Why is the range so wide?

Because the two things that drive the figure most are invisible at the point somebody asks the question: whether the layout moves, and what the walls and floor turn out to be like. A replacement in a sound 1970s room and a reconfigured wet room in a listed Georgian house are genuinely different jobs that happen to share a name.

How much of the budget is labour versus materials?

Broadly 55 to 65 per cent labour on a typical project, though it shifts. Specify book-matched marble and the materials share climbs. Take a bathroom back to bare structure in a period property and labour climbs instead. We itemise both in the quote so you can see where your money is going and adjust deliberately.

Can I reduce the cost by supplying my own materials?

Sometimes, and we are happy to fit client-supplied items. Two honest caveats. We check them before installation and will say if something is unsuitable for your water pressure or is missing parts needed to fit it properly. And we cannot guarantee products we did not supply - if a client-supplied valve fails, the labour to replace it is not covered.

Do you ask for a deposit?

Yes, to cover materials ordered specifically for your project, with the balance staged against progress. We never ask for the full amount upfront, and neither should anyone else - Which? advises specifically against it when choosing a bathroom fitter.

Will the quote change once you start?

Rarely, and that is deliberate. Anything the survey identified as a risk is already in the quote as a costed possibility, so if we are right you are not surprised and if we are wrong you do not pay it. Genuinely unforeseeable finds are discussed the same day with a price before we continue - never presented at the end.

Is a more expensive bathroom actually better value?

Up to a point, and then not. The money that reliably pays for itself goes into things you cannot see: substrate preparation, a proper tanking system, a well-specified thermostatic valve, real ventilation. Beyond that you are buying aesthetics, which is a legitimate thing to buy but is not a durability upgrade. We will tell you which side of that line a decision sits on.

Bathroom Cost In Exeter

What should you actually expect to pay?

Three guide bands, the six things that move the figure, and an honest account of where the money goes.

Most bathroom companies will not publish figures, and we understand why - every room is different and any number invites being held to it. But refusing to say anything wastes everyone's time, including ours. So here is the real range, what sits in each band, and what pushes a project from one to the next.

White marble bathroom in Exeter with a built-in bath and wall-mounted shower

Get A Figure For Your Room

Tell us a little about the room and we will come back to you to arrange a visit. No obligation, and no pressure to decide on the day.

The Bands

Three Realistic Budgets

Complete rooms, all trades, all materials, VAT included. These are guide bands from recent Exeter and East Devon projects, not a price list.

£12,000 – £18,000

Replacement in the existing layout

What it covers

Everything comes out, everything goes back in roughly the same place. Quality porcelain tiling, good British brassware, a new wall-hung or back-to-wall WC, a bath or a shower enclosure, full re-tile, decoration and making good.

Who it suits

A sound room where the layout already works and the services are in serviceable condition. Common in 1960s onward housing and in modern estates around Exminster and Newton Abbot.

Worth knowing

This band assumes we do not find anything significant behind the tiling. In pre-1940 property that assumption is worth testing at survey.

£18,000 – £26,000

Layout altered or level access formed

What it covers

As above, plus moving sanitaryware positions, re-routing waste and feeds, forming a fully tanked wet room or walk-in shower, underfloor heating, and larger format porcelain or entry-level natural stone.

Who it suits

Most of the projects we complete. Also where a bath is being swapped for level-access showering, which is the single most common change we are asked for.

Worth knowing

Moving a WC is the expensive move, not moving a basin. Waste runs have length and fall limits that sometimes force a more involved solution than expected.

£26,000 – £35,000+

Larger rooms and specified stone

What it covers

Book-matched natural stone, bespoke joinery, concealed cisterns and valve bodies throughout, specialist lighting design, twin outlets, structural work where the room is being enlarged or reconfigured.

Who it suits

Principal bathrooms in larger period property - the Georgian and Victorian stock around Southernhay, Topsham, Sidmouth and Budleigh Salterton.

Worth knowing

Natural stone is where budgets move fastest. The material cost is only part of it; the set-out, dry-laying and sealing all take longer too.

High-End Projects: 100+ High-End Projects
Workmanship: Guaranteed Workmanship
Design Consultations: Free Design Consultations
Team, Start To Finish: One Team, Start To Finish

Variables

The Six Things That Move The Figure

Whether the layout moves

By far the biggest single variable. Keeping sanitaryware in place avoids re-routing waste and feeds, chasing walls and making good. Moving a WC is the most expensive individual change because of the waste diameter and the fall it needs.

What the substrate turns out to be

In pre-1940 property this is the great unknown until the tiling comes off. Failing plaster, damp joist ends, lead or steel feeds and badly modified waste runs are all common in Exeter's Victorian suburbs, and all cost money to put right properly.

Tile choice and format

Supplied tile ranges from about £20 per square metre for ceramic to £250 for natural stone. But the labour changes too - large formats need a flatter substrate and two people to set, and stone needs dry-laying and sealing.

Whether it is a wet room

A fully tanked wet room needs falls formed, a tanking system installed and curing time between stages. On a first floor over century-old joists it may also need structural stiffening. That is genuine additional work, not a premium for the name.

Brassware and sanitaryware level

The gap between competent and exceptional brassware is significant, and in the hard-water East Devon towns the serviceable cartridge is worth paying for. Concealed cisterns and valve bodies cost more to install than exposed ones.

Listed status and conservation area

Consent takes time, and working inside a listed building means slower, more careful methods and reusing existing service routes rather than cutting new ones. In Topsham, central Exeter and Sidmouth this is a routine line item rather than an exception.

Scope

What Our Quotes Include, And What They Do Not

Included as standard

Measured survey, drawn layouts and written specification
Full strip-out and removal of waste from site
All plumbing first and second fix
Electrical work by a registered electrician, with certification
Substrate preparation, boarding and priming
Tanking system in all wet areas
All tiling, grouting and sealing
Sanitaryware, brassware and accessories per the specification
Ventilation installed and commissioned to the required rate
Decoration and making good
Daily dust sheeting and a clean site at handover
Warranties registered in your name, handed over in writing

Priced separately if needed

Structural alterations - removing or altering a load-bearing wall
Listed Building Consent applications and heritage reporting
Below-ground drainage alterations and any build-over consent
Water supply upgrades or a pump where measured pressure will not carry the specification
Floor structural stiffening where the survey shows deflection
Asbestos survey or removal, occasionally relevant in 1950s to 1970s property
Septic tank or treatment plant assessment for rural off-mains properties
Window replacement, which brings its own building regulations requirements

Anything in this column that the survey suggests is likely gets costed and put in the quote as a named possibility. You are not asked to accept an open-ended contingency.

Questions

Cost Questions

Why is the range so wide?: Because the two things that drive the figure most are invisible at the point somebody asks the question: whether the layout moves, and what the walls and floor turn out to be like. A replacement in a sound 1970s room and a reconfigured wet room in a listed Georgian house are genuinely different jobs that happen to share a name.
How much of the budget is labour versus materials?: Broadly 55 to 65 per cent labour on a typical project, though it shifts. Specify book-matched marble and the materials share climbs. Take a bathroom back to bare structure in a period property and labour climbs instead. We itemise both in the quote so you can see where your money is going and adjust deliberately.
Can I reduce the cost by supplying my own materials?: Sometimes, and we are happy to fit client-supplied items. Two honest caveats. We check them before installation and will say if something is unsuitable for your water pressure or is missing parts needed to fit it properly. And we cannot guarantee products we did not supply - if a client-supplied valve fails, the labour to replace it is not covered.
Do you ask for a deposit?: Yes, to cover materials ordered specifically for your project, with the balance staged against progress. We never ask for the full amount upfront, and neither should anyone else - Which? advises specifically against it when choosing a bathroom fitter.
Will the quote change once you start?: Rarely, and that is deliberate. Anything the survey identified as a risk is already in the quote as a costed possibility, so if we are right you are not surprised and if we are wrong you do not pay it. Genuinely unforeseeable finds are discussed the same day with a price before we continue - never presented at the end.
Is a more expensive bathroom actually better value?: Up to a point, and then not. The money that reliably pays for itself goes into things you cannot see: substrate preparation, a proper tanking system, a well-specified thermostatic valve, real ventilation. Beyond that you are buying aesthetics, which is a legitimate thing to buy but is not a durability upgrade. We will tell you which side of that line a decision sits on.

Feedback

What Clients Say

Rated 5 out of 5

“We had put off doing the main bathroom for years because the house is Georgian and we were nervous about what was behind the panelling. They took the whole wall back, found the old lead feed we suspected was there, and re-ran it properly before any tiling started. The set-out on the marble is what sells the room - the cuts all land in the corners.”

Rachel H.
Topsham · Georgian townhouse, main bathroom

Rated 5 out of 5

“Our en-suite is a small room in a Victorian villa with a horrible drainage run. Three other firms told us a wet room was not possible. This lot spent an hour with a laser level working out the falls, then built it. Two years on there is no movement and no damp anywhere near the joists.”

Tom & Priya S.
St Leonard's, Exeter · En-suite wet room conversion

Rated 5 out of 5

“What I appreciated most was the drawings. We saw three layouts before committing, including one that moved the door - which we would never have thought of and which made the whole room work. Being able to see it properly first was worth every penny of the design fee.”

Margaret C.
Budleigh Salterton · Full redesign and installation

Rated 5 out of 5

“Freestanding bath on a first floor in a 1930s semi, so the joists needed checking and doubling up in one place. They flagged it on the survey rather than discovering it halfway through, which is presumably why the quote did not move once. Filler position was marked out and agreed before the floor went back down.”

David P.
Exmouth · Freestanding bath installation

Rated 5 out of 5

“The thing nobody warns you about is the dust. They sheeted the landing and the stairs every single morning and hoovered before they left. Eleven working days, one team, same two faces throughout. My neighbour has now booked them.”

Sian M.
Alphington · Bathroom renovation

Coverage

Areas We Cover

We work across Exeter and out into East and Mid Devon. If your town is not listed, it is still worth asking - the practical limit is travel time rather than a fixed radius.

Or jump straight to a service

Get A Figure For Your Actual Room

A survey takes about an hour and produces a written figure you can hold us to. There is no charge and no obligation, and if we are the wrong fit for your budget we will say so on the day rather than waste your time.

Call 01392 321032 Request A Consultation