Bathroom Strip-Out Calculator

A standard bathroom strip-out (3-piece suite, wall and floor tiling) takes 1-1.5 days for one experienced tradesperson. This includes removing the suite, stripping tiles, removing flooring, capping plumbing, and clearing waste. Larger bathrooms or those with shower enclosures and extensive tiling may take 2 days.

Yes, all hot and cold water supplies and waste connections must be properly capped before removing sanitary ware. This typically involves 4-6 caps: hot and cold to basin, hot and cold to bath/shower, toilet cistern supply, and waste connections. A qualified plumber should cap the supplies and test for leaks.

Electrical circuits serving the bathroom should be isolated at the consumer unit before strip-out begins. Typical isolations include the shower circuit (high current), extractor fan, heated towel rail, shaver socket, and any downlights. Bathrooms are special locations under BS 7671, so most electrical work there (beyond like-for-like replacement) is notifiable under Part P of the Building Regulations: it must be carried out by a registered competent person who self-certifies, or notified to Building Control beforehand for inspection.

A typical bathroom strip-out produces 0.5-1.5 m³ of waste, weighing approximately 0.3-1.0 tonnes. The heaviest components are ceramic tiles (especially floor tiles on screed) and the cast iron bath if present. Acrylic baths and plastic suite pieces are much lighter. One 6-yard builders skip is usually sufficient by volume, but heavy tiled jobs can hit a skip’s weight limit (often around 1-1.5 tonnes) first, so check both.

You can do much of the physical removal yourself, but plumbing and electrical disconnections should be done by qualified tradespeople. Key safety points: turn off water at the stopcock, isolate electrics at the consumer unit, wear PPE (goggles, dust mask, gloves), and check for asbestos in older properties (textured ceilings, floor tiles, pipe lagging).