We’ve been fitting bathrooms into East Lothian houses since 1989, and that’s long enough to know the money goes on what’s behind the tiles.
Key Points
- The figure is driven by the soil pipe, the floor and the walls, not by the fixtures on the shelf.
- You get the scope itemised in writing before anything's booked.
- We strip back to joists and masonry, because older Tranent bathrooms hide rot and dead pipework.
- Shower areas are tanked before tiling rather than sealed afterwards.
George Herkes & Son Joinery has worked across East Lothian since 1989, holds East Lothian Trading Standards Trusted Trader accreditation and is rated 5.0 from 62 reviews, so the same team behind our kitchen design in Tranent is the one stripping out and refitting your bathroom.
Give George a ring and he’ll come and look at what’s under the floor before anyone talks about tiles.
Bathroom Renovation Costs
We’ve been fitting bathrooms into East Lothian houses since 1989, and what drives the figure hasn’t changed. It’s what’s behind the tiles, not what’s on the shelf. A room that’s had its floor strengthened and its walls made true will still look right in ten years, and one that hasn’t won’t.
What actually moves the number
Whether the soil pipe moves. Whether the floor needs strengthening. Whether the walls are square enough to tile without a fight. Fixtures are the visible part and they’re rarely the deciding one. Two bathrooms with identical suites can be very different jobs once you’re under the floor.
What you get in writing
You’ll get the scope itemised before anything’s booked, so you can see what’s included and what isn’t. Nothing gets added later without you agreeing it first. We’d rather have the awkward conversation at survey than on day three. Ask us what we found, not what we assumed. We’ll tell you exactly what the survey turned up and what it means for the job.
Want a price for Bathroom Renovations in Tranent? Ask George Herkes & Son Joinery for a free quote.
Strip Out and Preparation for Tranent Homes
Older Tranent bathrooms hide things. The interwar co-operative houses and the miners’ terraces were plumbed and replumbed, and what’s behind the panel is rarely what the last person said it was. We’ve opened up plenty of them round Northfield and Harkness Crescent and found three generations of pipework in one wall.
Taking it back
We strip to the joists and the masonry where we need to. That’s when you find the rotted floor under the bath, the dead pipework that was capped and left, and the wall that’s been tiled over twice.
Making it ready
Floors get strengthened where they need it and levelled before anything’s laid. Walls get made good so the tiling has something true to sit on. It’s the same preparation the garage conversion contractors in Tranent do on a slab, and the same approach we take on bathroom remodelling in Elphinstone. Get this bit wrong and everything after it is cosmetic. A tiled wall that moves will crack at the grout line within a year, and no amount of sealant fixes it.
Plumbing, Electrics and Waterproofing
This is the part you’ll never see again once it’s finished, so it’s the part we’re fussiest about.
Falls and feeds
Waste runs need a fall, and in the older stock round here the stack’s often on an outside wall with not much room to play with. We check it at survey rather than discovering it on the day. If a layout won’t drain, you’ll hear that before you’ve bought anything.
Tanking the wet areas
Shower areas get tanked before tiling, not sealed afterwards with mastic and hope. Boards go on, joints get taped, corners get banded. It’s the one stage you can’t inspect once the tiles are up, so we photograph it before we cover it and you get the picture.
Electrics and finishing
Circuits, extraction and lighting go in at first fix. Then it’s tiling, fitting out and the joinery. We build the vanity and any fitted storage the same way we’d do wardrobes fitting in Tranent, which means it’s made to the wall you’ve actually got.
Free quotes on Bathroom Renovations across Tranent. Speak to George at George Herkes & Son Joinery.
Common Questions About Bathroom Renovations in Tranent
What's a realistic budget for a bathroom renovation in Tranent?
It depends on whether the soil pipe moves, whether the floor needs strengthening and how true the walls are, so we won't guess at it. You get an itemised written scope after the survey and nothing is added later without you agreeing it.
What do you usually find when you strip out an older Tranent bathroom?
Rot in the floor under the bath, dead pipework that was capped and left, and walls that have been tiled over more than once. The interwar co-operative houses and the miners' terraces have been plumbed and replumbed, so we strip back rather than build over what is there.
Can you move the shower or the toilet?
Usually, but it's a drainage question first. The stack in the older stock round here is often on an outside wall with limited fall, so we check what's achievable at survey rather than on the day.
Do you tank the shower area?
Yes, before tiling. Boards go on, joints get taped and corners get banded, so the waterproofing is behind the tile rather than relying on mastic at the edges.
How long will we be without a bathroom?
We'll give you the sequence and the timing with the quote once the survey's done. We won't put a number on it before we've seen what's under your floor.
Do you do the joinery in the bathroom too?
Yes. Vanity units, panelling and fitted storage are built the way we'd build any fitted furniture, which means made to the wall you've actually got rather than trimmed to fit.
