What is a realistic budget for a bathroom renovation?

A realistic budget starts from £4,500 for a bathroom refresh, from £7,000 for a full refit, and from £8,500 for a wet room. Those are the floors we quote from across South East and South West London, and they hold for a standard family bathroom in the housing we work in, Victorian terraces in Crystal Palace and Sydenham, 1930s semis out towards Bromley and Beckenham. Pick the floor that matches your scope and build your budget up from there.

What pushes spend above the floor is fairly predictable. Moving the WC or bath means moving pipework, and the soil pipe is the expensive one. Large-format or patterned tiles take longer to fit. Underfloor heating adds to both the kit and the labour. Higher-spec brassware and shower valves cost more to buy and more to fit. Room size matters less than people expect. Layout changes matter far more.

Then add contingency. Hold back 10 to 15 per cent of the total, because you cannot see behind tiles until they come off. In a 120-year-old terrace that might mean a soft joist under the bath or pipework that should have been replaced decades ago. If the strip-out comes up clean, you keep the money or put it into better taps. What those hidden costs look like in practice is a separate question.

We survey before we price. You get a fixed written quote after a free site visit, and the price we quote is the price you pay.