What does a replacement bath cost in the Scottish Borders?
Our guide range in the Scottish Borders is £850–£2,400 including VAT. Prices in the Scottish Borders run at about 4% below the UK guide, based on Scotland labour rates.
Like-for-like bath
- New acrylic or steel bath, panel and taps
Shower bath
- Re-tiling to the bath area
Freestanding bath
- Freestanding acrylic or stone resin
Guide prices for Scottish Borders including VAT. Your itemised written quote after the free survey is the price that counts.
Which towns do we cover in the Scottish Borders?
Water across much of the Scottish Borders 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 you are in Hawick and considering a freestanding bath, the survey includes a check of the floor and joists before you choose.
What the job includes
- 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
- 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
- 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
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.
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.
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.
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.