In short
- Cloakroom: about 3 working days. En-suite or shower room: about 7. Family bathroom: about 10.
- Compact wet rooms take 11 days or more, and a premium bathroom around 14.
- The biggest delays come from what's hidden under the old bathroom, layout changes and products that arrive late or wrong.
- Some stages can't be rushed: the 24-hour flood test and the curing of adhesive, grout and silicone.
Typical durations by room
These are working days on site, Monday to Friday, from the day the old bathroom comes out to the final clean. They come from the same price list we use for fixed quotes, so they move if the scope does.
| Room | Working days on site | What's usually involved |
|---|---|---|
| Cloakroom or downstairs WC | about 3 | New WC and basin, tiled floor, painted walls |
| En-suite or shower room | about 7 | Shower enclosure, WC, vanity, tiled shower walls and floor |
| Family bathroom | about 10 | Bath with shower over, WC, vanity, towel rail, tiling and lighting |
| Compact wet room | 11+ | Whole floor tanked and laid to falls, level-access shower |
| Premium bathroom | about 14 | Concealed valves, wall-hung fittings, large-format tiles floor to ceiling, underfloor heating |
The planning before work starts is extra: an estimate, a survey, the written proposal and deliveries usually take six to eight weeks.
Does supplying your own bathroom change the time?
Not the days on site. Whether you buy the suite yourself and we install it, or we supply everything as part of a complete renovation, the room still goes through the same stages in the same order. What changes is the risk to the programme. When you're ordering, the start date depends on your deliveries arriving complete and on time. When we're ordering, that risk sits with us.
Two things do change the on-site time noticeably:
- Keeping the layout. If the WC, basin and bath or shower stay where they are, the pipework and drainage are mostly reused, and first fix is quicker. A same-layout refresh is usually the fastest kind of job.
- The level of finish. Concealed valves, wall-hung fittings with hidden frames, niches and floor-to-ceiling large-format tiles all add careful days. That's why a premium bathroom of the same size takes about 14 working days rather than 10.
Why it takes longer than most people expect
In a Federation of Master Builders survey published in April 2026, 19% of people expected a full bathroom to take a week or less. The FMB says a standard job takes two to four weeks. The gap isn't slow builders. It's sequence: each trade has to finish, and each stage has to be checked or left to cure, before the next one can start. Plumbing has to be tested before it's boxed in. Waterproofing has to pass a 24-hour flood test before tiles go on. Grout has to set before silicone.
Put enough people in the room and some stages overlap, but a bathroom is a small space. Two trades at once in a 4 m² room usually slows both of them down.
What adds time
- What's under the old bathroom. Soft or rotten floorboards, old lead or iron pipework and fuse boards without RCD protection are common in older London homes. Each one can add a day or more, and you agree the price before it's done.
- Moving things around. Relocating the WC or moving the soil pipe means new drainage routes and sometimes work to the joists. Keeping the layout is the quickest option.
- Tile choice. Large-format, mosaic and herringbone tiles take noticeably longer to set out and fix than standard tiles.
- Drying and curing. Levelling compound, plaster, adhesive and grout all need time, and cold or damp weather slows them.
- Late or wrong products. A missing waste or a valve that doesn't suit your water pressure stops the plumber on the spot. Have everything on site and checked 5 working days before the start.
- Water company notice. Baths over 230 litres, bidets with an ascending spray and shower pumps drawing over 12 litres a minute need 10 working days' notice to the water company before they're installed.
- Leasehold consent. Moving a bathroom or adding a wet room in a flat usually needs the freeholder's licence before work starts.
- Access. An upper-floor flat with no lift, or nowhere to park, means slower days carrying materials in and waste out.
What can be sped up, and what can't
You can speed up
- Decisions: layout, tiles and fittings chosen before the start date
- Deliveries: everything on site and checked a week early
- Access: a parking space and a clear route to the bathroom
- Scope: keeping the existing layout
You can't safely rush
- The 24-hour flood test on the waterproofing
- Adhesive and grout curing before the room is used
- Silicone curing before the first shower
- Plaster drying before it's painted
Be wary of anyone who promises a five-day bathroom without seeing the room. Five days is possible for a small, like-for-like job with everything on site. For a full renovation, it usually means a stage is being skipped, and the usual one is testing the waterproofing.
Living at home while the work happens
Most people stay at home. The room is sealed off with protection, the route from the front door is covered, and work usually runs within normal working hours. Wherever possible we reconnect the toilet at the end of each day.
If it's your only bathroom, plan for a few days without a shower in the middle of the job, between strip-out and the new shower being connected. A gym, a neighbour or a family visit usually covers it.
Questions
Can a bathroom renovation be done in a week?
A small, like-for-like job can be, such as a cloakroom or a straight swap of a suite with everything on site. A full renovation with new waterproofing and tiling usually can't, because the flood test and curing times can't be shortened safely.
How long does a small bathroom renovation take?
A small en-suite or shower room usually takes about 7 working days on site. A cloakroom with just a WC and basin takes about 3.
Does a wet room take longer than a normal bathroom?
Yes. The whole floor is laid to falls and waterproofed, and often the floor structure needs work first. A compact wet room takes 11 working days or more, and we always confirm the programme after a survey.
How soon can I use the shower after the work finishes?
Give the silicone 24 hours to cure before the first shower. Keep the extractor fan running for the first couple of weeks while the new grout and paint dry out.
Why do some quotes promise five days for a full bathroom?
Usually because a stage is being left out or squeezed, most often testing the waterproofing before tiling. Ask any installer how they waterproof the shower and whether they flood-test it, and get the programme in writing.
Last updated 21 October 2026. Durations are guide figures for London homes from our published price list, and are confirmed in writing after a survey.