What does a replacement bath cost in Tyne and Wear?
Our guide range in Tyne and Wear is £800–£2,200 including VAT. Prices in Tyne and Wear run at about 10% below the UK guide, based on North 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 Tyne and Wear including VAT. Your itemised written quote after the free survey is the price that counts.
Which towns do we cover in Tyne and Wear?
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- Sunderland
- South Shields
- Gateshead
- Washington
- Tynemouth
- Wallsend
- Newburn
- North Shields
- Whitley Bay
- Houghton-Le-Spring
- Felling
- Jarrow
- Gosforth
- Hebburn
- Whickham
- Blaydon-on-Tyne
Most of Tyne and Wear is supplied with soft water. 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. Before a new bath is ordered for a Newcastle upon Tyne home, we measure the stairs and landing as well as the opening.
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
- A survey of the bath opening, the floor, the waste route, the supplies and the tiles around the bath
- Levelling the bath on adjustable feet or a cradle, with timber battens fixed to the walls under the rim
- Supply of the new bath, taps or filler, waste and overflow, and bath panel
- Filling the bath before sealing, so the silicone cures with the bath at its heaviest
- New flexible connectors or pipework, with isolation valves on the hot and cold supplies
Decisions to make first
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.
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.
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.