From Demo Day to Final Touches: A Comprehensive Look at Bathroom Renovation Timelines

One of the most common questions we get asked is; “How Long Will My Bathroom Renovation Take?”. With an abundance of renovation ‘reality tv’ shows on our screens, you could be forgiven for thinking that a bathroom redo can be completed in one weekend. In this post, we break down the REAL time it takes to complete a quality bathroom or ensuite renovation and why.

First stage

During the first two weeks of your build, you will see your bathroom change quite dramatically. We strip the old fittings and fixtures from the bathroom, pre-plumb, pre-wire and put new aqualine gib up on straightened walls. The time this takes will depend on the size of the room and if you are moving plumbing or electrical fittings around. This is the perfect opportunity to reconfigure and action a new layout for your bathroom renovation.  

Gibstopping and Waterproofing

You may notice that during the gibstopping and waterproofing stage, work seems to slow down a bit. This is because these coats need time to dry in between. You may see the trades once per day as they come in to complete this work. Slowly but surely and often naked to the eye, adhesions are curing and setting. It’s important to get this step right.   

This before and after is a local Otumoetai renovation we completed. You can make huge changes to the look of your bathroom, even when you keep the same layout. We completely stripped the bathroom back to it’s bones, repaired a soft floor and rebuilt from the ground up. Check out the full renovation photos here.

Painting

Prep and painting can vary on the size of the room, and how many colours are going on the different areas of your bathroom. The trends we are seeing is generally one colour used for both walls and trims. Though your trims may be a semi-gloss and your walls a low-sheen finish. In character homes you may see your walls and trims a different colour, to accentuate the history of the home. We generally allow one weeks’ painting for a regular sized bathroom, so that our painter can spend this time finishing to the Bay Bathroom standard. We only use bathroom specific quality paints.

Tiling

Tiling can take three to ten days, depending on the area, layout and tile choice. For example, Subway brick pattern goes in a lot faster than a herringbone design. You may be tiling a vanity splashback only. Or perhaps you have chosen a fully tiled floor and walls bathroom including the full shower with built-in niche and LED light!

Almost there

Cabinetry and glass installs are going in now. The Electrician and Plumber will come again to finish wiring and plumbing your fittings in. Are you getting custom glass and mirrors? These will arrive after a 10 working day wait from the date we measure (in some cases, we can only measure once tiling is complete to get an exact fit). There may be some small items to install, like toilet roll holders, robe hooks.

How Long Does A Bathroom Renovation Typically Take?

From strip out to finish, your typical bathroom renovation takes 5-6 weeks. If you are doing two bathrooms, allow 6-7 weeks. Tiled bathrooms take longer than Acrylic shower & Vinyl floor bathrooms. Large rooms and moving walls also add to this timeline. This is a guide and we will create a timeline based on your individual space.