Signs your bathroom has reached the end
A bathroom from the 1980s or 90s can look tired and still be sound. These are the signs that it is not:
- Hollow or loose tiles in the shower or on the floor near it.
- Grout that keeps cracking at the shower base, however often it is regrouted.
- Swelling or staining on the skirting, door frame or vanity kickboard.
- A mark on the ceiling of the room below.
- A persistent musty smell even with the fan running.
Any one of those usually means water is getting where it should not. At that point a full renovation is the fix, not new tiles over old problems.
What gets rebuilt
Strip-out to frame. Wall tiles, floor tiles, sheeting, bath, shower base and vanity removed, with the house protected on the way out.
Framing checked and repaired. In upstairs rooms the particleboard floor sheeting under the old shower is often water-affected and replaced.
Plumbing and electrical rough-in. New positions for the shower rose, mixer, vanity waste and toilet, plus lighting, power and exhaust.
Wet-area sheeting and membrane. Installed and cured, then certified.
Screed and tiling. Floors laid to fall towards the waste, walls tiled with a planned set-out so cuts land where you will not see them.
Fit-off. Vanity, basin, toilet, tapware, glass, mirror cabinet, heated towel rail and accessories.
The upgrades Hills families choose
Walk-in shower instead of bath-plus-shower. Where the house already has a bath elsewhere, or the children are older, the space is better used as a generous shower.
Freestanding bath instead of the corner spa. Where there are young children, or a bath is part of the brief for resale.
Double basins on one long vanity. Useful where two or three teenagers share the main bathroom.
Separate toilet kept separate. Many 1980s two-storey homes put the upstairs toilet in its own small room. Keeping it separate eases the morning rush; combining it gives a larger bathroom. Both are sensible, depending on who lives there.
Tiled niches and a shower seat ledge. Low cost at rough-in, awkward to add later.
How the job runs
- Measure, brief and layout options.
- Written itemised price.
- Tiles, tapware, vanity and glass selected and ordered.
- Asbestos sample for homes built or renovated before about 1990.
- Demolition and framing repairs.
- Rough-in.
- Sheeting, membrane, cure and certificate.
- Tiling.
- Fit-off, clean and handover.
The detail is on how we renovate.
What it costs
As a 2026 guide, most upstairs main bathrooms in the Hills land between $25,000 and $39,000, with larger rooms and premium finishes going beyond that. The cost page explains what moves the figure.
Planning the ensuite at the same time? See ensuite renovations.
Call 02 4404 2242 or send us the room details.
Related upgrades
| Ensuite Renovations | Master ensuites from the 1980s and 90s reworked for two adults on the same morning timetable. |
|---|---|
| Small Bathrooms & Powder Rooms | Downstairs powder rooms, guest toilets and compact second bathrooms that take a beating from a busy household. |
| Accessible Bathrooms | Level-entry showers, reinforced walls for rails and safer floors, so a two-storey family home still works for the long term. |
| Laundry Renovations | Laundries with real bench space, hidden hampers and a proper place for sports gear, done with the bathroom or on their own. |
| Waterproofing & Tiling | Membranes laid and certified to the Australian Standard, then tiles set with correct falls — the work that protects the ceiling below. |
Questions people ask before they commit
When is a full renovation better than a cosmetic update?
When there is any sign of water getting past the membrane: loose or hollow-sounding tiles, cracked grout at the shower base, swollen skirting or a stain on the ceiling below. Covering those with new tiles hides the problem rather than fixing it.
Can the corner spa bath go?
Yes. Many Hills families replace a 1990s corner spa with a larger walk-in shower, or with a freestanding bath if the kids still need one. The bath waste position is checked first, because it decides what fits where.
Is it harder to move plumbing upstairs?
Often it is easier than on a ground-floor slab, because pipes run through the timber floor frame. Joist direction, the ceiling below and access for the plumber still set the limits, so the layout is confirmed at the measure.
Do I need council approval?
An internal bathroom renovation that does not change the structure is generally exempt development in NSW. Removing or altering load-bearing walls, extending, or working on a heritage item can need approval from The Hills Shire or Hornsby Shire, depending on where you live.
How long does a full renovation take?
About three to four weeks on site for a typical main bathroom, provided selections are ordered before demolition and the waterproofing is given its full cure time.