Cost and payment
What should I budget?
It depends on the building, the access, what is under the floor and the finish level far more than on the size of the room. The cost page sets out three broad rough-guide tiers and what moves a job within them, and a free measure produces a written, itemised price for your bathroom.
Why won't you quote from photos?
Because photos do not show the thickness of the mortar bed, whether there is a membrane, where the stack runs, whether the floor waste can move, or how rubble will leave a third-floor unit. Those are the things that set the price.
What is the maximum deposit?
Ten per cent of the contract price. That is the NSW limit for residential building work. Where the contract price is above the NSW threshold for home building compensation cover, that cover has to be in place before any deposit is requested, and you should be given the certificate.
Should progress payments follow dates or stages?
Stages. Demolition and rough-in, waterproofing, tiling, fit-off. A schedule driven by the calendar rather than by completed work is worth questioning.
Strata and approvals
What exactly is common property in my bathroom?
Broadly, the structure — the slab, the original waterproofing, and in many schemes the pipes serving more than one lot. The fittings, tiles and joinery inside your lot are generally yours. The precise boundary is set by your scheme, so the by-laws and your strata manager are the answer for your building rather than a general rule.
How long does approval take?
As long as your building's meeting cycle takes, plus however many rounds of questions an incomplete application generates. A complete pack often clears a meeting first time. That is why we assemble the scope, membrane specification, insurances, hours, protection and waste route in one document set.
Will the committee say no?
Committees are usually reasonable about bathroom renovations, because every lot in the building will eventually need one. Refusals and conditions tend to attach to the specific things that worry a building: relocating drainage, coring the slab, noise outside permitted hours, and who is responsible for the new membrane. Our strata rules guide covers the general framework.
What if the building has renovation guidelines?
Follow them, and ask for them early. Newer apartment buildings in the Meadowbank and Macquarie Park corridors often have detailed guidelines covering permitted hours, the designated lift, delivery windows and waste. Detailed guidelines are easier to work with than no guidelines at all.
The building itself
What is a stacked wet area?
A vertical alignment of bathrooms through a block, all served by the same stack in a duct or wall chase. It is how almost every walk-up in the area is built, and it is why your waste positions are close to fixed and your floor is somebody's ceiling.
Does no lift really matter that much?
Yes. Every bag of rubble goes down the stairs and every bath, slab and sheet of board comes up them. It affects the program and the site costs, and it affects what size of vanity or stone top can physically be carried to your door — the tightest landing decides that, not the doorway.
Can I get a bigger window?
In a house, often. In a unit, a window in an external wall is generally common property and altering it is a much larger request than renovating inside your lot. Where a visible external change is proposed on a house, council or a certifier confirms whether approval is needed.
Will demolition crack the ceiling below?
It can, in an old block. Existing cracks are photographed before starting, protection and propping are used where needed, and making good is part of the scope.
Houses in the area
Can the bathroom and separate toilet become one room?
Very often, in a post-war brick house, and it is usually the best-value change available. Whether the wall is load-bearing is checked, and the new drainage run is confirmed, before the layout is settled.
What is usually wrong with a 1950s rear bathroom?
Framing softened by decades of shower leaks, fibre cement sheeting that needs testing, a floor that falls the wrong way, galvanised supply pipes with poor flow, and a ceiling too low to duct a fan anywhere useful.
Is the floor concrete or timber?
In post-war houses around Denistone and Eastwood it is frequently concrete in the rear addition and timber in the original part of the house. Which one you have changes what can be moved, so it gets established at the measure.
Timing and living through it
Can I stay in the unit?
If it is your only bathroom, four to six weeks without it is hard. You will have the dates before anything is booked.
Can the work be done while a tenant is in place?
Only realistically where there is a second bathroom. See the rental bathroom page for how investor jobs are usually programmed between tenancies.
What is the longest part of the whole thing?
For a unit, waiting for the owners corporation. For a house, waiting for selections to be finalised and tiles to arrive. Neither is the build.
Still unanswered
The process page walks through every stage in order, and the cost page covers budget. For anything else, call 02 5563 0307 or send the question with a photo.
Renovation work is carried out in partnership with Coastal Renovation Group, a licensed NSW builder. Licence and insurance details are provided on request.
| Bathroom Renovation Cost | Read next |
|---|---|
| How a Job Runs | Read next |
| Strata Bathroom Renovation Rules | Read next |
| Wall-Hung Toilets & In-Wall Cisterns | Read next |
| Contact | Measure and quote |
Questions people ask before they commit
Do I need owners corporation approval to renovate my bathroom?
In most schemes, yes. Bathroom work disturbs waterproofing, and the membrane and slab are usually common property rather than yours. Expect to need the owners corporation's approval and, in many buildings, a by-law recording who maintains the new waterproofing. Your by-laws and strata manager are the authority for your building.
Can the toilet be moved in a unit?
Sometimes, and it depends on the stack. The toilet branch needs fall back to a stack that is not moving, and a new position can mean coring a shared slab — which needs engineering input and specific approval. We locate the stack and the existing waste before drawing, then tell you what is genuinely available.
How long is the bathroom unusable?
Four to six weeks of site work for most bathrooms. Walk-up access and restricted noisy-work hours push it towards the longer end. The membrane cure and tile lead times are fixed and cannot be compressed.
Is there asbestos in a 1960s Ryde unit?
Possibly, which is why any building from before 1990 is tested before demolition. Fibre cement sheeting on duct panels and soffits, vinyl floor and some adhesives are the usual findings. Removal is separately licensed and is done by a licensed asbestos removalist.
What deposit will I be asked for?
No more than the NSW maximum of 10 per cent of the contract price. Where the contract is above the NSW threshold for home building compensation cover, that cover must be in place before a deposit is requested and you should receive the certificate.
Do I need council approval?
For a renovation inside an existing bathroom with no structural change, usually not — it is commonly exempt development. A new or enlarged window, a visible vent or a skylight can be a different matter. Check with the City of Ryde or a certifier, and note that Gladesville and Eastwood each sit across more than one council area.
Can a hobless shower be done over a 1960s slab?
Yes, in nearly every case, once the old mortar bed has come off. The slab is re-screeded to fall to the drain and the membrane detailed at the shower edge. It is the single biggest visual improvement available in these bathrooms.
Why is my bathroom ceiling black in one corner?
Almost always ventilation. Many bathrooms in these blocks have no fan, or a fan that discharges into the ceiling space, which moves the humidity two metres and leaves it there. A correctly sized fan on a run-on timer, ducted outside where the building allows, fixes the cause rather than the stain.
Who carries out the work?
Renovation work is carried out in partnership with Coastal Renovation Group, a licensed NSW builder. Plumbing, electrical, waterproofing and asbestos removal go to separately licensed trades. Licence and insurance details are provided on request.
Do you have reviews?
Not yet. This is a new business, and there are no invented testimonials or star ratings on this website. Judge the drawing, the itemised quote, and the builder's licence — which you can check yourself on the public register.