Bathroom Renovation Islington

GS Renovation creates bathrooms, en-suites and wet rooms across Islington, from Regency townhouses near Highbury Fields to Victorian terraces in Holloway and N19. We tank, waterproof, tile and plumb space-saving layouts that suit period homes, with the notifiable electrics certified by a registered electrician under Part P, or notified to building control.

In Islington, a full bathroom refit typically costs £6,000 to £20,000 or more (indicative London ranges, MyBuilder and Checkatrade, 2026). GS Renovation Ltd, a building contractor based in Potters Bar, does the work in Islington: we carry the tanking, plumbing and tiling as one contract, with the electrics certified by a registered electrician.

How the job runs

1. Free design visit at your Islington home and an itemised quote.
2. Strip-out, then first-fix plumbing and electrics.
3. Tanking to the wet areas, then tiling.
4. Sanitaryware and second fix, with notifiable electrics certified by a registered electrician. Typically 10 to 15 working days on site.

Wet rooms and tanking in Islington homes

Bathrooms in Islington's period homes are often carved out of old box rooms, return landings or a corner of a lower-ground floor, where timber floors and solid walls demand proper waterproofing. We tank the wet zones fully before tiling, so water cannot reach the fabric of an old building. For walk-in showers and wet rooms we form the falls, set the drainage correctly and add mechanical ventilation to control the condensation these tight spaces trap.

Underfloor heating suits these rooms well, freeing wall space and warming the tiles underfoot, and we run it beneath the waterproof layer as part of the build. We tile to the finish you want, from period-appropriate metro and encaustic-style patterns to large-format stone, and pick fittings that respect the age of the house. Because many Islington homes are listed or in conservation areas, we keep any external soil or vent alterations sympathetic and compliant.

Housing in Islington

Count the homes in Islington and you get about 112,190: 50% built since 1945, 4% between the wars and 43% before 1919, with flats at 85% and houses at 15%. Since most homes here are flats, a bathroom in a flat in Islington sits over a neighbour's ceiling, so it is tanked before tiling and a moved WC needs the freeholder's licence.

A front bathroom window in Islington under an Article 4 direction

Bathrooms at the front of an Islington house often sit behind an original sash, and the obvious fix for privacy and draughts is a new window. Islington Council says a house covered by an Article 4 direction needs householder planning permission to install or replace windows on the front of the house. So swapping that sash for an obscured double glazed unit can become a planning application. The alternatives stay inside the house: frosted film or a translucent blind on the existing glass, repaired sash cords and draught strips, or secondary glazing fitted to the inner face.

Newer flats raise a different point. 19% of Islington homes were built in 2000 or later, and in a block of that age the soil stack and water pipes usually pass through fire separating floors. Each opening around them is sealed with fire stopping, and a bathroom refit that moves a waste or adds a pipe makes a new opening. We record what seals the old openings, keep them intact where pipes stay put, and make any new ones good to the same standard before boarding goes on, so the separation between flats is not left weaker.

En-suites and space-saving Islington bathroom layouts

Adding an en-suite to an Islington townhouse usually means borrowing space from a bedroom, a landing or a chimney recess, then routing new drainage back to the existing stack. We plan the layout so soil pipes fall correctly, which in tall period houses takes careful thought. Wall-hung sanitaryware, walk-in showers and concealed cisterns free up floor area, and considered lighting and ventilation stop a small internal room from feeling cramped or damp.

In the borough's warehouse and Clerkenwell conversions, bathroom work sits under leasehold and building-management rules, so we coordinate with the freeholder and managing agent and protect the sound insulation between flats when moving waste and water. Waterproofing and correct drainage matter even more above another home, so we tank thoroughly and test before tiling. Whether it is an en-suite in a Georgian house or a shower room in a converted flat, we finish it watertight, tested and signed off.

• Downstairs cloakroom and WC installation
• Full plumbing, drainage and waterproofing (tanking)
• Pressure and leak testing before any tiling starts

VOA Council Tax stock of properties, March 2025, for all 23 statistical areas in Islington. Counts rounded by the VOA.

Plenty of Islington projects start with one job and grow, so it helps to see chimney breast removal in Islington, our Islington area guide, builders in Islington, what a bathroom fitter does and does not cover, our London bathroom renovation page and Wet Room Guide.

The GS Renovation Difference in Islington

Islington homeowners choose GS Renovation because we get the parts you cannot see right, the tanking, falls, drainage and ventilation, before the tiling ever goes on. After our founder's 30+ years on the tools, we know how the borough's period homes and converted flats behave, and we deliver bathrooms that stay watertight and compliant for years.

Reviewed jobs near Islington

1 MyBuilder review from Islington, with each customer's own job title:

• Kitchen refit in ex-local authority maisonette, Islington, 8 Jul 2022 (5 out of 5)

Read all 31 on our reviews page.

Checked by Abdelaaziz Saaid, founder and director of GS Renovation Ltd (Companies House no. 14611254). Structural design is by the consulting engineer appointed to your project.