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Tufnell Park N19 and N7 · Bathroom renovation

Bathroom renovation in Tufnell Park

Listed attics, converted villas and estate blocks

A Tufnell Park bathroom may be in the attic of a listed terrace house, in a flat within a converted villa, or in a block on one of the estates in Islington’s Tufnell Park ward. The council’s decisions show what it looked at in each: pipes, fans and flues where they meet the outside, and the finishes of a listed interior.

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Serving Tufnell Park from our Hampstead studio · NW3 6DN
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Bathroom renovation in Tufnell Park at a glance

Before a Tufnell Park bathroom is laid out, find out where its waste, extract air and any boiler flue will reach the outside, and what the building’s status means for those exits. In the listed terrace at 9–21 Tufnell Park Road, Islington’s consents for bathrooms have carried conditions on pipework and finishes; in a converted villa, a new fan outlet was weighed against the conservation area; on two estates, boiler flues were to be matched in colour to the blocks.

Planning Data (Historic England): 9–21 Tufnell Park Road, Grade II, list entry 1195770 · Islington Council: view or comment on a planning application (search the planning register)

For the whole area, including conservation areas, permissions and working hours, read our Tufnell Park renovation guide.

Approved guide prices

What does a bathroom renovation cost in Tufnell Park?

A typical bathroom renovation in Tufnell Park costs £10,000–£30,000 excluding VAT. The final price depends on the scope, the specification and the complexity of the room, and a fixed written price follows the visit and the design.

Scope of workTypical cost
Typical bathroom renovation£10,000–£30,000

The figure excludes VAT. A standalone bathroom gets its own room-specific quotation; try the cost calculator for a first figure.

The buildings

Attics, en-suites and upper rear rooms in the council’s records

Islington’s planning register shows bathrooms proposed in several parts of Tufnell Park houses. Each decision below is what the council decided for that building at the time, not a rule for every home.

Historic England lists 9–21 Tufnell Park Road at Grade II. In October 2018 Islington approved, with conditions, listed building consent for works to one of its houses including internal alterations within the attic to form a bathroom. In April 2002 it granted consent in another for a bathroom to become a bedroom, with a new first-floor en-suite, and in November 2002 consent in a third for alterations including a toilet under the stairs.

Planning Data (Historic England): 9–21 Tufnell Park Road, Grade II, list entry 1195770 · Islington Council: view or comment on a planning application (search the planning register)

Two decisions from August 2000, under a plan since replaced, show bathrooms built out at the back of a house being decided building by building. On Dalmeny Road the council granted a second-floor rear extension to form a bathroom, with its facing materials to be approved first. Eleven days later it refused one on Huddleston Road: its visually prominent position above first-floor level, beside a distinctive chimney stack, would harm the appearance of the property.

Islington Council: view or comment on a planning application (search the planning register)

In a converted villa on Anson Road, inside the Tufnell Park Conservation Area but not listed, a 2020 application for one flat proposed slightly moving the toilet drainage pipe and opening a side-elevation hole for a bathroom extractor fan; the officer judged both against the conservation area, raised no objection, and the council approved it with conditions. In 2024 the council accepted a new boiler flue for a house on Hugo Road because it would sit inside the front lightwell, completely hidden from the street.

Islington Council: view or comment on a planning application (search the planning register)

Permissions and local rules

Outlets, listed fabric and landlord rules for a Tufnell Park bathroom

Flues and vent pipes in the conservation areas

Where can a new vent pipe or flue go?

Islington’s Tufnell Park guidelines say large flues and vent pipes can often detract from the look of the area, so the council seeks to ensure they are appropriately located and of a suitable size and design; the Hillmarton, Mercers Road/Tavistock Terrace and St John’s Grove guidelines print the same sentence. Its Urban Design Guide asks for the position of pipes and flues to be considered from the outset, and says a planning permission will usually carry a condition prohibiting external fixing. A refit needing no permission carries no such condition.

Islington: Tufnell Park (CA11) Conservation Area Design Guidelines, January 2002 (PDF) · Islington: Hillmarton (CA32) Conservation Area Design Guidelines, January 2002 (PDF) · Islington: Mercers Road/Tavistock Terrace (CA24) Conservation Area Design Guidelines, December 2007 (PDF) · Islington: St John’s Grove (CA28) Conservation Area Design Guidelines, February 2008 (PDF) · Islington Urban Design Guide SPD, January 2017

Conditions in the listed terrace

What has the council required at 9–21 Tufnell Park Road?

With the 2018 attic bathroom, the council required all new external and internal works, finishes and making good to match the existing adjacent work in method, material, colour, texture and profile. Its 2002 consents allowed no plumbing or pipework on any elevation beyond what the approved plans showed, and the one including a toilet under the stairs required external rainwater goods in cast iron or a similar approved material. Those conditions bound those houses; ask Islington what your own work needs before it starts.

Planning Data (Historic England): 9–21 Tufnell Park Road, Grade II, list entry 1195770 · Islington Council: view or comment on a planning application (search the planning register) · Islington listed buildings and listed building consent

Boiler flues on the estate blocks

How have flues been handled on the estates?

A design and access statement for Islington Council’s application for boiler flues on the Brecknock Estate proposed black flue kits to match the existing pipework on its blocks, placed where possible on courtyard elevations rather than those facing roads and walkways. On the Upper Hilldrop Estate, a 2009 permission required redundant flues to be removed and the brickwork or cladding repaired to match, with new flues off white like the soffits on Rushmoor, Leith, Dugdale, Horsendon and Colley Houses, and black or dark brown on Betchworth, Howell and Holmbury Houses.

Islington Council: view or comment on a planning application (search the planning register)

When your landlord is Islington Council

Which bathroom changes need the council’s consent as landlord?

The council’s leaseholder page sets these rules where your lease names Islington Council as landlord. A like-for-like bath, basin or toilet needs no permission, but pipes shared with other homes must be left alone. A new extractor fan needs consent, the redundant fan comes out and you make good the outside to suit the existing exterior. Any new flue must be agreed with the council first, and it will not consent to a leaseholder leaving a communal heating system.

Islington Council: alterations to your property (council leaseholders)

Working hours, skips, parking and the conservation area maps for the whole area are in our Tufnell Park guide. Local guidance checked ; requirements depend on the address, the building and the complete proposal.

What the work covers

The room, its pipes and its outlets: a Tufnell Park bathroom in three parts

Pipes on the walls, old and new

The survey photographs every soil, vent, waste and rainwater pipe on the outside, noting which still serve a fitting. New runs are drawn inside the walls and floors wherever the joists allow; any pipe that must show is placed and sized on the drawings, because planning conditions can restrict external fixing. Redundant pipes and fan grilles are listed for removal and making good.

Islington Urban Design Guide SPD, January 2017

Floor, tanking and the room beneath

In a converted villa the bathroom floor is often another household’s ceiling, and in a listed house the ceiling below may be original plaster. The scope fixes how far boards come up, how the floor is strengthened under a bath, and how every wet area is lined and tested before tiling.

Air, heat and electrics

Extract is sized for the room and ducted to the outlet chosen at survey, on a rear or side wall where the structure permits. Any heated rail or underfloor heating is matched to the existing boiler or hot water system, and wiring is certified to BS 7671 by a registered competent person, so it needs no separate building control application.

Islington Council: building control FAQs

How we work

How we run a Tufnell Park bathroom renovation

  1. Visit

    We see the room, trace where the stack runs, and check which floor it is on and what lies beneath.

  2. Survey

    The drainage falls, the extract route and the floor build-up at the door are measured before a layout is drawn.

  3. Design

    The layout, waterproofing and storage are drawn; where a floor or wall changes, our own architects and structural engineers design it.

  4. Price

    You receive a fixed written price once the design and fittings are agreed.

  5. Installation

    The dates, and any days without a working bathroom, are agreed before work starts.

  6. Handover

    Testing, then care notes for the finishes and fittings. Completed work carries a 12-month defects-rectification period under the JCT contract terms.

Real projects, clearly located

Examples of our bathroom renovation work elsewhere in London

None of these projects is in Tufnell Park. Each card names where the work was done, so you can judge the finish and the approach before you brief your own.

Your brief

Before you ask for a quotation

  1. Place the room in the building

    Say whether the bathroom is in the attic, on a half landing, over a back addition, on the lowest floor or in a flat, and what lies directly above and below. Photograph the back and side walls, showing the pipes, grilles and flues that serve it now.

  2. Look up what has been decided before

    Search the council’s planning register for your address, and send any earlier decisions with their conditions, especially any on pipework, flues or materials. Tell us whether the building is listed or in a conservation area and, for a flat, which landlord your lease names.

  3. Describe who will use it

    List the fittings you want, from a bath or walk-in shower to twin basins or a toilet under the stairs, and whether this is the household’s only bathroom. If anyone needs level access or support rails, say so now, and send any occupational therapist’s assessment you already hold.

Ready to take the next step? Send the address and a short outline of the work.

Book a free feasibility visit

Questions before you begin

Bathroom renovation in Tufnell Park: questions

Do you renovate a single bathroom on its own in Tufnell Park?

Yes. A standalone bathroom renovation is welcome, from a shower room in a flat within a converted villa to an attic bathroom in a listed house or the main bathroom of an estate flat. Send the room’s position and photographs of it and of the outside walls, so the consents for the address can be checked before design starts.

Which parts of a bathroom refit involve building control?

Islington’s building control pages say the Building Regulations will probably apply where you provide, extend or alter drainage, fit a heat-producing appliance or install an unvented hot water storage system, so a new bathroom with its own waste can need approval. With a building notice, work may start after two working days’ notice, and a day’s notice is needed before a drain or sewer is covered over. Keep the completion certificate, which the council calls important evidence when a property is sold.

Islington Council: building control FAQs · Islington Council: building control application forms and fees

Is there help with the cost of a level-access shower?

Possibly. Islington’s disabled facilities grant page names level access showers among the adaptations a grant can include. It is open to an owner or private tenant who is disabled or shares the home with a disabled person, and an occupational therapist assesses the home first. Camden runs its own means-tested grant for its addresses, which may be available where its occupational therapist recommends an adaptation. Ask before the design is fixed, because the assessment can shape the layout.

Islington Council: disabled facilities grants · Camden Council: disabled facilities grant

My home is on the Camden side. What changes for a bathroom?

Camden’s rules apply, so confirm the council for the address first; the Dartmouth Park and Kentish Town pages deal with streets in those conservation areas. Camden’s home improvements guidance keeps new external pipework to side and rear walls where possible, grouped and discreet, and in its conservation areas new pipework on a house wall or roof slope fronting a highway, at the front or side, needs planning permission. If Camden is your landlord, even replacing a bathroom needs its written consent.

Find the council for the property · Camden Planning Guidance: Home Improvements, January 2021 (PDF) · Camden Council: property alterations or improvements (council leaseholders)

Can a bathroom go on the lowest floor of the house?

Often, once the drainage is worked out, since a waste that low may need a pump to reach the sewer. Islington’s basement guidance says basements may be more prone to sewer flooding and, as a minimum, recommends a one-way valve on each basement drain connection to the sewer, to stop it backing up at times of high flow; Thames Water, it adds, recommends a positive pumped device. Treat this as design advice, not a finding about your address.

Islington Basement Development SPD, January 2016

How much does a bathroom renovation cost in Tufnell Park?

A typical bathroom renovation in Tufnell Park costs £10,000–£30,000 excluding VAT. The final price depends on the scope, specification and complexity of the project. We give a fixed written price after the visit and the design.

Book a free feasibility visit

Talk to us about your Tufnell Park bathroom

Tell us the address and what you want to change in your Tufnell Park bathroom. We reply within one working day, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.

Or call 020 7101 3168. We serve Tufnell Park from our studio at Unit 3, Palace Court, 250 Finchley Road, London NW3 6DN.

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