Bath replacement in Kent

What does a replacement bath cost in Kent?

Our guide range in Kent is £1,000–£2,800 including VAT. Prices in Kent run at about 12% above the UK guide, based on South East England labour rates.

Guide prices for Kent including VAT. Your itemised written quote after the free survey is the price that counts.

Which towns do we cover in Kent?

• Maidstone
• Gillingham
• Chatham
• Tunbridge Wells
• Folkestone
• Margate
• Ashford
• Canterbury
• Sittingbourne
• Gravesend
• Dartford
• Ramsgate
• Dover
• Tonbridge
• Strood
• Whitstable
• Deal
• Sevenoaks
• Rochester
• Herne Bay
• Broadstairs
• Faversham
• Swanley
• Longfield
• Hartley
• Swanscombe

Most of Kent has very hard water. Taps, plug wastes and toilet pans scale up quickly, so chrome copes better than matt black, and a removable aerator is worth having. Hardness varies street by street, so check the figure for your postcode with your water supplier. Survey visits in Maidstone cover the bath, the tiles around it and the waste route, so the quote reflects your bathroom rather than a standard job.

What the job includes

• New flexible connectors or pipework, with isolation valves on the hot and cold supplies
• 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
• 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.

Taps or filler

Deck taps on the rim are the simplest swap. Wall-mounted taps or a bath filler look cleaner but mean opening the wall, and an overflow filler hides the spout altogether.

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.