Bathroom Renovation in Melbourne

It depends heavily on size, finish level and whether you move any plumbing. A cosmetic refresh (vanity, tapware, paint, keep the tiles) is a very different job to a full strip-out with a new layout and high-end tiles. Rather than quoting a generic range, we let renovators who can see your photos and scope price it properly — and you compare several written quotes side by side.

A full renovation is typically two to four weeks of on-site work once it starts, because trades have to work in sequence and waterproofing and tiling need drying time. A refresh can be a few days. Ask each quote to include a rough timeline so you can plan around one bathroom being out of action.

Most bathroom renovations do not need a building permit, but the plumbing, electrical and gas work inside them must be done by licensed tradespeople, and wet areas must be waterproofed to the Australian standard by a competent person. On Octacon Trades those tradies are licence-checked before they can quote that work.

Because it is the one part you never see and the one part that causes the most expensive failures. Water getting behind tiles rots framing and damages rooms below. Waterproofing must be done before tiling and to the standard — always make sure your quote spells out who does it and that it is included.

Some bathroom renovators manage the entire job and bring in the licensed plumber, electrician and waterproofer themselves — you deal with one point of contact. Others quote just their part. When you describe the job, say whether you want a single renovator to manage everything or separate quotes for each trade.

You can, and many people do to control the look and budget. Say so when you scope the job — it changes the quote, since the tradie prices labour and installation separately, and you stay responsible for the quality and quantity of what you supply.