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Chiswick W4 · Bathroom renovation

Bathroom renovation in Chiswick

One room, in Bedford Park, riverside and listed houses

A bathroom changes the outside of a Chiswick building more often than people expect, through a soil pipe, an extract outlet, a flue or a tank on the roof. This page sets out what Hounslow’s and Ealing’s documents say about those fittings in Bedford Park, Old Chiswick and Strand on the Green, how far listing reaches inside a house, and what each council asks of its own leaseholders.

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

Hounslow’s Bedford Park appraisal says the backs and sides of the houses were designed to be seen, and are carefully proportioned with decorative features. It does not mention pipework, but our reading is that on Hounslow’s side a new soil pipe or extract outlet on a side or rear wall will not be out of sight. Strand on the Green’s appraisal counts the views from Thames Road through to the rear of the riverside properties as important, and by the same reading of ours, new pipework on those backs can be seen from the road. So keep new soil and extract runs inside the walls where the structure allows.

Hounslow: Bedford Park Conservation Area Appraisal (undated) · Hounslow: Strand on the Green Conservation Area Appraisal, adopted October 2018

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

Approved guide prices

What does a bathroom renovation cost in Chiswick?

A typical bathroom renovation in Chiswick 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

Listed interiors on both sides of Woodstock Road and by the river

Many buildings here are listed, and listing reaches the rooms inside. A bathroom usually brings new pipe runs, partitions and floor finishes, so the question of consent comes up early.

Hounslow’s Bedford Park appraisal says many buildings there are statutorily listed, requiring attention to internal character and fabric as well as to the smallest architectural detail, and that the effects of listing are often not fully understood; its example is opening up or removing interior walls to make larger rooms. For Ealing’s part of the estate, Ealing says listed buildings are listed in their entirety, interior as well as exterior, including any object or structure fixed to the building, and its Generic Management Plan states that internal changes within listed buildings will require listed building consent.

Hounslow: Bedford Park Conservation Area Appraisal (undated) · Ealing Council: listed buildings · Ealing Council: Generic Management Plan for Conservation Areas, March 2023

On Strand on the Green, the schedule in Hounslow’s October 2018 appraisal lists among its Grade II buildings Carlton House, Compass House, Old Ship House, Picton House and Wistaria House, and the group of Clayton House, Mucklow House, Naylar House, Oliver House and River House. Hounslow’s appraisals say statutory listing covers the whole building, internally and externally, and that apart from small, like-for-like essential repairs, the majority of alterations require listed building consent. In one of these houses, plan a new bathroom as an alteration that may need consent.

Hounslow: Strand on the Green Conservation Area Appraisal, adopted October 2018

Permissions and local rules

Pipes, vents, landlords and listed rooms

Vents, flues and roof tanks on Hounslow’s side

Will a new extract vent need planning permission?

Hounslow’s Article 4 leaflet for Bedford Park says small flues, vents, wires, aerials and cables will not require planning permission, but that attention should be taken to fix them in discreet locations (the leaflet spells it ‘discrete’). In Old Chiswick, the appraisal adopted in Autumn 2019 lists among its opportunities that satellite dishes, TV aerials, roof lights and vents should be as inconspicuous as possible, and that enclosed water tanks on roofs should be avoided. If an old tank sits on the roof, the refit is a good moment to ask whether it is still needed.

Hounslow: Article 4 (2) Directions for the Bedford Park and Gunnersbury Park conservation areas · Hounslow: Old Chiswick Conservation Area Appraisal, adopted Autumn 2019

Pipes and flues on Ealing’s side of Bedford Park

What does Ealing’s guidance say about soil pipes?

Ealing’s Generic Management Plan of March 2023, guidance for its conservation areas that is not part of its Local Plan, says new soil and waste pipes should be located internally where possible to avoid clutter on the outside of the building, that untidy external plumbing stacks with multiple branches should be avoided, and that balanced flues should be small and sited unobtrusively. Where a dormer is added, it says care should be taken to run extended soil vent pipes in the roof cavity to a position well clear of the top of the dormer window.

Ealing Council: Generic Management Plan for Conservation Areas, March 2023

If the council is your landlord

Does a council leaseholder need permission for a new bathroom?

Hounslow’s pages for its own leaseholders list even replacing a bathroom suite without changing the layout or supply services as an alteration, while its repairs page says a renewal may need permission, so ask its leasehold team first. On Hounslow’s list, the leaseholder deals with leaks from waste pipes up to the soil stack and with extractor fans, and the council repairs leaks to the main stack. Ealing tells its leaseholders it will not ask for permission to replace an existing bathroom, but relocating one needs permission, as do air vents in walls; the Building Regulations still apply.

Hounslow: making alterations to your home as a council leaseholder · Hounslow: council leaseholders’ repair responsibilities (general guidance; the individual lease decides) · Ealing Council: improvements and alterations to your home, for council leaseholders · Ealing Council: leaseholder repairs and responsibilities, for council leaseholders

Asking before you alter a listed bathroom

Whom do I ask about a bathroom in a listed house?

Hounslow says it is a criminal offence to carry out works to a listed building without consent, and that its conservation officers can give their professional opinion on whether proposed works can be carried out without listed building consent. Ealing says it is a criminal offence to carry out internal or external alterations to a listed building without first securing the necessary consents, even if you did not know the building was listed. So for a listed house on either side of Woodstock Road, ask the right council before the old bathroom comes out.

Hounslow: listed buildings · Hounslow: listed building advice · Ealing Council: listed buildings

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

What the work covers

What a Chiswick bathroom renovation covers

The route to the drain

The first job is to find where the room drains: the soil stack, its connection and any run shared with a neighbour. On Ealing’s side, Ealing says homeowners are responsible for drains up to the connection with another property’s drainage, that Thames Water maintains sewers and lateral drains, and that repairs and new drainage works must comply with the building regulations. Hounslow tells anyone building over or near a sewer to apply to Thames Water for an agreement.

Ealing Council: drains and sewers · Hounslow: building regulations approval

Water, air and the floor

Every wet wall and floor is tanked before tiling, and the floor is checked for movement and for the state of the joists, with the ceiling of any room below inspected first. Ealing’s summary of the Building Regulations says adequate ventilation must be provided to bath and shower rooms, so the extract is sized for the room and routed to the outlet position agreed for the outside wall.

Ealing Council: building control, the regulations

Electrics, inspections and certificates

Electrical work and any new heating appliance are planned with the plumbing. GOV.UK says installers in a competent person scheme can self-certify certain types of building work instead of getting building regulations approval. Where the council’s own team inspects, Hounslow says inspection requests must give at least one working day’s notice, and it issues a completion certificate once the work is completed and inspected. Every certificate is handed over with the house papers.

GOV.UK: competent person schemes · Hounslow: building control site inspections

How we work

How we run a Chiswick 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 Chiswick. 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. Where the room is

    Tell us which floor the bathroom is on, what lies below it and where the nearest soil stack runs, and send photographs of the pipes on the back and side walls. If you would like the room moved, say where to, since that changes the drainage route and, where the council is your landlord, the consent.

  2. What the building is

    Say whether the house is listed, which side of Woodstock Road it is on if it is in Bedford Park, and whether your landlord is Hounslow Council, Ealing Council or a private freeholder. Those answers decide whether listed building consent, Ealing’s guidance or a landlord’s permission comes first.

  3. Who will use the room

    Tell us who will use the bathroom and how: a level shower in place of a bath, grab rails, a wider door or a seat. Building these in from the start is simpler than adding them later, and it shows early whether a grant application should come before any work begins.

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 Chiswick: questions

Can a single Chiswick bathroom be renovated as a standalone project?

Yes, gladly. One bathroom on its own is a standalone job we take on in Chiswick, whether it is in a house on either side of Woodstock Road, a listed house by the river or a flat in a Turnham Green mansion block, and the quotation covers that room alone. If a loft room or an extension may follow later, tell us, so the new pipe runs and any outlet can be placed with it in mind.

Can a bathroom go in a garden room on Hounslow’s side?

Hounslow’s Part A5, adopted in May 2024, says an outbuilding must only be used in a manner incidental to the main house, and that primary living accommodation, such as a bedroom, bathroom or kitchen, would usually not be allowed in one; the council may attach conditions to stop such facilities being installed. So a bathroom in a garden studio needs care on Hounslow’s side. On Ealing’s side, ask Ealing how its own outbuilding guidance applies.

Hounslow SPD Part A5: Residential Extension Guidelines, May 2024 · Ealing Council: Generic Management Plan for Conservation Areas, March 2023

Is there help with an adapted bathroom?

Hounslow says disabled or older residents can use a Disabled Facilities Grant for home adaptations, that applicants must be a homeowner or private tenant and be assessed by its occupational therapy team, and that adaptations can include grab rails in the bathroom and a level access shower. GOV.UK warns that you might not get any grant if you start work before the council approves your application. On Ealing’s side, Ealing says applicants should be referred by its Social Services Occupational Therapy Service or its NHS partners.

Hounslow: Disabled Facilities Grants · Hounslow: home adaptations and equipment · GOV.UK: Disabled Facilities Grants, eligibility · Ealing Council: Disabled Facilities Grant

Does a bathroom on Ealing’s side need full plans or a building notice?

Ealing says a building notice is only suitable for small domestic works and, among other exclusions, is not an option for work covered by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, such as flats with common areas. Building work can start 24 hours after a valid application, but work begun on a full plans application before approval continues at the owner’s risk, and controllable work done without any application would be recorded as a contravention. On Hounslow’s side, Hounslow’s own building control route applies.

Ealing Council: building control application forms and charges · Ealing Council: building control, further information and guidance

My house is near the river. Should the bathroom be built differently?

Hounslow’s home retrofit guide lists measures for homes at risk of flooding, among them non-return valves on drainage pipes, waterproof lime plaster rather than gypsum, waterproof flooring and raising appliances and plug sockets. Whether your home is at risk is not settled by its street: GOV.UK’s long-term flood risk service describes risk for an area and says it does not tell you how likely an individual property is to flood. Hounslow adds that Thames Water owns and operates the borough’s sewer system.

Hounslow: improving the sustainability of your home, flood risk protection (undated guidance) · Check long-term flood risk in England · Hounslow: types of flooding (undated)

How much does a bathroom renovation cost in Chiswick?

A typical bathroom renovation in Chiswick 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 Chiswick bathroom

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

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

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