Bathroom renovation cost in 2026

Cost by budget

hipages, 2026 cost guide.

Cost by size

Sydney and Perth

hipages puts a standard Sydney bathroom at $20,000 to $35,000, with complete renovations running from $15,000 to $60,000 or more. In Perth it quotes HIA's West Australian average of $15,667, with most jobs between $8,000 and $25,000: Perth bathroom costs in detail.

What pushes the price up

• Moving plumbing. Keeping the toilet, shower and basin where they are is the biggest saving.
• Tiles. Floor tiles run from $35 per square metre for ceramic to $130 for natural stone, and tilers charge about $35 to $120 per square metre on top, around $60 on average.
• Fittings. A wall-hung toilet can cost five times a basic one; frameless glass costs more than framed.
• Waterproofing. $500 to $750 for an average bathroom, and not optional.

Can you renovate a bathroom for $10,000?

Yes, if it is small and the plumbing stays put: hipages puts a small budget renovation at $8,000 to $15,000. A $5,000 budget buys a makeover (new fittings, paint, a vanity), not a renovation.

Where the money goes

Every bathroom quote is built from the same parts. Asking for each one as a separate line makes quotes easy to compare.

Part of the job	What it covers	What makes it cost more
Demolition	Stripping tiles, fixtures and sheeting, the skip bin	Asbestos, a second storey, tight access
Plumbing	Rough-in of drains and water pipes, then fit-off	Moving the toilet or shower, old pipes
Electrical	Lights, exhaust fan, power points, heated rail, underfloor heating	Extra circuits, a switchboard upgrade
Carpentry	Wall and floor framing, sheeting, niches	Rotted floors, moving walls
Waterproofing	Membrane to floors and wet walls	Large showers, walk-in wet rooms
Tiling	Screed, floor and wall tiles, grout, trims	Large or small format tiles, patterns, full height
Fixtures	Vanity, toilet, bath, shower screen, tapware, mirror	Wall-hung, custom, designer brands
Finishing	Ceiling, cornice, painting, silicone, door	Bulkheads, skylights

Labour is usually the largest share of the bill, because a bathroom needs several trades in a small space, in the right order, with waiting time for waterproofing to cure.

Fixtures: where to save and where to spend

• Vanity. A flat-pack or off-the-shelf vanity costs a fraction of a custom one. Spend on a good benchtop and soft-close drawers; they get daily use.
• Toilet. A floor-standing toilet is cheapest to buy and install. Wall-hung toilets look cleaner and are easier to clean around, but need an in-wall cistern and frame.
• Shower screen. Semi-frameless screens are cheaper than fully frameless; a fixed single panel (a walk-in shower) can cost less again.
• Bath. A built-in bath is cheaper than a freestanding one. In a small bathroom, removing the bath for a bigger shower often makes more sense.
• Tapware. Mid-range brands with a long warranty are a safe spend; designer finishes such as brushed brass cost more and need matching across every fitting.
• Lighting and ventilation. A good exhaust fan vented outside prevents mould and protects the work you have paid for.

Main bathroom, ensuite or powder room

A powder room (toilet and basin) costs far less than a full bathroom because there is no shower, little waterproofing and less tiling. An ensuite is usually smaller than a main bathroom but carries the same trades, so the cost per square metre is often higher. The main bathroom, used by the whole family, is where durable finishes and a bath for small children matter most.

The order of work

1. Design and quotes. Measure, choose a layout and fixtures, and get at least three itemised quotes.
2. Approvals. Strata approval for apartments; council approval if the structure changes.
3. Demolition. Strip out, check the floor and walls, and deal with anything hidden.
4. Rough-in. Plumber and electrician run pipes, drains and wiring.
5. Carpentry and sheeting. Walls and floors are prepared, set-downs and niches built.
6. Waterproofing. Membrane applied and left to cure, with a certificate issued.
7. Tiling. Floor and walls tiled and grouted.
8. Fit-off. Vanity, toilet, tapware, screen, lights and fan installed.
9. Finishing. Painting, silicone, final clean and a check of every fitting.

hipages allows six to eight weeks for planning, approvals and choosing materials, and one to four weeks for the building work itself.

Licences in NSW

In NSW, residential building work over $5,000 including GST must be done by a licensed contractor under a written contract. Plumbing, drainage and electrical work must always be done by licensed tradespeople, and waterproofing is specialist work that needs its own licence whatever the price. Check any contractor's licence on the NSW Government's licence check before you sign, and keep the waterproofing certificate with your home's paperwork.

Apartments and strata

If you own a unit, your owners corporation usually needs to approve a bathroom renovation before work starts, because waterproofing, drains and plumbing can affect common property and the unit below. Read your strata by-laws, ask the strata manager what approval is needed, and allow time for it in your plan. Noise and working hours rules in the by-laws also apply to your trades.

Older homes and asbestos

Homes built before 1990 may contain asbestos in wall and ceiling sheeting, floor coverings and the glue under old tiles. Do not cut, drill or break it. Have suspect material tested, and use a licensed asbestos removalist where the law requires one. Removal adds cost and time, so ask for it to be quoted and programmed before demolition.

Doing some of it yourself

Owners can save on demolition, painting and fitting accessories such as towel rails and mirrors. Plumbing, electrical work and waterproofing must be done by licensed tradespeople, and tiling a wet area well is harder than it looks. A failed shower waterproofing job can damage the floor and walls below and cost far more to fix than it saved.

How much to spend

hipages suggests keeping a bathroom renovation to about 1.5 to 3 per cent of the property's value to avoid overcapitalising. If you plan to sell soon, spend on what buyers notice: a clean, bright room, a good shower, enough storage and fresh grout and silicone. If you plan to stay for years, spend on durable fixtures and the layout that suits your household.

Allow for surprises

Set aside a contingency of 10 to 15 per cent. The most common surprises are rotted floor framing under an old shower, pipes that need replacing once the walls are open, walls and floors that are out of level, and asbestos. Changes you make after work starts are often the most expensive extras of all, so settle the design before demolition.

Comparing quotes

Check that every quote includes demolition and removal, waterproofing with a certificate, the same tiling heights, the same fixtures or a clear allowance for each, electrical work, the warranty, the start date and the timeframe. A much cheaper quote often leaves one of these out. Ask for photos of recent bathrooms, a reference you can call, and proof of the contractor's licence and insurance.

Signs a bathroom needs renovating

Some bathrooms only need a refresh; others are failing. Signs of a failing bathroom include water stains on the ceiling or walls of the room below or next door, tiles that sound hollow when tapped or lift at the edges, cracked or missing grout around the shower, mould that returns soon after cleaning, a musty smell, and skirting boards that swell outside the bathroom door. These usually point to failed waterproofing, which only a full strip-out and re-waterproof fixes properly.

A makeover instead of a renovation

If the waterproofing is sound and the layout works, a makeover can transform a tired bathroom for far less than a renovation:

• Regrout and reseal the tiles, and replace mouldy silicone.
• Replace the vanity, mirror and tapware.
• Swap the shower screen and the showerhead.
• Paint the walls and ceiling with a wet-area paint.
• Upgrade the lighting and the exhaust fan.
• Resurface a sound bath and tiles instead of replacing them.

A makeover is also a sensible step before selling, when a full renovation would not pay for itself.

Questions to ask a builder

1. What is your contractor licence number, and does it cover this work?
2. Who does the waterproofing, and will I get a certificate?
3. What is included in the price, and what are the allowances for fixtures and tiles?
4. When can you start, how long will it take, and who is on site each day?
5. How do you handle variations and surprises such as rotted floors?
6. What warranty do you give, and how do I contact you about defects?
7. Can I see photos of recent bathrooms and speak to a past client?

Warranties in NSW

NSW law gives homeowners statutory warranties on residential building work: six years for major defects and two years for other defects. These apply whatever the contract says. Keep your contract, invoices, the waterproofing certificate and photos of the work in progress, because they help if a problem appears later. For work over $20,000, the Home Building Compensation cover protects you if the builder dies, disappears or becomes insolvent before fixing defects.

Accessible and future-proof bathrooms

If you plan to stay in the home as you get older, or someone in the household has limited mobility, a renovation is the cheapest time to build in access: a step-free shower, a wider door, a comfort-height toilet, reinforcement in the walls for grab rails later, slip-resistant floor tiles and lever taps. Most of these cost little extra when they are planned from the start, and much more to add later.

Paying for the renovation

Most owners pay for a bathroom from savings, a redraw or offset account, or by increasing their home loan. A personal loan or buy-now-pay-later plan usually costs more in interest. Builders typically ask for a deposit (limited by law in some states) and progress payments at set stages; never pay far ahead of the work completed. Talk to your lender or a broker about the cheapest way to fund the work for your situation.

Cost of the common upgrades

Some upgrades add a predictable amount to a standard renovation. Moving the toilet or shower adds plumbing and often concrete cutting, and is one of the largest single extras. Full-height tiling instead of tiling only the wet zones adds tiles and labour across every wall. A wall-hung toilet adds the in-wall cistern and frame. Underfloor heating adds the heating mat, an electrician's time and a dedicated circuit. A frameless shower screen costs more than a semi-frameless one, and a freestanding bath more than a built-in bath. A skylight or a new window adds building work and possibly approval. Before you add any of these, ask your builder to price it as a separate line, so you can see what each one costs and decide.

Renovating a bathroom in a rental property

If you own an investment property, a bathroom renovation is usually treated differently from repairs for tax purposes, and the costs may be claimed over time rather than all at once. The rules are detailed, so speak to your accountant before you start. Choose durable, mid-range fixtures and finishes that are easy to clean and repair, plan the work between tenancies if you can, and give tenants proper notice if they are living in the property.

When to renovate

Builders and tradespeople are often busiest before Christmas, so a job that must be finished for the holidays should be booked months ahead. Winter work is fine indoors, but waterproofing and grout can take longer to cure in cold, damp weather. If you have only one bathroom, plan where the household will shower, perhaps with family, a gym membership or a portable hire unit, for the weeks the room is out of use.

A worked example

Take a typical 2.4 m by 2.1 m main bathroom, about 5 square metres, being fully renovated with the layout unchanged. At hipages' per-square-metre range of $2,300 to $4,600, the estimate is roughly $11,500 to $23,000. A budget finish with a built-in bath, semi-frameless screen, off-the-shelf vanity and tiles to the wet zones lands near the lower end. A wall-hung toilet, full-height tiles, a custom vanity, a frameless screen and underfloor heating push it towards the top, and moving the shower to the other wall can push it past the range. Use this as a guide for your budget, then let itemised quotes from licensed builders set the real figure.

Keeping the job on budget

Decide every fixture, tile and finish before the builder prices the job, so the quote is for what you actually want. Keep a written list of selections with model numbers and give it to the builder. Agree in writing how variations will be priced, and ask for a price before any extra work is done. Visit the site at the key stages, after demolition, after rough-in and after waterproofing, so problems are found while they are still cheap to fix.

Costs that are easy to forget

Beyond the builder's quote, a renovation often brings smaller costs owners forget to budget for: a skip bin if it is not included, temporary bathroom arrangements, a plumber's call-out to fix an old pipe found during demolition, new towels, mats and accessories, a mirror or shaving cabinet bought separately, paint for the hallway next to the new bathroom, and cleaning once the trades have gone. Listing them at the start stops a project that was on budget from finishing over it.

Is a bathroom renovation worth it?

A well-planned bathroom renovation makes daily life easier, fixes hidden water damage before it spreads, and helps a home sell. Whether it adds more to the sale price than it costs depends on the house, the suburb and how much you spend, which is why keeping the spend in proportion to the home's value matters. If the waterproofing has failed, renovating is not optional: water damage only gets more expensive with time.

After the renovation

Keep the new bathroom in good shape by running the exhaust fan during and after every shower, wiping down the screen and tiles, resealing natural stone and grout when needed, and replacing silicone as soon as it cracks or goes mouldy. File the contract, the waterproofing certificate and the warranty documents for each fixture. Small, regular care keeps a renovation looking new for many years.

Before you sign in NSW

For work over $5,000 including GST, NSW law requires a written contract with the contractor's licence number. Over $20,000, the builder must give you a Home Building Compensation certificate before taking a deposit.

Common questions