Trade Job Cost Estimator: 2026 UK Prices For 40 Jobs
Before you ring round for quotes, it helps to know roughly what a job should cost. This estimator brings together the price ranges from our own cost guides for 40 of the most common trade jobs in UK homes, from a fuse box swap to a full extension, and shows you how a builder or installer turns a job into a price.
Use it to sense check a quote, to set a budget before you speak to anyone, or to work out whether a project is worth doing this year or next. It will not replace a site visit, because no estimate can see the state of your walls, the access to your garden or the age of your wiring. It will tell you whether a quote is in the right ballpark.
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Estimator
Pick the job closest to yours in the table below, then adjust for size, specification and region using the method in the next section. Each figure comes from the matching cost guide on this site, so you can click through for the detail behind it.
| Job | Typical price | Unit or scope | Full guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| House extension | £1,000 to £1,400 | per m², standard quality | Extension cost |
| Small single storey extension (about 15m²) | £16,000 to £21,000 | whole job | Extension cost |
| Kitchen extension | See guide | whole job | Kitchen extension |
| Loft conversion | See guide | per m² | Loft conversion |
| Garage conversion | See guide | whole job | Garage conversion |
| Conservatory, lean to | £9,000 to £12,000 | fully fitted | Conservatory prices |
| Conservatory, Victorian or Edwardian | £12,000 to £16,000 | fully fitted | Conservatory prices |
| New roof, typical house | £6,000 to £10,000 | whole roof | New roof |
| Roof repair | £300 to £1,200 | per repair | Roof repair |
| Flat roof | £40 to £110 | per m² | Flat roof |
| Fascias, soffits and guttering | about £100 | per metre | Fascias and soffits |
| Gutter replacement | £450 to £800 | typical house | Gutter replacement |
| New combi boiler, fitted | £1,000 to £3,000 | supply and fit | New boiler |
| Boiler service | £60 to £100 | one visit | Boiler service |
| Radiator replacement, fitting | £150 to £250 | per radiator | Radiator replacement |
| Air source heat pump | £8,000 to £17,000 | installed | Air source heat pump |
| Underfloor heating, wet system | £5,000 to £7,000 | new build house | Underfloor heating |
| Rewire, 3 bedroom house | £2,500 to £4,500 | whole house | Rewiring a house |
| Rewire, 2 bedroom house | £2,000 to £3,000 | whole house | Rewiring a house |
| Consumer unit replacement | about £400 | fitted | Fuse box replacement |
| Electric shower | £200 to £700 | supply and fit | Electric shower installation |
| Solar panels | £1,800 to £6,100 | system | Solar panels |
| New bathroom, standard range | £2,500 to £6,500 | supply and fit | New bathroom |
| Wet room | around £5,000 | installed | Wet room |
| Tile a bathroom, walls and floor | £600 to £800 | typical bathroom | Tile a bathroom |
| New kitchen, large (20 units) | £7,000 plus | units | New kitchen |
| Kitchen worktop fitting labour | £150 to £200 | per day | Worktop replacement |
| Plaster a small room from scratch | £600 to £700 | per room | Plastering |
| Paint a medium room | about £365 plus VAT | per room | Painting and decorating |
| uPVC window, 900mm x 1200mm | £400 to £600 | per window | Window replacement |
| New uPVC front door | £250 to £400 | per door | New front door |
| Bifold doors, small set | £2,500 to £3,000 plus £600 to £1,000 fitting | per set | Bifold doors |
| Cavity wall insulation, 3 bed | £500 to £600 | whole house | Cavity wall insulation |
| Render a 3 bedroom house | £4,000 to £5,500 | whole house | Rendering a house |
| Repoint a 3 bedroom semi | £2,500 to £3,000 | whole house | Repointing brickwork |
| Patio, about 20m² | £1,000 to £2,500 | whole job | Laying a patio |
| Block paving drive, 50m² | £3,500 to £5,000 | whole job | Block paving |
| Resin driveway | £40 to £70 | per m² | Resin driveway |
| Laminate flooring | £17 to £35 | per m², fitted | Laminate flooring |
| Wood burner with flue | £1,500 to £2,500 | installed | Wood burner |
| Tree removal | £400 to £3,000 | per tree | Tree removal |
| Remove a load bearing wall | £1,300 to £1,800 plus beam | whole job | Load bearing wall |
| Asbestos removal | about £50 | per m² | Asbestos removal |
Where a row says "See guide", the cost depends so heavily on size and layout that a single figure would mislead you. The guide breaks the price down by room count or floor area instead.
Our guides were written at different times and are reviewed on a rolling basis, so treat the older figures as a floor rather than a ceiling. Building costs have risen in recent years, and a quote 10% to 20% above an older guide figure is not automatically a rip off.
How we price
Every trade price is built from the same three parts: labour, materials and overheads. Once you know how they fit together, you can scale any figure in the table to your own job.
Labour
Labour is usually the biggest single part of a quote. Tradespeople either quote a day rate, a price per unit (per m², per metre, per radiator) or a fixed price for the whole job that is really a day rate multiplied by the days they expect it to take.
Checkatrade's October 2026 guide gives these typical day rates, which we use as the starting point for labour:
| Trade | Typical day rate | Typical hourly rate |
|---|---|---|
| Builder | £300 | £38 |
| Bricklayer | £250 to £350 | £35 to £45 |
| Carpenter | £240 to £450 | £30 to £60 |
| Electrician | £300 to £500 | £40 to £70 |
| Plumber | £320 to £480 | £40 to £60 |
| Plasterer | £300 | £37.50 |
| Roofer | £280 to £360 | £35 to £45 |
| Tiler | £250 to £350 | £40 |
| Painter and decorator | £250 to £350 | £35 to £45 |
| Labourer | £120 to £280 | £15 to £35 |
Checked October 2026: Checkatrade, How much do tradespeople cost in the UK in 2026.
Materials
Materials scale with size. A bathroom refit with budget sanitaryware might need £800 of materials, while the same room with designer tiles and a freestanding bath can need five times that. In the guides, we split materials out wherever we can, so you can swap in your own choices.
The formula
The estimator logic is simple enough to do on the back of an envelope:
- Labour = size × labour rate per unit × regional factor
- Materials = size × material rate per unit
- Price range = (labour + materials) × 0.85 for the low end, and × 1.2 for the high end
The range matters. Two honest tradespeople can quote 30% apart for the same job, because one has a van full of stock and a gap next week, and the other has to buy everything in and fit you around a busy diary. The 0.85 to 1.2 band covers that normal spread.
Labour days
To estimate how long the job will take, divide the labour cost by the day rate of the main trade. If a plastering job comes to £900 of labour at £300 a day, you are looking at about three days on site. That figure is useful when you plan time off work or need to know how long a room will be out of use.
Regional differences
Where you live changes the price of labour more than anything else. Materials cost roughly the same across the country, because builders' merchants price nationally, but day rates follow local wages and demand.
Our older guides note that London and the South East run about 20% above the rest of the country, and Checkatrade's 2026 guides say the same thing in broad terms: expect prices in London to be higher than elsewhere. As a working rule:
| Region | Labour adjustment |
|---|---|
| London | add about 20% |
| South East | add 10% to 20% |
| Most of England, Wales and Scotland | use the table as it stands |
| North East, Northern Ireland and rural areas | you may pay slightly less |
These adjustments are a rule of thumb, not a published index, so use them for budgeting only. The best regional check is three local quotes.
Worked example
Say you want a 20m² patio in Surrey. The guide range is £1,000 to £2,500, and you want mid range sandstone, so start at £1,750. Roughly half of a patio quote is labour, so add 15% to that half for the South East: £875 × 1.15 = £1,006. Add the £875 of materials back and you get about £1,880. Apply the 0.85 to 1.2 band and a fair quote is somewhere between about £1,600 and £2,260.
Get quotes
An estimate gets you to the right ballpark. A quote gets you a price someone will stand behind. When you ask for quotes, give each trade the same written brief: the size, the materials you want, access, and what you expect them to take away at the end. Like for like briefs give you like for like quotes.
Get at least three. If one is far below the others, ask what has been left out, because it is often waste removal, making good or VAT.
If you are a tradesperson reading this to price your own work, our day rate calculator shows how to set a rate that covers your overheads, and you can join our trades network to receive local leads.
FAQs
How accurate is a job cost estimate?
A good estimate should land within about 20% of a real quote for a straightforward job. It gets less reliable for older properties, awkward access and anything structural, where hidden problems often show up only once work starts.
Why do quotes vary so much for the same job?
Each trade has different overheads, availability and attitudes to risk. A firm that carries insurance, offers a guarantee and employs staff will usually cost more than a sole trader working alone. Neither is wrong, but you should know which you are paying for.
Does the estimate include VAT?
Our guides generally quote prices as a homeowner would see them. Many sole traders are below the VAT threshold and do not charge it, while larger firms add 20%. Always check whether a quote is inclusive or exclusive of VAT before you compare it.
Should I pay a deposit?
A modest deposit for materials is normal on bigger jobs. Agree it in writing, avoid paying in cash, and do not hand over most of the money before work starts. Our guide on how to choose a tradesman covers payment terms in detail.
Can I save money by buying materials myself?
Sometimes. You may get a better price on tiles or sanitaryware than the trade's mark up, but you take on the risk of ordering the wrong thing. Some trades also will not guarantee work done with materials they did not supply.