Bathroom renovation in County Antrim

What does a bathroom renovation cost in County Antrim?

Our guide range in County Antrim is £6,600–£13,250 including VAT. Prices in County Antrim run at about 12% below the UK guide, based on Northern Ireland labour rates.

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

Which towns do we cover in County Antrim?

• Belfast
• Lisburn
• Newtownabbey
• Castlereagh
• Carrickfergus
• Ballymena
• Antrim
• Larne

Supplies across most of County Antrim are soft. That leaves you free to choose matt black, brushed brass or clear glass without worrying much about limescale. Hardness varies street by street, so check the figure for your postcode with your water supplier. If you have just bought a house in Belfast, renovating the bathroom before moving in saves living through the dust.

What the job includes

• Strip-out back to brick or studwork, with waste taken away by a licensed waste carrier
• New wiring, lighting, extractor fan and RCD protection, installed and certified by a qualified electrician
• Repairs to rotten floorboards, joists or other timber found once the room is open
• A survey of the structure and services: joists, walls, ceilings, pipework, wastes, wiring and ventilation
• Re-plastering or boarding, with cement-based boards and tanking in the wet areas
• New hot and cold pipework and wastes, with isolation valves to each fitting

Decisions to make first

Heating

Moving the radiator, adding a heated towel rail or laying underfloor heating is simpler while the room is stripped.

Shower floor

With the floor already up, a renovation is the easiest time to form a level shower floor or a full wet room.

Pipe material

Copper suits exposed runs and the area near the boiler. Plastic pipe is quicker under floors and inside walls, and long runs need fewer joints.

Plaster or boards

Plaster suits dry walls that will be painted. Cement-based tile backer boards are the better base behind showers and under heavy tiles.

Rules that apply in Northern Ireland

Renovating a bathroom inside an existing home does not need planning permission. Listed buildings need listed building consent for alterations that affect their character, which can include internal work and new soil or vent pipes through walls. In a flat, check the lease: freeholder consent is often needed for wet rooms, moving the WC or new extract vents, and sound insulation and leak risk to the flat below matter. Electrical work must meet BS 7671, with 30 mA RCD protection on every bathroom circuit.

In Northern Ireland, building control covers drainage, structural changes and ventilation, with ventilation set out in Technical Booklet K. There is no Part P, but new wiring should be designed, tested and certified to BS 7671.