How much does adding an En Suite cost?

Adding an en suite to a bedroom can make a home much more practical to live in and increase the value & saleability of your house in work that can be done in 1-2 weeks for as little as ￡5K + VAT.

Introduction

I have done many en suite installations now and I hope that this article will help you to understand what kind of costs may be involved in this kind of work, and the factors that affect these costs.

In its simplest form costings look like this:

TOTAL COST = labour cost + material cost + VAT

Labour cost is directly related to time taken (or the amount of work required) and the material cost is for things like timber, plasterboard, toilets, basins, radiators etc.

So obviously a simple job with cheaper fittings that takes less time to complete will cost less than a more complicated job that takes more materials and more time to complete.

It sounds simple and thats because it is.

Case studies

Case study 1

SUMMARY:

An en suite added to the eaves of a property on the 3rd floor (Click link above to read about it in more detail.)

COST: Approx ￡7,000– ￡8,000 + VAT

TIME TAKEN: 1.5 week

SIZE: 100 x 300cm

Costs incurred that may not always occur:

1. Due to the height of the installation and the drainage connections needed, scaffolding was required, but this is often not needed on a 1st floor installation.

2. Replacing the cast iron soil pipe completely in order to make new connections (i.e. if you have a plastic soil pipe outside then you should save money as it can often be amended rather than completely replaced.)

3. Hot & cold supplies had to be run up to the new en suite up a bedroom wall below which then had to be re-plastered and decorated (rather than boxing them in in a corner which is the alternative approach).

4. A towel radiator was added though not everyone chooses to do this.

Costs not incurred that may be in other instances:

1. Adding a window to add natural light is something that many would choose to do in instances where there is no existing window, and this would have added approximately ￡400 to the cost.

Case study 2

SUMMARY:

An en suite made from an existing cupboard (previously accessed from the hall) (Click link above to read about it in more detail.)

COST: Approx ￡7,000+ VAT

TIME TAKEN: 1 week

SIZE: 70 x 190cm

Costs incurred that may not always occur:

1. We had to knock through (and support) a solid wall to create a new doorway into the en suite.
2. We had to block up the old doorway into the storage space (as the space was being accessed through the bedroom rather than off the main hall.)

Costs not incurred that may be in other instances:

1. Adding a window to add natural light is something that many would choose to do if there was not one already there – this would have added approximately ￡400 to the cost.

2. No studwork was needed to be built, insulated, plastered & painted as we were making use of an existing space (storage cupboard).

3. We chose not to add a towel radiator due to the small space – including one would have increased the budget.

Case study 3

SUMMARY:

An en suite made from an existing cupboard (previously accessed from the hall) (Click link above to read about it in more detail.)

COST: Approx ￡7,000+ VAT

TIME TAKEN: 1 week

SIZE: 70 x 190cm

Costs incurred that may not always occur:

1. Studwork was needed to define the space (ie we did not utilise an existing space as with the example above).

2. Tiled floors are more costly than the vinyl floors in the other case studies above.

3. Mosaic tiles are not cheap to buy or to fit!

Costs not incurred that may be in other instances:

1. No need to replace the soil pipe as it was plastic & new connections could be made easily.
2. No extractor fan was added.
3. No underfloor heating was needed.
4. No window was added.

Case study 4

SUMMARY:

An en suite was added to the corner of a bedroom (Click link above to read about it in more detail.)

COST: Approx ￡5,400+ VAT

TIME TAKEN: 1.5 week

SIZE: 80 x 140cm

Costs incurred that may not always occur:

1. As the en suite was not on an external wall, it was more difficult (costly) to run the waste out to the soil stack on the outside of the house.

2. Joinery work was required to define the space:

3. A glass door looks stunning and adds natural light but is not cheap at ￡350+ fitting.

4. Undertile heating is a nice luxury, and tiled floors cost more than vinyl.

5. LED mirrors are more costly than plain mirrors but often have demisters and shaver sockets that makes them good to have.

6. Wall hung furniture is more costly to fit than freestanding.

SUMMARY:

An en suite was added to the corner of a bedroom (Click link above to read about it in more detail.)

COST: Approx ￡8,000+ VAT

TIME TAKEN: 1.5 week

SIZE: 80 x 140cm

Costs incurred that may not always occur:

1. Lots of external plumbing work (to do with the soil pipe) was needed in this instance.

2. Joinery work was required to define the space, but only on 1 side of the room.

3. A douche was added.

4. The wall & floors were tiled in their entirety.

Costs not incurred that may be in other instances:

1. Underfloor heating was not added.

2. Ceramic tiles are more cost effective than porcelain, marble, mosaics etc.

Summary

So you see, there are many variables to consider when determining how much a new en suite will cost to fit and hopefully these case studies above will give you some ideas as to where your project lies on the spectrum.

Taking all these examples into account….

You will probably be looking at ￡6K – ￡9K + VAT to add an en suite and to carry out all of the other necessary work*

Spend less

• Smaller rooms
• Vinyl floor
• Budget / sale suite items, close coupled WC’s & basin suite deals
• Tiled wet areas only
• Simple layout on external wall + easy plumbing
• Artificial light only

Spend more

• Bigger rooms
• Fully tiled
• Underfloor heating, LED mirrors, spotlights etc
• Quality suite items, fitted furniture, wall hung items, shower body jets etc
• Upgrading heating systems if required

* Please do not confuse the costs given here for merely the plumbing costs of putting in an en suite as plumbing is only 1 of the several trades involved in a job of this type.

For example, the prices given above typically include several of the following costs in addition to the plumbing costs:

• Building control fees?– getting approval from the council (building regulations approval)
• Waste disposal costs
• Electrical costs – amending light switch positions, fitting fans and new lighting & issuing completion certificates
• Joinery costs?– building, insulating & boarding studwork, fitting skirting boards, architraves & hanging doors
• Plastering costs?– boarding & skimming the walls & ceiling – internally & externally
• Plumbing costs?– fitting the toilet, shower, basin & radiator etc
• Decoration costs?– painting the walls, ceiling & skirting boards, architraves & door
• Floor fitting costs?– supplying & fitting vinyl or tiled floors with all necessary floor preparation work
• Wall tiling costs?– supplying & fitting tiles to part / all of the walls
• Building costs?– removing or building walls, inserting doorways and installing windows

Get in touch

Due to the many trades that can be involved in something as simple as fitting an en suite, you would probably be best getting a turnkey supplier such as ukbathroomguru.com to carry out the work so that it is completed in the quickest time possible to limit disruption and to ensure that the project runs smoothly.

We can take projects from a simple plan….

Through the work….

To completion….

With all work done to a high standard in a professional manner – all managed by a single project manager to keep things on track.

Give me a call?or request a callback by clicking on the red ‘request a free site survey’ button on the site.

Many thanks

Chris