The honest Brisbane bands: refresh $4k to $9k, walk-in shower conversion $8k to $18k, full renovation $18k to $35k, structural and premium $35k to $70k+, ensuite $25k to $55k. The five things that set your band, and how to read a quote line by line.
Short answer: in inner Brisbane a refresh and reglaze runs $4,000 to $9,000. A walk-in shower conversion runs $8,000 to $18,000. A full renovation in the existing footprint runs $18,000 to $35,000. A premium or structural renovation runs $35,000 to $70,000 and up. A new ensuite lands between $25,000 and $55,000. Pick your band first. Design to it. Do not fall in love with a Pinterest board and discover the band later.
Five things decide where a bathroom lands. Layout change is the first. Keeping the toilet and waste where they are is the single biggest saver, because every pipe move costs a wall and a floor. Substrate is the second. Sound studs and a solid floor mean the new bathroom sits on the old bones. Rotted framing means new framing before any tile is cut. Tile coverage is the third. Floor only is cheaper than walls. Walls are cheaper than ceiling. Fixtures are the fourth. Mid-range brassware is half the price of designer. Frameless glass adds a thousand to fifteen hundred over framed. Access is the fifth. A ground floor house is easier than a unit with a lift, a body corporate and an after-hours rule.
Waterproofing is the one part of a Queensland bathroom that is regulated on every job. A licensed waterproofer must do the membrane. A certificate is issued for the work. It is also the part a cheap quote quietly skips, because it is invisible the day the job is photographed. Insurers ask for the certificate on water-damage claims. Building inspectors ask for it at sale. If a quote cannot name the licensed waterproofer, the rest of the number does not matter.
A trustworthy proposal itemises seven things. The strip-out and rubbish removal. The waterproofer by name with the membrane system. The screed, falls and finished floor level. The tile supply by named range with the laying pattern. The licensed plumber and electrician with their compliance certificates. Every fixture by brand and model. The warranty in writing on the last page.
If you see "waterproofing included" with no certificate promised, "PC allowance" with no fixture named, or fixtures called "quality" without a model, you are reading a number that will grow. The growth is rarely a small amount. PC sums in a Brisbane bathroom move three to seven thousand dollars between the cover sheet and the final invoice. That is not the company being dishonest. That is the contract built so the company does not have to be honest yet.
The cheap inner-Brisbane bathroom is almost always one of three things. Tiles over the old membrane with no certificate. A waterproofer who is not licensed, costed at half rate. Fixtures from a brand you cannot name in five years. Each of those decisions makes the cover sheet look small. Each of them costs ten to forty thousand dollars when the room is opened up the second time. The five-year cost of a real bathroom built once is always lower than the five-year cost of a cheap bathroom built twice.
Ask every Brisbane bathroom company three questions. Who does the waterproofing, and are they licensed for it? Will I receive the certificate at handover? Is the price fixed and itemised before demolition starts? The answers separate renovators from tile-over merchants in under a minute. When you are ready, book a design consult and we will design to your band, or use the estimator on our pricing page for a range first.
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