Swapping a rarely used bath for a practical shower is one of the most common jobs we quote for across Leicester and the wider county. Prices vary more than most people expect, mainly because of what sits behind the tiles rather than what you can see. This guide sets out realistic figures, what drives them up or down, and how long the work usually takes.
For a straightforward swap, taking out the bath and fitting a standard shower enclosure with a tray, screen and mixer shower in the same spot, most Leicester homeowners pay somewhere between £2,500 and £4,500 including labour, materials and waste removal. That assumes the existing pipework is in reasonable condition and the new tray sits roughly where the bath waste already runs.
A low-level or walk-in shower, which many people choose for easier access, typically comes in between £3,500 and £6,000. A full wet room, where the floor itself is tanked and forms the shower area, is a bigger job again and usually starts around £5,500, often reaching £8,000 or more in older properties. These are guide figures rather than quotes; the only reliable number is one based on a proper survey of your bathroom.
The biggest single factor is the state of the wall and floor once the bath comes out. Baths hide a lot, and in Victorian terraces around Clarendon Park or older semis in Wigston and Oadby we regularly find crumbling plaster, rotten floorboards or dated pipework that needs sorting before anything new goes in. Budgeting a contingency of around 10 to 15 per cent is sensible.
Your choice of shower matters too. A thermostatic mixer running off a combi boiler is usually the simplest option. If your home has a gravity-fed system with low pressure, common in houses that still have tanks in the loft, you may need a pump or an electric shower instead, which changes both the plumbing and electrical work involved. Tiling is the other variable: retiling just the shower area is far cheaper than retiling the whole room, and large-format tiles or full-height tiling add labour time.
A standard conversion normally takes three to five working days. Day one is removal and first-fix plumbing, then tanking and tiling in the middle of the week, with the enclosure, shower fitting and finishing at the end. Wet rooms take longer, usually five to eight days, because the floor needs building up, tanking and testing before tiling can start.
You will be without a working shower for most of that time, so it is worth planning around. Grout and silicone also need around 24 hours to cure before first use, which catches people out if they are hoping to shower the evening the fitter leaves.
If yours is the only bath in the house, think carefully before removing it. Some buyers, particularly families with young children, still want a bath, so estate agents often advise keeping at least one in the property. If you rarely use it and plan to stay put for years, a well-fitted shower will serve you far better day to day than a bath gathering dust.
There is also a middle ground: a shower bath with a screen gives you both for a similar cost to a standard conversion. And if the change is driven by mobility, it is worth checking whether Leicester City Council or your district council can help through a Disabled Facilities Grant, which can contribute to accessible shower installations for those who qualify.
Usually not directly. The waste position often works with minor alteration, but a shower needs a proper thermostatic valve rather than bath taps, and the supply pipes are typically rerouted behind the wall for a tidy finish.
Straightforward like-for-like plumbing work does not need approval, but new electrical work such as an electric shower must be carried out or certified by a qualified electrician under Part P. A reputable installer will handle the paperwork for you.
Replacing a second bath with a good shower rarely hurts value and often helps. Removing the only bath in the house can put off some buyers, so weigh that up if you are likely to sell within a few years.
