Bathroom Renovations in Brisbane

• Most full bathroom renovations in Brisbane run $25,000 to $40,000 for a complete, licensed job.
• Inner-city character homes can cost 20 to 30 percent more than newer outer-suburb homes.
• Pre-1990 homes often contain asbestos, which can add a few thousand dollars if it needs removing.
• Plumbing changes are notifiable work and must be done by a licensed plumber who lodges the paperwork with QBCC.
• Brisbane's humidity makes waterproofing, ventilation, and the right substrate more important here than in drier cities.
• Allow around five weeks, with the hands-on work taking roughly 20 business days.

Brisbane homes are not all built the same way, and that is the first thing that shapes a bathroom renovation here. A 1970s brick-and-tile home on a concrete slab in Chermside is a very different job to a raised timber Queenslander in Paddington. We renovate both, every week, and this page explains what it really costs, what approvals you need, the order the work happens in, and what to watch for in an older Brisbane home. The goal is simple: to give you enough to plan with confidence and to read a quote properly, before you spend a dollar.

Based on our own completed work, a full bathroom renovation in Brisbane 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, the age and construction of your home, and the finishes you choose.

That lines up with the local market. Independent cost data puts standard Brisbane renovations at around $20,000 to $35,000, with budget refreshes from $10,000 and premium projects past $55,000 (per What's The Damage). The national average sits near $26,000, and Brisbane tracks close to it, a little below Sydney and Melbourne thanks to lower labour rates. One local quirk worth knowing: bathrooms in inner Brisbane character suburbs often run 20 to 30 percent higher than the same work in newer outer suburbs, because of the older housing stock.

It helps to think in tiers. Here is roughly what each level buys in Brisbane:

Budget refresh — $10,000 to $20,000. 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 — $20,000 to $35,000. A full strip-out, new waterproofing to AS 3740, quality fixtures, and proper design input. This is where most licensed specialists start.

Premium renovation — $35,000 to $55,000. Custom design, premium brand fixtures, large-format or stone tiling, and architectural features, with dedicated project management.

Luxury renovation — $55,000 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 Brisbane bathroom
We give you a free site visit and a detailed, itemised quote that allows for the realities of your home, old or new. Book yours at xbathrooms.com.au/contact.

A few things about Brisbane change how a bathroom has to be built, and they are worth understanding before you compare quotes. A cheap quote often looks cheap because it has ignored one of these.

• Humidity. Brisbane's subtropical climate means moisture sits in the air for weeks at a time, especially through the wet season. Waterproofing has to be immaculate and ventilation has to be sized for it, or you get mould and early failure. This is the single most common cause of a bathroom that fails a few years after it was built.
• Asbestos in older homes. Homes built before 1990 often have asbestos in wall sheeting, floor tiles, or even adhesives. If it is found during demolition and needs removing, it can add a few thousand dollars. We test for it and handle removal safely and legally rather than pretending it is not there.
• Queenslanders and timber sub-floors. Raised timber homes were not designed for modern frameless screens and large-format tiles, which are heavy. The upper-floor wet area can need structural reinforcement, and the plumbing runs through a timber sub-floor rather than a slab, which changes how waste and drainage are handled.
• Old plumbing. Many older Brisbane homes still have galvanised pipework that is near the end of its life. Once a wall is open, it often makes sense to upgrade to copper or PEX while the access is there, rather than leave a future leak in the wall.
• The right substrate. In Brisbane's humidity, experienced local renovators specify cement-based sheeting behind tiles rather than standard plasterboard. It costs a little more but it is far less likely to fail early.
• Access. Inner-city character streets often have narrow side access, which limits where the skip bin goes and how materials are delivered. It sounds minor, but it affects labour time and is worth raising at the quote stage.

A complete renovation is not one job, it 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
• Plumbing rough-in and fit-off, by a licensed plumber
• Carpentry, including any new wall framing, sheeting, and sub-floor work
• 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
• A shower screen, sized to the room
• Silicon sealing and a full builder's clean

You can supply your own tiles and fixtures if you prefer. We will tell you honestly when a client-supplied product will work well and when it will cause problems on site.

This is the order we work in on a Brisbane bathroom. 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, not a template.
2. Plans and ordering. We finalise the layout and order tiles, fixtures, and materials so nothing holds up the trades.
3. Skip bin and demolition. We strip the bathroom back. This is where hidden problems, like asbestos or rot, show up.
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, and we upgrade old pipework if needed.
6. Framing and sheeting. We frame any new walls, reinforce the sub-floor if the home needs it, then sheet the walls and floor.
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, 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. (See Brisbane City Council for the detail.)

• Plumbing work, like installing new fixtures or moving a toilet, is notifiable work. It must be done by a licensed plumber, who lodges the paperwork (a Form 4) with QBCC once it is complete.
• Changing the layout or doing structural work can need building approval.
• Adding a new bathroom or ensuite, or altering an existing dwelling, can also need water authority consent before the council permit is finalised.
• 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.

We handle the approvals and the licensed trades as part of the job, so you are not left chasing permits or lodging forms yourself. For the record, our QBCC licence number is 15482767.

The construction work on a typical Brisbane 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 without risking the result. Older Queenslanders that need sub-floor or structural work take longer, and a new ensuite built into an existing room is a bigger job again. We give you a realistic schedule up front rather than an optimistic one, and we tell you early if your home is likely to need extra time.

You cannot control the weather or what is behind the walls, but you can control how you plan and how you buy. A few things that genuinely help:

• Get a detailed written scope, not a one-line price, so you can compare quotes properly.
• Set aside a contingency of 10 to 15 percent for the things found during demolition, like rot or asbestos.
• Lock in your tiles and fixtures before work starts. Mid-project changes are where budgets blow out.
• Keep the existing layout where you can, so plumbing stays put. Moving fixtures is real cost.
• Do not save money on waterproofing, certification, or licensed trades. That is where the expensive failures start.
• Check your renovator holds the right QBCC licence for the value of the work before you sign.

We renovate bathrooms right across Brisbane, and the work changes with the suburb. Inner-city character suburbs like Paddington, New Farm, and Ascot are mostly older Queenslanders and post-war homes, where timber sub-floors, asbestos, and narrow access are common. The northside, around Chermside, Nundah, and Aspley, is largely 1960s to 80s brick-and-tile on concrete slabs, which usually makes for a more straightforward job. The southside, around Mount Gravatt, Holland Park, and Carindale, has many split-level homes and growing demand for second bathrooms and ensuites. The western suburbs, from Kenmore and Chapel Hill out to the Ipswich corridor, are a mix of older acreage homes and newer estates. Wherever you are, the principles are the same, but the right approach is not. 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. Ask to see real, recent local projects rather than stock photos, and ask specifically about the warranty on the waterproofing, since it is the most critical part of the build. A quote that is far cheaper than the others almost always has something left out that comes back later as a variation.

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