What does bathroom plumbing work cost in Berkshire?
Our guide range in Berkshire is £650–£4,500 including VAT. Prices in Berkshire run at about 12% above the UK guide, based on South East England labour rates.
Like-for-like
- Isolation valves, new tails
Partial re-route
- Waste re-routed
New layout
- WC moved on the soil stack
Guide prices for Berkshire including VAT. Your itemised written quote after the free survey is the price that counts.
Which towns do we cover in Berkshire?
Water across much of Berkshire is hard. 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. If your Reading water is hard, a scale reducer or softener on the bathroom supplies can protect valves and shower heads.
What the job includes
- New hot and cold pipework in copper or plastic, properly clipped, and insulated where it runs through cold spaces
- Isolation valves on every fitting, so taps, cisterns and valves can be serviced without draining the system
- Basin, bath and shower wastes sized and laid to a steady fall, with traps that hold their water seal
- Draining down and isolating supplies, with the rest of the house back on water as soon as possible
- Shower pumps on gravity systems, and macerators or pumped wastes where gravity drainage cannot reach
- A pressure test of new pipework before walls are closed in and floors go down
Decisions to make first
Concealed or exposed valves
Concealed shower valves look neater but need an access route for servicing. Exposed bar valves are easier to reach and replace.
Pipe routes
Drilling through the middle of joists, rather than notching the tops, keeps the floor strong. Routes are planned with the joist direction in mind.
Shower supply
Combi boilers and unvented cylinders give mains pressure. A gravity system with a cold tank may need a pump, but a pump must never be connected to the mains.
Copper or plastic
Copper is rigid and suits pipes on show or near the boiler. Plastic is quicker under floors and inside walls, and long runs need fewer joints.
Rules that apply in England
New WCs, taps, showers and valves must meet the water fittings rules where you live: a maximum 6-litre flush for new WCs, backflow protection, and no pump connected directly to the mains supply, because shower pumps are only for gravity systems with a cold tank. Unvented hot-water cylinders must be installed by a G3-qualified installer, and any work on a gas boiler by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
In England, the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 apply. New drainage or a new connection to the soil stack can be building regulations work under Part H, and a macerator or pumped WC is acceptable only where there is also a WC on gravity drainage elsewhere in the home.