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A quick guide to help you plan a new bathroom

A quick guide to help you plan a new bathroom

By Benjamin Clarke | Published on 31st July 2018

The cost of a new bathroom can vary. The average bathroom costs around £3,000, but costs can vary from a few hundred pounds to tens of thousands for an all-singing, all-dancing large bathroom with luxury fittings. You can find a cheap bathroom suite for as little as £250 – £300, but then there are all the accessories to purchase, from taps to wastes and any new pipe work required. These can double the price you first thought of. This article will help you think about some very important points when it comes to planning your bathroom renovations.
  • Do it yourself
  • Bath/Shower mixer
  • Manual mixer
  • Thermostatic mixer
  • Electric shower
  • Power shower

Do it yourself

Fitting your own bathroom suite can save around 70 per cent of the overall cost, but you have to consider the time and complexity of the job before you decide to tackle it yourself. Building regulations limit what you are allowed to do, for instance fitting an electric shower is a job for a properly qualified electrician. Buying the goods yourself can help reduce the cost dramatically. If you are buying from a company that quotes for installation too, then check to see what it would cost for a plumber (and electrician where necessary) to do it independently.

Bath/ shower mixer

This is the type of shower you would find on free-standing baths. The hose and spray are combined with a mixer tap and the temperature is adjusted through the taps.

Manual mixer

It’s cost-effective as it doesn’t involve any extra plumbing, but doesn’t always give a great water pressure and it can be difficult to get the temperature exactly right. This is a popular and cost-effective shower where the hose and spray come out of a wall unit and there is a temperature control that combines the hot and cold water supply. These need to be at a good height to help with water pressure, and you need to ensure the hot and cold water supplies are plumbed in correctly.

Thermostatic mixer

This is a manual mixer that includes a built-in stabiliser to automatically adjust the water temperature. This is essential if you have children, older or disabled people in the house, as the temperature and flow of water should not be affected when water is being used elsewhere. The only downside is that it is more expensive than other mixer showers.

Electric shower

Electric showers provide water separately from the mains cold water supply. As with mixer showers, they have temperature and pressure gauges that can be adjusted. These are great for an en suite or second bathroom as they supply instant hot water separate to the boiler system – and if anything goes wrong with the boiler, you still have one hot shower in the home.

Power shower

Power showers are a shower that is connected to or has an integral electric pump. The benefit is that both the pressure and the water temperature can be adjusted, giving you the optimum shower for you. However, you can only fit this type of shower if there is a supply from both a cold water cistern and a hot water cylinder – so they are not compatible with a combination boiler. A power shower is not great for water consumption as it can use as much water as having a bath.
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