The Short Answer
By our estimate a mid-range bathroom costs £6,500 to £10,000 supplied and fitted, with strip-out, plumbing, electrics, tiling, flooring and decorating. A basic refit with a budget suite and wall panels is £4,000 to £6,500, and a large premium bathroom £11,000 to £20,000. The averages we checked it against cluster around £7,000.
Expect 5 to 10 days without that bathroom. The biggest savings are keeping the layout and tiling less.
New bathroom cost estimator
Built up from labour and materials, so you can see exactly where the money goes and what to cut.
Estimated total
£5,260 to £11,750
| Stripping out the old bathroom | £600 to £1,000 |
| Mid-range (vanity unit, thermostatic shower, better taps) (supply) | £1,300 to £3,200 |
| Plumbing, same layout | £1,300 to £2,400 |
| Electrics: lights, fan wiring, shaver point | £450 to £1,100 |
| Extractor fan (15 l/s minimum) | £60 to £300 |
| Wall tiling labour, about 10m² | £450 to £950 |
| Wall tiles, about 10m² | £200 to £800 |
| Floor (LVT or tiles), 4.5m² | £200 to £500 |
| Heated towel rail | £200 to £450 |
| Decorating | £300 to £700 |
| Waste removal | £200 to £350 |
New bathroom prices
| Bathroom | What's in it | Our estimate, fitted |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | Small room, budget suite, bath with shower over, wall panels, same layout | £4,000 to £6,500 |
| Standard | Average room, mid-range suite and vanity, thermostatic shower, tiled around bath and shower, LVT floor, towel rail | £6,500 to £10,000 |
| Premium | Larger room, freestanding bath and separate shower, wall-hung toilet, full tiling, underfloor heating, new layout | £11,000 to £20,000 |
Where the money goes
| Part | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Stripping out the old bathroom | £600 to £1,000 |
| Budget suite: bath, basin, toilet, taps (supply) | £450 to £1,100 |
| Mid-range suite with vanity and thermostatic shower (supply) | £1,300 to £3,200 |
| Premium suite (supply) | £3,500 to £9,000 |
| Plumbing, same layout | £1,300 to £2,400 |
| Plumbing, new layout | £2,200 to £3,800 |
| Electrics: lights, fan wiring, shaver socket | £450 to £1,100 |
| Extractor fan, where there isn't one | £60 to £300 |
| Tiling labour, per m² | £45 to £95 |
| Wall panels supplied and fitted, per m² | £45 to £110 |
| Heated towel rail, fitted | £200 to £450 |
| Electric underfloor heating, per m² | £60 to £85 |
Labour is the biggest share: Victorian Plumbing puts fitting a standard suite (toilet, bath and basin) at 6 to 10 hours, and a towel rail at 2 to 4. Plumbers charge £320 to £480 a day and tilers £250 to £350.
Electrics: the bathroom zones and what's notifiable
In England the Building Regulations define a "special location" around a bath or shower: from the floor up to 2.25 metres (or higher if the shower head is fixed higher), and 0.6 metres out from the edge of the bath or tray. Where there's no tray, as in a wet room, it's 1.2 metres from the shower head.
| Work | Notifiable? |
|---|---|
| A new circuit (for an electric shower or underfloor heating, say) | Yes, anywhere |
| Adding to or altering a circuit inside the special location | Yes |
| Adding to a circuit elsewhere in the bathroom, outside the special location | No (England) |
| Replacing like for like, repairs and maintenance | No, anywhere |
Notifiable work is either self-certified by an electrician registered with a competent person scheme or approved by building control. Citizens Advice warns that missing approvals can cause problems when you sell. Victorian Plumbing advises IP-rated light fittings put in by a qualified electrician, and Electrical Safety First prefers enclosed ceiling lights in a bathroom. Wales has its own, stricter version of these rules.
Ventilation: fans, run-on timers and humidity sensors
Approved Document F says an existing bathroom fan should be kept or replaced, and checked, when work is done. You don't have to add one where there never was one, unless the work makes ventilation worse. If you are fitting one:
- The minimum is 15 litres per second of intermittent extract.
- In a bathroom with no window that opens, the fan should keep running for at least 15 minutes after you leave, and installers should check run-on timers are set to at least that.
- A bathroom with no outside wall needs a fan that changes the air 4 times an hour.
- A humidity-controlled fan should still have a manual override.
Replacing a fan on its existing wiring isn't notifiable. Adding one where there wasn't one costs £60 to £300 on our estimates.
Water rules most fitters won't mention
- Big baths need your water company's consent. Under the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999, a bath holding more than 230 litres (measured to the centre of the overflow) needs notice to, and consent from, your water company before it's installed. Check the capacity before you buy.
- Toilets are limited to 6 litres a flush, and on a dual flush the small flush must be no more than two thirds of the big one.
- Bath temperature. The 48C limit on hot water to a bath applies to new homes and conversions, not a refit. With children or older people in the house, I'd ask for a thermostatic bath filler anyway.
Floors, new bathrooms and downstairs loos
The Planning Portal says refitting a bathroom with new fittings doesn't generally need building regulations approval, but drainage or electrical work in the refit may, and a bathroom in a room that wasn't one before is likely to.
In homes built after 1999, the ground-floor toilet was designed for visiting wheelchair users. Don't remove it or make it less accessible when you refit: altering it may need a building regulations application.
How to save, and hiring a fitter
- Keep the layout. Moving the toilet, bath or shower means new pipework and more labour.
- Tile less. Tile only the splash zones or to half height, or use shower wall panels.
- Do the easy bits yourself: bath panels, furniture, painting, and taking waste to the tip (traders pay to dispose of it).
- Hire carefully. Citizens Advice: get written quotes from three traders, check insurance, get a contract, pay by card in stages, and keep any deposit to 25% or less.
Thinking about value? A surveyor quoted by Which? estimated a new bathroom adds 2 to 5% to a home's value. Replacing the bath? See walk-in showers.
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Frequently asked questions
How much does a new bathroom cost in the UK in 2026?
By our estimate a mid-range bathroom costs £6,500 to £10,000 supplied and fitted; a basic one £4,000 to £6,500. Published averages cluster around £7,000.
Can I get a new bathroom for £5,000?
A basic refit is £4,000 to £6,500 on our estimates: a small room, budget suite, wall panels and the same layout. Labour alone is typically £2,000 to £4,000 in the fitters' quotes Victorian Plumbing published.
What is the most expensive part of a bathroom?
Labour. In the fitters' quotes Victorian Plumbing published, labour alone was about half the cost of an average bathroom with materials.
How much does B&Q charge to install a bathroom?
B&Q doesn't publish a fitted price. One of its approved local installers surveys the job (a survey charge applies, refunded if you go ahead) and quotes. Get an independent fitter's quote for the same design to compare.
How long does it take to fit a new bathroom?
About 5 to 10 working days for a full refit.
Do I need building regulations approval for a new bathroom?
Not for a straight refit, says the Planning Portal, though drainage or electrical work may need it. A bathroom in a room that wasn't one before is likely to. Electrical work in the zone around a bath or shower, or a new circuit, is notifiable.
How big does a bathroom extractor fan need to be?
At least 15 litres per second. With no window that opens, it should run on for at least 15 minutes after you leave.
How we priced thisView sources (13, 9 official)
Rules come from the legislation and official guidance, read at source. Prices are our estimates: we check them against trade price data, retailer shelf prices and specialists' price lists, then build them up from their parts so the totals add up. Below are the sources behind the page; the trade price guides we only compare against aren’t listed. Where sources disagreed, we've said so. More on our method.
- IndustryOur installation service (kitchens): survey and quote, B&Q. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
- IndustryHow much does a new bathroom cost in the UK? (fitter quotes, January 2026), Victorian Plumbing. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
- IndustryHow much does a new bathroom cost in 2026?, Which?. Checked 14 Oct 2026.
- IndustryElectrical safety advice for the bathroom, Electrical Safety First. Checked 16 Oct 2026.
- OfficialThe Building Regulations 2010, regulation 12(6A) and (9): notifiable electrical work and 'special location' (England), legislation.gov.uk. Checked 14 Oct 2026.
- OfficialApproved Document F: Ventilation, Volume 1 Dwellings (2021 edition; 2026 edition from 24 March 2027), GOV.UK. Checked 14 Oct 2026.
- OfficialThe Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999, regulation 5 (notification and consent), legislation.gov.uk. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
- OfficialThe Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999, Schedule 2 (WC flushing, drinking water taps), legislation.gov.uk. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
- OfficialApproved Document G: Sanitation, hot water safety and water efficiency (2015, incorporating 2016 and 2024 amendments), GOV.UK. Checked 14 Oct 2026.
- OfficialIs building regulations approval needed for work to a kitchen or bathroom?, Planning Portal. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
- OfficialBuilding Regulations: suitability of existing floor structures, Planning Portal. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
- OfficialBuilding Regulations: impact on accessibility of ground floor toilets, Planning Portal. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
- OfficialBefore you get work done on your home (England), Citizens Advice. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
