Bathroom plumbing in Tyne and Wear

What does bathroom plumbing work cost in Tyne and Wear?

Our guide range in Tyne and Wear is £550–£3,600 including VAT. Prices in Tyne and Wear run at about 10% below the UK guide, based on North East England labour rates.

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

Supplies across most of Tyne and Wear are 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 your Newcastle upon Tyne home has a gravity system with a loft tank, we check the head of water before recommending a shower or a pump.

What the job includes

• The WC connected to the soil stack, or a new branch where the WC is moving
• A check of your hot water system, and the pressure and flow rate at the bathroom
• New hot and cold pipework in copper or plastic, properly clipped, and insulated where it runs through cold spaces
• Shower pumps on gravity systems, and macerators or pumped wastes where gravity drainage cannot reach
• Isolation valves on every fitting, so taps, cisterns and valves can be serviced without draining the system
• A pressure test of new pipework before walls are closed in and floors go down

Decisions to make first

Hard water

In hard water areas, a scale reducer or water softener protects valves, shower heads and glass. Keep an unsoftened tap in the kitchen for drinking.

Gravity or pumped waste

Gravity drainage is always the first choice. A shower waste pump or macerator solves a run that cannot fall, but adds noise, a power supply and servicing.

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.

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.