What it really costs
Bathroom Renovation Costs in Sydney: What You'll Actually Pay
The first question almost everyone asks is what a bathroom renovation costs. The honest answer is that anyone who gives you a number over the phone is guessing, and a guess is exactly what turns into a variation later. What we can do is show you the real ranges we quote across the Hills and Western Sydney, and explain what moves a price from one end of the range to the other.
Most bathrooms we build out here land between $22,000 and $38,000. Below that you're usually looking at a partial refresh. Above it you're moving walls, moving plumbing, or buying premium stone and tapware. None of those are wrong — they're just different jobs.
3–4 weeks on site
Most bathrooms finished in three to four weeks, not months
Certified waterproofing
AS 3740 compliant, so leaks don't come back
Fixed quote
Itemised price before work starts, no surprise extras
What it really costs
Bathroom renovation costs in Sydney by size and scope
Ranges below are for a full strip-out and rebuild by licensed trades, with certified waterproofing and a written contract. They include labour, materials and rubbish removal.
| Type of job | Typical size | Indicative range |
|---|---|---|
| Cosmetic refresh (fixtures stay put) | Any | $12,000 – $18,000 |
| Small bathroom or ensuite, same layout | 3 – 5 m² | $18,000 – $28,000 |
| Main family bathroom, same layout | 6 – 9 m² | $24,000 – $34,000 |
| Main bathroom with layout change | 6 – 9 m² | $30,000 – $45,000 |
| Premium / stone and custom joinery | 8 m²+ | $45,000 + |
Indicative Sydney ranges — confirmed only after an on-site measure.
What it really costs
What actually pushes the price up
Six things account for almost every difference between two quotes on the same room.
Moving the plumbing
Shifting a toilet or shower waste means cutting the slab or reworking the floor joists. It's the single biggest jump in any quote — usually a few thousand on its own.
Tile size and layout
600x1200 porcelain laid floor-to-ceiling takes longer to set out and costs more to lay than a half-height tile. Herringbone and mosaic cost more again in labour, not materials.
Tapware and fixtures
The gap between decent mid-range tapware and designer brassware across one bathroom is easily $2,000 to $4,000. It's the easiest line to dial up or down.
Vanity and joinery
An off-the-shelf wall-hung vanity versus a custom unit with a stone top is a $1,500 to $6,000 decision, depending on the stone.
What's behind the wall
Rotten studs, old galvanised pipe or a rusted-out floor waste only show up on strip-out day. We allow for it honestly rather than pretending it can't happen.
Access
Second-storey bathrooms, tight terrace lanes and unit buildings with lift bookings all add labour hours nobody thinks about until the tiles need carrying up.
What it really costs
What a cheap quote usually leaves out
If one quote is $8,000 under the others, it isn't magic. It's scope. Check these line by line before you sign anything.
- Waterproofing certificate from a licensed applicator, compliant with AS 3740
- Removal and disposal of the old bathroom, including asbestos testing on pre-1990 homes
- Making good the plaster, cornice and paint outside the bathroom door
- A provisional sum for tapware and fittings versus your actual selections
- Shower screen, mirror, towel rails and accessories — often quoted 'excluded'
- Electrical work: new circuits, exhaust fan, heated towel rail, downlights and certificate
What it really costs
How we price a bathroom
We come out, measure the room, look at what's under the floor and behind the wall, and talk through what you actually want to change. Then we send a written itemised quote — every tile, mixer, vanity and fitting listed with its allowance, so you can compare it line for line against anyone else's.
If something unexpected shows up during strip-out, you get a written variation with a price before we do the work. Not after. That's the whole point of quoting properly in the first place.
The same crew from start to finish
The membrane is laid and certified before a single tile is set, and the price is itemised line by line in your quote.
Licensed trades, on time
Waterproofing certified to AS 3740, and tiles set out so the cuts land where you won't notice them.
Guides
Further reading on this type of job
More detail on the questions that come up most often on this kind of renovation.
Free on-site measure and a written, itemised quote for your bathroom renovation.
How it works
What happens once you say yes?
Three stages and three to four weeks on site. You'll know the price before we start, how long the bathroom is out of use, and who is turning up each morning.
Measure, design and written quote
We measure the room, check the drainage and what's behind the walls, then give you a scaled layout with every fixture listed and a written price that holds once it's signed.
Strip-out, rough-in and waterproofing
Back to frame, licensed plumbing and electrical rough-in, then waterproofing to AS 3740 photographed at every coat. Same crew, same start time, swept down before we leave each day.
Tiling, fit-off and handover
Tiling, glass measured off the finished walls, tapware and joinery installed. Then we walk the room with you, fix anything you pick up, and hand over the certificates and a workmanship warranty.
Questions
Bathroom Renovation Cost: quick answers
The questions homeowners ask us first, answered plainly.
Three to four weeks on site for a standard bathroom. We give you the start and finish dates in writing before we begin.
Yes. Same crew, same faces, and a text if anything shifts. That's the bit most people tell us went wrong last time.
Only if you change your mind about something. Everything is listed in the contract by name and code before demolition starts.
Absolutely. Come with a Pinterest board or come with nothing — we'll walk you through selections either way.
For a like-for-like internal bathroom, usually not. Strata always needs owners corporation sign-off. We'll tell you which one you are.
We test before we demolish, and anything we can't see is quoted as a provisional sum so you know the ceiling upfront.
Free quote
Get your free measure and written quote
Tell us your suburb and roughly what you're after. We measure the room on site, then send a quote with every tile, mixer and fitting listed, so you know exactly what you're paying for before anything starts.
- Free on-site measure and a scaled layout
- A written contract with every item listed
- Licensed, insured, fully documented
- The same crew from the first call to handover
Answers
Bathroom Renovation Cost: common questions
Across the Hills and Western Sydney, a full renovation of a standard main bathroom typically lands between $24,000 and $34,000 with the fixtures staying in roughly the same spots. Small bathrooms and ensuites start around $18,000.
Not a full strip-out and rebuild — not honestly. For $10,000 to $15,000 you can do a solid cosmetic refresh: new tapware, vanity, shower screen, paint, maybe re-tile the floor. Anything advertised as a $10k full reno is either using the cheapest possible fittings or the scope is much smaller than you think.
Almost always scope, not greed. One quote includes waterproofing certification, rubbish removal, electrical certificates and making good; the other doesn't. Line the quotes up item by item and the gap usually explains itself.
Budget $2,500 to $6,000 depending on whether you're on a slab or timber floor and how far the waste has to travel. On a concrete slab it means cutting, trenching and re-pouring, which is why we always check whether the layout you want can work with the existing points first.
No. The on-site measure and the written quote are free, and there's no obligation. We'd rather you compared us properly than felt pushed.
Agents out here generally say a well-executed bathroom returns most of its cost at sale and makes the house sell faster, particularly in family suburbs where buyers are comparing three similar homes on the same weekend.
Other pages homeowners find useful at this stage.
Free quote
Ready for a bathroom you're happy to show people?
Tell us your suburb and what you're after. We measure up on site and send back a written quote with the price and the timeline set out clearly.