What It Costs
| Type of job | Typical cost | Time on site |
|---|---|---|
| Shower enclosure swap, same position | £1,200 to £2,200 | 2 to 3 days |
| Bath removed, shower room created | £3,500 to £5,500 | 3 to 6 days |
| Full level-access wet room | £6,000 to £8,500 | 3 to 6 days |
| Wet room with drainage relocation | £8,500 plus | 3 to 6 days |
A new shower unit itself is typically £300 to £600, and a replacement shower in an existing enclosure can be as little as £100 to £350 fitted. The cost sits in everything around it.
What Actually Drives The Price
- Whether the drain moves. Keeping the waste where it is saves more than any other single decision. Moving it means lifting the floor and often cutting joists, which needs doing properly.
- Tanking area. A shower cubicle needs the cubicle tanked. A wet room needs the whole room tanked, which is several times the material and labour.
- Floor build-up. A timber floor needs strengthening and levelling before it can take a tanked wet room. Concrete is easier and cheaper.
- Water pressure. Low pressure in an older tenement may need a pump or a change to the hot water system before a decent shower is possible.
- Wall finish. Wet wall panels are quicker and usually cheaper installed than full-height tiling.
The Glasgow Factor
Most of the shower rooms we fit in Glasgow are in tenement flats and pre-war semis, and both bring the same three issues.
Timber floors that flex. A wet room floor has to be rigid, because movement cracks the waterproof membrane. That usually means additional noggins and a ply overlay before anything else happens.
Shared soil stacks. Moving a WC or a shower waste in a tenement means working with a stack shared by the whole close. It is doable, it just is not a five minute job and it needs planning with the factor.
Original pipework. Lead and iron are still out there. If we find it, replacing it is not optional, and it is better found at survey than on day three.
Why Tanking Is Not The Place To Save
Tanking is a continuous waterproof membrane across the floor and up the walls, bonded into the drain. It is the only thing standing between your shower and the ceiling below.
It is also invisible once the tiles go on, which is exactly why it is the first thing a cheap quote cuts. A shower room that leaks into a downstairs flat is not a snag, it is an insurance claim and a very unhappy neighbour.
Ask any quote this: is the room fully tanked, is the membrane dressed into the gully, and is it tested before tiling? If the answer is vague, keep looking.
Where You Can Sensibly Save
- Keep the drain and the door in their current positions.
- Use wet wall panels rather than full tiling. Fewer days on site and no grout to maintain.
- Choose a low-profile tray rather than a formed wet room floor if level access is not a requirement.
- Supply your own enclosure and brassware. We fit customer-supplied items at no extra charge.
What we would not cut: the tanking, the extractor fan, and the floor preparation.
Get a clear shower room quote
We survey the floor, the drainage and the pressure before quoting, so the number you get accounts for what is actually under your bathroom floor.
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