How to vet a bathroom company in inner Brisbane before they price the job. QBCC licence class, the named waterproofer, the warranty in writing, and the three questions that sort renovators from tile-over merchants in under a minute.
Short answer: hire on three things, not on the lowest number. Check the QBCC licence class on the public register. Ask who the licensed waterproofer is, by name, on your job. Ask for the warranty in writing, with the certificate handed over at the end. If a company will not put any of those three on paper before you sign, the bathroom is not really for sale yet.
Inner Brisbane is hard on a bathroom. The summer humidity sits in the room for months. The frames in older Queenslanders move when the air dries out in winter. The cost of getting it wrong is rarely the tiles. It is the joists, the wall studs and the ceiling below when the membrane fails behind the screed. Choosing the renovator is the only choice you make twice, before the work and after.
Queensland regulates building work through the QBCC. A bathroom renovator running the contract needs the right builder class. The waterproofer needs a separate class on the same job. The plumber holds a QBCC plumbing licence. The electrician is licensed through the ESO. Every one of those licence numbers is public, free to check, and listed on the QBCC and ESO sites. A company that hesitates to give you the numbers is the answer.
Ask these three before anyone takes a tape measure to your room. They sort the field in under a minute.
1. Who is doing the waterproofing on my job, and what is their licence number? A licensed waterproofer must be named, not the head contractor. The membrane is the part that fails when a renovation fails. The system used (Ardex, Davco, Mapei or a peer) belongs in writing alongside the name.
2. Will I receive the waterproofing certificate at handover? The certificate is a one-page document the waterproofer signs after the membrane is laid and the flood test passes. Insurers ask for it. Building inspectors ask for it on resale. A renovator who cannot promise the certificate has skipped a step you cannot see.
3. Is the price fixed and itemised before demolition starts? A fixed price names every fixture by brand and model, the tile range with the laying pattern, the screed and falls, and the strip-out and disposal. The cowboy version uses words like "quality fittings" and "PC allowance". The first kind ends at the number on the cover page. The second kind grows.
A renovator who knows what they are doing measures, photographs, and asks more questions than you do. They want to see under the vanity, behind the toilet and at the wet wall. They lift a corner tile if the previous job is suspect. They walk you through the order of the work before they price it. Then they go away and write the proposal in days, not minutes. A salesperson who knocks out a number on the spot has not priced your bathroom. They have priced the average bathroom and added a margin for surprise.
The cash-only deposit. The verbal warranty. The price that is half the other two for "the same job". The page-one quote with no fixture brands. The renovator who will not name the waterproofer. The promise to "look after you" instead of issuing a certificate. None of these are dealbreakers on their own. Two of them on the same job is the bathroom you pay for twice.
Read the cost guide so you walk in with the bands in your head. Read the work guide so you know what the sequence should look like. Then book one good consult, not five mediocre ones. We design to your band, we name our waterproofer, and we hand the certificate over with the keys.
Waterline