What does bathroom underfloor heating cost in the Highlands and Islands?
Our guide range in the Highlands and Islands is £650–£2,400 including VAT. Prices in the Highlands and Islands run at about 4% below the UK guide, based on Scotland labour rates. Travel and delivery to islands and remote areas are priced on your quote.
Electric mat
- Insulation board
Electric, larger room
- Electrician sign-off
Wet system
- Pipes linked to the heating
Guide prices for Highlands & Islands including VAT. Your itemised written quote after the free survey is the price that counts.
Which towns do we cover in the Highlands and Islands?
Water across much of the Highlands and Islands is soft. Soft water is kind to grout, so mid-tone and darker grouts stay looking fresh. Hardness varies street by street, so check the figure for your postcode with your water supplier. Whether your Inverness bathroom is a small en-suite or a large main bathroom, the mat is sized to the open floor, not the whole room.
What the job includes
- A floor sensor set between the heating runs and wired back to the thermostat
- Insulation boards over the subfloor, so heat goes up into the tiles rather than down into the joists or screed
- Bringing the system up to temperature gradually once the adhesive and grout have cured
- For wet systems, pipes in low-profile boards or screed connected to a manifold or single-zone kit, with any boiler work done by a Gas Safe registered engineer
- A dial, programmable or smart thermostat, with the supply RCD protected, tested and certified by a qualified electrician
- A check of the floor construction, the room's heat loss and where the thermostat and supply will go
Decisions to make first
Electric or wet
Electric is cheaper to install and quick to lay in one room. Wet costs more upfront but is usually cheaper to run where it is fed by a gas boiler or heat pump.
Insulation board thickness
Thicker boards warm up faster and lose less heat downwards, but raise the floor; the right choice depends on the door threshold and the next room.
Mat or loose cable
Mats are quickest on square, open floors. Loose cable is easier to route around awkward shapes, pipe boxing and a curved shower area.
Thermostat
A simple dial thermostat, a programmable one with set times, or a smart thermostat you can control from your phone.
Rules that apply in Scotland
Electric underfloor heating in a bathroom must be on a circuit with 30 mA RCD protection under BS 7671, and the thermostat is positioned to suit the bathroom zones. There is no separate approval for the heating itself, but it should have its own thermostat and timer so it only runs when needed, and the electrical work must meet BS 7671 — in England and Wales it is notifiable as bathroom electrical work. Any work on a gas boiler for a wet system must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
Scotland has no Part P. Underfloor heating added during a straight bathroom refit rarely needs a building warrant on its own, but it must be installed, tested and certified to BS 7671 with RCD protection.