Bathroom renovation cost for a full size family bathroom

The three price bands explained

A straight swap keeps the bath, basin and toilet where they are, reuses the existing pipe and waste positions and usually tiles to half height or around the wet areas only. It suits a bathroom that works well as a layout but looks tired, and it is the quickest refit to plan.

A full refit keeps the layout but raises the finish: tiling to full height, better quality fittings, a new floor, concealed pipework and boxing done properly. Most of the extra cost is labour, because more tiling and more preparation take more days.

A layout change moves at least one fitting. Swapping a bath for a walk in shower, turning the toilet round or moving the basin to another wall means new supply and waste runs, lifting floors and making good afterwards, which is why it sits in the top band.

What actually drives the cost of a bathroom refit

When people ask how much it costs to replace a bathroom, they often expect the answer to depend on the suite. In practice the suite is one line among several, and the parts you never see usually decide the total.

• Tiling area: full height walls take far longer than a splashback
• Wall and floor condition once the old tiles come off
• Moving any waste or supply pipe from its current position
• Replacing a rotten floor or a bath that has leaked for years
• Boxing in pipes and building a stud wall or niche
• Ventilation, lighting or electric shower work by an electrician
• Access, parking and how far materials have to be carried

Tiling quotes and why they vary

Tiling is often the largest labour item in a full bathroom. Large format tiles need flatter walls, small mosaics take longer to set and grout, and patterned layouts add cutting time. A tiling quote should say which walls are tiled, to what height, whether the floor is included and what preparation is allowed for. The cost to tile a bathroom guide breaks this down further.

If two quotes for the same bathroom differ a lot, compare the tiling area and preparation first. One fitter may be tiling over old surfaces while the other is stripping back and boarding, and that difference shows up years later.

Hidden problems that change the price

Nobody can see inside the walls at the quotation visit, so a fair quote explains what happens if something unexpected turns up. In older Medway houses the usual surprises are soft floorboards under the bath, lead or corroded pipe sections, uneven walls that need boarding before tiling, and a waste that falls the wrong way.

The sensible approach is to agree in writing how such items will be priced before work starts, so a discovery on day two is a conversation rather than a shock. The accurate quote for home repairs guide explains what a clear quotation should contain.

How long the renovation takes, and the checklist before you start

A full bathroom renovation runs in stages: strip out, first fix plumbing, boarding and waterproofing, tiling, second fix and final checks. Each stage has to finish before the next begins, and adhesive and grout need curing time, so the room is out of use for a period of days. The bathroom refit timeline guide walks through it day by day.

Before booking, it helps to decide a few things: whether you want a bath, a shower over the bath or a walk in shower; roughly how much tiling you want; whether you are buying the suite yourself; and whether there is another toilet in the house for the days the bathroom is out of action.

• Bath, shower over bath or walk in shower
• Tiling height and floor finish
• Who supplies the suite, tiles and taps
• Any fitting that needs to move
• Ventilation and lighting changes
• Access to another toilet during the work

Need it sorted? Book a bathroom renovation

CRF Services Ltd is a one-man business, so the same tradesman prices, plans and fits the room. Full bathrooms, shower rooms and cloakrooms are all part of the bathroom renovation service. For compact rooms, read the small bathroom renovation cost guide.

To get a written quotation, send photos of the bathroom, its rough size, what you want to change and your postcode through the contact page, or call 07470 053613.

Frequently asked questions

Bathroom Renovations