Renovating a Tenement Bathroom in Edinburgh

Your waste pipe connects to your neighbours'. In a typical Edinburgh tenement — whether it is a four-storey Bruntsfield block or a three-storey Leith walk-up — every flat on the stair shares the same vertical soil stack. Moving a toilet or bath position means rerouting to that shared stack. Sometimes it is straightforward. Sometimes the angles, distances, or floor joist direction make it impractical. We assess the soil stack access at every design visit and tell you honestly what is and is not possible in your specific property.

Most pre-1940s Edinburgh tenements have timber joists and floorboards, not concrete. This is the case in the majority of properties across Marchmont, Morningside, Stockbridge, Gorgie, Dalry, and the New Town. Ceramic tiles crack on flexing timber — it is the single most common bathroom problem we see in older Edinburgh flats. That is why we recommend LVT flooring. It handles the natural movement in older buildings without cracking, and it is warmer underfoot than ceramic on a cold Edinburgh morning.

Common in pre-1920s properties throughout Edinburgh's older districts — Tollcross, Canonmills, Abbeyhill, Newington. Lath and plaster walls are not suitable for heavy wall-hung basins or wall-hung toilets without additional support being fitted behind. They also deteriorate when exposed to prolonged moisture. Wet wall panels fix directly over existing walls — no need to hack off plaster, no battening, and no grout to absorb moisture. This is one of the key reasons wet wall panels have become so popular in Edinburgh tenement renovations.

Still found in many EH1 to EH11 properties, particularly in flats that have not had a full plumbing upgrade since the 1970s or earlier. Scottish Water recommends replacement of lead supply pipes. We check at every home visit — it takes two minutes to identify — and include replacement in the quote if needed. If your property has lead pipes, a bathroom renovation is the most cost-effective time to deal with it because we are already working on the plumbing.

Tenement bathrooms are typically 1.5m x 2m to 2m x 2.5m. Every centimetre matters. In many Marchmont and Bruntsfield flats, the bathroom was originally a box room or cupboard that was converted decades ago — the layout was never designed for a bathroom. Wet wall panels save 10-15mm per wall compared to tiles on battens. That might not sound like much, but in a 1.5m-wide room, gaining 30mm makes a real difference to how the space feels and functions.

Materials go up narrow Victorian stairwells. Standard tenement close doors in Edinburgh are approximately 750mm wide. Spiral stone stairs in older New Town and Old Town properties can be even tighter. We plan every delivery carefully — bath panels, shower screens, and wet wall panels are ordered in sizes that fit through standard tenement close doors. We have fitted bathrooms on fourth-floor Marchmont flats and in basement New Town conversions. Access is never a reason not to renovate — it just needs proper planning.

Poor ventilation in internal bathrooms is extremely common in Edinburgh tenements. Many have no window at all — the bathroom was carved out of a larger room during a previous conversion. Existing extractor fans are often undersized, broken, or vented into the roof space rather than outside. Edinburgh's damp climate makes this worse — condensation builds up on cold walls, black mould develops in corners and around silicone seals, and the room never fully dries out. We install humidity-sensing extractors as standard on every tenement bathroom we fit. They switch on automatically when moisture rises and run until the air is dry.

Many Edinburgh tenements still run on gravity-fed hot water systems with a cold water tank in the loft and a hot water cylinder in a cupboard. The shower pressure from these systems is often poor — a trickle rather than a proper shower. Your options depend on your building and your budget: upgrade to a mains-pressure unvented cylinder, fit a dedicated electric shower, or install a shower pump to boost the existing system. We assess the plumbing at the design visit and recommend the best option for your specific property and budget.

The flex in timber floors cracks rigid ceramic tiles over time. This is not a fitting problem — it is a structural reality in older Edinburgh buildings. The timber joists and floorboards move slightly with temperature, humidity, and load. Ceramic tiles cannot flex with them, so they crack. Grout absorbs moisture in Edinburgh's damp climate, turning black within a few years. Wet wall panels eliminate both problems entirely — no tiles to crack, no grout to go mouldy. The panels are 100% waterproof and wipe clean in seconds.

Toilet under the window. Bath blocking the door. No room for a separate shower. Radiator taking up the only wall where a vanity unit could go. These are everyday realities in Edinburgh tenement bathrooms, especially in EH3, EH9, and EH10 flats where the bathroom was an afterthought in the original floor plan. We redesign layouts to maximise the space you have — sometimes a simple repositioning of the toilet or switching from a bath to a walk-in shower transforms the room completely.

Stone and original tile floors in tenements are cold underfoot, especially in winter. Edinburgh is not a warm city — ground-floor and basement tenement flats in particular can feel freezing in the bathroom first thing in the morning. LVT flooring with underlay provides insulation and a warmer feel than ceramic. For those who want more, electric underfloor heating mats are an optional extra that we can install beneath the LVT. They run off a simple thermostat and cost pennies to operate.

We come to your flat, measure the bathroom, assess the plumbing, check the floors and walls, and photograph the soil stack access. We bring real samples — wet wall panels, LVT flooring, fixtures — so you can see and touch everything in your own home. You get a fixed price quote on the day. No pressure, no follow-up calls if you decide it is not for you. The visit takes around 45 minutes.

We create a space-efficient layout tailored to your tenement bathroom. You choose your wet wall panels, LVT flooring colour, fixtures, and fittings from our range. We advise on what works best for your specific room size, plumbing configuration, and budget. Everything is confirmed in writing before we order a single item.

We protect the communal stair, schedule deliveries to fit through your close and up your stairs, and arrange trade parking if needed. We coordinate with your neighbours on timing and water shut-off. Materials are delivered in stages to avoid blocking the stair — we never dump everything in the close on day one.

5 to 7 days, same team throughout. No subcontractors, no strangers appearing mid-job. Our team handles plumbing, electrics, wet wall fitting, LVT flooring, and all finishing. We clean up at the end of every day — both inside your flat and on the communal stair. You will always have access to a working toilet throughout the installation.

Final inspection with you. We demonstrate everything — shower controls, extractor fan, LED mirror, any new plumbing. We leave you with aftercare information for your wet wall panels and LVT flooring. You do not pay until you are completely happy with the finished bathroom.