The room itself
Can the separate toilet be brought into the bathroom?
In most post-war houses here, yes. The dividing wall between the bathroom and the toilet is rarely load bearing, and removing it turns two cramped rooms into one of a usable size — enough width for a wider vanity or a 900 millimetre shower with a proper screen, and one less door and dead corridor.
Two things can stop it. Occasionally that wall carries a roof load, which means a lintel rather than a refusal. More often the household simply needs two toilets, in which case the better plan is to renovate the bathroom and add a second toilet elsewhere.
Should we keep the steel bath?
It is a household question, not a room question. An enamelled pressed-steel bath from the 1960s is often structurally sound under the chips, and re-using it saves money and a day of work. If the youngest person in the house is under about six, keep a bath somewhere. If the youngest is twelve, the floor the bath occupies is almost always better spent on a bigger shower.
Can we get a bigger shower without moving the plumbing?
Usually, yes. Swapping a bath for a shower in the same position, widening the shower along a wall where the waste can stay within reach, and re-setting the floor falls can all happen without relocating a waste. We price the no-move layout and the moved layout side by side so you can see the difference rather than take our word for it.
Is a wet room a good idea?
For an accessible bathroom, often the best idea. The whole floor is waterproofed and falls to a linear waste, there is no hob to trip on and the room reads as larger. It demands correct floor falls and good membrane detailing, so it is not the layout to choose on the cheapest quote. See the accessible bathrooms page.
Age, asbestos and what is behind the tiles
Our house is from the 1960s. Is there asbestos?
Possibly. Houses built or altered before about 1990 can contain it, and in a bathroom the usual candidates are the fibre cement sheeting behind the wall tiles, the ceiling sheet, and some older vinyl floor coverings and their adhesives.
This is routine. A sample is tested before anything is cut. If it comes back positive, removal is carried out by a separately licensed asbestos removalist, with a clearance before other trades resume, and it is priced on its own line so you can see exactly what it adds. We do not cut into unknown sheeting to save a day, and we would advise you not to let anyone else either.
What usually turns up during strip-out?
In the brick-veneer-on-slab houses: a failed shower membrane, water in the bedding, and a floor with no usable fall. In the older timber-floored houses nearer the river: soft floor sheeting, rusted bath feet, rotted joists or bearers and sometimes borer.
None of it is unusual. The quote states how repairs found during strip-out are priced so it is a known mechanism, not a mid-job negotiation.
How do we know the waterproofing was done properly?
You cannot tell by looking at a finished bathroom, which is precisely why it matters. What you can do is ask three questions before you sign: is the membrane applied to the current Australian standard with the junctions detailed, how long is it left to cure before tiling, and will I be given the certificate. A quote that is vague on all three is telling you something. The waterproofing and tiling page sets out the sequence.
Money and paperwork
What does it cost?
Three rough tiers are on the price guide, along with the factors that move a job up or down. Every job is different and a customised price needs a site visit — there is no useful way around that.
How much deposit is allowed?
In NSW the maximum deposit on residential building work is 10 per cent. For work over that threshold where home building compensation cover is required, the cover must be in place before a deposit is requested and you should be given the certificate. The figure that triggers it is on the price guide.
Why are quotes so different from each other?
Because they include different things. Compare them line by line for asbestos testing, full waterproofing with a certificate, full-height tiling in the shower, an exhaust fan ducted to outside, skip and waste removal, and a named tile allowance. The cheapest quote is frequently the one that has left the most out.
Do we need council approval?
Renovating inside an existing bathroom generally does not need a development application. Adding a bathroom, altering drainage or changing structure can, and a secondary dwelling has its own approval path. All six of the suburbs we work in sit within the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, and we tell you which category your job falls into at the measure.
The household
We have three generations in the house. What should we do first?
Add capacity before you add quality. A second shower — even a modest one in a converted robe — changes daily life more than a better main bathroom. Once that exists, the main bathroom can be done at leisure with somewhere else to wash in the meantime. The ensuites page covers where the space usually comes from.
My mother is moving in. What does the bathroom need?
Step-free entry, a shower that can be used sitting down, solid timber backing in the walls for grab rails, layered light without glare, and a floor with an appropriate slip classification. The backing in the walls is the one thing that must be done while the wall is open — retrofitting it later means breaking tiles and the membrane.
Can one bathroom suit a toddler and a grandparent?
Mostly. A step-free shower with a fold-down seat suits both. A bath for a small child and a step-free shower in the same room is harder in under four square metres, and that is usually the point at which a second wet room becomes the better answer.
Still have a question?
Call 02 4404 0504, seven days from 6:00am to 7:00pm, or send your details through the form and we will ring back. There is more detail on how the job runs and on the individual service pages.
Renovation work is carried out in partnership with Coastal Renovation Group, a licensed NSW builder. Licence and insurance details are provided on request.
Keep going
Where people head next
Questions people ask before they commit
Do you give quotes over the phone?
No, and nobody should. The three things that most move a bathroom price — the floor type, the drainage route and the condition behind the tiles — cannot be established over the phone or from a photo. What we will do on the phone is tell you which rough tier your job is likely to sit in, so you know whether to book a measure.
Are you the builder?
No. This is a referral site. Renovation work is carried out in partnership with Coastal Renovation Group, a licensed NSW builder. Licence and insurance details are provided on request — ask on the call and you will be given them.
Do you have reviews?
Not on this site. It is a new listing and we have not invented any, which is why there are no star ratings, no testimonials and no project counts anywhere here. Judge the measure and the written quote.
How far do you travel?
Across the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, centred on Yagoona, Bass Hill, Chester Hill, Condell Park, Panania and Milperra, and the suburbs immediately around them. We would rather be local and on time than cover half of Sydney.
What is the first thing we should do?
Count the people in the house and decide whether the problem is the quality of the bathroom or the number of them. That single answer changes the whole design, and it is the first question we will ask you.