What does a replacement bath cost in County Durham?
Our guide range in County Durham is £800–£2,200 including VAT. Prices in County Durham run at about 10% below the UK guide, based on North East England labour rates.
Like-for-like bath
- Silicone and tile repairs
Shower bath
- P or L-shaped shower bath
Freestanding bath
- Floor or wall-mounted filler
Guide prices for County Durham including VAT. Your itemised written quote after the free survey is the price that counts.
Which towns do we cover in County Durham?
- Darlington
- Hartlepool
- Stockton-on-Tees
- Durham
- Chester-le-Street
- Billingham
- Stanley
- Consett
- Newton Aycliffe
- Bishop Auckland
- Seaham
- Thornaby-on-Tees
- Peterlee
- Yarm
- Spennymoor
Most of County Durham has moderately hard water. Taps and wastes will need an occasional descale, and chrome or brushed finishes are easier to keep clean than polished brass. Hardness varies street by street, so check the figure for your postcode with your water supplier. If the bath in your Darlington home is the only thing letting the bathroom down, a swap in one or two days avoids a full refit.
What the job includes
- Filling the bath before sealing, so the silicone cures with the bath at its heaviest
- Tile repairs or re-tiling around the bath, and a fixed screen where there is a shower over it
- Leak testing at the waste, overflow and taps, taking the old bath away and a final clean
- New flexible connectors or pipework, with isolation valves on the hot and cold supplies
- Removal of the old bath, including breaking up a cast-iron bath in place where it will not come out whole
- Levelling the bath on adjustable feet or a cradle, with timber battens fixed to the walls under the rim
Decisions to make first
Shower bath
A P-shaped or L-shaped bath is wider at the shower end, giving room to stand and space for a fixed screen instead of a curtain.
Size
Most UK baths are 1700 × 700 mm. Going longer or wider than the old bath means re-tiling and checking that the new one fits up the stairs.
Bath panel
Acrylic panels are cheap and easy to clean; wood-effect panels match fitted furniture; a tiled panel on a frame looks built-in but needs an access hatch for the waste.
Freestanding bath
Acrylic freestanding baths are manageable on most floors; stone resin and cast iron are much heavier when full. You need room to clean round the bath and a plan for where the waste and filler come up.
Rules that apply in England
Replacing a bath in an existing bathroom does not need planning permission, and a straight swap is not normally building regulations work. New taps or a filler must meet the water fittings rules where you live, including backflow protection. If the new bath is much heavier than the old one, such as a cast-iron or stone resin freestanding bath, the floor needs checking, and strengthening joists is structural work that may need building control approval.
In England, Part G limits the hot water to a new bath to 48 °C at the outlet, usually with a thermostatic mixing valve, but only in a new dwelling or one created by a change of use. It does not apply to a replacement bath in an existing home, though a thermostatic valve is still sensible where children or older people bathe. New wiring for a shower over the bath or new lights is notifiable under Part P.