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GUIDE — RENOVATION COSTS
“How much will my bathroom renovation cost?” is usually the first question homeowners ask. The straight answer is that it depends on the bathroom you already have. This guide explains what sits behind the figure, so a quote for your property makes sense when you read it.
Written by Ivan Bodnar, Independent Home Renovation Specialist, Melbourne
01 — THE FOUR MAIN FACTORS
Two bathrooms of the same size can need very different amounts of work. Most of the difference comes from four things, and only one of them is the tile you choose.
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Replacing tiles and fixtures within the existing layout is a different job from stripping the room back and rebuilding it. The scope sets most of what follows. Update or full renovation?
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The age and state of the walls, floor and linings. Water damage, movement or poor earlier repairs all mean work before anything new goes in. On-site assessment
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Removing old adhesive, making good damaged areas, new plasterboard where linings can’t sensibly be reused, and plastering ceilings and walls. Surface preparation
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Floor only, a feature wall or floor to ceiling. The area, the tile chosen and whether the substrate suits the proposed system all change the work involved. Wall and floor tiling
Reference photo: an opened wall showing linings, insulation and wiring.
02 — WHY A FIGURE CAN CHANGE
Some conditions only show once the old tiles and linings come off: a damp section of wall, a floor that isn’t sound, or framing that needs attention before new sheets go up. Existing conditions and concealed issues can affect the scope after work begins.
An on-site assessment narrows that uncertainty, but it can’t remove it entirely. Ivan explains what he can assess, what remains uncertain and why. That way you know which parts of a quote are based on what can be seen, and which depend on what the strip-out reveals. If the scope does change, you talk it through with the same person who assessed the bathroom.
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03 — LICENSED COMPONENTS
Moving a shower waste, relocating a toilet or adding a new circuit all involve regulated work. These components are done by appropriately licensed specialists, and Ivan may coordinate their involvement. How much of this work a bathroom needs is one of the bigger variables in any figure. Keeping fixtures where they are generally means less of it. Changing the layout generally means more.
04 — GETTING A FIGURE
A property-specific figure needs someone to look at the room. Before you get in touch, it helps to note down:
— What no longer works in the current bathroom
— Whether you want to keep the layout or change it
— Visible signs of deterioration, such as cracked tiles, failing grout or damp marks
— Any tiles or fixtures you’ve already chosen
— Your suburb, whether that’s Caulfield or elsewhere in Melbourne
For more detail, see What to Have Ready Before You Request a Quote.
