Planning a bathroom Buying guide

The cost of a new bathroom can vary enormously. The average bathroom costs around £3,000, but costs can vary from a few hundred pounds to tens of thousands for an all-singing, all-dancing large bathroom with luxury fittings.

Get the most for your money on bathrooms and showers

You can find a cheap bathroom suite for as little as £200, but then there are all the accessories to purchase, from taps to waste plugs and any new pipe work required. This can double this price you first thought of.

Do it yourself

Fitting your own bathroom suite can save around 70 per cent of the overall cost, but you have to consider the time and complexity of the job before you decide to tackle it yourself – leaks from a bathroom can cost a lot of money to fix. And building regulations limit what you are allowed to do – fitting an electric shower is a job for a properly qualified electrician, for instance. 

To find a reliable local electrician, Which? members can look on Which? Local - where members list traders they've used who have done a good job.

Buying the goods yourself – with the approval of your fitter – can help to reduce the cost dramatically. If you are buying from a company that quotes for installation too, then check to see what it would cost for a plumber (and electrician where necessary) to do it independently.

Whether you buy the products yourself or get someone in, it is worth looking at the guarantee, given especially for things such as grouting or sealant, which are costly if they cause leaks. Look for lifetime or ten-year plus guarantees.

Buying a shower

Before buying a shower, it is really important to see it in action. Check that all the working parts are not hidden behind the tiles or wall, so that if anything goes wrong you don’t need to strip the wall, but can just change the part.

Bath/shower mixer

Cost £50 to £600

This is the type of shower you’d find on freestanding baths. The hose and spray are combined with a mixer tap and the temperature is adjusted through the taps. It’s cost-effective as it doesn’t involve any extra plumbing, but doesn’t always give a great water pressure and it can be difficult to get the temperature exactly right.

Manual mixer

Cost £60 to £300

This is a popular and cost-effective shower where the hose and spray come out of a wall unit and there is a temperature control that combines the hot and cold water supply. These need to be at a good height to help with water pressure, and you need to ensure the hot and cold water supplies are plumbed in correctly.

Check your shower in action before buying

Thermostatic mixer

Cost £120 to £500

This is a manual mixer that includes a built-in stabiliser to automatically adjust the water temperature. This is essential if you have children, older or disabled people in the house, as the temperature and flow of water should not be affected when water is being used elsewhere. The only downside is that it is more expensive than other mixer showers.

Electric shower

Cost £50 to £200

This provides water separately from the mains cold water supply. As with mixer showers, they have temperature and pressure gauges that can be adjusted. These great for an en suite or second bathroom as they supply instant hot water separate to the boiler system – and if anything goes wrong with the boiler, you still have one hot shower in the home.

See How to buy an electric shower for more information.

Power shower

Cost £200 to £700

This is a shower that is connected to or has an integral electric pump. The benefit is that both the pressure and the water temperature can be adjusted, giving you the optimum shower for you. 

However, you can only fit this type of shower if there is a supply from both a cold water cistern and a hot water cylinder – so they are not compatible with a combination boiler. A power shower is not great for water consumption as it can use as much water as having a bath.