How Much Does a New Bathroom Cost?

Probably the major factor in choosing a bathroom for most of us is the cost. If you are anything like me you will look through piles of interior design and other inspirational magazines but then be faced with the prospect of re-creating your dream bathroom on a tight budget. Instead of limestone or marble maybe ceramic tiles or porcelain tiles would do just as well – or would they? Can stone effect porcelain tiles, for instance, ever look as good as natural stone? I know they are much easier to maintain but I still can’t make up my mind whether the additional cost of the natural stone is worth it.

I’m moving house in 3 weeks’ time so with all the moving costs finances are tight even though I have been planning the move for ages and have been taking some tips from my accountant in London on how best to save money. Nevertheless I am already starting to plan for my new bathroom or bathrooms. The decision I have is whether to replace both bathrooms in the new house inexpensively or just re-do one luxuriously and live with the dark blue bathroom for a few years (dark blue – yes, really!).

It’s all a daunting prospect – instinctively I feel I will get a better deal financially if I do both at the same time – the labour costs per bathroom will be cheaper and maybe I’ll get a discount for buying some products in bulk. But still, it’s very difficult to allocate a budget that is reasonable – I’ve seen advice that states a bathroom will cost a minimum of £3,000 but from there up the sky’s the limit – what will I get for £3,000? Surely that depends on shopping around, my own bargaining power and my ability to create a 5 star look for a 3 star price?

But why is there a huge variation in costs when the range of different qualities cannot be so great – is tiling at £200/sq.m. ten times better than tiles that cost £20/sq.m.? It’s that old problem of diminishing returns – you probably won’t get 50% better quality if you pay twice as much but you will get something noticeably better and, if you can afford it, why not?

With the average size of a bathroom in the UK approximately 1.5 x 2.0m there should be little significant difference in the installation costs but it is the quality of the bathroom fittings and the floor and wall tiles that have the greatest impact on your budget. So it is always worth shopping around for good quality products that have been discounted and to use  a recommended plumber and tiler – expertly fitted tiles will always make a bathroom look the best quality.

So the answer to how much does a new bathroom cost is that it depends on how much you have to spend!