# Kitchen & bathroom fitting – what to charge in 2026 (UK)
You treat kitchen and bathroom fitting as full projects, not odd‑job carpentry. In 2026 the day rates are higher, the jobs are longer, and the risk if you under‑price is huge.
1. Day rates – kitchen & bathroom fitting (2026)
All figures are labour‑only, pre‑VAT.
Kitchen fitters
A 2026 kitchen‑pricing guide lists kitchen fitters at £280/day (£39/hour). Another calculator puts UK fitter day rates at £250–£350/day, with London & SE at £300–£400/day.
- London & South East: £300–£400/day
- South West / East: £270–£350/day
- Midlands: £250–£310/day
- North of England: £240–£300/day
- Scotland & Wales: £245–£305/day
Bathroom fitters
A 2026 bathroom cost guide says bathroom fitters charge £180–£350/day, with a UK average of £245/day and London at £300–£350/day.
- North West, North East, Yorkshire: £180–£220/day
- Midlands, Wales, South West: £200–£275/day
- South East (ex‑London): £250–£300/day
- Greater London: £300–£350/day
These numbers line up with kitchen install guides which assume fitters at around £280–£350/day and other trades (spark, plumber, tiler, plasterer) at £260–£350/day.
2. Common jobs and 2026 price ranges
Kitchen fitting (labour, units supplied by customer)
From 2026 kitchen cost guides:
- Small galley (6–8 units): £2,000–£3,500 labour‑only
- Medium (10–14 units): £2,200–£4,000 labour‑only
- Large (15+ units, island): £4,400–£7,000 labour‑only
A detailed 2026 guide shows the trade team breakdown:
- Fitter: £280/day
- Plumber: £300/day (1–2 days)
- Electrician: £300/day (1–2 days)
- Tiler: £260/day
- Plasterer: £280/day
- Labourer: £150/day
Roughly:
- Small kitchen: 3–4 fitter days + 3–4 days from other trades = 6–8 trade days total.
- Medium kitchen: 5–7 fitter days, 10–14 trade days total.
- Large kitchen: 7–10 fitter days, 14–20 trade days total.
Price goes up if: Rigid carcases, lots of integrated appliances, scribing to wonky walls, moving services, islands, stone worktops.
Bathroom fitting (labour)
- Labour‑only for a full new bathroom install: typically £2,000–£4,000.
- Fully‑installed bathrooms (labour + materials): around £4,500–£11,000, with an "average" around £6,000–£7,000 depending on spec.
- High‑end or complex: £14,000+.
Individual fitting costs (labour + some materials):
| Item | Typical range | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Toilet | £175–£350 | £220 |
| Basin | £100–£275 | £175 |
| Bath | £250–£400 | £325 |
| Shower | £250–£750 | £500 |
| Shower enclosure | £350–£800 | £575 |
Price goes up if: Moving soil and services, structural changes, wet‑room build, high‑end fittings, lots of tiling and niches.
3. What fitters actually earn (2026)
Employed kitchen/bathroom fitters
- Reed shows average kitchen fitter salary around £35,100–£42,900/year.
- Jobsite data cites kitchen fitters around £31,786–£41,570 in job listings.
- National Careers and GoConstruct put kitchen fitters at £26,000–£54,000, depending on experience.
- Bathroom‑specific "fitter" roles generally sit around £38,548/year in 2026 across the UK.
Self‑employed fitters
Using the day rates above:
- Kitchen fitters on £280–£350/day, billing ~180–200 days/year: £50,000–£70,000 gross before tax.
- Bathroom fitters on £200–£300/day, similar days: £36,000–£60,000 gross.
After van, tools, insurances, laser levels, downtime, remedials, and time spent project‑managing other trades, a realistic personal profit can easily drop to £30,000–£45,000 unless pricing and scope control are tight.
Employed fitters are mid‑30s. Self‑employed kitchen and bathroom fitters can push £50–70k turnover, but only if their day rate, job pricing and variations are nailed down.
4. What's usually NOT included in kitchen/bathroom fitting quotes
These are the landmines.
Kitchens
Full re‑wire or major electrical upgrades – extra circuits, board changes, moving meters, extra downlights beyond a basic allowance.
Major plumbing moves – moving soil stacks, new mains runs, under‑floor pipes.
Floor levelling and structural work – levelling compound, joist repairs, RSJs.
Plastering, decorating, and flooring – often separate trades.
Building Control fees / structural engineer input – when knock‑throughs or big changes are involved.
Bathrooms
Full tiling beyond a basic allowance – full‑height tiling everywhere, niches, mosaics.
Floor reinforcement / levelling – for baths, trays, tiling.
Non‑standard waterproofing – full tanking systems beyond simple membranes.
Joinery and decorating – boxing, doors, skirtings, painting.
Asbestos and major rot repairs – ceilings, floors, disaster.
5. How kitchen/bathroom fitting is charged – day rate vs fixed price
Kitchens
Most domestic kitchens are fixed‑price projects.
Under the bonnet, fitters use:
- A target day rate (£250–£350/day, London £300–£400)
- A good handle on days per unit and complexity
- Clear allowances for other trades.
Small work (worktop swaps, a few extra units, appliance changes) may be done on day rates or small fixed prices.
Bathrooms
Bathrooms are also mostly fixed‑price projects, typically:
- One fixed price for "full bathroom install" labour.
- Separate allowances for tiling, electrics, and major plumbing changes where needed.
Day rate is used for:
- Repairs and part‑refurbs.
- Unknown conditions (old bathrooms where you don't know what's behind).
Kitchens and bathrooms are nearly always fixed‑price jobs to the customer, built from strong day rates and realistic days behind the scenes.
6. Materials and markup – kitchens & bathrooms (2026)
There's a lot of materials money flying around on these jobs.
- Kitchens: Fitters commonly let customers buy the kitchen itself from Howdens, Magnet, Wren, etc., then add 10–20% markup on ancillary materials (fixings, timber, boards, adhesives, trims) they supply, and sometimes a handling fee for dealing with supplier cock‑ups.
- Bathrooms: Fitters often let customers buy the suite and tiles, then margin the plumbing materials, adhesives, waterproofing, boards and consumables in the 10–25% band depending on risk.
- If you're supplying the full package (units/suite + all materials), it's normal to run an overall gross margin in the 15–30% range across materials and labour combined, or the numbers don't work once you include remedials and warranty callbacks.
Plain English for customers:
"On top of my labour, there's a margin on the materials I supply so I can cover ordering, storage, waste and any issues. You still benefit from my trade terms and me dealing with your supplier when things turn up wrong."
What to do next
- Read: 14.2 – How to price your first job without underselling yourself
- Read: 14.9 – How to price extras and variations without losing the customer (essential for kitchens and bathrooms)
- Read: 14.8 – Materials: who supplies, who pays, where's the margin?
- Read: 14.10 – Cashflow and pricing (big material outlays + multi-week jobs = cashflow risk)
- Download: Payment schedule and deposit terms template
- Use: Late Payment Calculator
Sources (UK, 2026‑relevant)
- Checkatrade – "Kitchen installation costs 2026", "Bathroom fitting costs 2026" – day rates and project price ranges.
- MyBuilder / HomeHow – bathroom renovation cost breakdowns, individual fitting costs.
- Kitchen cost calculator guides – fitter day rates, trade team breakdown, unit-count estimates.
- Reed, Jobsite, GoConstruct – kitchen and bathroom fitter salary data 2026.
- Contractor markup resources – typical materials margin ranges for residential fitting.
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