Bathroom Tile Costs: How Tiles Impact Your Renovation Budget
Tiles set the tone for the whole bathroom. Go with large-format porcelain and your tiler moves through the job quicker, keeping costs down. Choose intricate patterns, mosaics or natural stone like marble, and you're paying for extra cuts and more time on the tools — and on the job, time's money.
Bathroom Fixtures & Fittings: How Much Should You Budget?
A bathroom's a small room that still needs a big list of gear — bath, shower screen, vanity, mirror, toilet, tapware and more. The style and quality you pick for each one varies widely, and it all adds up, so it pays to know upfront where you want to spend and where you're happy to keep it simple.
Plumbing & Electrical Costs in a Bathroom Renovation
Shifting the position of a toilet, shower or vanity means re-routing pipes, and adding downlights or new lighting means calling in the sparky — both add to the job. It's not the cheapest part of the reno, but a well-lit, functional space is worth every dollar.
Luxury Bathroom Extras That Increase Renovation Costs
After a luxury finish? Add these to the wishlist and the budget spreadsheet: underfloor heating, heated towel rails, custom-coloured tapware, custom joinery, designer lighting and more. The sky's the limit, but so is the price tag — picking a couple of hero extras rather than the whole list keeps costs in check.
Bathroom Renovation Labour Costs: Builders & Trades
Good tradies are like gold, and a bathroom reno needs a full crew — builder, plumber, electrician, tiler, waterproofer and painter. You can chase down and manage each trade yourself, or let your builder supply and run the team for you. At Robert Wade Builder, we handle the whole crew so you're dealing with one point of contact from start to finish, not five. Labour typically makes up 40–50% of your total budget, and that's money well spent — always hire professionals who take pride in and certify their work.
Do You Need Council Approval for a Bathroom Renovation?
If you're only renovating the bathroom and not touching other rooms, you may not need a permit from your local council — but it pays to check, and it's only a quick phone call. Swapping out taps, showerheads or a vanity, re-tiling, painting or fitting new shelves and mirrors usually won't need approval. But if you're knocking down walls, adding windows, relocating plumbing or electrical work, or re-waterproofing, you may need permission — so it's worth asking us or checking with your local council before you start.