How Much Does a New Bathroom Cost in Aberdeen?
A new bathroom is one of the most rewarding upgrades you can make to an Aberdeen home, and one of the easiest to budget for once you know what shapes the price. Here are our indicative starting figures, then a clear look at what moves the number up or down.
Most people start with one question: what will it actually cost? The honest answer is that a bathroom is built from layers of choices, the suite, the tiles, the layout, the heating and the waterproofing, and each one nudges the figure. To make this useful rather than vague, we have led with our indicative starting prices so you can see the floor for each type of room, then explained exactly what pushes the cost higher.
Whether you are refreshing a tired family bathroom, adding an en suite to a loft or extension, or fitting a sleek wet room, this guide gives you a grounded sense of the budget before you book a survey with our Aberdeen bathroom fitters. For the full service, see our bathrooms in Aberdeen page.
Indicative bathroom prices in Aberdeen
These are realistic starting points for the Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire area. A standard full bathroom refit typically lands between £5,000 and £8,000 once the suite, tiling and finishing are accounted for. Your own figure depends on the size of the room and the specification you choose.
| Project | What it covers | Indicative from |
|---|---|---|
| Full bathroom refit | Complete strip-out and new suite, tiling and finishing (typically £5,000 to £8,000) | £5,000 |
| En suite | Compact shower room off a bedroom, loft or extension | £5,000 |
| Wet room | Open, level-access space with full tanking and drainage | £6,000 |
| Cloakroom | Downstairs WC with basin, a smart, low-cost addition | £3,000 |
What drives the price of a bathroom
Two bathrooms of the same size can be hundreds or thousands of pounds apart, and it usually comes down to the same handful of decisions. Understanding them helps you spend where it counts and hold back where it does not.
Suite and tile quality
The single biggest variable you control is the specification. A practical mid-range suite with good ceramic tiling sits at the lower end of our range. Move up to a designer brassware, a freestanding bath, large-format porcelain or natural stone, and both the materials and the labour to fit them rise. There is a sensible bathroom at every level, and a survey lets us match the spec to your budget honestly.
Moving the plumbing or changing the layout
Keeping the bath, basin, WC and shower roughly where they are is the most economical route, because the existing soil and supply pipework largely stays put. The moment you reposition the WC, swap a bath for a walk-in shower in a new spot, or open up the layout, we are running new first-fix pipework and waste, which adds labour and time. Layout changes are often worth it, but they are the clearest reason one quote is higher than another.
Underfloor heating
Underfloor heating is a popular and genuinely transformative addition in Aberdeen, where a warm tiled floor on a cold morning is no small thing. It adds to the cost because the system, the screed or matting and the controls all need installing before tiling, but many homeowners feel it is the upgrade they notice most.
Waterproofing and tanking
Proper waterproofing is not an optional extra, it is what stops a beautiful bathroom failing within a few years. Wet rooms in particular need full tanking, a continuous waterproof membrane across the floor and walls, before any tiling begins. This is skilled, careful work and it is one of the reasons a wet room starts higher than a standard refit. We never cut corners here.
Layout changes and structural work
Sometimes the brief goes beyond a refit, knocking through to a neighbouring cupboard, repositioning a doorway, or creating a brand new bathroom as part of a loft or home extension. That building work is priced per project on top of the fit itself, and it is where a single trusted builder handling everything saves you the headache of juggling separate contractors.
"The cheapest bathroom is rarely the one that keeps the plumbing where it is, it is the one that lasts twenty years without a problem."
What is included in our bathroom price
When we quote a full bathroom, we quote the whole job, not just the bits that show. A clear, itemised quote means no surprise extras once work is under way. A typical Granite Builders refit includes:
- Strip-out and removal of the old suite, tiles and any failed waterproofing.
- First-fix plumbing, the hidden supply and waste pipework set into walls and floor.
- Second-fix plumbing, connecting and commissioning the bath, basin, WC and shower.
- Electrical work, lighting, extractor fan, shaver points and any heated elements, certified to current standards.
- Plastering and making good walls and ceilings ready for tiling and painting.
- Tiling, walls and floor, cut and finished neatly around fittings.
- Waterproofing, tanking and sealing to protect the structure behind the finish.
- Suite installation, fitting your chosen bath, shower, basin, WC and brassware.
- Waste removal, clearing and disposing of all rubble and old materials.
What sits outside the standard figure is usually the high-end specification, structural alterations, or moving services a long distance, all of which we set out separately so you can see exactly what you are paying for.
- Keep the layout if you can. Leaving the plumbing in place is the easiest saving available.
- Spend on what you touch. Brassware and the shower get used daily, so prioritise quality there over decorative extras.
- Mix tile choices. A feature wall with simpler tiles elsewhere gives a designer look without a designer bill.
- Get one quote for everything. A single builder handling plumbing, electrics, tiling and finishing avoids the cost and risk of coordinating separate trades.
Bathroom, en suite, wet room or cloakroom?
The type of room you are creating sets the baseline before any spec choices. A family bathroom is the all-rounder. An en suite is compact but benefits from tidy, space-saving fittings, which is why it often costs as much per square metre as a larger room. A wet room delivers the most open, accessible feel and is brilliant for level access, but the full tanking lifts the starting price. A downstairs cloakroom is the most affordable way to add real everyday convenience and can lift the value of a home noticeably.
If you are weighing up styles, finishes and fittings, our guide to bathroom design trends in Aberdeen is a good next read, and many homeowners planning a kitchen at the same time look at our kitchen cost guide to budget both rooms together.
Do you need a building warrant for a bathroom?
For a straightforward bathroom replacement in the same location, you usually will not need a building warrant. It tends to come into play when the work is more involved, for example creating a brand new bathroom, altering the structure, or significant drainage changes, where a warrant from Aberdeen City Council or Aberdeenshire Council may apply. Planning permission is a separate matter and rarely an issue for an internal bathroom, though it can arise with extensions. We assess this at survey stage and, where a warrant is needed, we handle it for you. Our pillar guide on building warrants in Scotland explains the process in full.
Why choose Granite Builders
We are a family-run firm with over 20 years' experience across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, and we are members of the Federation of Master Builders, TrustMark registered and fully insured. Every bathroom comes with a written quote, one team handling the whole job from strip-out to final seal, and an honest conversation about what your budget will and will not stretch to. If you are still comparing firms, our guide on how to choose a builder in Aberdeen sets out exactly what to look for.
Ready to plan your new bathroom?
Book a free survey and we will measure up, talk through your options and give you a written, itemised quote. No ballpark guesses and no pressure to go ahead.
A full bathroom refit in the Aberdeen area starts from around £5,000 and typically falls between £5,000 and £8,000 once the suite, tiling and finishing are included. An en suite starts from around £5,000, a wet room from around £6,000 and a downstairs cloakroom from around £3,000. These are indicative only, subject to a site survey, and exclude VAT.
A wet room needs full tanking, a continuous waterproof membrane across the floor and walls, along with careful drainage to create a level, open space. That extra waterproofing work is skilled and time-consuming, which is why a wet room starts from around £6,000 rather than the £5,000 starting point for a standard refit. Indicative only, subject to a site survey, and exclude VAT.
Our quotes cover the whole job, the strip-out and waste removal, first and second fix plumbing, electrics, plastering, tiling, waterproofing and tanking, and installation of your chosen suite. We set out anything outside the standard figure, such as a high-end specification or structural work, separately so the quote is fully itemised.
Yes. Keeping the bath, basin, WC and shower roughly where they are is the most economical option because the existing pipework largely stays in place. Repositioning fittings or changing the layout means running new first-fix pipework and waste, which adds labour and time. It is often worth it, but it is the clearest reason one quote is higher than another.
For a like-for-like bathroom replacement in the same location you usually will not. A warrant from Aberdeen City Council or Aberdeenshire Council can apply when the work is more involved, such as creating a brand new bathroom or making significant structural or drainage changes. We assess this at survey stage and, where a warrant is needed, we handle it for you.
A typical full bathroom refit takes roughly one to two weeks on site, depending on the size of the room, the tiling and whether the layout or plumbing is changing. Wet rooms can take a little longer because the tanking needs time to be done properly. We give you a clear schedule with your written quote so you know what to expect.