Full bathroom renovations
Back to the frame, new pipes, new waterproofing, new tiles. The whole room, with one builder running it.
Byron Bay, NSW
Bathroom renovations in Byron Bay
Byron Bay’s bathroom renovation specialists. We handle the lot, from the strip out through the plumbing and waterproofing to the last tile, on a fixed price agreed in writing before anything is pulled apart.
(02) 9072 1997Licensed NSW builder
Licence 487626C, and you are welcome to check it
Waterproofed to AS 3740
We do it to the standard, on every job
You get it in writing
Priced item by item before anything gets pulled apart
Photos under the tiles
We photograph the waterproofing before a tile goes on
Byron Bay bathroom renovations
Bathroom renovation specialists in Byron Bay
Most people ring us because their bathroom looks old and tired. That is fair enough. But the part that matters most is the part you cannot see.
Under your tiles there is a waterproof layer, called a membrane. If it was not put in properly, water gets into the floor and the walls. You will not notice for years. By the time you do, the repair costs more than the bathroom did.
So we take our time on the parts you will never look at. Get those right and the room lasts.
Nearly every failed bathroom we look at failed in one of three places. Where the waterproofing meets the wall, the seal around the floor drain, or the wait before tiling.
Services
Our bathroom renovation services
Walk in showers and wet rooms
A shower with no step to climb over. The floor itself has to slope to the drain, which is where the real work is.
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Ensuites
Small rooms are harder, not easier. Everything is fighting for the same three metres of wall.
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Laundries, with a bathroom
Done at the same time as the bathroom, so one builder handles the floors, the waterproofing and the tiling in both rooms.
Read moreWaterproofing
Done to the Australian standard and photographed before a single tile goes on, so you have a record of what is under there.
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Step free and small bathrooms
Floors with no step to trip on, solid timber put in the wall now so rails can go on any time, and room to turn around.
Read moreRenovation costs
Bathroom renovation costs in Byron Bay
Everyone wants a price and nobody wants to say one first. So here it is straight.
Two bathrooms of the same size, in the same street, can be twenty thousand dollars apart. Very little of that gap is the tiles. What really moves the price:
What a written quote covers
- Every item priced on its own, so you can see what each choice costs
- Anything you still have to choose, listed instead of guessed
- What happens, and what it costs, if the floor turns out to be rotten
- The days we spend waiting, spelled out instead of buried in a total
- 01
Do the pipes have to move?
Leaving the drain and the taps where they already are is the biggest saving there is. Move them and the floor has to come up.
- 02
What is under the old floor
Wet, rotten timber is a much bigger job than a solid concrete floor. Nobody knows which one you have until the old floor comes out.
- 03
The tiles, and how big they are
The price per square metre matters less than you think. Big tiles are slow to lay on a floor that has to slope towards the drain, and the time is what you pay for.
- 04
How easy we can get in
A bathroom upstairs, in a house with one staircase, is a full day of carrying before anyone starts work.
- 05
How much you have decided
Picking your tiles and taps while the job is running costs more than picking them before it starts. That one is up to you.
Give us ten minutes on the phone and we will talk you through it. That beats sending you a number that turns out to be wrong.
(02) 9072 1997
Local conditions
Renovating a bathroom in Byron Bay
Byron is not a hard place to build in. But the houses here do ask for a few things that houses inland do not.
A lot of them are older beach houses with timber floors. Timber floors move. The waterproof layer has to be put in differently on a timber floor, or it cracks in the corners within a year or two.
Near the water, salt gets into anything made of steel. Screws, brackets, the frame behind the shower. It sounds like a small thing. It decides whether the room is still sound in ten years.
In the low parts of the shire, floor heights and drainage come first. Sort those out before you start looking at tiles.
Our process
Our bathroom renovation process
- 01
A conversation
Ten minutes on the phone about your bathroom, your house, and roughly what you want to spend. Most questions get sorted here.
Next: On site
- 02
On site
We come and look at the floor, the plumbing wall, and how we get in and out. This is when we can tell you what it really costs.
Next: A fixed price
- 03
A fixed price
You get it in writing, line by line. Anything you still have to choose is listed on its own, so nothing is guessed.
Next: Strip out
- 04
Strip out
The old bathroom comes out, back to the frame. If we find a problem under the floor, you get a photo and a phone call before we touch it.
Next: Pipes, wiring, waterproofing
- 05
Pipes, wiring, waterproofing
Pipes and wiring go in first. Then the waterproof layer. Then it has to dry, and that wait is a legal requirement. Nobody can rush this part.
Next: Tile, fit off, hand back
- 06
Tile, fit off, hand back
Tiles go down, then the taps, the shower and the vanity. We clean up, and you get the photos of what went in underneath.
Then it is your bathroom again
Waterproofing
Bathroom waterproofing to AS 3740
AS 3740 is the Australian rule for waterproofing bathrooms and laundries. It is a legal standard, not a suggestion.
The same three things get skipped. Taking the waterproof layer far enough up the wall. Sealing properly around the floor drain. Waiting for it to dry before tiling.
We photograph the waterproofing at every stage and give you the photos when we finish. It is not a marketing thing. If you sell in six years and a buyer asks what is under the floor, you can show them.
Recent work
Bathrooms we have finished
Have a look through. If something here is close to what you want, tell us and we will price it.
Service areas
Our Byron Bay service areas
Across the Byron shire. The house changes more than the postcode does.
Byron Bay
Older beach houses, and a lot of upstairs bathrooms
Suffolk Park
Close enough to the beach that salt gets at the screws
Bangalow
Old houses on timber floors that move
Mullumbimby
Low ground, so floor heights come first
Brunswick Heads
Small old cottages with very tight access
Ocean Shores
Sloping blocks and split levels, so drains matter
Lennox Head
Exposed and salty, so taps and screws have to be right
Ewingsdale
Acreage on tank water, so pumps and pressure matter
Broken Head
Steep driveways, which really does add to the cost
Federal
Up in the hills, often timber floors and a septic tank
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
Three to five weeks for one bathroom, once we start. About a week of that is waiting. The waterproof layer has to dry before we can tile, and the bed of mortar under it has to set before that. Rushing either one is how bathrooms fail a few years later.
Usually not, if you have a second bathroom. If it is your only bathroom, it is worth planning around. We will give you a realistic timeframe, not an optimistic one.
Yes, and it makes the job easier. If you have drawings or a designer already, bring them. If you do not, we will walk you through the choices in the order they need making. That is the cheapest way to run a bathroom.
You get a photo and a phone call before we do anything. Rotten timber, or a leak that has been running for years, is common in older houses here. It is not a disaster. It does change the price, and you should hear that from us straight away.
The plumbing and the electrical work are done by licensed trades, because by law they have to be. The carpentry, the waterproofing and the tiling are ours. One person is responsible for the room from start to finish.
It is the Australian rule for waterproofing bathrooms. It says where the waterproof layer has to go, how far up the wall, and how the corners and the floor drain are sealed. Nearly every failed bathroom we look at failed at one of those three.
Get a bathroom renovation quote
Tell us about your bathroom and we will come and have a look. You get a fixed price in writing, line by line, with anything you still have to choose listed on its own.
(02) 9072 1997