Cloakrooms & downstairs WCs in Greater Manchester

What does a cloakroom or downstairs WC cost in Greater Manchester?

Our guide range in Greater Manchester is £1,700–£4,200 including VAT. Prices in Greater Manchester run at about 6% below the UK guide, based on North West England labour rates.

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

Which towns do we cover in Greater Manchester?

• Manchester
• Oldham
• Wigan
• Bolton
• Stockport
• Salford
• Rochdale
• Sale
• Bury
• Altrincham
• Middleton
• Ashton-under-Lyne
• Leigh
• Stretford
• Urmston
• Chadderton
• Eccles
• Tyldesley
• Hyde
• Walkden
• Prestwich
• Radcliffe
• Cheadle Hulme
• Heywood
• Denton
• Stalybridge
• Ashton in Makerfield
• Westhoughton
• Farnworth
• Saddleworth
• Hindley
• Droylsden
• Whitefield
• Swinton
• Royton
• Atherton
• Old Trafford
• Dukinfield
• Failsworth
• Hazel Grove
• Irlam
• Horwich
• Bramhall
• Ramsbottom
• Bredbury

Water across much of Greater Manchester is 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 you are refreshing a dated cloakroom in Manchester, a wall-hung WC and slim vanity can change the room in a few days.

What the job includes

• Strip-out of the old fittings, waste removal and making good on the hall side
• A new waste connection to the soil stack or drain, or a macerator where the rules allow it
• Splashback or feature tiling and a new floor, often LVT or porcelain
• Lighting wired by a qualified electrician, tested and certified
• An extractor fan ducted to outside, wired with an overrun timer or linked to the light
• A concealed cistern frame or WC unit where the space allows

Decisions to make first

Finishes

A small room can carry a bolder tile or wallpaper. A feature wall behind the WC costs far less here than in a full bathroom because there is so little of it.

WC style

A wall-hung WC on a frame gives the most floor space and looks neat. A back-to-wall pan in a short furniture unit is easier to fit against an uneven wall.

Door

An outward-opening door is usually needed so it does not hit the WC. A sliding door suits a narrow hallway where an outward door would block the way.

Under-stair layout

Headroom drops quickly under stairs. The basin and the space in front of the WC need standing height; the low end of the room can take the cistern or storage.

Rules that apply in England

A cloakroom refit does not need planning permission, and forming a new one inside the house rarely does, although a listed building needs listed building consent for internal alterations affecting its character. A macerator or pumped WC is acceptable only where the home also has a WC on gravity drainage. The water fittings rules in each nation limit a new WC to a 6-litre flush.

In England, a new WC connected to the soil stack or drain is drainage work under Part H, and a newly formed cloakroom without an opening window should have mechanical extract; Approved Document F gives 6 litres per second as the design rate for a WC, against 15 for a bathroom. Because a cloakroom has no bath or shower, adding a light to an existing circuit is not notifiable under Part P, but a new circuit is.