How to quote bathroom fitting jobs: supply & fit vs fit-only

Bathroom installation is one of the highest-value jobs in the domestic trade market, but it is also one of the easiest to underprice. The key variable most fitters overlook is the model: supply & fit and fit-only are fundamentally different businesses with different risks, margins, and quoting approaches. Getting the distinction wrong costs money — often thousands of pounds on a single job.

The two models explained

In a supply & fit model, you source and supply all the materials — the suite, taps, shower, tiles, flooring, sealants, fixings — and charge the customer a single price that includes everything. You carry the risk if materials are damaged, delayed, or wrong, but you also earn a margin on everything you supply.

In a fit-only model, the customer purchases their own suite and materials, and you charge purely for labour. You carry none of the material risk, but you are fully exposed to the consequences of a customer choosing the wrong product, buying incomplete parts, or ordering items that arrive damaged or out of sequence.

Neither model is inherently better. Supply & fit generates higher total revenue and allows you to control quality; fit-only reduces capital outlay and material headaches. Many experienced bathroom fitters offer both, pricing them correctly for the different risk profiles.

How to price a supply & fit bathroom

A supply & fit quote has four main components: materials, labour, waste disposal, and additional trades (tiling, flooring, plastering if required). Each needs to be calculated separately and then combined into a single customer-facing price.

• Materials markup. Your trade cost for materials should carry a markup of 20–35% before it reaches the customer. This covers your time sourcing, ordering, and collecting materials; the cost of any returns or replacements; and the working capital you tie up while waiting to be paid. A 25% markup is a reasonable baseline for most bathroom suites and fittings.
• Labour. Calculate the number of days the installation will realistically take — not the best case, but the realistic case given what you know about the property and the customer's suite. Multiply by your day rate. A straightforward like-for-like bathroom swap in a standard semi might be 3–4 days. A full strip-out and refit with tiling, flooring, and new pipework runs easily to 7–10 days.
• Waste disposal. A full bathroom strip-out generates a significant volume of waste: the old suite, tiles, flooring, pipework. A skip hire or multiple van runs to the tip costs money and time. Price this explicitly — £150–£400 depending on volume — rather than absorbing it into your day rate.
• Additional trades. If the job requires a tiler, a decorator, or a plasterer, either quote those costs through yourself with your own markup or be explicit with the customer that these are separate. Quoting a bathroom as supply & fit without flagging that tiling is an extra is a common cause of disputes.

Pricing fit-only jobs: day rate vs fixed price

Fit-only jobs can be priced on a day rate or as a fixed price. Each has different implications:

A day rate (typically £250–£450 per day depending on trade, region, and experience) is lower risk for you. If the job takes longer because a part is wrong or pipework is in an unexpected location, you are paid for the additional time. The downside is that customers are often uncomfortable with open-ended pricing and may push back or query time spent.

A fixed price gives the customer certainty and positions you as a professional, but it requires you to price in a contingency for the unknowns. For fit-only work where the customer has supplied the materials, price in at least a 15% contingency on your labour estimate. If the suite arrives with missing components, if the floor joists need reinforcing, or if the existing pipework is in the wrong place for the new layout, that contingency is what saves your margin.

The fundamental risk of fit-only work is customer-supplied materials. Customers routinely order the wrong size basin, choose a shower tray that does not suit the existing waste position, or buy a thermostatic valve that requires additional pipework. Be clear in your quote that your price is based on the materials being correct and complete on arrival. Anything else is a variation, charged separately.

What to always include in a bathroom quote

Many bathroom quotes are disputed because scope was assumed rather than specified. These items should always be explicitly included or excluded in your quote:

• Preparation and strip-out. Removing the existing bathroom — suite, tiles, flooring — is a significant element of the job. Make it clear whether it is included and how many days you have allowed for it.
• Plasterboarding and waterproofing. Wet areas require appropriate waterproofing behind tiles. If you are re-boarding a shower enclosure or bath surround, this should be itemised. Customers who have done their research will expect to see it; those who haven't will be confused if you raise it as an extra later.
• Shower tray former. A properly laid shower tray on a former rather than a mortar bed is the correct way to install a tiled shower area. If you are supplying and fitting a wetroom or tiled shower, state explicitly whether a former is included and which product you are using.
• Valve access panels. Bath panels should incorporate an access point for the bath trap and any valves. If you are fitting a panelled bath, specify whether an access panel is included. This is a small item that causes disproportionate complaints when it is missing.
• Making good. After any bathroom fit, there will be areas that need plastering, filling, or decorating. Be explicit about whether making good is included and to what standard. “Leaving ready for decoration” means something different to you than it may to the customer.

How to handle scope creep in bathroom fitting

Bathroom jobs are particularly prone to scope creep. Once the existing bathroom is stripped, it is common to find: corroded pipework that needs replacing; subfloor damage requiring repair; walls that are not plumb enough for a tiled finish without reboarding; or electrical issues that need a Part P certificate. None of these are in your original quote.

The solution is to address scope creep contractually before it happens. Your quote should state clearly that it is based on normal existing conditions and that any additional work arising from unforeseen issues will be quoted separately before proceeding. When you discover an issue during strip-out, stop, document it with photos, and contact the customer before continuing. Do not simply proceed and add to the final invoice — that approach generates disputes almost every time.

A variation note — even a brief WhatsApp message with photos followed by a written confirmation of the additional cost and the customer's approval — is sufficient protection. The documentation matters; verbal agreements rarely do.

Building consistent bathroom quotes with Trade2Base

The most common bathroom quoting mistake is building every quote from scratch. Each job is different, but the structure is always the same: strip-out, first fix, second fix, tiling, flooring, waste disposal, making good. Starting from a blank page each time leads to missed line items, inconsistent pricing, and quotes that take 45 minutes to produce when they should take 10.

Trade2Base's quote templates let you build a bathroom quote structure once — with your standard labour rates, your markup on materials, and all the line items you commonly include — and then customise it per job in minutes. You can maintain separate templates for supply & fit and fit-only jobs, each pre-populated with the right sections and exclusions.

Quotes go to customers as professional branded PDFs that include your payment terms, your variation clause, and your contact details. Customers can accept digitally, which triggers the job to move into your schedule automatically. For a bathroom fitter quoting 4–6 jobs per week, the time saving across a year is measurable — and the consistency means fewer disputes over scope.