What does a replacement bath cost in Oxfordshire?
Our guide range in Oxfordshire is £1,000–£2,800 including VAT. Prices in Oxfordshire run at about 12% above the UK guide, based on South East England labour rates.
Like-for-like bath
- Old bath removed and disposed of
Shower bath
- Bath screen and shower
Freestanding bath
- Floor reinforcement check
Guide prices for Oxfordshire including VAT. Your itemised written quote after the free survey is the price that counts.
Which towns do we cover in Oxfordshire?
Most of Oxfordshire has 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. For Oxford homes with a shower over the bath, a shower bath and fixed screen keeps the floor drier than a curtain.
What the job includes
- 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
- Filling the bath before sealing, so the silicone cures with the bath at its heaviest
- A survey of the bath opening, the floor, the waste route, the supplies and the tiles around the bath
- New flexible connectors or pipework, with isolation valves on the hot and cold supplies
- Leak testing at the waste, overflow and taps, taking the old bath away and a final clean
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.