What does a shower room cost in Essex?
Our guide range in Essex is £4,800–£9,500 including VAT. Prices in Essex run at about 6% above the UK guide, based on East of England labour rates.
Essential
- Basin and close-coupled WC
Signature
- Porcelain tiles throughout
Bespoke
- Tiled level-access floor
Guide prices for Essex including VAT. Your itemised written quote after the free survey is the price that counts.
Which towns do we cover in Essex?
- Southend-on-Sea
- Basildon
- Colchester
- Chelmsford
- Harlow
- Grays
- Braintree
- Brentwood
- Clacton-on-Sea
- South Benfleet
- Canvey Island
- Billericay
- Rayleigh
- Stanford-le-Hope
- Wickford
- Witham
- Pitsea
- Maldon
- Waltham Abbey
- South Ockendon
- Harwich
- Hadleigh
- Walton-on-the-Naze
- Frinton-on-Sea
- Rochford
- Saffron Walden
Supplies across most of Essex are very hard. If your supply in Southend-on-Sea is the same, limescale on shower glass and heads is a real issue: easy-clean glass, rub-clean nozzles and a squeegee make a big difference. Hardness varies street by street, so check the figure for your postcode with your water supplier. If your second bathroom in Southend-on-Sea is too narrow for a bath, a long walk-in tray can often fit along the same wall.
What the job includes
- An enclosure, walk-in panel or frameless screen in toughened safety glass
- Extractor fan, lighting and towel rail wired by a qualified electrician, tested and certified
- Tanking to the shower area, then wall and floor tiling
- Recessed niches or shelving in the shower wall
- A basin and WC to suit the space, freestanding or set into a fitted furniture run
- A thermostatic shower valve, exposed or concealed, with a fixed head, a handset or both
Decisions to make first
Tray or level floor
A low-profile stone-resin tray is quicker to fit and costs less. A tiled level floor looks seamless but needs a former, tanking and more floor preparation.
Glass
8 mm toughened glass is the usual standard for a walk-in panel. An easy-clean coating helps a great deal in hard-water areas.
Valve and heads
A bar valve is simple and easy to service. A concealed valve with a ceiling head looks cleaner but needs good flow to perform.
Tray size
A 1200 by 800 mm or 1400 by 900 mm tray with a single panel makes a comfortable walk-in. Go as long as the room allows; length does more than width to keep spray inside.
Rules that apply in England
Turning a bathroom into a shower room does not need planning permission. The electrics must meet BS 7671: 30 mA RCD protection on every circuit, at least IPX4 fittings in zone 1 above the tray up to 2.25 m, or IPX5 where water jets are used, and no ordinary sockets within 3 m of zone 1. A shower pump can only be used on a gravity system with a cold tank, never connected directly to the mains.
In England, any change to the wiring in the shower room, or a new circuit for an electric shower, is notifiable under Part P. If you are replacing the fan, keep it at least as effective as the old one; Approved Document F gives 15 litres per second intermittent for a bathroom.