Bathroom Remodelling Guide for Homeowners in Scotland

Start With What Is Wrong With The Room You Have

"Remodelling" is the word many guides use. Most people in Scotland would simply say they are getting a new bathroom, or having the bathroom refitted. Whatever you call it, the best starting point is not a brochure. It is a list of what annoys you about the room you have now.

Write down the practical problems first:

• Is the room cold, or does it steam up and grow mould?
• Is the shower weak?
• Is there anywhere to put things?
• Is the bath ever used, or would a bigger shower suit you better?
• Will anyone in the house struggle with a step or a high bath side in the next few years?

A new bathroom that looks lovely but is still cold, damp and short of storage is a missed chance. The list tells your designer what the new room has to fix, and it stops the budget drifting towards things that only look good in a photo.

Set A Realistic Budget

Across Scotland, most of the bathrooms we fit land between £5,500 and £14,000, fully fitted, including the rip-out, plumbing, electrics and wall finishes. A small cloakroom starts around £3,800. A large main bathroom with a feature shower can go well beyond the top of that range.

In the Glasgow area a typical full bathroom sits between £5,500 and £8,000, and our Glasgow bathroom cost guide breaks that figure down line by line.

Three things move the price more than anything else:

• Moving the plumbing. Keeping the toilet, bath and basin where they are is the biggest single saving. Moving the toilet is the most expensive change, because its waste pipe is large and needs a steady fall to the drain.
• The wall finish. Full-height tiling takes days. Wet wall panels go up much faster.
• What is found under the old room. Soft floorboards, old lead or iron pipes and crumbling plaster are common in older Scottish homes.

If you would rather spread the cost, finance is available from £22 a week, subject to status. The details are on our finance page. Various deposit options are available.

Decide The Layout Before The Look

Colours and taps are the fun part, but the layout decides whether the room works. Get it right first.

• Find the soil stack. This is the large vertical waste pipe the toilet connects to. The toilet wants to stay close to it.
• Bath, shower or both. A shower over the bath saves space. A separate walk-in shower is easier to use every day. If this is the only bathroom in a family home, think hard before losing the bath.
• The door and the window. A door that opens onto the toilet, or a window behind the only place a shower fits, shapes everything else.
• Storage. A vanity unit and a mirrored cabinet keep the surfaces clear. It is the cheapest way to make a small room feel calm.
• The future. A level-access shower, a slightly higher toilet and solid fixing points in the walls for future grab rails cost little now and a lot later.

During the visit a designer measures the room and helps you plan the layout around the pipework you already have. If a step-free room is the aim, have a look at our wet rooms page.

Choose Materials That Suit A Scottish Home

Scottish bathrooms have to cope with cold outside walls, long damp winters and, in older homes, floors and walls that are far from straight.

Walls. Wet wall panels are large waterproof boards with no grout lines. They are quick to fit, easy to wipe down and forgiving on uneven walls. Tiles give more choice of pattern and suit period homes well, but grout needs looking after. Plenty of people use panels in the shower and tiles or paint elsewhere.

Floors. Good quality vinyl and click flooring made for bathrooms is warm underfoot and copes with a timber floor that moves a little. Porcelain tiles are hard wearing but cold without underfloor heating, and they need a very rigid floor beneath them.

Heat and air. A heated towel radiator sized for the room, and an extractor fan that actually shifts the steam, do more for comfort than any fitting you can see. Our guide to bathroom ventilation in Scotland explains what to ask for.

Style. Pick a look that suits the house. Our modern bathrooms and traditional bathrooms pages show both ends of the range.

Building Warrants, Listed Buildings And Other Rules

Scotland has its own building rules, separate from those in England and Wales, and they are run by the Building Standards team at your local council.

• Like-for-like refits. Replacing a bathroom in the same room, with the fittings in broadly the same places, does not normally need a building warrant. The work still has to meet the Scottish Building Standards.
• Bigger changes. Creating a new bathroom or en suite, altering drainage, removing walls or carrying out work in a flat can need a warrant. Ask Building Standards before work starts, not after.
• Listed buildings and conservation areas. Listed building consent can apply to work inside a listed home, and a new vent or pipe on an outside wall may need permission. Speak to your council's planning department.
• Flats and tenements. Waste pipes are usually shared. Check your title deeds and speak to your factor before anything connected to shared pipework is changed.
• Electrics and gas. Bathroom electrics should be done by a qualified electrician who gives you a certificate for the work. Anything involving a gas boiler needs a Gas Safe registered engineer.

This is general guidance only. The rules depend on the property, so confirm your own position with the council.

What Your Type Of Home Changes

Tenement flats. Access is by a shared stair, floors are timber and often need levelling, and the soil stack is shared. High ceilings are a bonus: they make even a narrow bathroom feel generous.

Sandstone villas and older semis. Expect lath and plaster walls, old pipework and the odd surprise under the bath. None of it is a disaster if it is found at the survey.

Post-war houses and bungalows. Bathrooms tend to be small and square, with solid walls. Layout choices are limited, so good storage and a well chosen shower matter most. Bungalows are ideal for step-free showers.

Newer homes. Pipework is modern and walls are straight, so the work is predictable. Stud walls need extra support fitted wherever a wall-hung basin or toilet is going.

If you are in or near the city, our Glasgow bathrooms page and Edinburgh bathrooms page explain how we work in each area.

Choosing Who Does The Work

A bathroom needs a plumber, an electrician, a joiner, a tiler or panel fitter and often a plasterer. You can hire and organise each trade yourself, or use one company that handles the whole job.

Doing it yourself can look cheaper on paper. In practice the saving often disappears in waiting time between trades, and when something goes wrong it is hard to say whose problem it is. With one company there is one quote, one plan and one phone number.

Whoever you choose, ask for:

• photos of recent jobs, and genuine reviews you can read for yourself
• a clear quote that says what is included: strip-out, waste removal, floor preparation, electrics, making good and decoration
• what happens if something unexpected turns up behind the walls
• who to call if there is a problem after the job is finished

At Ultimate Home Solutions the work is carried out by trusted installers and all workmanship is guaranteed. You can see full-size displays and handle the samples at our showrooms in Kilmarnock and at Dobbies Garden Centre in Renfrew, or a designer can come to you.

What Happens During The 3 To 6 Days

We fit bathrooms in 3 to 6 days. The order is much the same on every job.

1. Strip-out. The old suite, tiles and flooring come out and the waste is taken away.
2. First fix. Pipework and cables are moved or renewed while the walls and floor are open. Any repairs to the floor happen now.
3. Walls and floor. Walls are boarded and waterproofed where needed, then panelled or tiled. The floor is prepared and laid.
4. Second fix. The bath or shower, toilet, basin, taps, radiator, lights and fan are fitted and connected.
5. Sealing, testing and handover. Everything is sealed, run and checked for leaks, and you are shown how it all works.

Expect some noise and dust on the first day or two. If it is your only bathroom, ask how long you will be without a working toilet each day, so you can plan around it.

When you are ready to start, our fitted bathrooms page shows the full range.

Quick Answers

How much does it cost to remodel a bathroom in Scotland?

Most fully fitted bathrooms cost between £5,500 and £14,000. A small cloakroom starts around £3,800, and a typical full bathroom in the Glasgow area is £5,500 to £8,000.

How long does a bathroom remodel take?

We fit bathrooms in 3 to 6 days. A simple suite swap is at the shorter end and a wet room at the longer end.

Do I need a building warrant to refit my bathroom?

Not normally for a like-for-like refit. New bathrooms, drainage changes, structural work and work in flats can need one. Check with your council's Building Standards team.

Are wall panels better than tiles?

Panels are faster to fit, have no grout and suit uneven walls. Tiles give more choice of pattern and suit period homes. Many bathrooms use both.

What is the best way to keep the cost down?

Leave the toilet, bath and basin in their current positions, and use wall panels instead of full-height tiling. Do not cut corners on waterproofing, ventilation or the floor.

Can I pay for a new bathroom monthly?

Yes. Finance is available from £22 a week, subject to status.