What does a replacement bath cost in the Forth Valley?
Our guide range in the Forth Valley is £850–£2,400 including VAT. Prices in the Forth Valley run at about 4% below the UK guide, based on Scotland 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 Forth Valley including VAT. Your itemised written quote after the free survey is the price that counts.
Which towns do we cover in the Forth Valley?
Water across much of the Forth Valley is soft. In soft water, taps, wastes and toilet pans scale up slowly, so brushed and matt finishes are a safe choice. Hardness varies street by street, so check the figure for your postcode with your water supplier. If the bath in your Stirling home is the only thing letting the bathroom down, a swap in one or two days avoids a full refit.
What the job includes
- Tile repairs or re-tiling around the bath, and a fixed screen where there is a shower over it
- Levelling the bath on adjustable feet or a cradle, with timber battens fixed to the walls under the rim
- A survey of the bath opening, the floor, the waste route, the supplies and the tiles around the bath
- Removal of the old bath, including breaking up a cast-iron bath in place where it will not come out whole
- Filling the bath before sealing, so the silicone cures with the bath at its heaviest
- Supply of the new bath, taps or filler, waste and overflow, and bath panel
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.
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.
Acrylic or steel
Acrylic is warm to the touch, light and the usual choice; thicker, reinforced acrylic flexes less. Enamelled steel is rigid and hard-wearing but feels colder, and needs sound-deadening pads to stop it drumming.
Rules that apply in Scotland
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 Scotland, the Scottish Water Byelaws 2014 cover new taps, fillers and backflow protection. A replacement bath does not normally need a building warrant, but structural work to the floor for a heavy bath may.