Ask ten homeowners what their bathroom renovation cost and you will get ten very different answers, because the honest answer depends on the room, the spec and who does the work. As a plumbing and tiling business based in Wigston, we price bathrooms across Leicestershire every week, so here is a straight explanation of what you can realistically expect to pay in 2026 and why quotes vary so much.
For a full renovation, meaning everything stripped out and replaced, most UK homeowners pay somewhere between £5,500 and £15,000. In Leicestershire you will generally sit towards the lower and middle part of that range, as labour rates here are noticeably kinder than in London or the South East, where the same job can cost 30 to 50 percent more.
As a rough guide, a straightforward like for like refit of a small bathroom with a mid range suite and part tiled walls tends to land between £5,500 and £8,000. A mid range project with full height tiling, a new shower enclosure and some layout tweaks usually runs £8,000 to £12,000. Once you add underfloor heating, large format porcelain, a wet room former or moving soil pipes, £12,000 to £18,000 or more is realistic. These are guide figures, not quotes; the only reliable number comes from someone measuring your actual room.
Labour is normally the single biggest slice, often 40 to 60 percent of the total. A full renovation involves strip out, first fix plumbing, possibly electrics for lighting or a shower, plastering or boarding, tiling, second fix plumbing, and finishing. That is typically two to three weeks of skilled work even for a modest room.
The suite itself is often cheaper than people expect. A perfectly good bath, basin, toilet and shower can be bought for £1,200 to £2,500, while premium brands can triple that. Tiles are the other variable: budget ceramics start around £20 per square metre supplied, while large format porcelain or natural stone can exceed £80 per square metre, and stone also costs more to cut and fix because it is slower, heavier work.
The expensive items are the ones you cannot see in the showroom. Moving the toilet means moving the soil pipe. Converting to a wet room means tanking, a former tray and precise falls in the floor. Old houses around Wigston and south Leicester often hide surprises too: crumbling walls behind tiles, lead or corroded pipework, and floors that need levelling before large tiles can go down. A sensible quote should mention how these unknowns are handled.
On the other hand, some choices barely affect the price. Tile colour, brassware finish and choosing a slightly different basin within the same bracket make little difference. Keeping the bath, basin and toilet in their existing positions is the single biggest money saver, because the pipework largely stays where it is.
Get two or three itemised quotes, not just a single figure on a text message. You want to see strip out and waste disposal, first and second fix plumbing, tiling priced per metre or per room, electrics, and who is supplying the suite and tiles. If one quote is thousands cheaper, something is usually missing, often the making good, the waste removal or the tanking.
Ask how payment is staged. A deposit for materials is normal, but be wary of anyone wanting most of the money before work starts. Finally, check the tiler and plumber roles are genuinely covered; a bathroom lives or dies on waterproofing and tiling detail, and redoing failed silicone or a leaking shower tray costs far more than doing it properly the first time.
Most full renovations take two to three weeks on site. Wet rooms, plastering drying times and made to order glass or vanity units can stretch that, so ask your fitter for a realistic schedule before work starts.
Yes, and many customers do, though ask your installer to check everything before you order. Order around 10 percent extra tiles for cuts and breakages, and confirm the trader will still guarantee their workmanship on customer supplied goods.
Usually not for a like for like refit, but new electrical circuits, an electric shower or moving drainage can bring building regulations into play. New bathroom electrics should be installed or certified by a registered electrician, and a reputable installer will arrange this.