What does tanking mean in a bathroom or wet room?

Applying a waterproof membrane to the floor and walls before tiling, so water cannot reach the substrate. In a tenement flat with neighbours below it is the single most important line in the specification.

Do I need permission to move a bathroom in a Scottish flat?

Changing drainage layout, adding a WC or altering ventilation can bring building standards into play, and title deeds occasionally restrict wet rooms above other flats. Check both before design.

Can a bathroom be adapted for accessibility without a full refit?

Often, yes — level access showers, grab rails and a repositioned basin can be phased. Local authority adaptation funding may be available through your council's occupational therapy route.

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Property services

Bathroom fitters in Edinburgh and the Lothians

Bathrooms, wet rooms and accessible adaptations.

A bathroom refit is the most waterproofing-critical job most owners commission. Tanking behind the shower, the fall on a wet-room floor and the detail where tile meets tray decide whether the flat below stays dry.

Accessible adaptations are the other half of this trade: level-access showers, grab rails and wider doorways, often specified after an occupational therapy assessment and sometimes eligible for local authority assistance.

When Edinburgh owners call bathroom fitters

The suite is dated and a buyer's first impression is being damaged by it.
Water is reaching the flat below and the shower tray or tiling has failed.
You need a level-access shower for someone with limited mobility.
There is no working extract fan and condensation is persistent.

Local context: Edinburgh and the Lothians

Edinburgh flats frequently have internal bathrooms with no window, relying on an extract fan ducted through a long run to a rear elevation. Undersized or poorly ducted fans are the leading cause of the black mould you see on ceiling corners in these rooms.

Older tenements have bathrooms formed in what was a scullery or a bed recess, with the soil connection in an awkward position. Moving a WC more than a metre from the stack usually needs pipework in the floor and careful attention to fall.

What this work typically costs

Published ranges are market context gathered from local jobs, not a quotation. We do not price work, arrange it or take a cut of it — always get your own written quotes.

Job	Typical range	What moves the price
Replace suite in the same layout	£3,000-£6,500	Includes tiling and fitting; sanitaryware quality varies enormously.
Full wet room with tanking	£6,000-£12,000	Floor build-up, drainage falls and waterproof membrane.
Electric shower installation	£350-£700	New circuit from the consumer unit if none exists.
Extract fan with humidity sensor and ducting	£250-£550	Long duct runs through solid walls cost more.
Level-access adaptation	£4,500-£9,000	Grants may be available; ask the council before commissioning.

Tenements and common repairs

Because the flat below is directly at risk, tanking is not optional in a tenement, and neither is telling your insurer what work is being done. A single failed shower seal can generate a five-figure claim against you.

Where the WC connects into the common soil stack, altering that connection is a change to common property. Speak to the factor or other owners before the plumber cuts into it.

More on shared repairs and selling a tenement flat

What to check before you instruct

Tanking and waterproofing specification
Insurance
Certificates for electrical work

Tanking specification in writing: The quote should name the waterproofing system used behind the shower and on a wet-room floor.
Certificates for electrical work: Showers, fans and lighting in bathroom zones need certifying by a SELECT or NICEIC registered electrician.
Insurance: Public liability at minimum; ask directly about escape of water cover.
Fall and drainage detail: For a wet room, ask how the fall is formed and where the waste runs before the floor is closed up.

We publish factual detail supplied by each business. We do not rate, rank, endorse or guarantee anyone listed, and no business pays for placement. Checking registration, insurance and references is always your decision.

Questions to ask before you instruct

What tanking system are you using and what guarantee comes with it?
Who certifies the electrical work?
Is the extract fan sized for the room and duct length?
How long will the bathroom be out of use?
Is removal and disposal of the old suite included?
Have you told me anything that requires the factor's or neighbours' consent?

Businesses listed

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Lothian Property is a property information and professional-introduction service operated by Maybury Scotland Limited. Lothian Property is not an estate agency. Where requested, we may connect homeowners with independent estate agents and other property professionals. How we work.

Read our guide on bathroom fitters

Bathroom fitters: common questions

What does tanking mean in a bathroom or wet room?: Applying a waterproof membrane to the floor and walls before tiling, so water cannot reach the substrate. In a tenement flat with neighbours below it is the single most important line in the specification.
Do I need permission to move a bathroom in a Scottish flat?: Changing drainage layout, adding a WC or altering ventilation can bring building standards into play, and title deeds occasionally restrict wet rooms above other flats. Check both before design.
Can a bathroom be adapted for accessibility without a full refit?: Often, yes — level access showers, grab rails and a repositioned basin can be phased. Local authority adaptation funding may be available through your council's occupational therapy route.