Old Town · New Town · Conservation areas
Edinburgh has more listed buildings per head than almost anywhere in Britain. In many of them, replacing an original bath is a considerably harder proposition than restoring one. This is the work Richard has spent 38 years doing.
The regulatory position
Both the Old Town and the New Town are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and Edinburgh contains thousands of listed buildings across categories A, B and C, alongside more than forty conservation areas.
Listed building consent is concerned with works affecting the character of a listed building — including, in many cases, internal fixtures of interest. An original cast iron bath, a period pedestal basin, or original tiling can fall within that. Removing them is a change to the building. Whether consent is needed in a specific case is a question for the City of Edinburgh Council, and we always tell owners to ask rather than assume.
Resurfacing does not remove anything. It is non-structural, changes no building fabric, and leaves the original fixture in place. That is why, in listed property, it is frequently not merely the cheaper route but the simpler one.
We are bath repair specialists, not planning consultants. If you are unsure of your building's status, check with the council or Historic Environment Scotland before anyone starts work.
The practical position
Set aside the regulations for a moment. A full cast iron bath weighs a great deal. Edinburgh's tenement stairs are stone, they turn tightly, and the close below is not yours to damage.
Removing one means three people, a stair crawler, several hours, and a genuine risk to the stairwell — followed by the same operation in reverse with the replacement, plus a plumber, plus a tiler, because the tiles around a hundred-year-old bath do not come off intact and do not go back matched.
Resurfacing takes one person, one day, and touches nothing but the bath.
The fixtures
Edinburgh's period bathrooms contain fixtures that cannot be bought new at any price. Cast iron baths with fused vitreous enamel, thick-walled and heat-retaining. Fireclay basins. Original glazed tiling in colours nobody makes.
The enamel on a Victorian cast iron bath wears thinnest at the waterline and around the taps — the places water sits and hands rest. The bath beneath is entirely sound. What has failed is a surface, and a surface is exactly what we replace.
A modern acrylic bath will last perhaps fifteen years. The one already in the room has managed a century.
Where we work
Common questions
Does bath resurfacing need listed building consent?
Resurfacing is non-structural and removes nothing, so it does not alter the fabric or character of the building in the way that removing an original fixture does. Whether any given work needs consent is a matter for the City of Edinburgh Council, and we always advise owners to check with them or Historic Environment Scotland rather than rely on us. We are bath specialists, not planning consultants.
Do you work in the Old Town and New Town?
Constantly. Old Town closes, New Town townhouses, Marchmont and Bruntsfield tenements, Stockbridge, Morningside. Access is often difficult and the fixtures are often original. That is the work.
Can you restore a Victorian roll-top?
Yes, inside and out. Exterior finish, feet, and the interior enamel. From around £450 + VAT depending on condition.
What about a factor or a landlord in a listed tenement?
We work with factors, letting agents and landlords across Edinburgh's listed stock. Resurfacing avoids the consent question, the stairwell damage, the plumber and the tiler — and the flat is back in service the next day.
Is my building listed?
Search the Historic Environment Scotland designations portal, or ask the City of Edinburgh Council. If you are in the Old Town, the New Town, or one of the city's conservation areas, assume there are constraints and check before removing anything.
No call-out charge anywhere in Edinburgh or the Lothians. Send a photo of the damage and we'll price it honestly.