How much does an utility room renovation cost in Northern Ireland?
Prices checked October 2026 · Written by Darren Kearney, master joiner, Northern Ireland · How we price
A mid-range utility room renovation in Northern Ireland costs about £1,500 – £2,100 for a typical 2.5 × 2 m room with trades doing the work, including materials, labour and a 10% contingency. Budget starts around £1,200; premium can reach £3,000. Doing the DIY-friendly parts yourself brings a mid-range job down to about £900 – £1,100.
Price my utility room in 60 secondsCost by room size and finish
| Size | Budget | Mid-range | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small 2 × 1.5 m | £1,000 – £1,400 | £1,300 – £1,700 | £1,900 – £2,500 |
| Medium 2.5 × 2 m | £1,200 – £1,600 | £1,500 – £2,100 | £2,300 – £3,000 |
| Large 3.2 × 2.5 m | £1,500 – £2,000 | £1,900 – £2,500 | £2,700 – £3,600 |
DIY or trades?
| Finish | You do the DIY bits | Trades do it all |
|---|---|---|
| Budget | £500 – £700 | £1,200 – £1,600 |
| Mid-range | £900 – £1,100 | £1,500 – £2,100 |
| Premium | £1,600 – £2,000 | £2,300 – £3,000 |
Where the money goes
Mid-range utility room, trades doing the work, in the order the job is done.
| Stage | Who | Materials | Labour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protect, patch & clean | DIY-friendly | £100 | £150 |
| Wall tiling | Skilled DIY | £200 | £150 |
| Paint walls, ceiling & woodwork | DIY-friendly | £150 | £200 |
| New flooring | Skilled DIY | £250 | £150 |
| Finishing touches | DIY-friendly | £150 | £150 |
| Total incl. 10% contingency | £1,750 | ||
The biggest items on the shopping list
- Click LVT 5mm: about £150
- Gloss metro / patterned tile: about £100
- Curtain pole + blackout curtains: about £100
- Durable matt emulsion: about £50
- Ceiling light fitting: about £50
- 6mm ply overlay (for vinyl / tiles): about £50
- Satinwood trade: about £50
- Ready-mixed wall tile adhesive: about £50
The full list for this utility room runs to 18 items, with quantities and where to buy them.
Get the full list for your utility room →How an utility room renovation is done, step by step
- 1Protect, patch & clean
- Clear the room and cover floors, stairs and doorways you walk through
- Fill holes and cracks; patch-plaster any big damage
- At the end: hoover, wipe down, remove protection
- 2Wall tiling
- Walls primed
- Tiles set out from the centre so cuts are even
- Leave 24 hours, then grout and wipe off
- Silicone the corners and edges, not grout
- 3Paint walls, ceiling & woodwork
- Fill, caulk gaps and sand
- Mist coat on new plaster, then ceiling first
- Two coats on walls
- Woodwork last, in satin
- 4New flooring
- Ply overlay screwed down every 150mm so the floor can't flex
- Undercut door frames so the floor slides under
- Lay the LVT, staggering the joints
- Door bars to finish
- 5Finishing touches
- Light fittings and new socket fronts on (power off at the fuse board)
- Blinds or curtain poles up
- Door stops on so handles don't hit the new paint
Easy to forget
- Flooring goes down after painting, so it doesn't get splashed
- Order everything at least a week before you start. Waiting on one part stops the whole job
- Keep 10% spare. Old houses always hide something behind the walls
Questions people ask
How much does an utility room renovation cost in Northern Ireland in 2026?
A mid-range utility room renovation costs about £1,500 – £2,100 for a typical 2.5 × 2 m room with trades doing the work, including materials, labour and a 10% contingency. Budget finishes start lower and premium can cost a lot more; see the table above.
How long does an utility room renovation take?
About 2.5 working days of trade time on site, plus around 1 days waiting for plaster, adhesive or deliveries. Allow roughly 1 week start to finish, longer if you do parts yourself.
How much can I save by doing some of it myself?
Doing the DIY-friendly work yourself (protect, patch & clean, wall tiling, paint walls, ceiling & woodwork, new flooring, finishing touches) saves about £800 on a mid-range utility room.
Do I need building control approval?
Usually not for a like-for-like refit. You will normally need building control approval if you remove or alter walls, change drainage, make a new opening for a window or door, add a toilet or bathroom where there wasn't one, or install or replace a boiler. If in doubt, ask your council's building control team before you start.
Is this a quote?
No. These are guide prices from RenoLab's pricing engine (price book v2026.10), built on Northern Ireland trade rates and current UK retail prices. Put in your own sizes for an itemised price, then get written quotes.
Check whether it's fair, what it should include and what to ask the trade.
Check my quotePut in your sizes and finish. You get an itemised price, a full shopping list and a step-by-step plan in about a minute. Free, no sign-up.
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Guide prices from price book v2026.10. Quantities come from the room size with waste allowances; materials use current UK retail prices including VAT; labour uses Northern Ireland trade rates (around £250 a day). How we price.