Bathroom Renovation - Where to Start?

discod on 20/06/2021 - 15:30
Last edited 20/06/2021 - 16:12 by 1 other user

I am looking to have a bathroom renovation on my PPOR (2BR Villa Unit) in Melbourne.
It is a small bathroom (<5m2) and am looking to keep the current layout with a shower, bath and vanity in same locations but as everything is old (70's) I want to rip everything out and modernise.

Ringing a few bathroom renovation companies, the prices I have been thrown appear to be huge. Many START at 30k for a "budget" renovation, which i thought was insane for my size of bathroom. A lot of them also exclude tiles, fittings and fixtures which you need to purchase yourself.

I am not seeking a dodgy job, but at the same time, this appears to be a tremendous markup.

I am hoping a few people on here might be able to point me in the right direction for:

1 ) Are there any good places in Melbourne to get good priced bathroom fittings etc. ? e.g. any "direct to public" type warehouses? Am looking for a bathtub, vanity and fittings (taps etc.)

2) Does anyone have any experience or recommendation with builders for a bathroom renovation in Melbourne? Or where to find some reasonably priced builders? Again, I am looking for a licensed builder etc.

Cheers

• 

  jjjaar on 20/06/2021 - 16:43

  Have you only obtained quotes over the phone or have you had people come over and talk about your options?

  30k sounds high if it is a small bathroom, but I would still be expecting 15-20k.

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  bloom on 20/06/2021 - 17:20

  +2

  Pretty common the walls and floors experience rot from leaks which adds a lot of cost. Best to rip the whole lot back to the frame and then you’ll get clear quotes with no buffers/surprises

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  thatonethere on 20/06/2021 - 18:38

  For an older say 1950 to 1970s bathroom expect a out $15k to 20k for a deepish renovation.

  Usually the piping is needs a tidy up for today's compliance and there is fixed asbestos to remove.

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  Muselibar on 24/06/2021 - 16:54

  +3

  I recently renovated my bathroom (1.5m x 3.5m). Did as much as possible myself and purchased everything myself.

  1) Gutted it myself - free
  2) Patched it up myself - $50
  3) Had a sparky move a plug and plumber move some pipes - $500 (2 hours work. Rip off but couldn't do it myself….)
  4) Purchased vanity, toilet, taps, fittings - $2000
  5) Tiler did the waterproofing and all the tiling - $4000 (labour and tiles)
  6) Plumber installed the vanity + toilet. I put the rest of the new taps on - $500 (Again, rip off, half a day for plumber but I but couldn't do it myself)
  7) Glazier supplied and installed the glass + $600
  8) Painted it myself - $50
  9) Go a caulker to seal everything up (I could have done this myself but would have looked average) - $200
  10) Rubbish removal - $50

  Probably cost about $8k all up (all the materials and labour).
  I used mid-range products.

  If you use cheaper material for sale or investment property you could do it for $5k I rekon but would look a bit cheap.
  If you do the tiling and/or waterproofing yourself even cheaper.

  I spent the equivalent of a full day plastering (2 coats + sanding) then the plumber had to cut the plaster out to remove a pipe and I had to do the plaster again…. a professional probably wouldn't make that mistake, but I did save around $5k+ so overall worth it. Things will go wrong and you have to accept that.

  Do you want to pay someone to manage it or can you manage it yourself? How busy are you? No right or wrong answer.

  I had a few tradies try to overcharge me when they knew time was critical but I just had to delay things a bit, if you panic you could definitely overpay.
  I always got multiple quotes which was also a bit confusing when dealing with multiple jobs/tradies.

  Even if you couldn't/didn't want to do the demo/plastering/painting yourself, paying people individually as single jobs (and negotiating prices) will definitely be cheaper.
  If you basically manage the project yourself you'll save a lot of money, but it is a bit stressful trying to organise everything and getting the order right.

  Good luck!

  • 

    godofpizza on 29/06/2021 - 00:34

    nice, how did it only cost $50 for rubbish removal? i would have assumed it would have been at least a full skip?

  • 

    schmucky on 05/01/2022 - 17:06

    Would you recommend the work of your tiler? If so, do you mind sharing. I'm looking at doing the same thing and wondering whether the tiler will gut it and re-level the floor (if there is water damage)

• 

  Muselibar on 29/06/2021 - 16:25

  Got most of it in the bins and hard rubbish (over a few weeks) $50 was the cost of an Airtasker to take away the old bath and some other junk.

• 

  schmucky on 05/01/2022 - 17:09

  @discod

  Did you end up proceeding with the renovation? How did you go with getting trades and quotes?

  I have called a few bathroom reno companies and they are all pitching 25k min for a budget bathroom similar size to the above (smallish one) (and thats with me having purchased all the fittings already)

  I'm leaning towards hiring my own trades but confused whether i needed a chippie to relevel floors and put in any replacement for water damage.

  • 

    godofpizza on 10/01/2022 - 03:18

    i ended up hiring my own trades as I also called a few bathroom reno companies and they wouldn't take on the work for under <25k.

    it really depends on what you need done, is you subfloor completly rotten?

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  Muselibar on 09/01/2022 - 13:39

  -1

  If your house isn't built on a concrete slab, carpenter will have to basically build a new subfloor lower than current floor. As about a 100mm void to basically hold the shower base. Then you will have 'level' floor. But I'd rekon it's probably about $500-700 job (labour + materials).

  So $25k is easily a $15k+ markup. Criminal if you also supplying the fittings.