Looking for a Bathroom Renovator in Melbourne?
Tell us the suburb, the room size and whether the floor is timber or slab, and we will connect you with renovators taking work in your area.
What a Melbourne Bathroom Renovation Costs
Full renovation, metropolitan Melbourne$18,000 to $35,000
Cosmetic refresh, waterproofing untouched$6,000 to $12,000
Timber floor instead of slab, same room$2,500 to $6,000 more
Waterproofing as its own quote line$800 to $2,000
Tiling labour, standard format$70 to $130 per m2
Toilet relocated$900 to $1,800
Frameless shower screen, made to measure$1,400 to $3,200
Exhaust fan ducted outside instead of the roof$200 to $550 more
Subfloor repair found after strip out$800 to $2,500
Waterproofing rectification two years later$6,000 to $14,000
Bathroom prices spread widely because floor construction, access and fixture positions vary so much from house to house, so treat every figure here as indicative only. Have waterproofing itemised as its own line on each quote you collect, since bundling it into the tiling price is how the item that matters most gets hidden. Ask for the fixture allowances in dollars as well, because that is what tells you your real spend before anything becomes a variation.
Find Bathroom Renovator Melbourne VIC - What to Check and Get Quotes
Waterproofing is the defect behind most bathroom disputes in Melbourne, it is covered by AS 3740:2021, and it is buried under tiles within two or three days of being finished. Nobody can see afterwards how far the membrane turned up the wall, whether the corners were reinforced, or whether it was dressed into the floor waste flange. The single most useful thing you can do on your own renovation is photograph the membrane on the day it is finished and before the tiler arrives. Capture each wall with a tape measure in frame, every internal corner, the floor waste, every tap and shower penetration, the tiled hob, and the membrane tin itself. Those photographs cost nothing, take ten minutes, and are the only record that will ever exist of that layer. A full renovation across metropolitan Melbourne runs an indicative $18,000 to $35,000, while stripping and redoing failed waterproofing later runs an indicative $6,000 to $14,000. This guide covers falls and drains, timber floors against slab, moving fixtures, the trade sequence, tiles and substrate, extraction, selections, apartments, who holds the contract, quotes, compliance, disputes and costs.
At a Glance - Supervising a Melbourne Bathroom Renovation
| Step | What It Involves | Typical Timeframe | What Decides It |
|---|---|---|---|
| Establish the floor type | Suspended timber or slab on ground | An afternoon | Sheeting and fall against chasing |
| Write your own scope | Room size, fixtures, allowances, access | An afternoon | Three quotes against one job |
| Settle the selections | Tiles, tapware, vanity, screen, fan | Two to four weeks | Lead times, not taste |
| Confirm who holds the contract | Builder managing trades or a trade subcontracting | Ten minutes | Who answers when it leaks |
| Check registration on the register | Waterproofing is a restricted class | Ten minutes | The public practitioner register |
| Photograph the membrane | Walls, corners, waste, penetrations, tin | Ten minutes | The day waterproofing finishes |
| Walk the room at completion | Torch, spirit level, written defects list | About an hour | Silicone, falls, grout, screen |
| Keep one folder | Contract, variations, certificates, photographs | Ongoing | What any later process reads |
Two moments decide whether a Melbourne bathroom renovation ends well. The first is the day the waterproofing membrane is finished, which is the only chance anybody will ever have to photograph the layer that causes most disputes. The second is practical completion, when the defects list has to be written down rather than discussed on site. Everything between those two moments is sequence and selections, and almost every delay traces back to a product that had not arrived or a decision nobody had made. Ask for the program as a week by week list with the trades named, because that document shows whether your job has actually been planned.
How to Supervise It Before and During the Job
Start with the floor, because that single fact moves a Melbourne bathroom budget more than any finish you choose. Through Fitzroy, Brunswick, Northcote, Footscray and Yarraville the bathroom usually sits on a suspended timber floor over a subfloor, so the fall has to be sheeted and built up rather than ground into concrete. Postwar and growth corridor housing at Bentleigh, Glen Waverley, Tarneit and Point Cook is slab on ground, where the plumber can chase or core the concrete instead. Expect an indicative $2,500 to $6,000 difference between the two on the same room with the same finishes. Tap the floor with a knuckle and look under a floor vent before you send a single email. Settle who holds the contract next, since bathroom work is sold both by registered building practitioners managing trades and by tilers or plumbers subcontracting the rest.
Waterproofing of domestic wet areas is held in Victoria as a restricted class of practitioner registration rather than as general building work, and registered practitioners are listed on the public register kept by the Building and Plumbing Commission. Plumbing work needs a licensed plumber, who alone may issue a compliance certificate, required where the work exceeds $750 including materials, labour and GST. Electrical work needs a licensed electrician and a certificate of electrical safety. Ask who applies the membrane, what registration that person holds, and who inspects it before the tiler starts. Get all of that by email rather than on site.
Pin down the standards that actually apply to the parts you cannot see. AS 3740:2021 Waterproofing of domestic wet areas governs the membrane in a house or apartment, AS 3958.1-2007 Guide to the installation of ceramic tiles covers the tiling over it, and the AS/NZS 3500 series covers plumbing and drainage, with AS/NZS 3500.2 governing sanitary plumbing and drainage. Those documents are published and sold by Standards Australia, and the National Construction Code published by the Australian Building Codes Board is what calls many of them up. Name those standards in your written scope so every quote is priced against the same expectation. A quote citing none of them has been written from habit rather than from the work. Deal with the permit question before demolition rather than after.
Replacing fixtures, linings and finishes within an existing bathroom commonly does not require a building permit in Victoria, while removing a wall, resizing the room or creating a new wet area can. The Building Regulations 2018 published on Victorian Legislation set out the exemptions, and a registered building surveyor or your council can confirm your own case in a short conversation. Asbestos in wall sheeting or floor backing is common in houses built before 1990 and must be removed under the requirements of WorkSafe Victoria. Ask for an asbestos check as a line item on any older Melbourne bathroom.
Last, keep the paperwork in one place and know where a dispute would go. A written major domestic building contract applies above the threshold in the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995, and Consumer Affairs Victoria is the first stop where a job goes wrong. Conciliation for domestic building work runs through Domestic Building Dispute Resolution Victoria, and matters that do not resolve there are heard by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. An independent building consultant report runs an indicative $600 to $1,500 and leak detection testing an indicative $350 to $900. Your membrane photographs sitting beside that report usually settle the question of what happened.
Costs on this page are indicative for metropolitan Melbourne. Floor construction, access and how many fixtures move are what shift them most. Have waterproofing itemised as its own line on every quote, and photograph the membrane before the tiler starts.
Finding a Bathroom Renovator in Melbourne, Decision by Decision
A Melbourne bathroom is a short job with a rigid order, and bathroom renovation prices move with floor construction before they move with finishes. Waterproofing is the layer that decides how long the room lasts, and bathroom waterproofing disappears under tiles within two or three days of being finished. Nobody can see afterwards how far the membrane turned up or whether the corners were reinforced. Photographing it on the day it is finished costs nothing and takes about ten minutes. That one habit separates homeowners who win later arguments from those who guess expensively. Statewide bands in the bathroom renovation cost guide are a reasonable starting point for a 4 square metre interwar bathroom.
A full renovation across metropolitan Melbourne commonly lands at an indicative $18,000 to $35,000 from strip out to fit off. Where the membrane work is being priced separately, the waterproofing services line usually runs an indicative $800 to $2,000 on a small bathroom. Have that line stated on its own rather than folded into the tiling price. A quote that hides it is hiding the item most likely to cost you again later. Tile choice drives labour far harder than it drives material cost, and bathroom tiling labour runs an indicative $70 to $130 per square metre for standard format. Large format tiles above 600 mm need a flatter substrate and add an indicative $25 to $60 per square metre.
General tiling services rates move again for mosaic, herringbone or penny round work in a shower. Ask what wet area board goes on the walls behind the tiles and have the product named. Mosaic on a shower floor can add an indicative $600 to $1,400 in labour alone. Silicone belongs in every internal corner, because grout cracks wherever a joint moves. Fixture positions are the other large lever, and bathroom renovation plumbing is where a new layout turns into real money.
Allow an indicative $600 to $1,800 for each fixture moved, with the toilet usually the dearest. Moving a pan needs continuous drainage fall, which on a Northcote timber floor can mean cutting joists. Where the existing suite is simply tired, toilet repairs and a new pan cost a fraction of relocating the waste. Price the layout that keeps the toilet in place alongside the layout you actually want. Cold Melbourne winters make extraction a daily problem rather than a theoretical one, which is why heat lamp and fan installation is worth specifying properly.
A hot shower in a small interwar bathroom releases litres of vapour into a room that cannot shed it. Returning mould is almost always an extraction fault, so mould removal and prevention without fixing the fan buys about one year. Ask where the duct terminates, because many older Melbourne bathrooms vent into the roof space. Ducting outside instead costs an indicative $200 to $550 more and is the better money. Shower screens are measured after tiling, which is why shower screen installation timing often drives the whole program.
Semi frameless screens off the shelf run an indicative $700 to $1,500 installed, and frameless screens made to measure an indicative $1,400 to $3,200. Vanity lead times matter the same way, so vanity and basin installation on a custom unit needs three to six weeks allowed. Order every selection before the strip out and have it sitting in the garage. Delays on a Melbourne bathroom come from missing products far more often than from slow trades. Where the problem is an existing shower rather than a whole room, shower regrouting and leak repairs can buy real time at a fraction of the cost. A tide mark on the tiles, damp skirting in the next room or a stain on the ceiling below all point at the membrane.
Doing a laundry renovation at the same time shares the plumbing trenching and the tiler mobilisation. That overlap is one of the few genuine savings available on a wet area job. Ask for both rooms priced as separate lines so either can be dropped without requoting. Broader renovation services quotes sometimes bundle a bathroom into a larger job, which makes the waterproofing line even easier to lose. Insist on seeing demolition, rough in, sheeting, waterproofing, screed, tiling and fit off as separate lines.
For the plumbing side alone, the find a plumber in Melbourne guide covers licensing and compliance certificates in more detail. Apartment bathrooms in Docklands, Southbank and Box Hill carry the extra constraint of a shared waste stack and an owners corporation. Allow four to eight weeks for that approval and an indicative $1,500 to $4,000 for high rise access. Interwar houses at Bentleigh, Glen Waverley and Yarraville sit at the other end of the same problem.
Waterproofing, The Failure That Costs Most, And What To Photograph
Waterproofing sits behind more bathroom disputes in Melbourne than any other defect. AS 3740:2021 Waterproofing of domestic wet areas governs this work, and AS 4858 covers the membrane. The membrane goes on the floor and lower walls, then vanishes under tiles. Once tiles are on, nobody can see how far the membrane turned up. Rectification later means stripping tiles, screed and membrane, an indicative $6,000 to $14,000. The most useful thing you can do on your own job takes ten minutes.
Go into the bathroom the day the membrane is finished, before the tiler arrives. Photograph every wall, every corner and the whole floor, including the door opening. Keep those shots with your contract, because they settle any later argument. Photograph the membrane turning up the wall with a tape measure in the frame. Shoot each internal corner and each wall to floor junction, where reinforcing should be visible.
Take the floor waste with the membrane dressed into the flange, not stopping short. Capture every penetration, so tap bodies, mixer spindles and the shower outlet appear sealed. Include the hob or tiled step where water sits after every shower. Photograph the membrane tin as well, so the product and batch are on record.
What To Photograph Before The Tiler Starts
Costs nothing
Ten minutes on one day
What to capture
Each wall showing the membrane turned up, with a tape measure in frame.
Every internal corner and wall to floor junction, showing the reinforcing.
The floor waste with the membrane dressed into the flange.
Every penetration, so tap bodies and the shower outlet appear sealed.
The hob or tiled step where a shower screen will later sit.
The membrane tin, so the product name and batch are on record.
Waterproofing is the one layer of a bathroom that disappears completely within two or three days. Photographing the membrane before the tiler arrives gives you the only record that will ever exist. Ask the renovator to tell you the day the membrane is finished, and put that request in writing. A dated set of photographs with the product details turns a slow argument into a short one.
Photograph the membrane the day it is finished. Before the tiler arrives.
Floor Falls, The Drain And Why Water Sits Where It Should Not
A bathroom floor has to shed water toward the waste, not hold it. That slope is called the fall, and water pooling in a shower base is a fall problem rather than a tile problem. Falls are formed in the screed, the mortar bed laid below the tiles. Fixing one later means lifting tiles, screed and membrane. Ask each renovator how the fall is built and where the high point sits.
Grading inside a shower is steeper than the fall across the room. Level entry showers, now standard in Melbourne, must grade hard over a short distance. A linear drain across the shower width gives one plane of fall. Channel drains add an indicative $400 to $900 over a standard waste, screeding included. Tile insert grates alone run an indicative $180 to $450.
You can test your own bathroom before spending anything on it. Tip a cup of water on the floor outside the shower. If it heads for the doorway, that floor was never graded properly. That single test tells you whether you need a strip out.
| Item | What It Involves | Indicative |
|---|---|---|
| Screed to form falls, small bathroom | Pitched to the waste in one plane | $900 to $2,200 |
| Linear channel drain | Extra over a square floor waste | $400 to $900 more |
| Tile insert grate | Grate only, finish dependent | $180 to $450 |
| Level entry shower set down | Timber floor, framing and sheeting | $600 to $1,600 |
| Relifting tiles to correct a fall | Strip, rescreed, remembrane, retile | $4,000 to $9,000 |
Timber Floor Bathrooms In Period Homes Against Slab Construction
The largest cost variable in a Melbourne bathroom is the floor itself. Through Fitzroy, Brunswick, Northcote, Footscray and Yarraville the bathroom usually sits on suspended timber. Building a fall into timber means sheeting and packing rather than grinding. Expect an indicative $2,500 to $6,000 more than the same job over concrete. Timber hides damage that only appears once the old tiles come off.
Rotten joist ends, borer in bearers and sagging boards are usual finds in Collingwood cottages. Replacing a joist end and part of a bearer runs an indicative $800 to $2,500. Access under the house moves that figure more than the timber work does. Have a provisional allowance for subfloor repair priced before you start.
Postwar and growth corridor housing at Bentleigh, Glen Waverley, Tarneit and Point Cook is slab. A slab lets the plumber chase concrete and the screeder build fall directly. Moving a waste still means jackhammering a trench and repouring. Slab trenching for a relocated waste runs an indicative $900 to $2,600 including repair. Tap the floor with a knuckle, because a dull solid sound usually means concrete.
| Floor Type | Where You Find It | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| Suspended timber | Fitzroy, Brunswick, Northcote, Footscray | Sheet and build the fall up |
| Timber, subfloor repair found | Yarraville and Collingwood cottages | $800 to $2,500 provisional |
| Slab on ground | Bentleigh, Glen Waverley, Tarneit, Point Cook | Chase or core the concrete |
| Slab, waste relocated | Trench and repour | $900 to $2,600 |
| Timber against slab, same job | Same room, same finishes | $2,500 to $6,000 difference |
Moving Fixtures, And What It Costs In Plumbing
Keeping the toilet, shower and vanity where they are is the largest saving. Every fixture moved means new water lines, new wastes and often a vent. Waste is the expensive one, since drainage has to fall continuously. Allow an indicative $600 to $1,800 for each fixture moved, the toilet being dearest.
Toilet relocation deserves the hardest thinking before you commit to a layout. A pan connector needs steady fall, so moving a pan drops the drain line. On timber in Northcote that can mean cutting joists and structural work. Over a slab in Glen Waverley it means a trench, cheaper but slower to live with.
Wall hung pans carry framing implications worth pricing separately. Price the layout keeping the toilet in place alongside the one you actually want. Showers and vanities move more cheaply, since their wastes are shallower. Swapping a bath for a shower in a 4 square metre interwar bathroom is common work. Tapware set out heights belong on the plan, not decided on the day. Upgrading a hot water unit alongside the job runs an indicative $1,600 to $4,500 installed.
| Change | Why It Costs | Indicative |
|---|---|---|
| Toilet moved across the room | Drain fall and possible joist work | $900 to $1,800 |
| Shower waste relocated | Shallower waste, less excavation | $600 to $1,200 |
| Vanity and basin moved | Water lines plus a small waste | $600 to $1,100 |
| Bath removed for a larger shower | Common in a 4 square metre bathroom | $700 to $1,500 |
| Hot water unit upgraded | Where tapware outruns the old unit | $1,600 to $4,500 |
The Trade Sequence, And Where Delays Actually Come From
A bathroom renovation is six or seven trades over three to five weeks. Strip out, rough in, sheeting, waterproofing, screed, tiling, then fit off. Each trade waits on the one before, so one missed day moves everything. Waterproofing needs cure time between coats, which money cannot compress. Ask for a week by week sequence with named trades rather than two dates.
Delays rarely come from tradespeople working slowly on site. They come from a product that has not arrived or a decision nobody made. Vanities, tiles and shower screens are the items that hold jobs up. Order everything before the strip out and have it sitting in the garage.
Shower screens are a trap, since most are measured after tiling. A custom frameless screen takes two to three weeks after measuring. Semi frameless screens off the shelf run an indicative $700 to $1,500 installed. Frameless screens made to measure run an indicative $1,400 to $3,200 installed. Decide early whether a shower curtain for a fortnight is acceptable.
The Order The Trades Have To Come In
Three to five weeks
Each stage waits on the one before
Stage
What happens
Strip out and rubbish removal
Hidden damage appears here
Plumbing and electrical rough in
Set out locked before sheeting
Wet area sheeting
Compliant board, correct fixings
Waterproofing and cure time
Photograph it on this day
Screed, tiling and fit off
Screen measured after tiling
A bathroom is a short job with a rigid order, so one day lost early pushes every trade behind it. Waterproofing carries cure time between coats that cannot be shortened by paying anybody more. Shower screens are measured after tiling, so a made to measure screen adds two or three weeks. Ask for the program as a week by week list with the trades named on it.
Ask for a week by week program with the trades named.
Tiles, The Substrate Beneath Them And Tile Choice As A Cost Driver
Tiles are what everybody shops for, and the substrate decides their life. Wet area walls need a compliant wet area board rather than ordinary plasterboard. Fixings and sheet centres matter as much as the board itself. AS 3958.1-2007 Guide to the installation of ceramic tiles covers that work. Ask what goes on the walls behind the tiles and have it named on the quote.
Tile choice moves labour cost far more than the tile price does. Large format tiles above 600 mm need flatter substrate and lay slowly. Mosaics multiply cuts and grout, doubling labour in a shower niche. Penny round mosaic on a shower floor adds an indicative $600 to $1,400 in labour.
Natural stone needs sealing and maintenance, so raise that before choosing. Tiling labour across metropolitan Melbourne runs an indicative $70 to $130 per square metre. Large format adds an indicative $25 to $60 per square metre. Waterproofing to a small bathroom runs an indicative $800 to $2,000 as its own line. Silicone belongs in every internal corner of a finished bathroom. Grout cracks wherever a joint moves, and those corners move constantly.
| Item | Note | Indicative |
|---|---|---|
| Tiling labour, standard format | Walls and floors, metropolitan Melbourne | $70 to $130 per m2 |
| Large format over 600 mm | Flatter substrate, slower laying | $25 to $60 per m2 more |
| Mosaic or herringbone | Cuts and grout multiply | $600 to $1,400 extra |
| Wet area wall sheeting | Compliant board, named on the quote | $900 to $2,000 |
| Waterproofing as its own line | Never bundled into tiling | $800 to $2,000 |
Extraction And Condensation, The Reason Mould Comes Back
Melbourne winters make bathroom condensation a daily problem, not an occasional one. A hot shower in a cold 4 square metre interwar bathroom releases litres of vapour. That moisture condenses on cold tiles and ceilings and feeds mould in grout. Mould returning after cleaning is an extraction problem, not a cleaning one. Regrouting a bathroom with no working extraction buys you about one more year.
Many older Melbourne bathrooms vent into the roof space, not outside. That arrangement moves moisture into ceiling insulation and roof timbers. Ask where the duct terminates and have the answer written into the quote. Ducting to an eave vent or cowl costs an indicative $200 to $550 more. Fan capacity is rated in litres per second, and builder grade fans are undersized. Look for a fan matched to room volume, not chosen to suit the heat lamp.
Three in one units suit Melbourne, since heat makes a cold room usable in July. Those units run an indicative $250 to $600 supplied and $150 to $350 to install. Run on timers add an indicative $80 to $220 and prevent most mould. Hold toilet paper on the running grille, and a working fan holds it unaided.
Why The Mould Keeps Coming Back
Check it yourself
One square of toilet paper
What to check
Hold toilet paper on the running grille and see whether it stays put.
Find out where the duct ends, outside the house or in the roof.
Look at how far the fan sits from the shower itself.
Match the fan rating to the room volume, not to the heat lamp.
Fit a run on timer so the fan runs after the shower stops.
Check the grille and duct for lint, dust and old paint.
Cold Melbourne winters turn a hot shower in a small bathroom into litres of water vapour. An exhaust fan discharging into the roof space moves moisture into insulation and roof timbers. Builder grade fans are routinely undersized for a room holding both a bath and a shower. A run on timer adds an indicative $80 to $220 and keeps the fan working after the shower.
Toilet paper on the grille. If it falls, the fan is not working.
Selections And Lead Times, And The Decisions That Hold Up A Job
Selections are the decisions you must settle before trades arrive on site. Tapware, tiles, vanity, basin and the toilet suite all have to be chosen. Screen, mirror, towel rails, waste grate and lighting belong on the same list. Most Melbourne delays trace to one of those not arriving when needed. Write the full list out and put a decision date against every item. Lead times are what homeowners underestimate most on a bathroom job.
Stock tiles from a Melbourne warehouse are usually available in a week. Imported or special order tiles run four to ten weeks from order. Custom vanities run three to six weeks, and stone benchtops need templating. Order an indicative 10 to 15 per cent extra tiles, since batches rarely match.
Tapware choice carries a plumbing consequence showrooms rarely mention. Wall mounted basin mixers need rough in set out before sheeting goes on. Changing to a vanity mounted mixer afterwards means opening the wall again. That change of mind costs an indicative $400 to $1,200 to accommodate.
| Item | Lead Time | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Stock tiles from a Melbourne warehouse | Within a week | Order 10 to 15 per cent extra |
| Imported or special order tiles | 4 to 10 weeks | The usual cause of delay |
| Custom vanity, locally made | 3 to 6 weeks | Template after cabinet fitted |
| Frameless shower screen | 2 to 3 weeks after tiling | $1,400 to $3,200 installed |
| Tapware changed after sheeting | Reopens the wall | $400 to $1,200 to fix |
Apartment Bathrooms, Owners Corporation And Working Over A Slab
Apartment bathrooms in Docklands, Southbank and Box Hill follow different rules. The waste drops into a stack shared with lots above and below yours. Wet area positions are therefore fixed by the stack, not by preference. Slab thickness limits trench depth, so core drilling is often ruled out.
Plan around the existing waste position and spend the money on finishes instead. The owners corporation has a say in anything touching common property here. Membrane work above another lot and stack changes need written approval. Allow four to eight weeks for that decision before booking any trades. Request the building rules in writing before commissioning any design.
Lift bookings, dock windows and restricted hours all slow a high rise job. Those constraints add an indicative $1,500 to $4,000 against a house. Acoustic underlay is often required at an indicative $25 to $60 per square metre. A membrane failure in Southbank damages the lot below as well as your own. Sight the public liability certificate of currency before any work starts.
Docklands, Southbank And Box Hill Bathrooms
Allow longer
Approval before trades
Constraint
What it means
Shared waste stack
The waste usually cannot move
Slab thickness
Core drilling often ruled out
Owners corporation approval
4 to 8 weeks, indicative
Acoustic underlay
$25 to $60 per m2, often required
Lifts, docks and hours
$1,500 to $4,000 added
An apartment bathroom in Docklands or Southbank is shaped by the waste stack serving other lots. Owners corporation approval covers anything touching common property, including work above another lot. Lift bookings, dock windows and restricted hours add an indicative $1,500 to $4,000 against a house. A membrane failure in an apartment damages the lot below as well as your own.
Plan around the existing waste. Allow 4 to 8 weeks for approval.
A Builder Who Manages Trades Against A Tiler Who Subcontracts The Rest
Melbourne bathroom renovations are sold by two different kinds of business. One is a registered building practitioner who holds the contract and manages trades. The other is a tiler or plumber subcontracting the trades they do not do. Both produce good bathrooms, so ask who answers when something fails. Ask directly who holds the contract and who is liable if the waterproofing leaks.
A renovator managing trades should name the waterproofer, plumber and electrician. Where everything is subcontracted, ask whether you contract with each trade. Single responsibility matters most on waterproofing, which surfaces years later. Confirm the person applying the membrane holds waterproofing registration.
Get that answer by email, since a verbal answer disappears when you need it. Site supervision is a separate question from who signs the contract. Find out how often somebody not swinging a tool inspects the room. The inspections that matter are after waterproofing and again at practical completion. Request two nearby addresses the renovator finished two or more years ago.
A Builder Managing Trades Against A Trade Subcontracting
One question
Who answers when it leaks
Arrangement
What to confirm
Registered building practitioner
Holds the contract, manages trades
Tiler or plumber as head contractor
Subcontracts what they do not do
Waterproofing registration
A restricted class, worth confirming
Named trades on the quote
Waterproofer, plumber, electrician
Supervision points
After membrane, at completion
Both arrangements build good bathrooms, so ask who answers when a shower leaks in three years. A renovator managing trades should name the waterproofer, the plumber and the electrician in writing. Waterproofing is held as a restricted registration class, so confirming it takes a few minutes. Ask who inspects the membrane before the tiler starts, because the answer describes the supervision.
Ask who is liable if the waterproofing fails. Get it in writing.
What A Bathroom Quote Has To Itemise
A single line price for a bathroom tells you nothing you can use. Demolition, rough in, sheeting, waterproofing, screed, tiling and fit off belong separately. Separate lines show where money goes and which item to change. Allowances for tiles, tapware and the vanity belong as dollar figures.
Ask for those allowances in writing so you know your spend before paying extra. Exclusions matter as much as inclusions on any bathroom quote. Subfloor repair, asbestos removal, screens and painting are commonly excluded. Structural work found after strip out is almost always excluded too. A quote listing no exclusions at all has not been thought about properly. Variations are where bathroom budgets blow out, so settle the process first.
Have every variation priced in writing and approved before work happens. Allow a contingency of an indicative 10 to 15 per cent of the contract price. On a $25,000 bathroom that is $2,500 to $3,750 set aside rather than borrowed. Payment stages should follow work completed rather than dates on a calendar.
What A Bathroom Quote Has To Itemise
Compare lines
Never compare two totals
What a quote must show
Demolition and rubbish removal, priced as its own line.
Plumbing rough in and electrical rough in, separately stated.
Wet area sheeting and waterproofing, never bundled into tiling.
Screed and tiling, with the labour rate per square metre shown.
Allowances for tiles, tapware and the vanity in dollar figures.
Exclusions listed, and the variation process written down.
A quote broken into trade lines shows you which item to change when the total disappoints. Waterproofing bundled into the tiling line is how a Melbourne quote hides the item that matters. Fixture allowances in dollars tell you what you can spend before anything becomes a variation. Set the variation process before signing and allow an indicative 10 to 15 per cent contingency.
Waterproofing is its own line. Always.
Licensing And Compliance, Kept Brief And Practical
Four practical checks cover most compliance ground on a Melbourne bathroom renovation. Registered building practitioners appear on a public register kept by the Building and Plumbing Commission. Waterproofing sits in a restricted registration class rather than general building work. Plumbing work needs a licensed plumber, and only a licensed plumber may issue a compliance certificate.
A certificate is required where the work exceeds $750 including materials, labour and GST. Electrical work needs a licensed electrician and a certificate of electrical safety. That applies to a heat lamp and exhaust fan as much as a new circuit. Whether a building permit is needed depends on what you change, not the word renovation. Replacing fixtures, linings and finishes inside an existing bathroom commonly needs no permit.
Removing a wall, resizing the room or creating a new wet area can require one. The Building Regulations 2018 set out those exemptions for Victorian building work. A registered building surveyor or your council can confirm your particular case quickly. A written major domestic building contract applies above the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 threshold. Houses built before 1990 may contain asbestos sheeting, removed under WorkSafe Victoria requirements.
What To Do When It Goes Wrong
Most bathroom disputes begin as a small defect somebody stopped answering. Put the problem in writing with photographs and set a date for a reply. Keep everything in one email thread, not across calls and text messages. A written record is what any later process will actually look at.
Take advice before withholding payment, since doing it wrongly weakens you. Consumer Affairs Victoria is the first stop for a domestic building dispute. Domestic Building Dispute Resolution Victoria runs conciliation for domestic building work. The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal hears what conciliation cannot resolve. Find out which path applies before paying anybody for advice about it. An independent report is often the thing that moves a stalled dispute along.
A building consultant inspecting a defective bathroom runs an indicative $600 to $1,500. Leak detection testing on a shower runs an indicative $350 to $900. A report naming the standard that was not met persuades far better. Statutory warranty periods apply, and limitation periods run alongside them. Raise a defect when you notice it, not after waiting to see it worsen.
Indicative Melbourne Costs
A full bathroom renovation across metropolitan Melbourne runs an indicative $18,000 to $35,000. The lower end is 4 square metres over a slab with stock tiles. Nothing is moved and nothing structural is touched at that price. The upper end is larger, on timber, with fixtures moved and a frameless screen. Every figure here is indicative and moves with access and floor type.
A cosmetic refresh leaving the waterproofing alone runs $6,000 to $12,000. That buys tapware, a vanity, a toilet suite, painting, regrouting and resealing. A new layout with fixtures roughly in place runs an indicative $20,000 to $28,000. Premium work with stone and custom joinery passes $40,000 in inner Melbourne.
Decide which of those you are buying before collecting a single quote. Strip out and rubbish removal runs an indicative $1,500 to $3,500. Plumbing runs an indicative $3,000 to $7,000 and electrical an indicative $900 to $2,200. Waterproofing runs an indicative $800 to $2,000 and tiling $70 to $130 per square metre. Those bands cover metropolitan Melbourne as indicative figures for October 2026.
| Scope | What It Covers | Indicative |
|---|---|---|
| Cosmetic refresh | Tapware, vanity, toilet, paint, regrout | $6,000 to $12,000 |
| Full renovation, metropolitan Melbourne | Strip out to fit off | $18,000 to $35,000 |
| Same room, fixtures roughly in place | New layout without moving wastes | $20,000 to $28,000 |
| Premium, stone and custom joinery | Inner Melbourne, large format tiles | Past $40,000 |
| Waterproofing rectification later | Tiles, screed and membrane again | $6,000 to $14,000 |
What To Look Out For
Some warning signs appear before any work starts and cost nothing. A renovator who will not name the waterproofer is the worst of them. A verbal quote, or one burying waterproofing in the tiling line, says the same. Pressure to pay a large deposit before materials are ordered is another. Any suggestion that photographs of the membrane are unnecessary should end the conversation. Watch for a start date that is unrealistically soon on your job.
Promising next week on a bathroom with special order tiles ignores the sequence. Prices well below two other quotes usually mean something was left out. Compare the itemised lines rather than the totals, and the gap explains itself. Three moments during the job deserve your close attention in person.
First is after strip out, when anything hidden in a Yarraville subfloor shows. Second is the day waterproofing finishes, your only chance to photograph it. Third is practical completion, when the defects list has to be written down. Walk the room with a torch and spirit level before signing anything off.
What To Look Out For Before You Sign
Free to notice
All of these cost nothing to check
Signal
What it tells you
Waterproofer not named
The most serious signal of all
Waterproofing inside the tiling line
The item most often hidden
No exclusions listed
The quote was never thought through
Large deposit before materials
Ask what it is actually buying
Photographs called unnecessary
End the conversation there
Start date next week
Selections and lead times ignored
Every warning sign on a bathroom job turns up in the quote or the first conversation. A renovator treating waterproofing as part of the tiling price is describing the defect to come. Prices well below two other quotes usually mean something was left out rather than found cheaper. Any suggestion that photographing the membrane is unnecessary should end the discussion there.
If the waterproofer is not named, walk away.
Practical Tips For Getting Quotes
Write your own scope before ringing anybody, then give it to three renovators. State the floor type, whether fixtures move, room size and your allowances. Note the access situation and whether a skip can sit on the street. A street skip in inner Melbourne needs a permit at an indicative $150 to $400. Three quotes against one scope show whether a price is actually high. Put the same five questions to each renovator and compare the answers.
Who applies the waterproofing, and what registration does that person hold. How is the fall being built, and where exactly does the water go. Where does the exhaust fan duct actually terminate once it leaves the ceiling. Who inspects the membrane, and will you be told the day it is finished. Which items are excluded, and what contingency does the renovator advise. Get quote and contract in writing with sequence, allowances and variations.
Confirm licence and registration details yourself, not on trust. Set inspection points and payment stages against work completed, not dates. Keep one folder with the contract, variations, certificates and photographs. That folder is worth more than anything else you own about this bathroom.
| Step | What You Do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Write your own scope | Floor type, fixtures, room size, allowances | Three quotes, one job |
| State the access | Hallway only, skip permit, lift booking | $150 to $400 permit, indicative |
| Ask the same five questions | Waterproofer, falls, duct, inspection, exclusions | Answers beat prices |
| Compare the lines | Not the totals | The gap explains itself |
| Keep one folder | Contract, variations, certificates, photographs | Worth more than anything else |
Bathroom Renovators Across Melbourne and Victoria
Renovators across metropolitan Melbourne and the wider state, from period terraces and workers cottages on suspended timber floors through Fitzroy, Brunswick, Northcote, Footscray and Yarraville to postwar and growth corridor housing on slab at Bentleigh, Glen Waverley, Tarneit and Point Cook. Pick your area below to see what the local housing stock usually means for falls, waste positions and subfloor work.
▶ Inner Melbourne 20 areas
Inner North
Inner East
Inner South
▶ Greater Melbourne 17 areas
Eastern Suburbs
South East
▶ North & West 20 areas
Northern Suburbs
Western Suburbs
▶ Bayside & Peninsula 20 areas
Bayside
Mornington Peninsula
▶ Geelong & Surf Coast 19 areas
Geelong
Bellarine Peninsula
Surf Coast
▶ Gippsland 18 areas
Bass Coast
West Gippsland
Latrobe Valley
East Gippsland
▶ Yarra Valley & Ranges 16 areas
Yarra Valley
Dandenong Ranges
▶ Regional Victoria 35 areas
Goldfields
Macedon Ranges
Murray
North East
High Country
South West
Finding a Bathroom Renovator in Melbourne - FAQ
What should I photograph before the tiler starts in my bathroom?
Photograph the finished waterproofing membrane on the day it is completed and before any tiling begins. Take each wall showing how far the membrane turns up, with a tape measure held in the frame so the height is provable later. Shoot every internal corner and every wall to floor junction, because that is where reinforcing tape or a fillet should be visible. Capture the floor waste with the membrane dressed into the flange rather than stopping short of it. Photograph each penetration, so tap bodies, mixer spindles and the shower outlet all appear sealed. Finish with a shot of the membrane tin so the product and batch are recorded. Those photographs are the only record that will ever exist of that layer.
How much does a bathroom renovation cost around Melbourne?
A full bathroom renovation across metropolitan Melbourne runs an indicative $18,000 to $35,000 from strip out to fit off. The lower end suits a 4 square metre bathroom over a slab with stock tiles and no fixtures moved. The upper end covers a larger room on a timber floor, with relocated fixtures, large format tiles and a made to measure screen. A cosmetic refresh that leaves the waterproofing alone runs an indicative $6,000 to $12,000. Premium work with stone and custom joinery passes $40,000 in many inner Melbourne jobs. All of those figures are indicative and move with access, floor type and the selections you make, so compare itemised quotes rather than totals.
How do I tell whether my bathroom floor has a fall problem?
Tip a cup of water onto the floor outside the shower and watch where it travels for a full minute. Water that heads toward the doorway or stops dead in the middle of the room tells you the floor was never graded properly. Inside the shower, look for a tide mark or a permanently damp patch away from the waste, which shows water sitting rather than draining. Check whether the floor waste sits proud of the surrounding tiles, because a raised grate collects water around its rim. Falls are formed in the screed beneath the tiles, so correcting one means lifting tiles, screed and membrane. Rectification of that kind runs an indicative $4,000 to $9,000 on a small bathroom.
How do I tell if my bathroom extraction is actually working?
Hold a single square of toilet paper flat against the running fan grille and let go of it. A fan moving useful air will hold the paper in place without your hand, and a fan that drops it is undersized, blocked or badly ducted. Next, find out where the duct terminates, because many older Melbourne bathrooms vent into the roof space instead of outside the house. That arrangement moves the moisture into ceiling insulation and roof timbers rather than removing it. Look at how far the fan sits from the shower itself, since a fan at the opposite end of the room never collects the steam. Ducting to an eave vent or a roof cowl costs an indicative $200 to $550 more.
Do I need a building permit for a bathroom renovation in Victoria?
It depends on what you are changing rather than on the word renovation. Replacing fixtures, linings and finishes within an existing bathroom commonly does not require a building permit in Victoria. Removing or altering a wall, changing the size of the room, or creating a wet area where there was not one before can bring a permit into play. The Building Regulations 2018 set out the exemptions, and a registered building surveyor or your local council can confirm your particular case. Ask that question before demolition rather than after, because retrospective approval is slow and expensive. Plumbing and electrical work carry their own separate requirements regardless of whether a building permit is needed.
Is waterproofing a separately registered trade in Victoria?
Waterproofing of domestic wet areas is held in Victoria as a restricted class of building practitioner registration rather than as general building work. That means the person applying your membrane should hold registration covering waterproofing, and registered practitioners are listed on the public register maintained by the Building and Plumbing Commission. Plenty of tilers apply membranes as part of a tiling job, which is why asking the question matters on a Melbourne renovation. Ask who applies the membrane, what registration that person holds, and have the answer given by email rather than on site. Check the register yourself instead of taking a number on trust. Keep the answer with your contract and your membrane photographs.
What does it cost to move the toilet in a bathroom renovation?
Allow an indicative $900 to $1,800 to relocate a toilet, which makes it the dearest fixture to move. The cost sits in the drainage rather than the water lines, because a pan connector needs continuous fall to the sewer. On a suspended timber floor through Northcote or Brunswick that can mean cutting or packing joists, which brings structural work into the job. Over a slab in Glen Waverley or Point Cook it means jackhammering a trench and repouring, at an indicative $900 to $2,600 including the concrete repair. Showers and vanities move more cheaply at an indicative $600 to $1,200 each. Price a layout that keeps the toilet where it is alongside the layout you actually want.
Why does mould keep coming back in my bathroom after cleaning?
Returning mould is almost always an extraction problem rather than a cleaning problem. Cold Melbourne winters mean a hot shower in a small interwar bathroom releases litres of water vapour into a room that cannot shed it, and that moisture condenses on cold tiles, glass and ceilings. Grout and silicone then hold enough moisture to keep feeding growth between cleans. Regrouting and repainting a bathroom with no working extraction buys you roughly one more year. Fit a fan rated for the room volume rather than one chosen to match the heat lamp, duct it outside, and add a run on timer. Timers and humidity sensors add an indicative $80 to $220 and are the cheapest prevention available.
What has to be itemised on a bathroom quote before I compare prices?
Demolition and rubbish removal, plumbing rough in, electrical rough in, wet area sheeting, waterproofing, screed, tiling and fit off all belong as separate lines. Waterproofing bundled into the tiling price is the most common way a quote hides the item that decides the life of the room. Allowances for tiles, tapware and the vanity should appear as dollar figures so you know what you can spend before paying extra. Exclusions matter as much as inclusions, and subfloor repair, asbestos removal, screens and painting are commonly excluded. Tiling labour usually appears at an indicative $70 to $130 per square metre, and waterproofing at an indicative $800 to $2,000. Allow a contingency of an indicative 10 to 15 per cent.
What should I do first if my new bathroom leaks or has defects?
Put the problem in writing with dated photographs and ask for a written response by a stated date. Keep every message in one email thread rather than spreading it across phone calls and text messages, because a written record is what any later process will look at. Consumer Affairs Victoria is the first stop for a domestic building dispute, and conciliation for domestic building work runs through Domestic Building Dispute Resolution Victoria before matters reach the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. An independent building consultant report runs an indicative $600 to $1,500, and leak detection testing an indicative $350 to $900. Take advice before withholding payment, since doing it wrongly can weaken your position. Raise the defect as soon as you notice it.
Bathroom and Wet Area Services Across Victoria
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This page provides guidance information only. Details may change, always verify with the relevant authorities and seek independent professional advice where needed.
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Reviewed by The Quote Yard Editorial Team
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We connect you with independent local tradies and service providers, we don't perform any trade work ourselves. Tradies provide their own quotes directly to you. Always confirm licensing, insurance, and scope of work before engaging any provider.
All Victorian tradies are required to hold appropriate licences. Verify at the Building and Plumbing Commission.
Costs are indicative for metropolitan Melbourne in October 2026. Room size, whether fixtures move, the floor structure, tile selection and the condition of what is behind the walls move them most.