Three rough tiers
These are deliberately broad, and they are a rough guide rather than a quote. They assume the room is taken back to frame or slab and rebuilt properly, with full waterproofing to the current standard and a certificate at the end. They are current for 2026 and they are for the kind of housing found across Canterbury-Bankstown.
| Tier | As a rough guide | What usually sits here |
|---|---|---|
| Smaller rooms and single fixes | $9,000 – $17,000 | Powder rooms, a separate toilet lined and re-tiled, a laundry rebuilt in place, one leaking shower stripped and rebuilt |
| Full bathroom renovations | $16,000 – $30,000 | A main bathroom or a small bathroom rebuilt in roughly the same layout; the bathroom and separate toilet combined into one room |
| Larger projects | $28,000 and up | A brand-new ensuite or second bathroom, relocated plumbing on a slab, an accessible step-free rebuild, or two wet rooms done as one project |
The upper end of the third tier, for a large room with relocated drainage and good finishes, reaches into the low forties. We publish a top figure rather than leaving it open, because "and up" with no ceiling is not useful to anybody planning.
Two bathrooms that look identical in a photograph can sit in different tiers once the floor type, the drainage and the condition behind the tiles are known. That is why there is no single average figure on this page.
Where the money actually goes
Trades. Demolition, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing, tiling, carpentry and cabinet installation. This is the largest share and it does not shrink much for a smaller room, because a small bathroom still needs every one of those trades to attend.
Materials. Tiles, bath, toilet suite, vanity, tapware, shower screen, lighting, exhaust fan, accessories. This is the part you control most directly.
Site and compliance. Skip and waste removal, asbestos testing, floor and furniture protection, the waterproofing certificate, supervision and the final clean.
What pushes a price up
Moving a waste on a concrete slab. Relocating a toilet, shower or bath waste means cutting a trench in the floor and re-pouring it. In the slab-floor suburbs — much of Condell Park and the later brick-veneer housing everywhere else — this is the biggest single discretionary cost in a bathroom. Keeping the fittings roughly where they are is the biggest available saving.
Asbestos removal. Testing comes first in any house built or altered before about 1990. If sheeting or an old floor covering tests positive, removal is carried out by a separately licensed asbestos removalist and priced on its own line once the results are known.
Hidden water damage. Rotted wall framing, soft floor sheeting and borer in timber floors behind a long-leaking shower. Common in the older riverside housing around Panania and Milperra, and repaired before the new room goes in.
Adding a bathroom rather than renovating one. New drainage, framing, ventilation and sometimes a hot water upgrade. This is what moves a job into the top tier.
Step-free and accessible work. Dropping a timber floor or re-setting a slab-floor room to a continuous fall, plus solid wall backing and a linear waste, costs more than a hob and a square waste.
Premium finishes. Large-format or handmade tiles, imported tapware, custom joinery, underfloor heating.
What keeps a price down
- Keep the layout and use the existing waste positions
- Choose mainstream porcelain tiles inside a sensible allowance
- Pick a stock vanity size rather than custom joinery
- Keep a sound steel bath if you want a bath at all
- Do the bathroom and a second wet room as one project rather than two jobs a year apart
- Decide the finishes before work starts, so there are no variations mid-job
Two things we will not put a number on
A rate per square metre. It is a misleading figure for bathrooms. A small room costs more per square metre than a large one because the trade count is the same and the floor area is smaller, so a per-metre rate flatters big rooms and punishes small ones.
A per-item price list. A toilet is not a price, it is a price plus a waste position plus whether the wall needs to be re-framed to take a wall-faced pan. Quoting items separately produces a number that changes the moment anyone looks at the room.
Deposits, and the figure to know
In NSW the maximum deposit on residential building work is 10 per cent. For work valued over $20,000, home building compensation cover must be in place before a deposit is requested, and you should receive the certificate. If a builder asks for more than 10 per cent up front, or cannot produce the cover for a job over that threshold, that is the moment to stop.
Engineered stone
Engineered stone has been banned in Australia since 1 July 2024 and we do not offer it. Compact laminate, standard laminate, porcelain slab, solid surface and natural stone all do the job of a bathroom or laundry benchtop, with different trade-offs in toughness and upkeep. None of them changes the tier your job sits in by much.
Every job is different, which is the honest answer
Nothing on this page is a quote. The bands exist so you can decide whether to make the call at all, and so you have something to measure a quote against.
A real price comes from a free half-hour measure at your house: the room measured and drawn, the floor type confirmed, the drainage route traced, the wall sheeting identified and the condition of the existing shower assessed. From that you get a written fixed price, itemised, with the fittings named and the tile allowance stated, so you can compare it line for line against anyone else's.
Call 02 4404 0504, seven days from 6:00am to 7:00pm, or send your details and a photo from the doorway and we will ring you back.
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
What should we budget for a main bathroom in this area?
As a rough guide, most full renovations of a main bathroom in a post-war house here land in the middle tier on this page, somewhere between $16,000 and $30,000. Where yours sits depends on the size, the layout, the finishes and what the strip-out finds. A proper on-site quote is the only way to get a customised price.
Why do two quotes for the same bathroom differ so much?
Almost always because they include different things. Check each one for asbestos testing, full waterproofing to the standard with a certificate, full-height tiling in the shower, an exhaust fan ducted outside, skip and waste removal, and a named tile allowance. A quote missing those is not cheaper, it is incomplete.
How much deposit can be asked for?
In NSW the maximum deposit on residential building work is 10 per cent. For work over $20,000, home building compensation cover must be in place before a deposit is requested, and you should be given the certificate. Ask for it rather than assume.
Can we save money by stripping the room out ourselves?
We do not recommend it. In a house built or altered before about 1990 the wall and ceiling sheeting may contain asbestos, which makes DIY demolition a health question rather than a budget one. Even without asbestos, damage to pipes, framing or the slab during an amateur strip-out usually costs more to repair than it saved.
Is it cheaper to do the bathroom and the laundry together?
Per room, yes. The trades, the skip, the deliveries and the waterproofing visit are all shared. Most households still stagger the bathroom and a second wet room so one stays usable, while pricing and scheduling them as a single project.