Ask ten firms what a new bathroom costs and you will get ten different answers, because the honest answer is that it depends on what you are starting with. As a multi-trade firm fitting bathrooms across Brighton and Sussex, we can at least give you realistic ranges and explain where the money actually goes.
For a straightforward like-for-like refit of an average family bathroom, most UK homeowners currently pay somewhere between £5,500 and £8,500 including labour, fitting and mid-range fixtures. That assumes the bath, basin and toilet stay roughly where they are and the room is in reasonable condition underneath.
A fuller renovation, where you move the layout, upgrade to a walk-in shower, tile floor to ceiling and fit better quality sanitaryware, typically lands between £9,000 and £15,000. High-end projects with underfloor heating, bespoke joinery or premium tiles can comfortably exceed £20,000. In Brighton specifically, prices tend to sit slightly above the national average because trade demand is high and many local properties are older and trickier to work on.
Labour is usually 40 to 60 per cent of the total, because a proper bathroom involves several trades: plumbing, carpentry, tiling, electrics and often plastering. This is where using one firm that covers plumbing, carpentry and building work saves money, as you are not paying separate call-out costs or losing days while trades wait on each other.
The other big variables are how far pipework and soil stacks need to move, the condition of the floor and walls once everything is stripped out, and your choice of tiles and sanitaryware. Moving a toilet across the room can add £500 to £1,000 on its own. Tiling is priced by area and complexity, so floor-to-ceiling large-format tiles cost considerably more to buy and fit than a splashback and painted walls.
A large share of Brighton and Hove housing is Victorian or Edwardian, and period properties throw up things a quote based on a quick look cannot always predict. Common examples we find once a bathroom is stripped: lead or corroded galvanised pipework that should be replaced, timber floors that have rotted around an old bath, walls that are too far out of true to tile without battening or re-boarding, and low water pressure that limits your shower options.
A realistic contingency of 10 to 15 per cent on top of your quote is sensible for any pre-war property. A good fitter will flag likely risks at the survey stage rather than surprising you with them mid-job, so ask directly what could change the price once the room is opened up.
The single biggest saving is keeping the existing layout. If the soil pipe, water feeds and drainage all stay put, you avoid the most disruptive and expensive plumbing work. Spending on the things you touch every day, such as the shower valve, taps and toilet, while choosing mid-range tiles, usually gives a better result than the reverse.
Be wary of quotes that look dramatically cheaper than the rest. They often exclude removal of the old suite, waste disposal, making good the plaster, or decoration, all of which you end up paying for anyway. Ask for a written, itemised quote that states exactly what is and is not included, and confirm whether VAT is in the figure.
A straightforward refit usually takes one to two weeks; a full renovation with layout changes, re-plastering and extensive tiling is more often two to three weeks. Older properties can take longer if problems are found once the room is stripped.
You do not need planning permission for a like-for-like bathroom refit. Building regulations do apply to new drainage, electrics in wet zones and any structural work, and a competent installer will handle the relevant notifications and certificates for you.
Using one firm that covers plumbing, carpentry and building work is usually cheaper overall and noticeably faster, because the trades are coordinated rather than booked separately. It also means one point of responsibility if anything needs putting right afterwards.