Bathroom renovation in Chelsea

The properties we see in Chelsea

Chelsea's stock is older than Fulham's and materially different to build in. The garden squares and the streets off the King's Road are late Georgian and early Victorian stucco-fronted terraces, many Grade II listed, with lath-and-plaster ceilings, solid brick walls, and original joinery that cannot lawfully be replaced. Around World's End there are post-war estates on a completely different construction system. The practical consequence is that standard modern methods are often not permitted: gypsum, cement render and uPVC are all likely to be refused, and the specification has to be breathable and reversible.

Planning in Kensington & Chelsea

RBKC applies Article 4 directions across much of the borough, so permitted development rights that would exist in Fulham simply do not apply here. Listed building consent is needed for internal alterations as well as external ones — including moving a partition or replacing a fireplace. The borough's basement policy is among the most restrictive in London. We establish the designation, the listing grade and any Article 4 direction for the specific address before any design work begins.

What bathrooms involves

A full bathroom renovation in Fulham is £12,000–£30,000 depending on specification and whether drainage moves. The cost driver in a Victorian terrace is rarely the sanitaryware — it is falls on the waste run, floor build-up, and getting extraction to an external wall.

Consider this if

• The bathroom is original and everything needs replacing
• You want to add an en-suite to a bedroom or loft
• There is a persistent leak or damp in the ceiling below
• You want a wet room or level-access shower
• The layout wastes space in a small Victorian bathroom
• The extractor has never worked properly

What's included

• Full strip-out and disposal
• New hot and cold feeds, waste runs with correct falls
• Tanking to wet areas before tiling — not just around the shower tray
• Underfloor heating where the floor build-up allows
• Mechanical extraction ducted to an external wall, not into the loft
• Tiling, sanitaryware installation, electrical certification

The standard we build to

Wet areas tanked before tiling, electrical work zoned and certified to BS 7671 Part 7 Section 701, and extraction rates to Building Regulations Part F.

For the full write-up on bathrooms — costs, timescales, certification and the questions people ask most — see our bathroom renovation page. The prices and standards are the same wherever we work.