How Much to Renovate a Bathroom?
Renovating a bathroom is an exciting project. You can say goodbye to vanilla décor and turn your bathroom into the most stylish room in your home. But how much to renovate a bathroom and what will you need to consider?
Before you can start your project, you’ll need to think about your budget.
This guide assumes you’ll hire professionals to do the work. If you have the right skills and knowledge you can significantly reduce the cost by doing some or all of the renovation yourself.
Bathroom design and installation
Pre-planning your bathroom layout is essential. Look online for ideas and inspiration particularly if your bathroom is small. You’ll need to think about where everything will go and take the existing layout and plumbing into consideration. Moving the location of the bath, toilet or sink from their current positions will mean more complex work and inflate the cost.
Most bathroom retailers offer a free design consultation after which they can produce a computer-generated 360° design of your bathroom and an itemised quote.
Retailers and hardware stores also normally offer installation services where their own staff or contractors will install your bathroom.
Alternatively, you can buy a bathroom suite and furniture, and then hire your own builder or plumber to carry out the installation.
How much is a new bathroom suite?
The bathroom suite you choose will be a key factor in the total cost of your project.
Costs of bathroom suites and all the accessories can vary from a couple of hundred pounds for a budget suite to thousands of pounds for one with a bit more luxury.
A ‘suite’ normally comprises a bath, sink and toilet. Some suites might have extras such as a standalone shower, a second sink or a bidet. These will all add to the cost.
A full bathroom suite, including a toilet, basin and bath, can start from £245.
But a luxury suite can cost much more than that and you could be paying £5,000 plus.
What else will impact how much to renovate a bathroom?
There are several other factors that will impact how much to renovate a bathroom when it comes to what you need to spend. These include:
- Size of your bathroom
- Location of your home
- Age and condition of your property
- Whether pipes and plumbing need to be relocated
- If internal walls need moving or removing
- Any issues with party walls
- The amount of tiling required
- Painting and flooring requirements
Costs can increase if your new bathroom will feature things like:
- Wet room
- Extractor fan
- Underfloor heating
- Jacuzzi
- Freestanding bath
- Heated towel rail
- Smart toilet
- Luxury lighting
You also need to consider the cost of bathroom furniture and fittings. These include items such as:
- Cupboards
- Taps
- Shelves
- Mirrors
- Towel rails
- Toilet roll holder
Labour costs
Most people buy a bathroom suite, plus furniture and fittings, then hire a tradesperson to install it.
Labour costs will vary depending on:
- Where you live
- How long the installation will take
- The tradesperson’s day rate
- Any specialist skills required (i.e. plastering or tiling)
As a general rule of thumb, a plumber should be able to remove your old bathroom and install a like-for-like bathroom re-fit in two or three days, for about £1,000, but you should always get a quote to be sure the extent of the work.
Total costs of a bathroom renovation
It’s estimated that bathroom renovation or installation costs are anywhere between £800 and £3,000, while the cost of removing your old suite plus additional items such as taps, towel rails and sealant can come in at approximately £600 to £2,400.
According to Checkatrade, the average price of a completely new bathroom including installation is £4,500, while removing your old suite can increase how much to renovate a bathroom by an extra £300 and £1,000.
Others have estimated the total price of a bathroom renovation at about £6,500 on average.
Last Updated: November 1st, 2024
