Bathroom Renovation Checklist

Every good bathroom starts as a brief, long before anyone picks a tile. This checklist runs in the order decisions actually lock each other in: what you want, what you can spend, where things go, what they’re made of, and what your building allows. Work through it and your first conversation about a renovation will be faster and far more useful.

Reference: a compact bathroom, the kind of room this checklist starts from

SHEET A — BRIEF

Start with the room you want, not the tile

The first three items shape everything else. Get them down on paper before you visit a showroom.

01 — GOALS
Write down what isn’t working.
Not enough storage, a shower over a bath that nobody uses, a leak, dated finishes, or a room that needs to suit someone with limited mobility. List who uses the room and when. A clear goal stops the budget drifting towards things you don’t need.

02 — BUDGET RANGE
Decide a range, and keep a buffer.
A range, rather than a single number, lets you trade finishes against scope. Hold something back for what only shows up once the old tiles come off. Our cost guide explains what moves the number most.

03 — LAYOUT
Keep the plumbing, or move it?
Keeping the toilet, shower and vanity where they are is usually the simplest path. Moving them can transform a narrow room, but it adds work under the floor and in the walls. Compare the options in the layouts guide, or plan it with Bathroom Design.

SHEET B — SELECTIONS & BUILDING

Choices that are hard to undo

04 — Selections

Shortlist tiles, tapware, a vanity and a shower screen together, so colours and finishes are judged side by side. Check slip resistance for floor tiles and confirm vanity width against the door swing. Wall-hung pieces and in-wall mixers need to be chosen before the walls are closed up. See the tiles guide and Vanity Installation.

05 — Strata & building

Many St Kilda bathrooms sit in apartment blocks and Art Deco flats. Check your owners corporation rules on working hours, lift and common-area use, and whether approval is needed for work affecting floors or shared services. In older terraces, allow for uneven walls and aged pipework. Wet-area waterproofing matters doubly when there’s a neighbour below.

Reference: photograph fixtures and niches close up as well as the whole room

SHEET C — SURVEY

06 — Photos and measurements to gather

A rough survey of your own saves a lot of back and forth. Treat your numbers as a guide; they’ll be checked on site.

▢ A wide photo from the doorway, and one from the opposite corner

▢ Close-ups of the shower, vanity, toilet and any window

▢ Any damage: cracked grout, lifting tiles, stains or mould

▢ Room length, width and ceiling height, measured wall to wall

▢ Door width and which way it opens

▢ A few inspiration images you like, and one you don’t

SHEET D — QUESTIONS

07 — Questions to ask before you commit

What exactly is included, and what isn’t?
Demolition, rubbish removal, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing and fixtures should all be accounted for.

How is waterproofing handled and documented?
It’s the layer you’ll never see again, so ask how it’s applied and checked.

What happens if something is found behind the walls?
Agree up front how surprises are priced and approved.

What are the stages, and when is the bathroom unusable?
Useful if it’s your only one. The timelines guide walks through the typical sequence.

When do selections need to be final?
Late changes to tapware or tiles can stall a job, so lock them in early.

CHECKLIST COMPLETE

Bring your brief to the table

With your goals, range, photos and questions ready, a quote conversation can go straight to the useful part. If the whole room is on the table, start with Complete Bathroom Renovations. For anything else, contact us.