What a bathroom renovation costs in Narre Warren
What a bathroom renovation costs in Narre Warren 3805 band by band, what moves a job up a band on 1970s and estate era homes, and how to read three quotes.
Three price bands cover almost every full bathroom in postcode 3805. Which band your job lands in is settled in the first hour on site, long before anyone picks a tile. A 1970s brick veneer and a 2000s estate home of the same size price differently, and the reason sits behind the tiles.
Narre Warren holds two large blocks of near identical housing with very little in between. A single storey brick veneer belt runs through Narre Warren proper, built across the 1970s and 1980s. An estate belt runs through Narre Warren South, built from 1999 to 2008. Those two blocks wear out in different ways and cost different money to put right, so the figures below are set against the actual houses rather than a Melbourne wide average.
What are the three price bands?
| Band | What it usually is in Narre Warren | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Small or budget | Same footprint strip and rebuild, all fittings stay where they are, builder range tiles, prefab shower base or a standard tiled base | $10,500 to $21,000 |
| Standard mid range | Same room, some fittings moved, floor to ceiling tiling, tiled shower base with a linear or square waste, semi frameless screen, new exhaust ducted out through the eave | $21,000 to $36,750 |
| Large or high end | Wall removed between the bathroom and the old separate toilet, plumbing relocated, double vanity, freestanding bath, large format or stone look tiles, niche and feature work | $36,750 to $57,750 |
Other rooms in the same house price separately.
| Room | Price |
|---|---|
| Ensuite | $14,000 to $25,000 |
| Laundry | $5,000 to $20,000 |
| Separate toilet or powder room | $6,000 to $14,000 |
The 1970s and 1980s houses very rarely stay in the small band once the tiles are off, because the shower has usually been leaking for years by the time anyone calls. The Narre Warren South estate houses, at 18 to 27 years old, are the ones that genuinely do sit in the small and standard bands. Their membrane has reached the end of its life, but the layout, the pipe runs and the window position are all still fine, so the job is a strip and rebuild in the same footprint.
Where the money actually goes
A quote is built up from measured quantities. These are the rates behind the bands.
| Item | Rate |
|---|---|
| Wet area waterproofing, supplied and applied | $50 to $85 per m2 |
| Wall tiling, supply and lay | $75 to $165 per m2 |
| Floor tiling, supply and lay | $90 to $190 per m2 |
| Shower screen, supplied and installed | $1,200 to $3,500 |
| Vanity, supplied and installed | $500 to $3,700 |
| Freestanding bath, supplied and installed | $1,600 to $5,300 |
A typical 1970s Narre Warren bathroom is about 2.4 metres by 1.8 metres. Tiled floor to ceiling, that room is roughly 26 to 30 square metres of wall plus about 4.3 square metres of floor. A tile chosen at the top of the range instead of the bottom can therefore add several thousand dollars on its own without changing one thing about the build.
What pushes a Narre Warren job into a higher band?
- Moving the plumbing. Leaving the toilet, basin and shower where they already are is the single biggest saving available. Shifting the toilet means a new drain connection, which on a slab home means cutting the slab and making it good, and on a subfloor home means work underneath. Either way the plumber is on site longer and the drainage side of the job grows.
- Asbestos. On anything built before 1990, treat the wall sheeting behind the tiles as containing asbestos until a laboratory test clears it. That covers most of the brick veneer belt. Removal is done under licence and appears as its own line, so it lifts the price rather than disappearing into the demolition figure.
- Damage behind the shower. A membrane that has been failing for a decade takes the wall frame with it. Damp patches on the hallway carpet outside the shower wall usually mean the bottom plate and the studs need replacing, and that is carpentry and re sheeting before any of the visible work starts.
- Removing the wall to the separate toilet. The 1970s three bedroom plan puts the toilet in its own room off the hallway. Joining the two rooms is the most requested change in this suburb and it is a good result, but the wall has to be checked for load before anything is priced, because a wall carrying weight brings in a permit and a designed beam.
- The oldest Fountain Gate houses. That estate was started in 1956, so those homes are approaching 70 years old with original drainage in the slab or under the floor. They are effectively full rebuilds and sit at the top of the premium band or past it.
- Upstairs in the estate belt. The four bedroom double storey homes built from 1999 through Berwick Springs, Cypress Hill, Hillsmeade, Amberly Park, Strathaird, Golden Grove and Silverleaf put the bathroom and ensuite on the first floor. Carting demolition waste down and tiles, screed and a bath up adds labour, and waterproofing over a timber floor is more work than over a slab.
How do you compare three quotes fairly?
Quotes in this trade are only comparable once you line up what is in them. Work through this list on each one before you compare the totals.
| Check | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Waterproofing | Named as its own line with a rate and a quantity, applied by a licensed waterproofer, with the standard it is applied to stated |
| Tile allowance | A rate per square metre and a quantity, not a lump sum described as “tiles” |
| Tapware and fittings | Either your selected items listed by model, or a stated provisional sum you can spend against |
| Asbestos | On a pre 1990 house, a testing allowance, a removal allowance, or a plain written exclusion |
| Plumbing certificates | Stated as included and handed to you at completion, rather than kept on the renovator’s file |
| Electrical | The safety certificate for the new exhaust fan, lights and power included in the price |
| Making good | Who repairs the hallway ceiling, the cornice and the paintwork where the plumber or electrician has been |
| Rubbish and skip | Included or excluded, and who applies for the council permit if a bin goes kerbside |
A quote several thousand dollars under the others on the same scope is usually missing the waterproofing detail, the asbestos allowance or the making good. Ask for the missing line instead of assuming a better price.
What has to be in writing?
Above a set dollar figure your bathroom becomes a contract job with a legally capped deposit, and a warranty scheme sits over the larger jobs. Those thresholds, the caps and the registration classes are all in what the law requires.
Getting a real number for your house
Send through the suburb, the age of the house and a photo of the shower corner using the quote form and you get a written fixed price quote for the scope described, with a reply within one business day. If the shower is the real problem, read the signs of a leaking shower first. For the sequence and the dates see how long a bathroom renovation takes, and for the work itself see bathroom renovations and ensuite renovations.