Bathroom refurbishment in North London, waterproofed before it is tiled.
Bathrooms, shower rooms and new en-suites in North London flats and houses. Bayocorp plans the waterproofing, the ventilation, the water pressure and the electrics before the tiles are chosen, because those are the parts of a bathroom you cannot put right later without taking it apart.
What decides whether a bathroom lasts is behind the finish.
A bathroom fails where water gets somewhere it should not. That is why the board behind the tiles, the tanking system and how it is detailed at the junctions, corners and the shower tray matter more than the tile itself. We specify waterproofing to suit the room and the shower type, and it goes on before the tiler arrives, not as part of tiling.
The other two things settled early are ventilation, because an extractor that is not ducted properly before the ceiling closes is a damp problem in waiting, and water pressure, because a new shower that cannot be fed properly is a disappointment that no fitting fixes. Low pressure has several causes and a pump is only the answer to some of them.
- Bathrooms, shower rooms, wet rooms and new en-suites
- Waterproofing and tanking specified for the room and the shower
- Extract ventilation ducted and planned before ceilings are closed
- Sanitaryware from Victorian Plumbing and Monster Plumb, tiling from Topps Tiles and Mandarin Stone
- Heating, towel rails, underfloor heating and electrics in the bathroom
Electrics, ventilation and a new en-suite.
In England the space around a bath or shower is a special location for electrical work, so alterations there are notifiable under the Building Regulations and are carried out and certified by a registered electrician. Extract ventilation is covered by the Building Regulations too, and a new bathroom or en-suite needs it.
Adding an en-suite brings drainage into a room that never had it. As with a kitchen, the waste route decides what is possible, and in a leasehold flat a new bathroom over a neighbour's living space usually needs the freeholder's consent under a licence to alter, with acoustic and waterproofing details they will want to see.
Building Control, dutyholders and the Principal Designer.
Replacing a bathroom in the same place often needs no Building Regulations application, provided the electrical work is certified by a registered electrician. Creating a new en-suite, moving a soil stack, cutting through joists for a waste run or adding a new circuit can change that, and we tell you which applies before we price, not after the tiles are on.
If the work does go through Building Control, it carries the dutyholder requirements introduced in 2023, including a named Principal Designer and declarations at the start and the end. Most homeowners renovating a bathroom have not appointed one, and we can take on that role under a formal appointment.
- Building Regulations application, inspections and the completion certificate
- Liaising with Building Control throughout the work, not only at the end
- Dutyholder forms completed at application and at completion
- Principal Designer role taken on by formal appointment where you have none
Bathrooms in our case studies.
In Fulham we converted the family bathroom into a modern shower room and upgraded the en-suite, after a new combination boiler freed up space in both. In Maida Vale the old kitchen became an en-suite to the main bedroom, under a licence to alter. In Barking the bathroom was reworked in microcement as part of completing an unfinished renovation, and our Streatham house refurbishment included the bathroom shown above.
How Bayocorp runs the work.
Site visit
We check the floor, the walls, the drainage route, the water pressure and where an extractor can duct out.
Specification
Layout, sanitaryware, tiles and the waterproofing system agreed together, so the tile choice and the preparation it needs are priced as one.
Strip out and first fix
Strip out, any floor repairs, pipework, waste, electrics and ventilation, then boarding and waterproofing.
Finish and hand over
Tiling, sanitaryware, brassware, decoration, then testing, and the electrical certificate for the work in the bathroom.
Bathrooms in North London flats and houses.
In a converted terrace or mansion block a bathroom sits over somebody else's ceiling, so the waterproofing and the acoustic detail matter to the neighbours and the freeholder as much as to you. Our borough pages carry the local detail on leasehold buildings and access.
Bathroom Refurbishment questions we hear often.
Does a bathroom need tanking before tiling?
Wet areas do: the shower enclosure, around the bath and, in a wet room, the whole floor. The right system depends on the room and the shower type. Tanking is cheap compared with the damage water does when it gets through, so we specify it rather than leave it to the tiler.
Can you tile over the existing tiles?
Sometimes, if the existing tiles are sound, well bonded and the wall can take the extra weight. Often it is the false economy it looks like, because it hides what is underneath. We check before recommending it either way.
Why is my shower pressure low, and will a pump fix it?
Low pressure can come from restricted flow, undersized pipework, a valve, the hot water system or competing demand. A pump only fixes some of those, and with some systems it is not allowed. We diagnose it before the new shower is chosen.
Can I add an en-suite to a bedroom?
Often, if the drainage can reach. The waste route decides it. In a leasehold flat you will usually also need the freeholder's consent. Our Maida Vale case study converted an old kitchen into an en-suite under a licence to alter.
Who certifies the electrics in a bathroom?
The registered electrician who carries out the work. The area around a bath or shower is a special location in England, so electrical work there is notifiable. You receive the certificate at handover.
Further reading before you start.
Planning a bathroom renovation in London
A practical guide from the Bayocorp Advice Hub.
Read the guide →Do you need to tank a bathroom before tiling?
A practical guide from the Bayocorp Advice Hub.
Read the guide →Large-format or standard tiles?
A practical guide from the Bayocorp Advice Hub.
Read the guide →Why is my shower pressure low?
A practical guide from the Bayocorp Advice Hub.
Read the guide →Other work this often goes with.
Kitchen Refurbishment
Kitchen refurbishment and installation in North London.
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Loft conversions across Islington, Camden, Haringey and North London.
Open page →Pre-Purchase Cost Plan
A contractor-led renovation cost plan before you buy a London property.
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Send the details, a few photos or a floor plan, and we will tell you what the work involves and the right next step.
Based in Archway N19, working across London.
Bayocorp, Flat 22 Eddison Court, 253 Sussex Way, London N19 4DW · 02039 10 00 01 · info@bayocorp.uk · Federation of Master Builders member