A basin in the bathroom is so much more than a hand washing - tooth brushing facility. The basin helps create a certain style in the bathroom, from a sleek contemporary design to a Victorian look. Bathroom sinks come in a range of materials (ceramic, stainless steel, stone, resin…) as well as different sizes, a small 45cm wide basin for a guest toilet to a 65cm wide large basin for a bigger, more spacious bathroom. There are various types of basins to choose from to best suit your bathroom and storage needs.

What are the different types of bathroom basins?

If you are planning a bathroom refurbishment or if you are only upgrading the basin in the bathroom, give some thought to the overall look and feel of the bathroom. Consider what type of basin will best suit the style, size and layout of the bathroom.

There are various types of basins;

Full pedestal basin - most common traditional type of basin as it is easy to hide the pipes behind the pedestal

Semi pedestal basin - only a short bit of visible pedestal from the basin, the pedestal does not reach the floor

Stand mounted basin - for a traditional English bathroom

Wall mounted basin - the sink does not have a counter or a pedestal

Countertop basin - often shaped like a bowl and sits on the counter

Under counter basin - this basin sits sunk in to the counter

Cloakroom basin - ideal for a smaller bathroom or guest toilet

Inset basin - mounted in a vanity or worktop

Corner basin - best for bathrooms where space is tight, and basin can be set in a corner

Semi recessed basin - more built in than a counter-top basin

Whichever type basin you choose to suit your bathroom, will come in a variety of styles. From traditional Edwardian or Victorian to different styles of modern having a lot of detail on the porcelain to no detail at all just clean lines.

How much will it cost to fit a basin?

The cost of fitting a new basin in the bathroom depends on what type of basin is currently in the bathroom and if the fitting will be the same type of basin in the same location. As fitting like for like, the plumber should be able to remove the existing pedestal and fit a new pedestal in no more than 2 hours of labour time.

If the fitting of the basin is in a newly converted bathroom, where there has not been a basin in situ previously, the cost of the job will depend on the access to the plumbing. If there are water connections for the taps already in place and a pipe for the waste to be connected to, this will be fairly easy and only require a couple hours of labour.

The builder would have left space for water and waste but if the plumber has to chase some pipework, tapping into the main waste pipe for the basin waste water connection as well as tapping into a water supply to then bring hot and cold water to the location where the basin will be fitted for the taps, this can make the job more challenging and drive up the cost. Depending on how far the plumber has to run these pipes will all factor into the overall cost of fitting a basin and the job could take a few days labour. 

If the plumber is changing the type of basin, e.g. removing an old pedestal basin to fit a new wall mounted basin, again, this could result in a few days of labour as the plumber will need to redo the pipework and possibly get the flooring specialist in to redo the bathroom flooring. 

Can I switch my pedestal basin for a different bathroom sink?

Yes, when a pedestal basin is being fitted, the plumber first does the plumbing and attaches the sink to the wall. The pedestal is inserted into place only at the end to hide the plumbing, which means it can easily be removed. 

This works well if you would like to change the style of the pedestal but keep the original basin. However, if you are wanting to change the type of basin as well as the pedestal, this will involve a bigger job for the plumber to redo the plumbing to keep it hidden with the new choice of basin. 

Switching a pedestal for a semi-pedestal basin might be an easier way to not have to replace all of the pipe work, as the semi-pedestal can work because there is a bit of a stem to conceal the existing plumbing. If you are keeping the location of the basin in the same place but just switching up from a pedestal basin to a countertop basin or under counter basin, this will help hide any previous drill holes from the old basin and hide any area of flooring that is missing from being cut around the old pedestal.

It would be a bigger expense to switch from pedestal basin to wall mounted basin, even though it is still do-able. In this case not only will the plumber have to redo the plumbing at an expense but the bathroom would possibly need new flooring and the walls would have to be made good from any visible drill holes after the old basin is removed. This is challenging if the basin was drilled into tiles, as you would have to be able to find the same tiles and then the plumber would need a tiler to carefully extract the drilled through tiles and replace them with new tiles, matching the grout to the rest of the bathroom. Before you get your heart set on a certain type of basin, talk to the plumber to see how much of a challenge the job involves as the more challenging the job, the bigger the expense of the job. If your home only has one bathroom, you may not want it to be out of action for 3 days to change the type of basin.

Can I change the location of my basin?

If you want to change the positioning of sanitary ware in your bathroom, it is possible to move your basin but it will come at a cost. Some click-clack flooring and vinyl flooring are cut around a basin, so moving the location may mean the bathroom flooring needs to be redone.

A plumber will have to either run the pipework for the waste water drain pipe and the water supply or the plumber will need to chase the pipes into the wall which will certainly add to the cost. When moving or extending some pipework, it might be worthwhile to replace the pipes and take the opportunity to upgrade pipes that may be deteriorating with age to new pipes and seals. If the new location is just a few centimetres to the left or right, the plumber might be able to get away with current water supply as it is flexi hoses but the old drill holes on the wall will need filling in and painting over (presuming they into wall and not tile as if tile, this involves replacing tiles). If the flooring went under the pedestal then the flooring will not need to be refitted, however the pedestal would have been attached to the floor either with drill holes or silicone and silicone may leave unsightly marks. Drill marks would leave visible damage and no longer result in a watertight floor, so the floor would need to be redone.

Estimates for common plumber jobs;

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