Break a bathroom refurbishment into priced parts
A bathroom combines surfaces with fittings and specialist work. Its floor footprint alone is a poor guide to the whole bill: a compact shower room can still need substantial plumbing changes and extensive wall tiling. This estimator separates installed floor finishes, installed wall tiles, sanitary fixtures and a combined trades allowance. Enter quotations in a single currency. The prefilled rates demonstrate the arithmetic and are not local market averages. Replace them with figures for your project before treating the result as a budget.
How the renovation allowance is assembled
Subtotal = floor area × floor rate + tiled wall area × wall rate + fixtures + trades; budget = subtotal × (1 + contingency ÷ 100)The floor and wall rates should include the installation tasks you intend them to cover. If a tiler's price already includes preparation, adhesive, grout and labour, avoid entering those again under trades. Fixtures can include a toilet, basin, shower tray, bath and taps, but their installation belongs wherever your quotation puts it. The trades allowance is a lump sum for everything else you deliberately include. Demolition, waterproofing, ventilation, waste removal and electrical changes may need to be added there if they are absent from the rates.
Worked budget for a six-square-metre bathroom
A 6 square metre floor at an installed rate of 80 costs 480. Twenty square metres of tiled wall at 100 cost 2,000. Add 2,500 for sanitary fittings and 3,000 for remaining trades. The base subtotal is 480 + 2,000 + 2,500 + 3,000 = 7,980 currency units. A 15 percent reserve adds 1,197, producing a total budget of 9,177. This reserve is shown separately so you can distinguish priced work from money kept for uncertainty. It is not automatically owed to the installer and it does not change the quoted scope.
Define the scope before comparing quotations
Measure only the wall surfaces receiving tile, subtracting large openings where appropriate. Include shower returns and boxed sections if they will be finished. Record whether existing fixtures remain in their locations: moving a toilet or opening a floor can alter the trades allowance considerably. Ask bidders to state who supplies fittings, whether hidden substrate repairs are excluded and how variations are authorised. Keep tax consistent across every field; either use tax-inclusive inputs throughout or include a separately priced tax amount in your allowance. The calculator does not add taxes by itself. Photograph visible conditions before demolition and retain a written schedule of finishes to make the proposed budget easier to compare with the final bill.
Frequently asked questions
Are the default prices current market rates?
No. They are sample numbers chosen to demonstrate the calculation. Enter local quotations and use the same currency in every field.
Should wall area equal floor area?
No. Tiled wall surfaces are measured separately and can be much larger. Include only walls, returns and boxed sections that will actually receive tile.
Where should waterproofing go?
Include it in an installed rate if the supplier covers it there, or in the trades allowance otherwise. Count it once and describe its scope.
Does the budget include tax?
There is no automatic tax calculation. Use consistently tax-inclusive quotations or explicitly include the relevant amount in the allowances.
Is contingency an extra contractor fee?
It is money reserved for uncertainty, shown separately from the priced subtotal. Actual spending depends on authorised changes and conditions discovered during the work.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-03 · How we calculate