Tiling in Bushey

Tiling in Bushey: what is different here

Splashback heights Hertsmere sets for shared houses

Hertsmere's HMO amenity standards are unusually precise about tiling. The 2018 standards ask for a 300mm waterproof splashback above a bath, a splashback rising 150mm above the shower head, extending 300mm beyond any shower curtain, and fully tiled walls or a complete cubicle around a shower. Basins, kitchen sinks and worktops each need a 300mm splashback.

The July 2026 draft keeps those heights, call for fully waterproof wall finishes in showers, and add that bathroom floors must be durable and slip-resistant and walls smooth and easy to clean. The draft says it applies to every HMO, licensable or not, and the council plans to apply the revision from late November 2026.

Grout and glass in 340 mg/l water

Affinity Water's 2025 report for the Borehamwood/Bushey zone gives total hardness of 340 mg/l and alkalinity of 336 mg/l, the part its glossary calls temporary hardness, which comes out as scale when water is heated or left to dry. On a shower wall it shows as a white crust on grout lines and a haze on glass.

Fewer, larger tiles mean fewer joints to scale up. A stain-resistant or epoxy grout is easier to keep clean than a basic cementitious one, and a glass screen benefits from being wiped down after use. If you choose natural stone, avoid acidic descalers, which etch it.

First-floor bathrooms over living rooms

Bushey has a high share of houses rather than flats: in the 2021 Census detached and semi-detached houses together made up between 45% and 55% of homes in each Bushey ward, from Bushey Heath, where Hartsbourne is, to Bushey Park and Bushey St James, where Merry Hill Road and Little Bushey Lane run. In most of them the bathroom is upstairs, over a living room or kitchen ceiling, and extended houses on the heath may have an en-suite over a garage or a newer extension.

A weeping shower tray or failed grout shows up as a stain on the ceiling below. That is why we tank the shower area with a waterproofing system before tiling, and seal around trays and baths with a flexible sealant rather than grout.

Flats on the heath and above the parades

Purpose-built flats were 34.6% of homes in Bushey Heath ward in 2021. Many leases restrict hard floor coverings or require acoustic underlay so that footsteps do not carry to the flat below, and some need the managing agent's consent first. Check yours before choosing a tiled floor for a kitchen or bathroom.

Flats above the shops on the High Street in Bushey Village and on High Road are often on older timber floors, which need to be stiffened with an overlay board before tiling so the grout does not crack as the floor flexes.

Turning a box room into a shower room for sharers

Bushey landlords converting a family house often look at the smallest bedroom for an extra shower room, because Hertsmere's draft wants a second bathroom once there are six or more occupants. The draft gives guide sizes before any tile is chosen: about 1.5 square metres for a WC and basin, 2.5 for a shower room with WC and basin, and 4.4 for a full bathroom, with at least 2,130mm of headroom.

It warns that rooms under 2 square metres are more likely to be hazardous, and that shared bathrooms should normally be no more than one floor from the bedrooms they serve. We can measure the space and tell you whether the layout works before the plumbing and tiling are priced.

Bathrooms for long-owned houses being sold or let

Some of the houses on the Warren estate date from the late 1950s, and a bathroom that has not been touched in decades usually has old tiles fixed to plaster that will not take a second layer. We strip back to a sound surface, replace or board what is needed, and tile from there. If the house is about to be let as an HMO, we work to Hertsmere's splashback heights from the start, so the room does not have to be redone at inspection.

Official sources

• Hertsmere Borough Council: amenity standards for HMOs (2018)
• Hertsmere Borough Council: draft amenity standards for HMOs 2026 (no additional licensing scheme)
• Hertsmere Borough Council: multiple occupancy homes (HMO licensing and fees)
• Affinity Water: water quality report 2025, Borehamwood/Bushey zone (AF049)
• ONS Census 2021 via Nomis: accommodation type, Bushey Heath, Bushey North, Bushey Park and Bushey St James wards (TS044)

Last reviewed October 2026 by EliteShires Property Services.