Private Bathroom Adaptations in Scotland

Free private consultation · Written quotation, no obligation

A private bathroom adaptation is work you arrange and pay for directly, rather than waiting on a council-funded scheme. You choose the specification, you choose when it happens, and the room is designed around the person using it instead of a minimum standard. We are a specialist accessible-bathroom company based in Hamilton and we carry out private adaptations across Lanarkshire and Central Scotland.

Why people go private

Council-funded help in Scotland is genuinely useful, but eligibility and the process vary by council and by tenure, and an assessment of need is generally involved. South Lanarkshire Council, for instance, currently states that eligible disabled adaptations follow an occupational therapy assessment, with mandatory grant normally 80% and 100% in some cases; other councils set their schemes out differently. Households that fall outside the criteria, or would simply rather organise the work themselves, arrange it privately.

Going private also removes the specification ceiling. Council-funded work covers what is necessary. Privately, you can have the whole room done: full-height wall panelling, a larger shower area, a heated towel rail, better lighting and a layout that suits the household long term.

What a private adaptation usually includes

Most private jobs start with removing the bath and installing a level-access or low-threshold shower. From there it depends on need: a fold-down seat, grab rails positioned around the actual user, slip-resistant flooring, a comfort-height WC, an easy-reach basin with lever taps, and a thermostatic valve so the water cannot run hot.

We also take on complete bathroom refurbishments where the accessibility work is only part of the brief — new suite, new flooring, new lighting and extraction, all managed by one team.

How the process works

It starts with a free consultation in your home. We look at the room, ask who will be using it and how, and talk through what is realistic. You get a written, itemised quote — no pressure, no same-day discount nonsense.

If you go ahead we agree a start date and a schedule in writing. We manage the project and coordinate the trades it needs — strip-out, plumbing, electrics, tiling, flooring and making good — so you have one point of contact throughout.

Where we work

From our Hamilton base we cover Lanarkshire — Motherwell, Wishaw, East Kilbride, Blantyre, Bothwell, Airdrie and Coatbridge — plus Glasgow and the wider Central Scotland belt including Falkirk, Stirling, West Lothian and Edinburgh. If you are just outside, call and ask; we travel further when the job makes sense.

What's included

Free private in-home consultation
Itemised written quote, no obligation
Design tailored to the person using the room
One point of contact — we manage the project and coordinate the trades
Full bathroom refurbishment available alongside the adaptation
VAT eligibility checked, and any declaration handled, at quotation stage

Frequently asked questions

Can I arrange a private bathroom adaptation instead of waiting for a council adaptation?▾

Yes. You can arrange and pay for the work with us directly instead of going through a council-funded adaptation process. You keep control of the specification, and start dates are agreed with you and confirmed in the written quotation and schedule.

Is private work more expensive than a council adaptation?▾

You pay for it yourself, so yes in cash terms — but you also get the full specification rather than the minimum. VAT depends on the circumstances: qualifying work in the home of a disabled or chronically sick person, necessary because of their condition, can be zero-rated under HMRC rules, and certain installed mobility aids can qualify for 5% for customers aged 60 or over. We confirm the rate that applies in the quotation.

Can I start privately and still apply for a grant later?▾

Councils will not usually fund work that has already been done, so decide before you start. If you are mid-application and want to know whether it is worth waiting, tell us at the consultation and we will give you a straight answer.

Do you cover Glasgow and Edinburgh as well as Lanarkshire?▾

Yes. Lanarkshire is our core patch from the Hamilton base, and we work across Glasgow, Falkirk, Stirling, West Lothian, Fife and Edinburgh.