Bathroom renovation in County Durham

What does a bathroom renovation cost in County Durham?

Our guide range in County Durham is £6,800–£13,500 including VAT. Prices in County Durham run at about 10% below the UK guide, based on North East England labour rates.

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

Which towns do we cover in County Durham?

• Darlington
• Hartlepool
• Stockton-on-Tees
• Durham
• Chester-le-Street
• Billingham
• Stanley
• Consett
• Newton Aycliffe
• Bishop Auckland
• Seaham
• Thornaby-on-Tees
• Peterlee
• Yarm
• Spennymoor

Supplies across most of County Durham are moderately hard. 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 Darlington home is older and the bathroom still has original pipework or plaster behind the tiles, the survey shows whether a renovation or a refit makes more sense.

What the job includes

• Re-plastering or boarding, with cement-based boards and tanking in the wet areas
• New wiring, lighting, extractor fan and RCD protection, installed and certified by a qualified electrician
• New hot and cold pipework and wastes, with isolation valves to each fitting
• A survey of the structure and services: joists, walls, ceilings, pipework, wastes, wiring and ventilation
• Repairs to rotten floorboards, joists or other timber found once the room is open
• Tiling, fitting of the suite and furniture, making good and decorating, then handover

Decisions to make first

Combining rooms

Taking out the wall between a bathroom and a separate WC gives one larger room, but it is structural work and may need building control.

How far back to strip

Back to brick gives a clean start. Keeping sound plaster on some walls saves time and money, and the survey shows which walls can stay.

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.

Rules that apply in England

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 England, structural changes, new drainage or a new connection to the soil stack under Part H, and new circuits under Part P can all be building regulations work. A registered electrician can self-certify the electrics; structural and drainage work may need a building notice or a full plans application to building control.