Bathroom renovation in Brent
Bathroom Renovation in Brent
When we lifted a bathroom floor in Wembley Hill in September 2025, the boards underneath were dark and soft from years of water getting past failed grout. We fitted and repaired bathrooms in two Wembley homes in 2025. Bathroom work across Brent tends to fall into a few jobs: leaks behind tired showers, small bathrooms in Metro-land semis, and rented homes being brought up to licensing standards.
Quick answer
A full mid-range bathroom renovation in London typically costs £8,000 to £12,000, while a cosmetic refresh runs £3,500 to £5,500. Smaller repairs cost far less: replacing a water-damaged floor and regrouting a shower in Wembley is estimated at £1,050 to £1,950. In Brent, only skip companies can apply for a skip licence, at £65 a fortnight.
Every enquiry gets a written reply within 2 hours, Monday to Saturday.
By home type
What a bathroom renovation involves across Brent
Brent was formed from Wembley and Willesden in 1965, and its homes still split along those lines.
Metro-land semis
Kingsbury (NW9), Kenton (HA3), Sudbury (HA0) and Dollis Hill (NW2). Built in the 1930s once the Underground arrived, many still have the original small bathroom with the WC next door. Combining the two rooms gives space for a proper walk-in shower or a full-size bath.
Edwardian houses and Victorian terraces
Willesden Green (NW10), Kilburn and Queen’s Park (NW6). Willesden Green’s larger Edwardian houses typically have one upstairs bathroom for the whole family, so adding a second shower room or an en-suite is a common request. Terraces further south often have timber floors that need tanking for wet areas.
Mansion blocks and new-build flats
Kilburn’s late-Victorian mansion blocks and the Wembley Park regeneration flats. The managing agent’s written consent comes first, often with rules on working hours, and on Wembley Stadium event days deliveries and skips near the stadium need planning around road closures and the event-day parking zone.
Rented homes and HMOs
Harlesden, Stonebridge and Wembley have many rented homes. Since 2 February 2026 Brent’s additional licensing scheme covers smaller HMOs with three or more people from two or more households, and licence conditions set minimum bathroom and WC provision for the number of tenants.
The common problem
Leaks behind tired showers: why the floor goes
Much bathroom work starts not as a renovation but with the damage a slow leak does. When grout and silicone around a shower tray fail, water gets behind the tiles and into the floor. By the time the floor feels soft or a ceiling below stains, the boards are often rotten.
That is what we found in Wembley Hill: the boards under the bathroom floor were dark and water-damaged. We took the floor up, made it good, laid a tiling membrane and finished it in large-format grey tiles, then came back in November to rake out the shower’s old grout and sealant and regrout and reseal it around the tray.
- Warning signs: black or crumbling grout, mould along the tray edge, loose tiles, a floor that flexes, or stains on the ceiling below.
- Cheap to fix early: regrouting and resealing a shower costs £150 to £350 at 2026 London rates; replacing a damaged floor and tiling it is about £900 to £1,600.
- Expensive to ignore: rotten joists, ceiling repairs below and full retiling quickly turn a small repair into a renovation.
Costs
How much does a bathroom renovation cost in Brent?
Across London a bathroom renovation costs £3,500 to £22,000+ depending on scope. Brent’s mix of Metro-land semis and rented flats keeps most jobs in the cosmetic to mid-range tiers.
Typical London market ranges, not fixed Soraiz Builders prices
| Scope | London range | Time on site | Brent notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Repair: replace a damaged floor, regrout the shower | £1,050 to £1,950 | About 2 days, plus a regrout visit | Our Wembley Hill job, estimated at 2026 rates |
| Cosmetic refresh (new bath or tray, WC, basin, towel rail) | £3,500 to £5,500 | 3 to 5 working days | The tier of our Wembley Central bathroom and shower room |
| Suite replacement, same layout | £5,500 to £8,000 | 5 to 9 working days | Common in Kingsbury and Kenton semis |
| Full mid-range renovation | £8,000 to £12,000 | 9 to 14 working days | Including joining a separate WC and bathroom |
| High specification or wet room | £12,000 to £22,000+ | 12 to 18 working days | Timber floors in NW6 terraces need tanking work |
Sources: London ranges and durations from our bathroom renovation in London page and bathroom renovation cost guide. Repair figures from our Wembley Hill case study: London tilers at £250 to £300 a day (Checkatrade, MyJobQuote 2026) and regrouting at £120 to £250 for a shower (MyJobQuote 2026), plus materials. HaMuch reports Wembley bathroom fitters averaging about £60 an hour.
Brent Council rules and fees
| Item | Detail | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Skip licence | £65 per fortnight | Only skip companies can apply, with 3 working days’ notice; builders and residents cannot |
| Building Control | Brent’s own charging scheme | A new bathroom, new drainage or structural change; not a like-for-like refit |
| Additional HMO licence | Required since 2 February 2026 | Smaller HMOs: three or more people from two or more households |
| Planning permission for a small HMO | A change of use application | Borough-wide Article 4 direction since November 2022 on turning a house into a small HMO |
Sources: Brent Council skips licence page (registration for skip companies, £65 per fortnight licence, 3 working days); Brent’s additional licensing designation (made 13 October 2025, in force 2 February 2026 to 2 February 2031); our Brent borough page (Article 4 direction on small HMOs, Wembley event-day parking). In September 2025 Brent fined a building company £223,350 for obstructing the highway without a valid licence, so ask any builder to show you the skip licence.
Local work
Two Wembley bathrooms in 2025
In Wembley Hill (HA9) we replaced a water-damaged bathroom floor in September and regrouted the shower in November. In Wembley Central (HA0), as part of an eight-week phased job, we fitted a new bath and WC in the bathroom and refitted the shower room with a quadrant enclosure, floor tiles, basin and chrome towel rail. Our base in Northolt is a short drive away, in neighbouring Ealing borough.
8 photosWembley Hill, Wembley (Brent)
Bathroom floor replacement and shower regrout in Wembley
A water-damaged bathroom floor in Wembley taken up and relaid in large grey tiles in September 2025, followed by a full regrout and reseal of the shower in November.
Read the case study
13 photosWembley Central (Brent)
Insulation, bathroom refit and flat roof repair in Wembley
A Wembley job run in phases over eight weeks in 2025: a room insulated and re-boarded, a bathroom and shower room refitted, and two sections of flat roof repaired and coated.
Read the case studyThe process
How a Brent bathroom renovation runs
Survey and written quote
We check the floor for hidden water damage, the soil stack and waste route, the supply pipes and the extract route, and whether the home is leasehold, licensed or near the stadium, then send an itemised quote.
Permissions and scheduling
The managing agent’s or freeholder’s consent for a flat, a Building Control application where the layout or drainage changes, and a skip booked through a licensed skip company, avoiding Wembley event days near the stadium.
Strip-out and first fix
Old fittings come out and any damaged boards or joists are shown to you before they are replaced. Pipework, wastes and the extractor go in. Notifiable electrical work is carried out and certified by a registered electrician.
Membrane, tiling and second fix
A tiling membrane or full tanking goes down before the tiles, then the suite, enclosure and fittings, and everything is tested.
Handover
A final walk-round, the electrical certificate and, where the job needed it, the Building Control completion certificate.
Areas we cover
Bathroom fitting and renovation across Brent
- Wembley HA0 and HA9
- Wembley Park HA9
- Sudbury HA0
- Alperton HA0
- Kingsbury NW9
- Kenton HA3
- Neasden NW10
- Willesden NW10
- Harlesden NW10
- Kilburn NW6
- Queen’s Park NW6
- Dollis Hill NW2
FAQ
Bathroom renovation in Brent: common questions
How much do bathroom fitters charge in Wembley?
HaMuch reports Wembley bathroom fitters averaging about £60 an hour. Whole jobs follow London ranges: £3,500 to £5,500 for a cosmetic refresh, £8,000 to £12,000 for a full mid-range renovation. A floor replacement and shower regrout like our Wembley Hill job is estimated at £1,050 to £1,950 at 2026 rates.
Why is my bathroom floor soft near the shower?
Usually because water has been getting past failed grout or sealant around the shower tray and into the boards underneath. That is what we found in Wembley Hill. Stop using the shower, then have the floor opened: replacing damaged boards and regrouting early costs far less than repairing rotten joists and the ceiling below.
Can my builder get a skip licence in Brent?
No. Brent only accepts skip licence applications from registered skip companies, not builders or residents. The licence costs £65 per fortnight and needs 3 working days’ notice. Brent fined one building company £223,350 in September 2025 for obstructing the highway without a licence, so ask to see it.
Do I need a licence to rent out a renovated house in Brent?
If it is an HMO, very likely. Since 2 February 2026 Brent’s additional licensing covers smaller HMOs with three or more people from two or more households, alongside mandatory licensing for larger ones. Licence conditions set minimum bathroom and WC provision, so plan the bathrooms around your expected tenants.
Can you combine the separate toilet and bathroom in my Kingsbury semi?
Yes. It is the most common upgrade in Brent’s 1930s Metro-land semis in Kingsbury, Kenton and Sudbury. We check whether the dividing wall carries any load; if it does, a structural engineer specifies the support and the work goes through Building Control. It usually falls in the £8,000 to £12,000 mid-range tier.
How long does a bathroom renovation take?
A full mid-range renovation takes 9 to 14 working days on site, a suite replacement 5 to 9 working days, and a wet room 12 to 18 working days. A floor replacement with retiling takes about two days. Near Wembley Stadium, we schedule deliveries and skips around event days.
Get a free bathroom quote in Brent
Send a few photos of the room and your postcode. We visit, check the floor, waste and pipework, and send a written, itemised quote within 2 hours of the visit.
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