What a bathroom refit really costs — and where the money goes

Where the money actually goes

People budget for the suite and the tiles. The bill is mostly labour, preparation and the things nobody photographs.

• Strip-out and waste — a day or two plus skip costs.
• First fix plumbing and electrics — the expensive, invisible part.
• Tanking and preparation — skipping this is the most costly saving you can make.
• Tiling — driven by area, tile size and pattern, not just tile price.
• The suite — anything from a few hundred pounds to several thousand.
• Second fix and finishing — sealing, trims, decoration.

What pushes the price up

1. Moving the toilet, particularly if the soil pipe has to move.
2. Changing from a bath to a large walk-in shower with a formed tray.
3. Underfloor heating, niches and recessed detailing.
4. Older properties: uneven floors, surprise pipework, asbestos checks.

Where you can genuinely save

• Keep the layout. Same positions, same pipework, far less labour.
• Choose a mid-range suite and spend on tiling and fitting quality instead.
• Buy fittings yourself only if your fitter is happy to work that way.

Common mistakes

• Budgeting for materials but not the fitting cost, which is often larger.
• Leaving no contingency for what appears once the floor comes up.
• Comparing quotes where one includes decoration and the other does not.

Next steps

Write down the layout you want, the spec level you are comfortable with, and a 10-15% contingency. Those three numbers make every quote you receive easier to judge.