NEW research from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has found that 71% of homeowners expect their bathroom renovation to cost under £10,000.
The trade body highlighted the ‘dangerous gap’ between expectation and reality that leaves consumers vulnerable to cowboy builders offering lower quotes.
However, professional builders are warning that skilled labour, quality fittings, plumbing complications and unforeseen structural issues frequently push the final bill far higher.
The data exposes the misconception that puts homeowners at risk: a quarter (26%) believe a full bathroom renovation can be done for under £5,000, while only 14% expect to pay £10,000-£15,000, and just 3% anticipate costs of £15,000 or more.
The research also reveals that while 38% of respondents correctly identify labour as the single most expensive element of a bathroom renovation, many still fixate on the cost of fittings (17%) or plumbing (16%) and a significant proportion admitted they simply don’t know where their money will go.
Nearly one in five (19%) expect a full bathroom renovation to be completed in a week or less, while 39% expect it done within two weeks – schedules that professional builders say are unrealistic for quality work involving strip-outs, drying time, and coordinating multiple trades.
Brian Berry, chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders, said, “Bathroom renovations are one of the most common home improvement projects, but our research shows homeowners are walking into them with unrealistic expectations about both costs and timelines. The gap between what people think they’ll pay and what they actually need to budget is setting them up for disappointment – or worse, pushing them towards rogue traders offering unrealistic quotes and timelines.
“When someone thinks a full bathroom can be done for £3,000 in five days, they’re prime targets for cowboys who will take a deposit, do substandard work and disappear. Most homeowners are budgeting for the bathroom they imagine, not the bathroom they’ll actually get. Labour alone can swallow half the budget before a single tile goes up.”
The findings come as the FMB intensifies its campaign for a statutory licensing scheme which the organisation believes would help protect homeowners.
