A straightforward refit keeping the layout takes roughly one to two weeks, in a fixed sequence: strip out, first fix, boarding and tanking, tiling, second fix, sealing and handover. Moving the WC or altering the floor extends it.
Before anything starts
This is the stage that determines whether the rest runs smoothly, and it happens before anybody arrives with a tool.
- Layout agreed and final. Where the WC, basin, bath and shower go. Moving them later is expensive and sometimes impossible.
- Every item selected, ordered and on site. All of it. A bathroom stalls waiting for one item more often than for any other reason.
- Tiles chosen, quantity calculated with a cutting allowance, and delivered. Check the batch numbers match across boxes – colour varies between batches and it is visible on a wall.
- Electrical layout settled – lights, extractor, shaver socket, underfloor heating, mirror demister.
- Waste and supply positions established, which follows from the layout.
- Access and parking sorted, and somewhere to put a skip.
- A realistic conversation about the only-bathroom problem, if it is the only one.
Customer-supplied items arriving late, or arriving damaged and needing replacement. Everything should be on site and unpacked – and checked for damage – before the first day. A bath with a chip in it discovered on day six is a week’s delay.
Days 1 to 2: strip out
Old suite, tiles, and usually the floor covering out. This is when the surprises appear, and there almost always are some in an older property.
| Common find | Effect |
|---|---|
| Rotten or soft floor around the bath or WC | Needs repairing before anything goes back. Adds time |
| Poorly supported or unsealed soil connection | Needs correcting. Usually modest |
| Previous work that was never right | Varies. Sometimes the reason for the leak nobody could find |
| Tiles bonded to plaster that comes off with them | Walls need making good or boarding. Common and not serious |
| Asbestos in older properties | Stops work until assessed. Rare in bathrooms but not unknown |
| Pipework in unexpected places | May constrain the layout |
| No isolation valves anywhere | Adds them, which is a benefit |
An honest contractor tells you what has been found before proceeding, with what it means for time and cost. A quote that allowed nothing at all for the possibility of finding something was an optimistic quote.
Days 2 to 4: first fix
Everything that will be buried gets done now.
- Hot and cold supplies run to the agreed positions, with isolation.
- Wastes and the soil connection set to the new layout, with correct falls.
- Any new electrical circuits run – lighting, extractor, underfloor heating, shaver point.
- Underfloor heating mat or loop laid, if fitted.
- Any structural work to the floor completed.
- Everything photographed with a tape measure in shot, before it is covered.
The photographs cost nothing and are worth a great deal the first time somebody wants to fix a mirror to that wall or investigate a fault. We do this as standard and the pictures are yours.
Days 4 to 6: boarding, tanking and preparation
The invisible half, and the part that determines whether the room still looks right in five years.
- Floor levelled or strengthened as required. Tiles crack because floors move, and no adhesive compensates for a deflecting floor.
- Walls made good, or boarded with tile backer board where the substrate is unsuitable or where the area is wet.
- Tanking applied to wet areas – a waterproof membrane under the tiles, with the manufacturer’s tapes at every corner and collars at every pipe penetration. See wet room tanking explained.
- Cure time respected. Tanking has to cure before tiling. This is a genuine wait and skipping it is a hidden failure.
- Frames and blocking installed for wall-hung sanitaryware, concealed cisterns, grab rails now or in future, and anything else needing solid fixing.
Days 6 to 9: tiling
The longest single element, and the one where setting out matters more than speed.
- Setting out first. Where the cuts fall, how the pattern meets corners and the ceiling, whether there is a sliver of tile anywhere visible. A tiler who spends an hour setting out is doing the job properly.
- Floor usually before walls, or the other way round depending on the detail – either can be right, and it should be a decision rather than a habit.
- Large format tiles take longer and demand flatter substrates. If you chose them, the preparation earlier was more important.
- Adhesive and grout cure times are real. Grouting a wall before the adhesive has gone off produces problems that appear months later.
- Movement joints where they are needed – at changes of plane, at large areas, and at junctions with different materials.
Days 9 to 11: second fix, sealing and handover
- Sanitaryware installedWC, basin, bath, shower tray or wet room drain, all connected and levelled.
- Taps, shower and screensFitted, with isolation accessible.
- Electrical second fixLights, extractor, shaver socket, underfloor heating thermostat – and the certification that goes with notifiable work.
- Towel railPlumbed, electric or dual fuel.
- TestingEverything run, every joint checked, the shower run for long enough to be confident, the waste flow tested under load.
- SiliconeOn clean, dry surfaces. This is the last thing and it should not be rushed – silicone applied to a damp or dusty joint will fail.
- Snagging and handoverWalk round together, everything demonstrated, and the photographs and certificates handed over.
Silicone deserves a note. It is the very last operation, it needs the surfaces genuinely clean and dry, and it needs time to cure before the shower is used. A bathroom finished and used the same evening is a bathroom whose silicone will fail early.
What extends the programme
| Change | Typical effect |
|---|---|
| Moving the WC | Significant – soil connection needs correct fall and diameter |
| Moving the bath or basin | Modest, unless the floor is solid |
| Converting to a wet room | Adds several days – formers, falls, tanking and cure |
| Floor repairs found at strip out | A day or two |
| Large format or patterned tiles | Adds to the tiling stage |
| Underfloor heating | A day or so, mostly at first fix |
| Items arriving late | Unpredictable and the most common cause |
| Only bathroom in the house | May require a different sequence to keep the WC usable |
Planning a bathroom? Get every item on site and checked before day one. It is the single biggest thing you control.
Questions we get asked about this
How long does a bathroom take?
A straightforward refit keeping the layout is typically one to two weeks. Moving the WC, altering the floor, or building a wet room extends it. Tile choice matters more than people expect.
Will I be without a bathroom the whole time?
For most of it, if it is the only one. Tell us at survey – we can frequently sequence the work to keep the WC connected for longer and reinstate it early.
Can I supply my own suite?
Yes, and plenty of people do. Two things: we cannot warrant items we did not supply, and late or damaged customer-supplied goods are the most common cause of a stalled bathroom. Everything should be on site and checked before we start.
What happens if you find something unexpected?
You are told before we proceed, with what it is, what it needs and what it costs. Rotten floors and unsupported soil pipes are reasonably common in older property.
Do I need building regulations approval?
A like-for-like refit usually does not, but the electrical work is notifiable, ventilation must meet requirements, and structural or drainage alterations may bring building control in.
Why does silicone have to be last?
It needs clean, dry surfaces and time to cure. Applied early, or onto a damp joint, it will not bond and it will fail within months.
Need this doing?
Call and describe the problem — you will speak to an engineer, not a call centre. Written quotes, no estimates over the phone.