2023 How much does a bathroom renovation cost?

You can realistically spend anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000 or more on a bathroom renovation, depending on the size of your bathroom, and how much your materials, fittings and labour costs are.

Most people spend somewhere in the middle of this range - in fact the Housing Industry Association (HIA) found $17,000 to be the average value of a bathroom renovation.  As you can expect there are a lot of variables that impact how much your bathroom renovation will cost. Factors that will affect the cost of your project include:

• the size of your bathroom

• the materials you choose

• the fittings you select

• labour costs

• permits, if these are required for your job

Let’s take a more detailed at costs, which we have broken down into three price brackets.

You can break down the cost of a bathroom renovation into three price brackets:

• Budget: $5,000 - $15,000

• Standard: $15,000 - $30,000

• Premium: $30,000+

As a guideline, expect to spend in the region of:

• $5,000 - $15,000 for a budget or cosmetic renovation of a smaller bathroom using budget materials and fittings.

• $15,000 - $30,000 for an average sized mid-range bathroom renovation using mid-range materials and fittings.

• $30,000+ for a high end, premium or luxury bathroom renovation using top of the range materials and fittings.

Let’s take a look at this in more detail, and what you get for your money.

Budget bathroom renovation: $5,000 - $15,000

It is possible to do a bathroom renovation for around $5,000, but this will largely be cosmetic or involve swapping out a few items. Spending up to $15,000 will also involve some compromises, such as keeping all your plumbing and electrics in place. To stay in this budget you will also need to choose large format porcelain tiles in the $30 per square metre range - which are durable and available in a wide range of colours. If you are installing a new shower you will need to stick to a framed shower screen, as well as a standard back to wall toilet and floor mounted vanity.

Standard bathroom renovation: $15,000 - $30,000

Budget $15,000 to $30,000 for your project - which is what most people spend, and you get better materials and fittings. You will have a larger range of tiles to choose from in the $50 per square metre range, and could even stretch your budget to more labour intensive mosaics in the shower cubicle. You could also upgrade to a semi-frameless or frameless shower screen, and choose a larger or fancier freestanding bathtub, and bathroom vanity. In terms of moving services, you can make some changes but not major alterations to plumbing or electrics.

Premium or luxury bathroom renovation: $30,000+

Budget $30,000 and more and you are likely to want to completely overhaul your bathroom and make major changes to the layout and services. You may want to install a frameless shower screen, in wall cistern and wall hung vanity, as well as a luxurious freestanding bathtub. If you want the best tiles for your walls or floors then look at ranges of porcelain tiles in the $60 per square metre range.

Some of the major costs to plan for in a bathroom renovation include:

• Plumbing, especially if you are moving plumbing or installing new elements

• Tiling, which could include floor and wall tiles

• Frameless shower screen, semi-frameless shower screen or standard shower screen

• Bath, which could be integrated or freestanding

• Toilet, which could be a standard version or have an in-wall cistern

• Vanity, standard or wall mounted which looks cleaner and gives you more floor space

• Lighting, which could be task, general or mood

• Waterproofing, to ensure your bathroom doesn’t leak

Now let’s take a look at some of these projects and what they may cost, on a per hour basis for labour or a per square metre basis for materials like tiles.

Bathroom plumbing costs

Plumbers charge a call-out fee of $60 to $100, with hourly rates anywhere from $100 - $150 depending on the plumber. The fee your plumber charges will depend on where you live and may vary according to the plumber’s skill level. If a plumber is quoting for a large project such as your bathroom renovation project, ask for an itemised quote which details all the elements they are charging for.

Bathroom tiling costs

The size of your bathroom is going to be a major factor in the cost of your renovation, and since so much of a bathroom is tiled, your need to know how much you may have to spend. Expect to be quoted per square metre rate by bathroom tilers, and could range from $35 per square metre to $120 per square metre. $60 per square metre is the average for laying bathroom tiles. This does not include the price of the tiles - you need to budget for that separately.

For wall tiles expect to pay from $20 to $28 per square meter for standard white ceramic wall tiles (600mm x 300mm) to $68 per square metre for steel grey polished porcelain wall tiles (150mm x 600mm). Moving up in price expect to pay around $86 per square metre for handmade Spanish white gloss ceramic subway tiles (150mm x 75mm) and $159 per square metre for artisan manufactured ceramic wall tiles (200mm x 200mm).

For floor tiles expect to pay $35 to $50 per square meter for ceramic or porcelain tiles, $50 to $100 per square meter for high quality porcelain and $80 to $130 per square meter for high quality natural stone tiles.

Bathroom bathtub costs

Baths range in price from affordable and versatile acrylic, to durable cast iron and flexible fibreglass to high end natural stone. Expect to pay anywhere from $350 for a plumber to replace and fit a bath. New baths can range from as little as $400 to thousands of dollars, with stone freestanding versions at the upper end of the scale.

Shower screen costs

Shower screens vary in price according to their size and if they are framed, semi-frameless or frameless, with the latter being the most costly. Expect to pay in the region of $400 to have a basic framed shower screen installed. Frameless shower screens use thicker glass, and are consequently more expensive - expect to pay in excess of $600 depending on the size and number of panels.

Toilet cost

Depending on the toilet you choose, these can cost from $150 to $750 or more for a floor-mounted hidden cistern or wall hung toilet. On average, a good quality floor-mounted vitreous china toilet costs between $275 and $450.

Vanity costs

Bathroom vanities range in price from:

• $467 for a 900 mm wall hung vanity with hidden handles

• $849 for a 750 mm floor standing console vanity

• $999 for a 1500 mm double bowl vanity

• $1360 for a 1200 mm wall hung vanity with integrated ceramic basin

Waterproofing costs

Expect waterproofing to cost anywhere from $500 to $750 for an average sized bathroom.

By the time you've calculated the cost of your complete dream bathroom renovation, you might find it's way over budget. Luckily there are ways to modernise your bathroom without breaking the bank? Some alternatives to a complete bathroom renovation include:

• Installing a new shower screen

• Swapping out your old vanity for a new one

• Resurfacing your wall tiles, bath and basin

• Painting bathroom tiles

In terms of the research, planning and design, with no major structural changes, allow around 6 to 8 weeks for this phase. This includes:

• time to develop the design

• selecting materials and fittings

• getting quotes from a range of businesses

Depending on the scale of your project, allow anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks for the works to take place. Factors that can affect this timeframe include:

• any structural works that take more time

• moving plumbing and/or electrical elements

• having large amounts of tiles to lay

• unforeseen events, like discovering asbestos in your wall or floor cavity

Source: hipages

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