How long a bathroom renovation takes
A Narre Warren bathroom renovation runs about 15 to 20 working days. Here is the timeline trade by trade, the waterproofing cure time, and what causes delays.
A same footprint bathroom runs 15 to 20 working days on site. Move the plumbing or take out a wall and it runs 25 to 30. The calendar always stretches further than the site diary, because 2 or 3 days in the middle are cure days with nobody there at all.
The order below is the order the trades genuinely arrive in, and it does not compress. Every step needs the one before it finished and dry.
Which trade comes in when?
| Stage | Working days | Who is on site |
|---|---|---|
| Demolition and removal | 1 to 2 | Renovator and labourer |
| Asbestos removal, pre 1990 houses only | 1 to 2 | Licensed asbestos removalist |
| Frame repair and re sheeting | 1 to 3 | Carpenter |
| Plumbing rough in | 1 to 2 | Licensed plumber |
| Electrical rough in | 1 | Licensed electrical worker |
| Wall sheeting and floor screed | 1 to 2 | Renovator |
| Waterproofing | 1 to 2 applied, then cure | Licensed waterproofer |
| Wall and floor tiling | 3 to 5 | Tiler |
| Grouting and silicone | 1 | Tiler |
| Plumbing fit off | 1 | Licensed plumber |
| Electrical fit off | Half a day | Licensed electrical worker |
| Shower screen measure and install | Half a day, after a separate measure | Glazier |
| Painting, making good and clean | 1 to 2 | Renovator and painter |
Day one to day three: demolition
Everything comes out: the 900 by 900 fibreglass base, the steel bath, the laminate top vanity and every tile. On the brick veneer houses through Narre Warren this is the stage where the real scope appears. The bottom plate and the studs behind the shower are usually wet, and on a house 40 to 50 years old whatever sat under the old base has almost always given up. On a pre 1990 house the sheeting is handled as asbestos until a test says otherwise, and the licensed removalist goes in and finishes before any other trade comes back. Allow an extra one to two days and a clearance for that.
Days three to six: rough in
Frame repairs go in first, then the plumber sets out the new pipework and the electrician runs the cable for lights, power and the exhaust fan. On the older stock the exhaust was usually ducted into the roof space, which is why those ceilings sweat and the cornice stains. Ducting it out through the eave belongs in the rough in, not in an afterthought at fit off.
This is also the stage that generates the paperwork. The plumber lodges a certificate for the pipework, and a safety certificate is issued for the wiring. Both should reach you at handover. What the law requires sets out the thresholds and the lodgement deadlines.
Why do the cure days look like nothing is happening?
The floor is screeded to fall, the sheeting goes on, and the waterproofer applies the membrane. The height it has to reach up the shower walls and the standard it is built to are covered in what the law requires.
Membranes go on in coats. Each coat cures before the next one, then the finished system cures before a tiler touches it, which is commonly 24 to 72 hours of an empty site depending on the product and the weather. Those are the days homeowners ask about most. Hurry them and the membrane will not see out its 10 to 15 year life, and one that goes early means the room comes apart again instead of getting patched. The cure days are the cheapest days in the whole job.
Winter in Casey stretches this stage. Cold, still, humid days extend cure times on both the screed and the membrane, so the same job runs longer in June than in February.
Days nine to fifteen: tiling
Tiling is the longest single trade on the job. A typical Narre Warren bathroom of about 2.4 metres by 1.8 metres, tiled floor to ceiling, is roughly 30 to 35 square metres all up. Large format tiles take longer than 300 by 600 because of levelling and cutting. Mosaic to a shower floor and any niche or shelf detail adds time. Grouting happens once the adhesive has set, usually the following day, and silicone goes into every internal corner after that.
Days fifteen to twenty: fit off and finishing
The plumber returns for fit off: toilet, vanity, tapware, shower rail and waste grates. The electrician returns for the exhaust fan, lights and switches. The shower screen is a separate visit, and the glazier measures only after the last tile is grouted, with the glass coming back roughly one to two weeks later. This is the most common cause of a bathroom sitting finished but unusable. Ordering the screen early does not help, because a screen measured off a drawing rarely fits a tiled opening.
Painting, making good where the plumber and electrician have been, and a final clean close the job out.
What actually causes the delays?
- Product lead times. Tiles out of stock, a vanity on a container, a bath on back order. Selections made and confirmed before demolition starts remove most of this.
- Shower screens. One to two weeks after the tiling is finished, every time.
- Scope found at demolition. Rotten framing, a failed drain, asbestos in the sheeting. On a pre 1990 house this is likely enough that it should be allowed for in advance.
- Weather. Cold and humid weather extends screed and membrane cure times.
- Change of mind mid job. A layout change once the rough in is done means the plumber comes back, the certificate work is redone and the sequence restarts.
- Trades booked against each other. Six different trades have to arrive in order. A one day slip at rough in can push tiling by a week if the tiler has started on another site.
Can you live in the house while the work runs?
Most Narre Warren homes in the older belt have one bathroom and a separate toilet, so the toilet usually stays usable for part of the job and the shower does not. Plan for three to four weeks without the main shower on a straightforward job. If the house has an ensuite, the sensible order is one room at a time, and ensuite renovations are often run first for exactly that reason.
For what the work costs, see bathroom renovation cost in Narre Warren. To get dates for your own house, send the job through the quote form and you get a written fixed price quote and a reply within one business day.