Blog>Trade>Growing your trade business>How much do bathroom fitters earn?
Last updated: 4 April 2024
How much do bathroom fitters earn?
When it comes to trades that provide an excellent salary, the earning potential for a skilled bathroom fitter is certainly near the top. If this is a job role you’re interested in pursuing, but want an idea of what you could earn, here’s what you need to know about a bathroom fitter’s salary in the UK.
How much do bathroom fitters earn per year?
As with any trade, a bathroom installer’s salary will almost certainly vary due to a range of criteria, including but not limited to your:
Qualifications
Experience
Services
Location
For this reason, we can’t provide you with an exact number on how much a bathroom fitter earns. However, we have compiled this handy table to give you a general view of a bathroom fitter’s salary based on your experience.
| Level | Per Hour | Per Day | Per Year | Approximate Take Home Pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | £6.40 | £51.20 | £11,520 | £11,300 |
| Newly Qualified | £9.50 | £76 | £17,100 | £15,300 |
| Employed | £16.50 | £132 | £29,700 | £23,800 |
| Sole Trader | £37 | £296 | £66,600 | £43,100* |
| Business Owner (ltd company) | £44.50 | £356 | £80,100 | £48,800* |
| Last updated: May 2024 Our costs are ballpark averages - get a local tradesperson to quote now | ||||
*This includes estimates on business expenses, such as vehicles, fuel, tools, and insurance.
This is just a vague overview, but as you can see, bathroom installation can be a very lucrative career.
How much does an experienced bathroom fitter earn?
Using our table as a base, you can see that an experienced bathroom fitter has the potential to earn an excellent salary.
Newly qualified bathroom fitters can expect to earn, at minimum, around £17,100per year. But this can rise to an impressive £29,700 as they get more experience.
Other factors that can affect a bathroom fitter’s salary may also include the location where they work and the type of work they carry out, with experienced fitters able to specialise in certain areas of work that are more niche, allowing them to charge a higher price.
Which areas offer the best salaries?
In terms of the biggest areas for salary potential, bathroom fitters in London and southeast England have the highest salary rates. This is followed by fitters working in other large cities and affluent areas of the UK.
Unfortunately, installers in Wales and northeast England tend to have lower salaries than in other parts of the country.
Although, in these areas, the cost of living is generally lower, so your salary will still be good when other financial factors are considered.
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What’s the average self-employed bathroom fitter salary in the UK?
Naturally, if you’re planning to start up your own bathroom fitting business rather than joining someone else’s, then you’ll want to know how much you could potentially earn.
Much like a typical experienced bathroom fitter, those running their own businesses can expect to earn as much as £66,600 per year, before tax, as a sole trader.
And if you choose to set up your business as a limited company, this can increase to as much as £80,100per year, before tax!
If this has piqued your interest, then you should read our article on how to start your own bathroom fitting business to learn more.
Average profit margins for UK bathroom fitting companies
For a business to be successful, it obviously needs to make a profit.
So, if you’re planning to set up a bathroom fitting company, you’ll likely also want to know how to break even and then make some money.
The average earnings above show that bathroom fitting businesses can earn up to an impressive £80,100. However,this figure doesn’t consider any outgoings and taxes.
As a business owner, what you really need to know is how much money you’ll have left once you’ve made all the essential deductions, including the cost of:
Vehicles
Insurance
Materials
Tools and equipment
Tax
With these points in mind, we’ve estimated that the outgoings of a bathroom fitting company tend to be around £31,300 per year*.
Consequently, your take-home pay as the owner of a bathroom fitting business will be around £48,800* per year.
*Estimate costs for vehicle, fuel, tools, and insurance
What’s the average bathroom fitter hourly rate (UK)?
Discussing total salary options is all well and good, but they’re only helpful if you know what you should be earning as your hourly rate – both for yourself and any team members you intend to take on.
As with all things wage-related, the hourly rates for bathroom fitters will depend on location and experience, and tend to average out as the following:
Apprentice - £6.40per hour
Newly qualified - £9.50per hour
Employed - £16.50per hour
Sole trader - £37per hour
Business owner (Limited company) - £44.50per hour
What’s the average bathroom fitter day rate (UK)?
While operating an hourly rate can be useful for rough project estimations, if you know a certain job will take you more than a day, then it can be useful to charge a day rate instead.
Based on typical bathroom fitter salary data, salary day rates usually average as the following:
Apprentice - £51.20per day
Newly qualified - £76per day
Employed - £132per day
Sole trader - £296per day
Business owner (Limited company) - £356per day
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Bathroom fitter FAQs
Can bathroom installation be done as a DIY project?
Bathroom installations can be carried out by a competent DIYer, however, this sort of job requires them to be trained in a variety of different skills.
Therefore, for the best results, it’s always best to use a qualified professional.
**Year runs from April 21’ to March 22’. This saving calculation is based on the average spending across 12,505 Checkatrade members in 2020/2021/2022. Discounts differ depending on the partner and products range from low-value items to high-value items. Some exclusions will apply to products.
