Bathroom design in the West Midlands

What does a new bathroom design cost in the West Midlands?

Design has no separate fee on a supply-and-fit job. A complete fitted bathroom in the West Midlands typically costs £6,400–£11,750 including VAT.

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

Which towns do we cover in the West Midlands?

• Birmingham
• Coventry
• Wolverhampton
• Dudley
• Walsall
• Solihull
• Sutton Coldfield
• West Bromwich
• Halesowen
• Stourbridge
• Smethwick
• Willenhall
• Tipton
• Bloxwich
• Wednesfield
• Washwood Heath
• Aston
• Shirley
• Brierley Hill
• Aldridge
• Acocks Green
• Bartley Green
• Wednesbury
• Kingswinford

Supplies across the West Midlands range from soft to hard depending on the source. Easy-clean glass and good-quality brassware are money well spent. Hardness varies street by street, so check the figure for your postcode with your water supplier. If your Birmingham bathroom has a soil stack in an awkward corner, the design starts there, because it is the one point that is costly to move.

What the job includes

• A product list covering the suite, brassware, furniture, tiles, lighting and ventilation
• Elevations and tile layouts on a design, supply and fit project, so the setting-out is agreed before tiling starts
• A clear view of which changes are cheap and which mean moving drainage or opening floors
• A written, itemised quote, with the price fixed in writing once the layout and products are agreed
• A measured survey of the room, including ceiling heights, slopes, window and door positions and any boxing
• A conversation about who uses the room, when, and what does not work about the current one

Decisions to make first

Tile setting-out

Centring tiles on the window, basin or niche avoids thin slivers at the edges. Large tiles mean fewer joints but need flatter walls.

The door

Re-hanging the door on the other side, fitting a sliding pocket door or moving the opening can free up a whole wall in a small room.

Storage

Fitted furniture, a vanity with a tall cupboard, or recessed niches and a mirror cabinet. Recessed storage costs no floor space but needs a stud wall or deep boxing to sit in.

Keep or change the layout

Keeping the WC and shower where they are saves on plumbing. The WC is the costly one to move, because it is tied to the soil stack.

Rules that apply in England

Changing the layout inside an existing bathroom does not need planning permission. The design does have to respect the electrical zones around the bath and shower under BS 7671, the water fittings rules for new WCs and taps, including a maximum 6-litre flush, and adequate extract ventilation. Listed buildings need listed building consent for alterations affecting their character, including new soil or vent pipes through walls, and in a flat the lease often requires freeholder consent for moving the WC or adding a new vent.

In England, a new connection to the soil stack or new drainage can be building regulations work under Part H, and new circuits or alterations to circuits in the bathroom are notifiable under Part P. Where a new bathroom is formed, Approved Document F asks for extract at 15 l/s intermittent or 8 l/s continuous.