With the average bathroom reno running at anywhere between $16K to $30K or more nowadays you may ask why we don't actively chase these jobs?
Well, basically because we are a small family construction business which is primarily carpentry based. All of our crew are A1 carpenter "guns" with broad experience in all aspects of construction, and we find that there is usually fairly little carpentry involved in a bathroom or kitchen renovation. Most of the required works will involve tradesmen tilers, plumbers, waterproofers, gyprockers, electricians, cabinet makers etc, with carpentry work limited to some demolition, wall framing and the occasional new door or architraves.
Of course, we have great trade contractors for all of the necessary tasks and we produce outstanding results when we do take on bathrooms etc, but we prefer to sink our teeth into projects more suited to our carpentry expertise.
So why does the average bathroom renovation cost so much, when it is usually the smallest room in the house? Well, let's break down the various stages, tasks and sequencing:
Demolition
Even the most basic of bathroom reno's will usually require substantial demolition, unless you're just installing a new vanity unit or toilet suite, or maybe changing some tapware. Otherwise, your job is sure to entail removal of existing sanitary fitments, wall linings and floor tiles. It's usually best to leave the wall tiles attached to the underlying lining sheets and take them off in sections... but be careful here.
Depending on the age of the house you can often encounter Asbestos Content materials in bathroom wall linings (fibro, early versions of Villaboard etc) and even floor sheeting (Compressed Fibro), and this generally needs to be removed by a Licensed Asbestos Contractor.