Bathroom Renovations on the Gold Coast

• Most full bathroom renovations on the Gold Coast run $25,000 to $40,000 for a complete, licensed job.
• Salt air corrodes standard fittings fast. Coastal homes should use 316 marine-grade stainless steel or quality brass.
• Apartment renovations need body corporate approval and have to work within the building's by-laws.
• On the Gold Coast, building approvals are usually issued by a private building certifier, not the council directly.
• Plumbing work must be done by a licensed plumber, and building work over $3,300 needs a QBCC licensed contractor.
• Allow around five weeks, with the hands-on work taking roughly 20 business days.

The Gold Coast is not one type of home. We renovate beachfront apartments in Surfers Paradise, family homes in Robina, and older houses in Mermaid Beach and Burleigh, and each one comes with its own considerations. Two things shape nearly every Gold Coast bathroom though: the salt in the air, and how many people live in apartments. This page explains what a renovation really costs here, the materials that survive the coast, the rules for renovating in a building, and how we work, so you can plan with confidence and read a quote properly.

Based on our own completed work, a full bathroom renovation on the Gold Coast usually costs between $25,000 and $40,000. That is for a complete job by a licensed team, covering demolition, plumbing, carpentry, electrical, waterproofing, tiling, plastering, painting, a shower screen, and a final clean. Where you land in that range comes down to the size of the room, whether it is a house or an apartment, and the finishes you choose.

That lines up with the local market. Independent cost data puts Gold Coast renovations between roughly $9,800 for a basic job and $53,900 for a premium one, with the mid range around $25,000 (per What's The Damage). The national average sits near $26,000, so the Gold Coast tracks close to the rest of the country, with coastal materials and apartment access being the two things that can push a local job higher.

It helps to think in tiers. Here is roughly what each level buys on the Gold Coast:

Budget refresh — $9,800 to $19,600. Cosmetic update on the existing layout. New vanity, tapware, toilet, paint, and a shower screen, with the existing waterproofing left in place if it is sound.

Standard renovation — $19,600 to $34,300. A full strip-out, new waterproofing to AS 3740, quality fixtures, and proper design input. This is where most licensed specialists start.

Premium renovation — $34,300 to $53,900. Custom design, premium and coastal-grade fixtures, large-format or stone tiling, and architectural features, with dedicated project management.

Luxury renovation — $54,000 and up. Top-end finishes, natural stone, underfloor heating, custom joinery, and bespoke detailing throughout.

Our $25,000 to $40,000 range sits in the standard-to-premium band: a complete renovation done properly by a licensed team, not a quick cosmetic refresh and not a luxury fit-out.

Get a fixed quote for your Gold Coast bathroom
We give you a free site visit and a detailed, itemised quote that allows for coastal materials and, for apartments, body corporate requirements. Book yours at xbathrooms.com.au/contact.

A few things about the coast change how a bathroom should be built and what it should be built from. Getting these right is the difference between a bathroom that still looks new in ten years and one that does not.

• Salt air corrosion. Salt-laden air corrodes standard chrome and budget fittings far faster on the coast than inland. For coastal homes, the right choice is 316 marine-grade stainless steel tapware and fittings, or quality solid brass, which hold their finish in salty, humid air. Spending a little more here saves replacing pitted, rusty tapware in a few years.
• Humidity. Like the rest of South East Queensland, the Gold Coast is humid, so ventilation and waterproofing have to be done properly or you get mould and early failure.
• Apartments and towers. A large share of Gold Coast bathrooms are in apartments and high-rises. These sit on concrete slabs with shared plumbing stacks, which changes how the work is done and adds body corporate rules on top of the build.
• Access and logistics. In a tower, materials and waste move through a shared lift on booked times, and work happens within set hours. It is very doable, but it has to be planned, and a quote should reflect it.
• The right substrate. In the coastal humidity, experienced local renovators specify cement-based sheeting behind tiles rather than standard plasterboard. It costs a little more but it lasts.

Apartment bathrooms are some of the most common jobs on the Gold Coast, and they come with an extra layer of rules. If you are in a unit or a high-rise, here is what to expect.

• Body corporate approval. In most buildings you need body corporate approval before a significant renovation like a bathroom refit. We help you prepare what they ask for.
• By-laws on noise, hours, and access. Buildings set working hours, noise limits, and lift booking rules. The work is sequenced around them.
• Shared plumbing stacks. Apartment bathrooms connect to shared plumbing stacks running through the building, so moving fixtures is more constrained than in a house.
• Waterproofing and common property. The waterproofing membrane and slab can be common property, so the work has to be done carefully and certified, both to protect your unit and the units below.

None of this is a reason to avoid renovating an apartment bathroom. It just needs a renovator who has done it before and plans the job around the building, rather than turning up and causing a dispute with the body corporate.

A complete renovation is around ten trades working in sequence. When you see a full xBathrooms quote, you are paying for all of this:

• Demolition and waste removal, including the skip bin or building waste process
• Plumbing rough-in and fit-off, by a licensed plumber
• Carpentry, including any new wall framing and sheeting
• An electrical package for lighting, power, and exhaust ventilation
• Waterproofing to Australian Standard AS 3740, certified
• Floor screeding, then floor and wall tiling
• Plastering and painting
• Coastal-grade tapware and a shower screen suited to the room
• Silicon sealing and a full builder's clean

You can supply your own tiles and fixtures if you prefer. On the coast in particular, we will steer you toward marine-grade fittings so you are not replacing corroded tapware in a few years.

This is the order we work in on a Gold Coast bathroom, house or apartment. It is built around one rule: nothing gets covered up until the stage underneath it has been checked.

1. Site visit and scope. Our estimator runs through a detailed checklist on site, so the quote reflects your actual home, and for apartments, the building's rules.
2. Approvals and plans. We finalise the layout, sort any body corporate approval, and order tiles, fixtures, and coastal-grade fittings.
3. Demolition. We strip the bathroom back, working within building hours and access rules where it applies.
4. Make safe. Electrical and plumbing are made safe before any rough-in begins.
5. Rough-in. Plumbers and electricians run new pipes and wiring while the walls are open.
6. Framing and sheeting. We frame any new walls, then sheet the walls and floor with the right substrate for the coast.
7. Waterproofing. Applied to AS 3740 and certified. It must cure before tiling.
8. Screed and tiling. The floor is screeded to fall correctly, then floor and wall tiling goes in.
9. Fit-off. Trades return to install the vanity, toilet, coastal-grade tapware, screen, lighting, and fittings.
10. Plaster, paint, and clean. Final finishing, a full builder's clean, silicon sealing, and a walk-through with you.

For a like-for-like refresh that does not move plumbing or change the structure, you generally do not need building approval. Once you change the plumbing or the layout, the rules change, and the Gold Coast handles approvals a little differently to Brisbane.

• Building approval is usually issued by a private building certifier, with the City of Gold Coast acting on planning, siting, and infrastructure.
• Plumbing work goes through the City's plumbing and drainage process and must be done by a licensed plumber.
• Apartments also need body corporate approval before significant work.
• Waterproofing must comply with AS 3740 and be certified (see the Housing Industry Association).
• Any building work over $3,300 must be carried out by a QBCC licensed contractor. Specialist bathroom renovators often hold a builder restricted to kitchen, bathroom and laundry licence.

We handle the approvals, the certifier, and the licensed trades as part of the job. For the record, our QBCC licence number is 15482767.

The construction work on a typical Gold Coast bathroom is around 20 business days, so most homeowners should allow roughly five weeks of calendar time start to finish. Some stages, like waterproofing and screed, have to cure and cannot be rushed. Apartment jobs can take a little longer because of building access and the body corporate process, and we factor that into the schedule from the start rather than surprising you with it later.

A few things genuinely help, on the coast in particular:

• Get a detailed written scope, not a one-line price, so you can compare quotes properly.
• Choose coastal-grade fittings up front. Cheap tapware that corrodes is a false saving here.
• Set aside a contingency of 10 to 15 percent for what is found during demolition.
• For apartments, confirm the body corporate requirements early so approval does not hold up the job.
• Keep the existing layout where you can, especially in apartments where plumbing stacks are shared.
• Never save money on waterproofing, certification, or licensed trades.

We renovate bathrooms right across the Gold Coast, from the beachfront apartments of Surfers Paradise, Broadbeach, and Main Beach, to family homes in Robina, Varsity Lakes, and Mudgeeraba, and the older coastal houses of Mermaid Beach, Burleigh Heads, and Palm Beach, through to Southport, Ashmore, and the northern end around Coomera and Ormeau. Coastal suburbs get the marine-grade treatment as standard. If you are not sure whether you are in our service area, just ask.

Check the basics before you sign anything: a current QBCC licence you can search, a detailed written scope rather than a one-line price, a clear variation process in writing, and waterproofing handled in-house to AS 3740. On the coast, ask specifically about marine-grade fittings, and if you are in an apartment, ask whether they have done body corporate jobs before. A quote that is far cheaper than the others almost always has something left out that comes back later.

Simon Pintilie is a co-founder of xBathrooms, a QBCC licensed bathroom renovation company (licence 15482767) and Master Builders member working across the Gold Coast and Brisbane. Simon and the team have completed more than 50 bathroom renovations, designing, supplying, and installing each one under one roof.