How Much Does It Cost to Remove an Old Bathroom in Glasgow?

The Short Answer

If you ask a bathroom company in Glasgow what it costs to remove an old bathroom, the honest answer is that it is almost never sold as a job on its own. The strip-out is day one of a new bathroom, and it is included in the price of that bathroom.

A full bathroom in Glasgow typically costs £5,500 to £8,000 fitted, and that figure includes taking out the old suite, tiles and flooring and getting rid of them. Within it, the waste removal element alone is typically £150 to £300. Our Glasgow bathroom cost guide shows where the rest goes.

We are not going to quote a standalone rip-out price here, because any figure would be a guess. The amount of work varies a great deal from one bathroom to the next, and the rest of this guide explains why.

What A Bathroom Rip-Out Involves

A proper strip-out is more than carrying a bath down the stairs. In order, it usually means:

1. Isolating the services. Water is shut off and the pipes are capped. Electrical items such as an electric shower, a fan or a shaver point are made safe by a qualified electrician.
2. Protecting the house. Floors, stairs and door frames on the route out are covered. Rubble and old cast iron are hard on carpets and paintwork.
3. Removing the suite. The bath, basin, toilet, shower enclosure, radiator and any fitted furniture come out.
4. Removing the wall finish. Tiles, panels or old boards are taken off, back to a surface sound enough to build on.
5. Lifting the floor covering. Vinyl, tiles or carpet come up, along with any rotten hardboard or plywood beneath.
6. Clearing and checking. The waste goes, the room is swept out, and the bare floor, walls and pipework are inspected before anything new is fitted.

That last step is the real value of a strip-out. It is the only time anyone can see the condition of the room your new bathroom will be built on.

What Decides How Much Work It Is

• What the bath is made of. An acrylic bath can be lifted out by two people. A cast iron bath is extremely heavy and often has to be broken up in the room before it can be moved.
• How the walls are finished. Wall panels come off quickly. Tiles stuck to old plaster often bring the plaster down with them, which means re-boarding. Tiles fixed on top of older tiles double the weight and the time.
• The floor. Floor tiles bedded on a timber floor are slow to lift, and the boards beneath are often damaged in the process.
• Access. A ground floor bathroom next to the front door is a different job from a top floor flat with a narrow stair and no parking outside.
• How much is staying. If you are keeping the floor or one wall, the strip-out has to be more careful, which can take longer than removing everything.
• Volume of waste. A fully tiled room produces far more rubble than a room with panels and vinyl.

None of these is a problem. They simply explain why two bathrooms of the same size can take very different amounts of time to clear.

Getting Rid Of The Waste

An old bathroom makes a surprising amount of waste: a bath, a toilet and basin, a radiator, bags of broken tile and plaster, old flooring and timber. It is heavy, sharp and awkward.

When the rip-out is part of a fitted bathroom, removing the waste is part of the job. As mentioned above, that element typically accounts for £150 to £300 of a full bathroom price.

If you are arranging disposal yourself, a few points are worth knowing:

• A skip on a public road generally needs a permit from the council, and the skip company normally arranges it. On many Glasgow streets there is simply nowhere to put one.
• Anyone you pay to take waste away should be a registered waste carrier. In Scotland you can check registration with SEPA, the environment agency. If your waste is fly-tipped, it can be traced back to you.
• Council recycling centres accept some household renovation waste, but there can be limits on rubble and on vans. Check your council's rules before you load the car.
• Cast iron baths and old radiators are scrap metal and can be recycled.

Can You Strip It Out Yourself?

Some homeowners ask whether doing the rip-out themselves will bring the price down. It can, a little, but think it through first.

• You need to be confident shutting off and capping the water. A pipe that lets go overnight can do more damage than the saving is worth, especially in a flat with neighbours below.
• Anything electrical should be disconnected by a qualified electrician, and anything connected to a gas boiler is a job for a Gas Safe registered engineer.
• You will be living without a bathroom from the moment you start, so the timing has to match the installers' start date closely.
• Over-enthusiastic removal causes extra work. Pulling tiles off carelessly can wreck a wall that would otherwise have been reusable.
• You still have to get rid of the waste.

Most people find it simpler to let the installers do it. They strip out quickly, they know what to leave alone, and the room is never out of action for longer than it has to be. We fit bathrooms in 3 to 6 days, and that includes the strip-out.

What Tends To Turn Up Behind The Tiles

Older Glasgow bathrooms have often been refitted two or three times, not always well. These are the things a strip-out commonly reveals:

• Soft or rotten floorboards around the bath and the toilet, from years of small leaks.
• Joists that have been cut or notched to make way for pipes by a previous fitter.
• Old lead or iron pipework that should be replaced while the floor is open.
• Loose or crumbling plaster that will not hold a new board or tile.
• Poor ventilation, with a fan that vents into the loft or nowhere at all. Our guide to bathroom ventilation in Scotland explains what should be there.

A good survey spots the warning signs before the quote is prepared: a bouncy floor, staining on the ceiling below, tiles that sound hollow. Ask what happens if something is found that nobody could have seen. A clear answer before the job starts avoids an awkward conversation in the middle of it.

A Word On Asbestos

Asbestos was used in many building products until it was banned in the UK in 1999, so it can be present in homes built or refurbished before then. In bathrooms, the places it is sometimes found include textured ceiling coatings, old vinyl floor tiles and the adhesive under them, boxing around pipes and some old bath panels and cistern parts.

Left alone and in good condition, these materials are generally low risk. The risk comes from drilling, sanding or breaking them. If you suspect a material contains asbestos, do not disturb it. Have a sample tested by a specialist, and if it needs to come out, use a suitably qualified asbestos contractor. The Health and Safety Executive publishes clear guidance for homeowners.

This is general information, not safety advice for your particular home. If in doubt, stop and ask.

Rip-Outs In Tenements And Flats

Much of Glasgow lives in flats, and that changes a strip-out in practical ways.

• The close and the stair. Everything comes down a shared stair, so it has to be bagged, carried carefully and the stair left clean. Neighbours appreciate a note through the door before a noisy first day.
• Shared pipes. The soil stack and sometimes the water supply are shared. Shutting off water may affect other flats, and changes to shared pipework are a matter for your factor or the other owners.
• The flat below. Water from a badly capped pipe goes straight through someone else's ceiling. This is the strongest argument for leaving the disconnection to professionals.
• Parking and loading. Permit zones and busy streets limit where a van can stop, which affects how waste is taken away.

Tenement and flat bathrooms are a regular part of our work. Our Glasgow bathrooms page explains how we work across the city.

Why It Pays To Price The Rip-Out With The New Bathroom

Having one company remove the old bathroom and fit the new one means the people who find a problem are the same people who fix it. Nothing falls between two contractors, and the room is only out of use once.

At Ultimate Home Solutions the strip-out, waste removal and new bathroom are quoted together in a clear, free, no-obligation quote. The work is carried out by trusted installers and all workmanship is guaranteed. Finance is available from £22 a week, subject to status, and the details are on our finance page.

If only part of the room is coming out, our guide to shower room costs in Glasgow covers smaller jobs such as swapping a bath for a shower. For the full range, see our fitted bathrooms page.

Quick Answers

How much does it cost to remove an old bathroom in Glasgow?

It is normally included in the price of the new fitted bathroom, which typically costs £5,500 to £8,000 in Glasgow. Within that, waste removal typically accounts for £150 to £300.

How long does a bathroom rip-out take?

It is usually the first part of the job. The whole bathroom, including the strip-out, is fitted in 3 to 6 days.

Can I remove my old bathroom myself to save money?

You can, but the saving is usually modest. You need to cap the water safely, leave electrics to a qualified electrician and dispose of the waste legally.

Who takes the old bath and tiles away?

When the rip-out is part of a fitted bathroom, the installers take the waste away. If you arrange it yourself, use a registered waste carrier.

What if rotten floorboards are found under the bath?

It is common in older homes and straightforward to repair while the floor is exposed. Ask before the job starts how any unexpected repairs would be handled.

Could my old bathroom contain asbestos?

It is possible in homes built or refurbished before 2000. If you suspect it, do not disturb the material and have it tested by a specialist.