Planning a Bathroom Renovation

Bathrooms are one of the most beneficial rooms to renovate for financial value and quality of life. To successfully renovate your bathroom, it’s important to have a good plan. You’ll need to consider your creative vision and budget, including costs for a renovation specialist, bathroom tiling, and fixtures.

Additionally, you’ll need to consider how the original bathroom design will impact major structural and plumbing renovations. This article will teach you all this, and more so you can confidently move forward on your renovation.

Bathroom Renovation Ideas

In order to communicate your bathroom renovation ideas, you’ll need to collect inspiration. This is the first step in your renovation journey. There are plenty of ways to gather inspiration, including:

• Moodboards – Also known as a vision board, a mood board is a collage of different pictures that inspire your overall vision. These images can include specific products, paint colours or general pictures you like. Think about all the things you like about your bathroom, and all the things you don’t. Then ask yourself, why? You can do mood boards digitally or physically; there is no right or wrong answer.
• Rough sketches – Creating sketches or visualisations of your desired space is a great way to communicate what you have in mind.
• Speak with a consultant – A renovations consultant can help get the ball rolling on your project by exploring different ideas and styles for your bathroom renovation. Consultants can also connect you with a design team to take your ideas through to completion.
• 3D software – For the tech-savvy, you can use in-browser tools such as Floorplanner. Floorplanner allows you to map out a floor plan and plan where the fixtures will go.

This research will help your bathroom builders and designers create the bathroom of your dreams and discuss what is possible. You can look at our documentation here to read more about the inspiration process.

Planning a bathroom renovation is like bringing all your dreams into reality. It’s an exciting process because it makes your home much more personalised and comfortable. There are also a heap of features in your stock-standard bathroom that just don’t meet everyone’s needs. For example, a high-quality spa bath would be a must if you love a spa day at home, but they’re not that common in a typical bathroom. Or if you have mobility issues or difficulties bending over, low cabinetry with deep shelves isn’t suitable. You can plan and design for all these things with the help of a professional renovation team.

Bathroom Renovation Budget

A bathroom renovation can cost anywhere from $25,000 to upwards of $95,000, depending on various factors. Determining your bathroom budget requires understanding where you can cut costs and how much services and materials cost on average.

Typically, budgets are formed during consultation with an experienced renovation specialist. During a consultation, you’ll discuss your inspiration and ideas and begin to map out a shopping list. It’s beneficial to understand the basics and have a battle plan. The primary areas you should consider when planning your budget include the following:

• Structural work and additions
• Specialist and service costs
• Floor tiles & wet sealing
• Luxury fittings and fixtures

You can expect to spend around $15,000 to $30,000 on a mid-range renovation. However, for a premium or luxury renovation, these costs can range anywhere from $30,000 to $90,000 and upwards.

Below we explore in further detail some factors that can impact your budget.

Bathroom Renovators

Choosing the right bathroom renovation specialist is extremely important. Allowing someone to enter and work in your home requires strong trust and communication. Aim to acquire at least three quotes to compare your options.

When getting quotes from a bathroom renovation company, it is essential to consider more than just the price. You should also look at the business’ reputation and how well they communicate. Great ways to do this include reading reviews, reviewing their previous works, reading their website and, ultimately, having a conversation.

Some questions we suggest asking include the following:

• Are you licensed? – Licensing is extremely important in bathroom renovations as it ensures high-quality workmanship and fully compliant plumbing.
• Are you insured? – Hiring uninsured contractors puts you at risk of out-of-pocket payments in the event of an accident or injury.
• What is the timeline for this project? – Getting an idea of the timeline, even a rough one, is crucial to planning. While workers are in your home, you may experience disruptions such as noise or limited access to your bathroom. Without a timeline, this can be difficult to account for.
• What aspects of the project are managed in-house? – Knowing who is going to be in your house and when is super important for your comfort. When a project manager is outsourcing work, you need to be confident in the people that they’re outsourcing to and that they will follow your creative vision.
• What if we need to make changes as we go? – Planning out your renovation is the key to a successful project; however, sometimes changes can come about due to rectification works. Rectification works may occur where the team identifies water damage or white ant issues. Alternatively, changes may occur simply because of additional suggestions by yourself or the team. Ultimately the goal is to stick to the original design to avoid quotation adjustments. However, some rectification work may be unavoidable.

These questions will not only give you important information but also let you see how the specialists communicate. This can give you an idea of how quickly and clearly they respond.

Bathroom Tiling

Another huge contributor to bathroom renovation costs is tiling! Tiles are common in bathrooms, often covering the walls and floor. Bathroom tiles can cost anywhere from $20 to $86 per square metre, depending on the tile material, colour and style. The tile installation cost will then typically add an extra $35 to $120 per square metre to the overall quote.

A bathroom renovation specialist will typically have a list of preferred material suppliers. If you’re looking to save on upfront costs, whilst still generating property value, is to choose tile designs that incorporate strategically placed tiles around the bathroom rather than floor-to-ceiling installations. This is not only cheaper on material costs but can also inspire exciting designs.

For more information on choosing tiles for your bathroom, check out our comparison of different materials, styles, colours, and sizes.

Bathroom Fittings and Fixtures

Fittings and fixtures can also contribute to renovation costs. Fittings refer to lighting, tapware and towel railings, while fixtures include bathtubs, toilets, cabinetry and shower screens. These details are by far one of the easiest things to amend when trying to keep on budget. For example, choosing a budget bathtub over a luxury tub can reduce costs by up to $7700.

Similarly, depending on the style and quality of the toilet you purchase, costs can range from $150 to $750. Finally, you might consider a walk-in shower to save on the cost of a shower door.

If you’re worried about the costs but still want a particular aesthetic, you can discuss alternatives with your designers.

Bathroom Floor Plans

The most important detail in planning a bathroom renovation is the floor plan. This will determine the overall appearance and cost of the renovation. There are many different types of floor plans, all with different benefits; however, a drastically altered floor plan will affect your planned costs. This is due to structural changes such as changing the placement of windows or doors as well as potential plumbing relocation.

When choosing a floor plan, you’ll need to consider what major elements of your bathroom it will impact. The size of your bathroom will also impact what floor plans are available to you. Ultimately, choosing a floor plan is best done in consultation with an experienced bathroom renovation specialist.

Some popular floor plans typically used in bathroom renovations include:

• Three-Quarter Bath Layout – This layout is typically used for small-sized or guest bathrooms and focuses on utility and space-saving. It allows for a standing shower, sink and toilet.
• Full Bath Layout – A full bath layout is a common layout for 9×5 ft spaces, featuring a vanity, toilet and bathtub/shower combination. This layout is also commonly used in smaller bathrooms.
• Primary Bathroom Layout – This bathroom layout is suitable for a medium-sized bathroom (such as a 9x9ft space). It features a bathtub and shower on one side and a single or double vanity and toilet on the other. By placing fixtures on either side, plumbing can be made easier and more efficient to install.
• Large Primary Bathroom Layout – This bathroom layout is suitable for larger bathrooms, such as those that are 10×12 ft in size. It includes space for a full bathtub, double vanity, standing shower, and enclosed toilet compartment.
• Luxury Primary Bathroom Layout – For large bathrooms (such as 12×13 ft spaces), you can incorporate bay windows, freestanding tubs, and separate single vanities. In addition, you can begin to consider things such as separate compartments for the toilet and walk-in shower. This keeps each area private from the others.

Bathroom Renovation Steps

A successful bathroom renovation requires a lot of communication, collaboration and hard work. Planning is just the first step in this process. There are many other important processes, such as:

• Demolition
• Plumbing and Electrical
• Carpentry and Building
• Sheeting and Plastering
• Sanding and Painting
• Screeding
• Waterproofing
• Tiling
• Grouting
• Caulking
• Cabinetry
• Clean-up

If you want to learn more about renovating your bathroom, we have complete process documentation that covers all the essential steps.

Planning a bathroom renovation is an exciting process, especially with the help of a renovation specialist. Understanding how budgets, floor plans and the overall renovation process works are helpful in guiding you through your first consultation. However, you can be assured that when working with specialists, you’ll have access to all the information and guidance you need. If you’re interested in taking the first steps on your bathroom renovation journey, get in touch with us today.