Bathroom Renovation Southwark

GS Renovation installs bathrooms and en-suites across Southwark, from the post-war and estate flats that make up most of the borough to the Victorian terraces of Camberwell, the Georgian townhouses of Dulwich and the converted flats of Bermondsey. We handle waterproofing, drainage, tiling, heating and the fit-out, making the most of tight spaces in flats and period homes alike.

In Southwark, 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 Southwark: 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 Southwark 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 en-suites in Southwark

A bathroom in a Southwark period home lives or dies by its waterproofing. Before any tile goes on, we fully tank the walls and floor, so a wet room or walk-in shower stays watertight over solid Victorian floors or the timber joists common in SE5 and SE15. We set the falls correctly to the drainage, upgrade the ventilation to control condensation in older, poorly aired rooms, and lay underfloor heating where the build-up allows for warm, dry comfort.

Space is the constant challenge in Southwark, where most homes are flats, the majority in post-war blocks and the rest largely in converted period houses. Bathrooms often sit in a narrow rear closet wing, a boxed-in landing or an internal room, so we plan layouts that earn every centimetre, using wall-hung basins and toilets, walk-in showers and concealed cisterns. When adding an en-suite to a Dulwich or Camberwell bedroom, we route drainage to fall correctly, boxing pipework neatly and keeping disruption to a minimum.

Housing in Southwark

Southwark counts roughly 149,990 homes for Council Tax; 25% are older than 1919, 7% interwar and 64% post-war, with 81% flats and 19% houses. A bathroom in a flat in Southwark sits over a neighbour's ceiling, so tanking comes first, which matters here because most homes are flats.

When a Southwark bathroom becomes a building control application

A like-for-like refit, new suite in the old positions, is plumbing and tiling. Adding a bathroom is different. Southwark's final fees and charges schedule sets a building control charge for installing a new WC, shower or utility, so a second shower room or an en-suite in Southwark is an application, and the inspector checks its drainage and ventilation. Southwark Council's online form offers a building notice, full plans or regularisation, and for a new en-suite with no structural work a building notice is usually proportionate. Start the application before the plumber's first fix, not after the tiles are up.

81% of homes in Southwark are flats, so a new shower is usually above someone else's ceiling. The waste has to fall to the shared stack inside your own floor, which fixes the position of the tray before the layout is drawn. Lift boards along the proposed route and note which way the joists run. If the only route crosses them, the choices are a raised floor, a shorter run or a pumped waste, and each may need the freeholder's consent. Build an access panel to every concealed joint, so a future leak is traced without opening the neighbour's ceiling.

Bathrooms in Bermondsey and Borough flats

Bathrooms in the leasehold flats and warehouse conversions of Bermondsey, Borough and SE16 bring their own considerations. Waterproofing matters even more here, because a leak affects the flat below and the wider block, so full tanking is essential. We work within the building's rules on wet-area alterations, coordinate with the managing agent, and respect the sound insulation between flats, choosing quiet extraction and careful pipe routing so a new bathroom does not become a nuisance to neighbours.

Whatever the property, the finish is what you see every day. We tile to a high standard, from large-format porcelain to traditional metro and mosaic, and fit brassware, heated towel rails and lighting to suit the room. None of this needs planning permission, though new circuits and circuit changes near the bath or shower are notifiable under building regulations, certified by a registered electrician under Part P or notified to building control. From a compact SE17 en-suite to a full family bathroom near Peckham Rye, we deliver a watertight room that lasts.

• Walk-in showers and wet-room installation
• Tanking membranes and waterproof boards behind tiles
• Ventilation and extraction ducted to outside

VOA Council Tax stock of properties, March 2025, for all 34 statistical areas in Southwark. Counts rounded by the VOA.

People planning bathroom renovation in Southwark may also want chimney breast removal in Southwark, our Southwark area guide, bathroom fitting in London, bathroom renovation across London and Small Bathroom Ideas.

The GS Renovation Difference in Southwark

Southwark homeowners choose GS Renovation for bathrooms because we get the hidden work right, the tanking, drainage and ventilation, not just the tiles. With our founder's 30+ years on the tools, we design space-saving layouts for period homes, install en-suites and wet rooms cleanly, and handle the building regulations and leasehold coordination so your bathroom is watertight and worry-free.

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.