Bathroom Renovation in Ealing W5

A standard bathroom renovation in an Ealing W5 property typically takes 7 to 12 working days from strip out to final finish. A wet room or a bathroom that needs the drainage rerouted can take 10 to 15 working days. HMO shower room upgrades are usually scheduled room by room, with each room taking 3 to 5 days so the rest of the property stays occupied. An exact programme is confirmed at the written quotation stage.

Ealing has a large amount of Victorian and Edwardian housing around Ealing Broadway and Mattock Lane, along with 1930s semis built during the inter war expansion along the Western Avenue corridor. Many of these bathrooms were fitted decades ago with tanking that was never applied properly beneath the tiles. Once water gets behind the tile line it saturates the substrate, and a surface only refit that skips the tanking step will let the same leak return within a few years.

Internal bathroom renovation work, including strip out, retiling, new suite installation and wet room conversion, does not usually require planning permission. Building Regulations Part P for electrical work and Part G for drainage and water efficiency apply to the works. Parts of Ealing sit within conservation areas such as Ealing Common, Pitshanger and Hanwell, so if the works affect the external elevation, extra consent may be required.

Yes. The floor structure needs assessing to confirm the drainage fall that is achievable, and in a timber suspended floor this sometimes means building up the floor zone or forming a recessed shower area between the joists. The Bearded Property Co checks the floor structure and drainage route on site before quoting, so there are no surprises once the work begins.

A full strip out removes the existing suite, tiles and adhesive back to the substrate, exposing any hidden damp, timber decay or old pipework. A waterproof tanking membrane is then applied across the floor and up every wet wall before tiling begins. This is the step most often skipped in a budget bathroom refit, and it is the main reason leaks in older London homes keep coming back a few years after a previous job.

If the renovation only replaces existing fittings on the same footprint, consent is not usually needed. If you are moving the position of waste pipes, adding a new wet area, or the works affect shared drainage that other flats rely on, many Ealing leasehold blocks require written consent from the freeholder or managing agent first. We check the lease and drainage layout at the assessment stage so this is sorted before work starts.

Yes. Under HMO licensing rules, the number of bathrooms and shower rooms must meet a set ratio against the number of occupants, and each facility needs adequate ventilation, hot water and fire safe partition construction. We carry out HMO bathroom renovation across Ealing to meet these standards and can advise on the ratio needed for a licence renewal or a new application.

For an ensuite or shared shower room serving one specific room, that room usually needs to be vacant for the works period. For a multi room HMO renovation programme, we sequence the project room by room so only one facility is out of use at any time, keeping the rest of the property occupied and generating rent throughout.

Many Ealing homes built or altered before 1980 retain original textured ceiling coatings or floor tiles that can contain asbestos. Before any ceiling or floor work begins in a pre 1980 bathroom, we recommend a survey to confirm whether asbestos containing materials are present. If found, removal is coordinated with a licensed contractor before the renovation continues.

Every quote from The Bearded Property Co sets out the full scope of work, the trade sequence, the estimated programme in working days, and what counts as a variation if hidden issues are found during the strip out. Nothing starts on site until this has been agreed in writing, so there are no surprise additions part way through the job.