The silicone has turned black in the corners, the floor waste gurgles after a shower, and the vanity door no longer closes. You can live with it for another month, or you can stop treating a wet area like a paint job. A step by step bathroom remodel in Melbourne is a sequence, and the order is what protects the money. Waterproofing, waste disposal and permits are not side notes you tick after the tiles arrive. They decide how long the bathroom is out of use, what the quote covers, and whether a pretty finish hides a leak.
If the pipes stay where they are, the messy part is short. Move a wall, a shower or a floor waste, and approvals plus materials usually take longer than the build. Sort those three before you fall in love with a tap.
The Full Remodel Sequence and How Long Each Phase Takes
A like-for-like refit typically runs one to two weeks on site. A job that moves walls or plumbing runs longer, and design plus permit lead time often outlasts the build. A typical bathroom renovation with us takes between 1 and 2 weeks. Larger bathroom rebuilds may take longer than 1 to 2 weeks.
| Phase | Typical duration | Hold point before moving on |
|---|---|---|
| Design, measure and fixed-scope quotes | 2 to 6 weeks | Signed scope and fixed price |
| Permits where needed | 2 to 8 weeks | Permit issued or confirmed as not required |
| Strip-out and disposal | 1 to 3 days | Asbestos result received and site cleared |
| Rough-in plumbing and electrical | 2 to 4 days | Plumbing and electrical inspections passed |
| Waterproofing and cure | 2 to 5 days | Membrane inspection passed before tiling |
| Tiling and grouting | 3 to 5 days | Grout cured and joints sealed |
| Fixtures, fit-off and final test | 2 to 3 days | Final water test passed |
Why the order does not shuffle
Rough-in plumbing and electrical finish before the membrane. A new pipe or cable after waterproofing is a hole in the system you just paid for. Waterproofing finishes, and is inspected, before tiling. Tiling finishes before fixtures, because a screen, a pan connector and a basin waste all land on a surface that should already fall the right way.
Every range in the table is typical, not guaranteed. Access, a failed inspection or a tile that is still on a ship will move a day. Add about two weeks of slack for inspections and material delays. Confirm start and finish dates in writing before any deposit is paid. A date only means something once the hold points are written into the same program.
Plan the Layout and Scope Before Demolition
Decisions are free on paper and expensive in concrete. Measure and lock the scope before a single tile comes off.
- Measure the room to the nearest 5 mm. Sketch door swings, the window, the exhaust location, and every existing pipe and power point. A sketch that is 20 mm out is how a vanity collides with a door.
- Mark where the water and the waste run. Moving a shower, toilet or floor waste changes labour, membrane detailing and, often, the permit. Leaving them put is the cheapest layout you will ever choose.
- Write a short brief for what must fit. Bath or shower, vanity width, laundry tub, storage, and any ageing-in-place needs such as a level entry and a grab-rail backing. Anything missed will turn up as a variation.
- Place the fixtures on the sketch and check clearances. The door has to clear the vanity. There has to be standing room in front of the toilet. The shower screen has to open without hitting the basin. A wall-hung vanity, a recessed niche and a pocket or sliding door earn their keep in a small room. Our notes on planning a bathroom layout walk through those clearances in more detail.
- Split the scope into like-for-like items and genuine changes. Two quotes only compare if they price the same work. "New bathroom" is not a scope.
- Ask at least three trades for fixed-scope quotes against that same drawing. A rate that excludes waterproofing, waste removal or making good the hallway is not the cheaper quote.
Practical rule: Keep the wet-area footprint where the drains already work. Each change to a drain or water route adds labour and a fresh waterproofing detail.
If you only have one bathroom, plan a temporary arrangement before strip-out day. The layout argument should be finished by then.
Permits and Code Rules for Melbourne Bathrooms
People often ask about permits after the skip is booked. Ask before you order tiles. A straight like-for-like refit, same layout and no structural work, usually needs no building permit. The answer changes as soon as you touch structure, drainage or power.
| Work | Usually needs | Who lodges or certifies | Check first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Like-for-like refit, same layout | Usually no building permit | Licensed trades | Confirm with council |
| Moving or removing a load-bearing wall | Building permit | Registered building practitioner | Structural engineer advice |
| Relocating shower, toilet or floor waste | Plumbing permit | Licensed plumber | Drainage fall and sewer connection |
| New or altered electrical circuits | Certificate of Electrical Safety | Licensed electrician | Extra power points and fan wiring |
| Property under a heritage overlay | Planning permit | Council planning department | Overlay on the planning certificate |
| Apartment wet area or shared wall | Owners corporation approval | Strata committee | Building by-laws |
A load-bearing wall needs a building permit and engineering input. Relocating a shower, toilet or floor waste needs a plumbing permit lodged by a licensed plumber. New or altered circuits need a licensed electrician and a Certificate of Electrical Safety. A heritage overlay can trigger a planning permit. An apartment needs owners corporation approval before work touches a shared wall or a stacked wet area.
What the code still requires
Permit or not, the wet area is not optional. Victoria's Building and Plumbing Commission, as set out in guidance on bathroom renovation permits in Victoria, notes that the NCC 2022 Housing Provisions require the shower floor to be waterproofed and a floor waste installed in the shower area. For an unenclosed shower, the waterproofed zone extends to a 1,500 mm horizontal radius from the shower connection, and the shower floor must fall between 1:80 and 1:50 toward the waste. The same guidance cites Western Australian inspection data in which only 58% of inspected waterproofing-related points complied with the applicable BCA and AS 3740 requirements. That is WA evidence, not a Victorian pass rate, and it is exactly why a membrane should be seen before it is tiled.
Permit lead times of two to eight weeks belong in the program before demolition is booked. Rules and council practice change, so confirm each line with the City of Melbourne or the relevant authority before you order materials. We are fully licensed and insured, and the work follows the applicable Australian Standards. Keep the building or plumbing permit, the plumbing certificate, the electrical certificate and the waterproofing certificate with the property file. A buyer, or a future insurer, will ask.
Budget Tiers from Basic to Premium in AUD
In 2024, more than 30% of Australian homeowners surveyed by Budget Direct reported renovation budgets of AUD 5,000 to 15,000, a range Western Bathroom Renovations has highlighted for people pricing a refresh. That band can cover a basic update. It often falls short of a full remodel with new waterproofing and new fixtures. We encourage clients to start with a budget of approximately 2% of the current value of their property, then test that figure against the scope, not against a mood board.
| Tier | What is included | Typical fixtures |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | Same layout, new waterproofing, tiles, standard vanity and tapware | Acrylic or tiled shower base, basic exhaust fan |
| Mid-range | Minor layout changes, large-format tiles, niches, wall-hung vanity | Framed or frameless screen, LED lighting, heated towel rail |
| Premium | Relocated services, floor-to-ceiling tiling, underfloor heating, custom joinery | Freestanding bath, designer tapware, smart lighting |
What actually moves the number
Labour is usually the largest line, then waterproofing, tiling and fixtures. Hold money back for hidden damage rather than spending the last dollar on a tap. These are the items that push a basic job into the next tier.
- A relocated drain or water point. New pipework, a new fall and extra membrane detailing.
- Asbestos testing. Sensible in homes built before about 1990, before anyone sands backing board.
- Stairs and shared access. Carrying tiles and a bath up a narrow stair, or booking a lift in an apartment, is paid time.
- Owners corporation approval. Waiting is not free if your tiler has moved to the next job.
Basic suits a tired bathroom that already works. Mid-range suits a small layout tweak and better finishes. Premium suits a relocated wet area or a resale-driven upgrade. All of this is indicative for Melbourne and moves with access and specification. A written breakdown of what a bathroom remodel costs is more useful than a single round number. If a quote goes quiet, a three-week quote follow-up cadence keeps the comparison honest instead of letting the slowest trade set your start date.
How to Strip Out and Plan Waste Safely
Order the bin only after you know what is going in it. Mixed waste looks cheap until the gate fee, a blocked driveway and a second pickup arrive on the same invoice.
City of Melbourne figures show households currently recycle and compost only about 28.5% of total waste, which is a blunt reminder from the City of Melbourne waste and recycling survey that sorting is still the exception. A bathroom skip will not fix city-wide recovery. It can stop clean rubble, metal and cardboard becoming one contaminated load. Write the waste plan before demolition, not during it.
Strip-out in the order that protects the next trade
- List every material and its destination. Tiles and clean rubble, plasterboard, the vanity, tapware, metal, cardboard and the sanitaryware. Mark salvage, recycling or mixed waste, nominate the skip size, and check council rules for street placement. Protect shared hallways in an apartment. The cheapest-looking bin is not the cheapest if access rules force an urgent second load.
- Isolate water and power, then remove fittings you intend to keep. Photograph meter positions and any owner-corporation conditions. Bag salvaged tapware separately so it does not leave in the rubble.
- Take finishes off far enough to see the substrate, not just the pretty face. Replacing visible tiles does not fix a failed membrane. The hidden system and the penetrations are the risk.
- Stop if the backing looks fibrous, especially in an older home, and wait for an asbestos result before the site is treated as clear. That result is the hold point, not a phone call saying the bin is full.
The Australian Building Codes Board waterproofing FAQ states that renovation requirements are set by state or territory legislation, not solely by the new-building provisions of the National Construction Code. Once the room is open, treat shower floors, wall junctions, wall-to-floor junctions and penetrations as areas that must be waterproof. Shower walls generally need protection to at least 1,800 mm above the floor substrate. On a timber-based floor, the bathroom floor must be waterproof, not merely water-resistant.
Ask the trade for the product system, installation records, photographs taken before tiling, and the compliance paperwork. Waterproofing is not a step you are meant to trust unseen.
Keeping a sound layout, and a fitting that is still serviceable, cuts both waste and labour. You can still waterproof, retile and refit. You do not have to send a working pan to landfill to feel like the job was thorough.
Waterproofing, Rough-In and Hold Points Before Tiling
Waterproofing is not an invisible trade you trust. An Australian Government Treasury interim report states that states and territories estimate between 20% and 40% of apartment buildings have waterproofing defects, which is set out in the Treasury interim report on waterproofing. Separate Australian defect research cited by the NSW Building Commissioner, and summarised in a WA industry bulletin, found waterproofing defects were likely to affect 23% of surveyed apartment buildings. The same style of audit work, across 210 reports from Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, identified waterproofing as 11.46% of recorded multi-residential building problems, with membrane failure and defective installation recurring. Leak investigation belongs at the start, not after the feature wall is chosen.
The sequence that has to stay intact
Map staining and efflorescence first, then moisture-test adjoining walls, floors and the ceiling below. Open the suspected junction. Check whether the substrate has moved and whether the waste is connected. Repair that before any new finish goes back.
Rough-in plumbing and electrical come next, with the inspections those trades require. Only then form the shower fall toward the floor waste, using the fall range already set for the shower. Apply the membrane with a compatible primer, bond breakers at joints, and proper treatment at corners and penetrations. Let it cure for the time the system states. Do not tile over a membrane that is still soft. Our bathroom waterproofing procedure is the checklist we expect on site before anyone opens a bag of adhesive.
Confirm the rules for this existing home before work starts. Renovation waterproofing is set by the legislation that applies to the property, not by copying a new-build detail and hoping.
| Checkpoint | What to check | Evidence to keep |
|---|---|---|
| Existing leak source | Staining, efflorescence and moisture readings | Moisture test photos and notes |
| Substrate and falls | Level surface, fall toward the waste and waste height | Fall measurements and photos |
| Membrane and junctions | Primer, bond breakers, corners and penetrations | Membrane photos and product records |
| Before tiling | Full cure met and inspection passed | Signed inspection record and certificate |
Avoid new penetrations after the membrane is down. A screen bracket drilled on tiling day is a common way a sound system gets ruined. Document the shower radius and the waterstop locations, then run a controlled water test before final fit-off. The failure mode is always the same. Expensive tiles go down, and only then does someone notice the fall, the membrane edge or a pipe penetration.
Tile, Fit Off and Book Your Final Water Test
Tile only after the membrane inspection has passed. Never bed tiles on a membrane that has not cured.
From adhesive to a signed test
- Set the tiles in an adhesive that the waterproofing manufacturer accepts, and check the bed for full coverage. Hollow spots under a shower floor crack grout and telegraph movement into the membrane.
- Let the adhesive cure before you grout. Clean grout haze inside the product window, not next weekend, or it sets into the face of the tile.
- Silicone the junctions and seal the penetrations. Leave the gaps the sheet or system needs for movement. A bead that bridges a joint solid is not a better seal. It is a crack waiting for winter.
- Fit the vanity, toilet, screen, tapware, exhaust fan and lights, and check each seal as you go. An exhaust that is ducted into the ceiling space is not ventilation.
- Run the shower, the basin and the floor waste for about ten minutes. Inspect every joint, the pan connector and the area under the vanity.
The test happens before the final payment because a leak found after handover means pulling finished work apart. If the test passes, sign off and file the certificates with the permits. If it fails, hold the final payment until the repair is done and the test is run again.
A short walk-through of what that finished water test looks like is worth ten minutes before you book your own.
We offer free in-home consultations and an obligation-free quote, and we guarantee start and finish dates once the scope is agreed. Bring the sketch, the waste plan and the list of what is moving. That visit is how you check timeline and scope before you commit, without treating any date as guaranteed until it is in writing.
Western Bathroom Renovations manages the full Melbourne sequence, from layout and demolition through waterproofing, tiling and a tested fit-off, with licensed trades and dates you can hold us to. If your bathroom is the one with the black silicone and the doubtful waste, bring the measurements and the photos. Visit Western Bathroom Renovations to book a free in-home consultation and an obligation-free quote.
