Bathroom pricing is the question we get asked before anything else, and most of the numbers online are either overseas figures or a headline price that quietly excludes waterproofing, plumbing changes and making good. This guide gives you the ranges we actually quote on the Gold Coast, what pushes a bathroom to the top or the bottom of that range, and how long the room is genuinely out of use.
A full bathroom renovation on the Gold Coast generally costs between $20,000 and $60,000, depending on the size of the room and the level of finishes. Most jobs take 7 to 21 days on site. The price covers demolition, any plumbing and electrical changes, waterproofing, tiling, joinery, fixtures, painting and the final clean.
What sits inside that range
| Type of job | Typical cost | Time on site |
|---|---|---|
| Compact bathroom or ensuite, same layout, standard finishes | $20,000 to $30,000 | 7 to 12 days |
| Standard family bathroom, some plumbing relocation, quality finishes | $30,000 to $45,000 | 12 to 18 days |
| Large bathroom, layout change, premium tiling, stone and custom joinery | $45,000 to $60,000 | 15 to 21 days |
Those figures are for a complete strip-out and rebuild by a licensed builder, not a cosmetic tidy-up. If you only want new tapware, a mirror and a repaint, you are in a much smaller number and you should say so at the quoting stage so nobody wastes your time.
The five decisions that move the price most
1. Whether the layout stays put
Keeping the toilet, shower and vanity in their existing positions is the single biggest saving available. Moving a toilet in particular means opening the floor, altering the waste line and reinstating the substrate, which adds cost before a single tile goes down.
2. Tile size, finish and layout
Tiles carry both a supply cost and a labour cost. Large format tiles need a very flat substrate, mosaics and herringbone patterns take far longer to set out, and full-height tiling roughly doubles the wall area compared with tiling to shower height only.
3. Waterproofing and what is behind the walls
Waterproofing is not the place to economise. On older Gold Coast homes we regularly find rotted framing, failed membranes or damaged sheeting once the old tiles come off. A good builder allows for an inspection point after demolition rather than pretending hidden damage never happens.
4. Fixtures, joinery and glass
A budget vanity and a premium stone-top vanity can be thousands apart. The same is true of frameless shower screens, heated towel rails, in-floor drainage and designer tapware. Fixtures are the easiest place to set your own budget once the build cost is known.
5. Access and the type of home
A ground floor bathroom in a freestanding house is straightforward. A second storey bathroom, a unit with body corporate rules and lift access, or a slab-on-ground home needing core drilling all add time and therefore cost.
Coastal homes near the water need corrosion-resistant fixings and quality hardware. It adds a little up front and saves replacing rusted fittings a few years later.
How long will the bathroom be out of action?
Most of our bathrooms run 7 to 21 days on site. The sequence is fairly fixed because several stages need curing or inspection time, and rushing them is how bathrooms fail.
- Protection of the home and demolition of the existing bathroom.
- Plumbing and electrical rough-in, plus any framing repairs found during demolition.
- Sheeting, screeding and falls to the drain.
- Waterproofing and the required curing time.
- Wall and floor tiling, then grouting and silicone.
- Fit-off of vanity, toilet, tapware, screen and accessories.
- Painting, final clean and handover.
What a proper bathroom quote should include
Check the quote covers all of this
- Demolition and removal of all waste from site
- Plumbing and electrical work by licensed trades
- Waterproofing to Australian Standards with certification
- Tiles, adhesive, grout and the labour to lay them
- Vanity, toilet, tapware, shower screen and accessories, with the allowances named
- Painting and making good the surrounding walls, ceiling and doorway
- A clear allowance for hidden damage, or a stated process if it is found
- A fixed price after site inspection, with the payment stages written down
If you want a wider view of budgeting before you commit, our guide to renovation budgets and hidden costs is worth ten minutes.
Where the money is best spent
If your budget is tight, spend it on the parts you cannot redo later: waterproofing, falls to the drain, quality substrate and sound plumbing. Tapware, mirrors and accessories can be upgraded in five years without touching a tile. A beautiful bathroom over poor waterproofing is an expensive problem waiting to surface.
Thinking about your bathroom? We inspect the room, talk through the layout and give you a fixed price with the allowances written down, so there are no surprises after demolition.
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