Vanity units in the West Midlands

What does a new vanity unit cost in the West Midlands?

Our guide range in the West Midlands is £350–£1,450 including VAT.

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

Which towns do we cover in the West Midlands?

• Birmingham
• Coventry
• Wolverhampton
• Dudley
• Walsall
• Solihull
• Sutton Coldfield
• West Bromwich
• Halesowen
• Stourbridge
• Smethwick
• Willenhall
• Tipton
• Bloxwich
• Wednesfield
• Washwood Heath
• Aston
• Shirley
• Brierley Hill
• Aldridge
• Acocks Green
• Bartley Green
• Wednesbury
• Kingswinford

Water hardness varies across the West Midlands: some supplies are soft, others moderately hard or hard. Taps and wastes will need an occasional descale, and chrome or brushed finishes are easier to keep clean than polished brass. Hardness varies street by street, so check the figure for your postcode with your water supplier. Wall-hung vanities in Birmingham homes are fixed to suit what the wall is built from, which we check at the survey.

What the job includes

• Patching or re-tiling the wall where the old basin left gaps
• A new tap, trap and the correct slotted or unslotted waste for the basin
• Removal of the old basin and pedestal, or old vanity, and taking it away
• A check that the wall can carry a wall-hung unit, with fixings to suit solid or stud walls
• Isolation valves on the hot and cold supplies, so the tap can be changed later without draining the system
• Moving the waste and supply positions where the new unit needs them higher, lower or to one side

Decisions to make first

Drawers or doors

Drawers keep things visible and reachable but lose some space to the trap. Doors give a deeper cupboard and cost less.

Wall-hung or floor-standing

Wall-hung units leave the floor clear and are easy to clean under, but need a strong wall. Floor-standing units hold more and suit weak or uneven walls.

Width

Compact units around 400 mm wide suit cloakrooms; family bathrooms often take 600 to 800 mm for one basin and 1200 mm or more for two.

Basin type

An inset or semi-recessed basin, a one-piece moulded top, or a countertop basin on a worktop. Countertop basins need a tall tap or a wall-mounted one.

Rules that apply in England

Replacing a basin with a vanity unit does not need planning permission or building regulations approval. The new tap must meet the water fittings rules, including protection against backflow, and the waste should connect to the existing drainage through a proper trap. If the unit has a light, or a lit mirror goes above it, the electrical work must suit the zone it sits in under BS 7671 and be RCD protected.

In England, the tap and supply pipework come under the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999. A new waste connection to the soil stack can be Part H work, and adding a light to the unit or above it is notifiable under Part P.