Managing the bathroom cost when renovating

You've been frugal with your bathroom fittings, prudent about the plumbing, and you've laboured over the labour. Lo and behold, your bathroom costs looks like it's going to be on budget!

Then you rip up the tiles and your heart sinks. Lurking beneath your retro lime-green horror is a sight even more disturbing - a crumbling floor, water-damaged walls and plumbing that'll drive you round the s-bend.

"Unfortunately, these are all things you'll only discover once you've started work," says Mark Annesley from Just Bathroom Renovations in Sydney. "You can try and quote to accommodate nasties like these, but really it's like asking 'How long is a piece of string?'"

Preparing a bathroom budget for hidden costs

Indeed, when unsuspecting renovators strip out their old bathrooms, they're often taken aback by the poor condition of the underlying structures.

Whether there are rotted timber bearers and joists, old concrete slabs that weren't poured properly, or waterlogged walls, all must be made good before new surfaces can be laid.

"There's no way around it," says Annesley. "If you don't start off with a good foundation you'll just run into problems later on."

"My best advice is to make sure your builder writes an allowance into the quote so you're aware at the outset that there could be hidden extras," he says.

You may also end up renovating more than just your bathroom

Where there hasn't been modern waterproofing, moisture may have soaked into the underlying brickwork, damaging the plaster in adjacent rooms.

"When you start work in the bathroom, vibrations can cause the softened plaster in, say, the bedroom, to start cracking," says Annesley. "Repairing that could add more to your final bill."

And before you redesign your entire bathroom layout, bear in mind that if you don't have access under the house, you'll have to relocate all the plumbing from above, and that means ripping up the floor.

"Again, that could cost more," Annesley says.

Finally, it may seem like common sense, but having a firm idea about what you want before you start will save you dollars down the track. For instance, if you've been quoted for ceramic tiles but decide halfway through the job that you want marble tiles, there'll not only be extra material costs, but labour costs as well.

"Some materials are more expensive to work with," says Annesley. "So make sure you carefully choose all your fittings at the start and don't change your mind!"

Contact a bathroom renovator to find out more about managing bathroom cost: