Most people ring us with the same question in different words: does this bathroom need everything doing, or can we just tidy it up? The honest answer depends far less on taste than on what is behind the tiles. This page compares the two routes on cost, scope, disruption and what each can actually solve.
The short version
A refresh keeps the layout and replaces what you see. A full refit strips the room back and rebuilds it, so anything hidden gets put right at the same time. A refresh is the right call on a sound room that simply looks tired. A full refit is the right call when the floor, the wet areas or the plumbing are part of the problem, or when the layout itself is what you dislike.
Cost, using our own local bands
- £3,000 to £4,500, refresh. Existing layout kept, new suite, wet areas re-tiled, new flooring, fresh sealing and decoration.
- £4,500 to £7,500, standard full refit. Full strip out, new suite, full height tiling to the shower and half height elsewhere, new flooring, new lighting and extractor.
- £7,500 to £12,000, premium or reconfigured. Layout changes, walk in shower or wet room floor, large format porcelain, underfloor heating, fitted furniture and feature lighting.
- £1,200 to £2,500, cloakroom. A compact downstairs WC with basin, splashback tiling and flooring.
The gap between the first two bands is smaller than people expect, which is why a refresh only makes financial sense when the room underneath is genuinely sound. If strip out is going to be needed anyway, paying twice is the expensive route.
What a refresh can and cannot fix
- Can fix: a dated suite, tired grout and sealant, worn flooring, poor decoration, scruffy brassware.
- Can fix: a weak or noisy extractor, provided the ducting route is usable.
- Cannot fix: a bouncy or unlevel floor, which needs overboarding or strengthening before new tiling.
- Cannot fix: water that has tracked behind tiling into the wall, which is only visible once the tiling comes off.
- Cannot fix: a layout that does not work, because moving the toilet or soil stack is the single biggest cost swing in a refit.
Older Stoke housing stock changes the maths
Around the Potteries a large share of bathrooms sit in terraces and semis where the room was added or converted decades ago. Two things come up repeatedly at survey. Timber floors that have flexed over the years often need overboarding or strengthening before any tiling goes down, which quietly turns a planned refresh into a strip out. And solid brick walls make a concealed shower valve or a repositioned basin harder than in a modern build, because there is no stud depth to hide pipework in.
Access matters too. Terraces with no rear access take longer to strip out and clear, and that time sits in the price whichever route you choose. It is one of the reasons we survey before quoting rather than pricing from photographs.
Disruption compared
A refresh is shorter because the room is not taken back to bare walls and floor, and because there is less waste to remove. A full refit involves strip out, waste clearance, first fix, tiling, second fix and finishing, with more days where the room is out of use. Either way the point to agree before day one is what happens to the water and toilet while work is underway, which our guide on living in the house during a fit covers in detail.
Which is right for you
- Choose a refresh if the floor is solid, the wet areas are dry behind, the layout works and you mainly dislike how the room looks.
- Choose a refresh if you are selling soon and want the room to present well without reconfiguring it.
- Choose a full refit if you want the layout changed, a walk in shower or a level access floor built in, or underfloor heating fitted.
- Choose a full refit if there is any sign of water damage, movement in the floor, or repeated sealant and grout failure.
- Choose a full refit if a refresh would be a stopgap you expect to replace inside a few years.
How we quote either option
We visit, measure, discuss the brief and send a written fixed price quote with the specification itemised, usually within 24 hours. Plumbing, tiling, electrical work and finishing are handled by our own team, so there is one price and one point of responsibility. Every job is covered by a written workmanship guarantee and we are fully insured.
If you are weighing the two up, the useful next steps are our bathroom fitting service page for scope, the quote checklist so you can compare fairly, or simply ask us for a free fixed price quote and we will tell you which route the room justifies.
Common questions
What is the price difference between a refresh and a full refit?
On the bands we quote across Stoke-on-Trent, a refresh that keeps the existing layout sits around £3,000 to £4,500. A standard full refit with a complete strip out sits around £4,500 to £7,500, and a reconfigured or premium room £7,500 to £12,000.
Can a refresh fix damp or mould?
Only if the cause is failed sealant or poor extraction. If water has been getting behind tiles into the wall or floor, that is uncovered at strip out and needs the full repair, not a cosmetic recover.
Is it cheaper to tile over existing tiles?
It can look cheaper on paper, but it adds weight and depth, hides whatever is failing underneath and complicates the next refit. We would rather strip back and start from a sound substrate.
Which option is better before selling?
A refresh usually. A clean, well sealed room with new flooring and a tidy suite presents well without spending on layout changes the buyer may undo anyway.
Can I start with a refresh and do a full refit later?
Yes, though anything you spend on tiling and flooring is lost when the room is stripped out. If a full refit is already likely within two or three years, put the money straight into it.
How do I know which one my room needs?
We survey the room, check the floor, wet areas and pipework, and tell you honestly which option the condition justifies. The visit and the fixed price quote are free.