Bathroom Renovation in Cambridge
Bathroom design and installation across CB1–CB5
Cambridge bathrooms come in two very different flavours, and we work across both. On one side you’ve got the narrow Victorian and Edwardian terraces along Mill Road, in Romsey and Petersfield – small original bathrooms shoehorned onto rear extensions, often 1.6m × 2m, with cast iron drainage that’s been in place since the 1880s and ageing pipework added across multiple decades. On the other side, substantial Newnham villas backing onto the Backs come with four or five bathrooms across multiple floors – including premium master en-suites that need to look like they belong in a boutique hotel. Then there’s the HMO landlord market where bathrooms need to be genuinely durable under student-tenancy wear, and the modern Eddington and Marleigh new-builds where layouts already work and only the finishes need updating.
Full bathroom design, supply and installation under one roof. No tile shops, no separate plumbers, no chasing trades. Our complete bathroom renovation service covers everything from initial CAD design through to final tile finish.
See your new bathroom before we lift a single tile
Most costly bathroom mistakes come from poor planning – a basin too close to the door, a shower tray that fights with the soil pipe, a towel rail in the only spot a tall person can’t dry their back. Every Vantage bathroom in Cambridge starts with a 3D CAD bathroom design so you see exactly how the layout, fixtures, tiles and finishes will look in your actual room before any work starts. Particularly useful in the narrow Mill Road terraces and the Newnham villas where standard layouts often don’t translate cleanly into the rooms you actually have.
Get a fixed-price quote in under 2 minutes
Why most Cambridge bathroom leaks start behind the tiles
A lot of the bathroom failures we get called to inspect in Cambridge’s older stock – staircase ceiling stains, blown grout around showers, bubbling paint downstairs – trace back to one thing: the bathroom was never properly waterproofed behind the tiles. In a 130-year-old Mill Road terrace with original timber floor structure, that’s serious damage waiting to happen.
We tank every wet area using a two-coat liquid membrane before tiling starts. Every bathroom comes with a 12-month labour guarantee
Our bathroom services in Cambridge
Bathroom Installations
Full bathroom installations from first fix to final finish. A typical project runs 7–12 working days. Mill Road conservation area bathrooms with cast iron drainage replacement sometimes run 10–14 days.
Bathroom Refurbishments
Updating an existing bathroom without a full strip-out. Ideal for the modern Eddington, Marleigh and Trumpington Meadows new-builds where the plumbing is sound and the layout works. Replace the suite, retile, swap to a chrome heated towel rail, upgrade the extractor.
Wall and Floor Tiling
Sometimes the bathroom layout is fine but the tiling is dated or cracked. Our dedicated tiling service covers retile-only projects without full bathroom strip-out – typically 3–5 days.
Master En-Suite Installation
Frequently the priority project in Newnham refurbishments. Walk-in dressing rooms, twin-basin vanity units, walk-in rainfall showers, freestanding baths. Premium fittings from Villeroy & Boch, Duravit, Hansgrohe Axor, Crosswater Belgravia.
HMO Bathroom Refurbishments
Student-let durability matters. We specify fittings that look good and survive heavy use – ceramic basins over plastic where possible, thermostatic showers with anti-scald valves, easy-clean grout, robust extractor fans. Cambridge landlords come back to us repeatedly for portfolio refurbishments.
Wet Rooms
Fully waterproofed wet rooms – properly engineered for the long term. Particularly useful in narrow Mill Road and Romsey terrace bathrooms where conventional layouts don’t fit the architecture, and a wet room gains usable space a standard layout can’t.
The properties where the install gets more interesting
Mill Road and St Matthew's Conservation Area terraces
Narrow Victorian terraces facing directly onto the pavement north of Mill Road, with cast iron soil stacks and lead waste pipework that often needs full replacement. The common job is a layout reshuffle to fit a proper walk-in shower using vertical storage to recover floor space.
Substantial Newnham villas
Four to five bathrooms across multiple floors. Often the project is a co-ordinated refurbishment of an entire upstairs floor, requiring careful soil pipe planning and proper ventilation for multiple wet rooms simultaneously.
Petersfield and Romsey commuter terraces
Compact bathrooms, careful soil pipe routing, often loft conversions adding en-suites in spaces that originally weren't intended for plumbing. We work around the structure rather than against it.
Queen Edith's 1930s garden suburb housing
More conventional bathroom layouts - usually 1.7m × 2.2m. Standard refurbishment territory: replace the suite, retile, swap to a heated towel rail, upgrade ventilation.
New builds - Eddington, Marleigh, Trumpington Meadows
Standard refurbishment territory or post-developer-warranty upgrades. Modern plumbing, predictable layouts, transformative finishes.
Why Choose Vantage?
With over 700 five-star reviews, fully qualified and accredited engineers, transparent pricing, and a 12-month labour guarantee on every job, Vantage delivers reliable, high-quality workmanship you can trust with no call-out fees, fast response times, and genuine local service.
- Five-star Google reviews
- Gas Safe Registered No. 956889
- CHAS Registered
- City & Guilds qualified
- Checkatrade approved
- 12 month labour guarantee on every job
- Fully stocked vans most jobs fixed on the first visit
- 24/7 emergency availability
- Finance available on eligible installations
- Established local business with a dedicated office team and multiple qualified engineers
- No job too small
- No call-out fee first hour diagnosis from £99 for the first hour + VAT, then a fixed price is provided before any work begins
- 700+ reviews across Google, Checkatrade, Trustatrader & Trustpilot 4.9 star average
Areas we cover for bathroom renovation around Cambridge
FAQs
How long does a bathroom refurbishment in Cambridge take?
A standard family bathroom strip-out and refit runs 7–12 working days. A simple refurbishment without changing the layout is closer to 4–6 days. Mill Road conservation area bathrooms with cast iron drainage replacement typically run 10–14 days. Multi-bathroom Newnham refurbishments staged across 8–12 weeks with proper sequencing.
What does bathroom installation in Cambridge cost?
A quality refurbishment keeping the existing layout typically lands £7,000–£12,000 fitted. A full strip-out and rebuild with a high-spec suite usually sits £11,000–£18,000. Premium Newnham master en-suites with high-end fittings £18,000–£35,000. HMO bathrooms tend to land toward the lower end with durable rather than premium specification.
Can you fit a walk-in shower in a small Mill Road terrace bathroom?
Almost always, yes. The smallest properly usable walk-in shower we recommend is 900mm × 900mm. We can fit one in most Cambridge terrace bathrooms if you’re willing to lose the bath. We show the trade-offs in CAD before you commit.
Do you do HMO bathroom installations for Cambridge landlords?
Yes – HMO refurbishments are a meaningful part of what we do in central Cambridge. Durable specification, predictable scheduling around tenancy changeovers, portfolio refurbishments coordinated across multiple properties, and Gas Safe certification for any heating elements.
Are you a proper trade-trained bathroom fitter?
Yes – our bathroom fitters are City & Guilds qualified. Our team includes a dedicated tiler, plumbing and heating engineers, electricians for any wiring changes, and a project lead. No subcontractors brought in for the awkward bits.
Are you actually local to Cambridge?
Our base is in Hitchin, around 30–35 minutes from Cambridge. Engineers cover CB1–CB5 regularly, including the larger Newnham projects which often need multi-day staffing.
Book a free bathroom design consultation for your Cambridge home
Free home survey, CAD design, itemised quote – no obligation, no follow-up sales calls.
