward, tbh small bathroom are not a pleasant experience, it's like working in a matchbox..

I was recently called to a DR house, a stately home, his ceiling was down and his floor lifting, the company had laid 3mm ply on top of parquet flooring and tiled to the ply.. :rotfl::facepalm:.. Complete disaster, the moral of the story is be careful, the industry is full of incompetent wombles..
 
Can't disagree with any of that, neilos.

£4K labour and 'bits' on a standard fit is about right.

I'd also agree that as a fitter, it's so Much better for all involved if the fitter supplies the items. Yes the fitter will make money on the gear but he is the one with the experience to know which products to buy.

The job I'm on at the moment has a built in shower valve which is going into a block wall. It has to go in so deep that I'm only left with ½ an inch until I'm in the landing.

I did warn the customer but regardless of that, they now have a nice peep hole from the bathroom to the landing which I'll obviously have to make good.
 
In circumstances like that, isn't it tempting to install an access hatch on the landing to make future maintenance easier? :D
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom