What does a cloakroom or downstairs WC cost in the Scottish Borders?
Our guide range in the Scottish Borders is £1,750–£4,300 including VAT. Prices in the Scottish Borders run at about 4% below the UK guide, based on Scotland labour rates.
Refit
- Compact WC and corner or wall basin
Upgrade
- Feature tiles and lighting
New cloakroom
- Formed under the stairs or in a utility
Guide prices for Scottish Borders including VAT. Your itemised written quote after the free survey is the price that counts.
Which towns do we cover in the Scottish Borders?
Supplies across most of the Scottish Borders 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. Where your Hawick home already has a WC on gravity drainage, a macerator opens up more places a new cloakroom can go.
What the job includes
- Compact sanitaryware: a short-projection, back-to-wall or wall-hung WC and a corner, wall-hung or slim vanity basin
- Lighting wired by a qualified electrician, tested and certified
- Splashback or feature tiling and a new floor, often LVT or porcelain
- Strip-out of the old fittings, waste removal and making good on the hall side
- A concealed cistern frame or WC unit where the space allows
- An extractor fan ducted to outside, wired with an overrun timer or linked to the light
Decisions to make first
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.
Basin
A corner basin fits the tightest rooms. A slim vanity basin with a cupboard underneath gives somewhere to keep spare toilet rolls and soap, and hides the trap.
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.
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.
Rules that apply in Scotland
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 Scotland, forming a new WC that alters drainage may need a building warrant, while refitting an existing cloakroom normally does not. Water fittings are covered by the Scottish Water Byelaws 2014, and electrics should be tested and certified to BS 7671.