There is a specific moment in a bad bathroom renovation when the homeowner realises something has gone wrong.
It is usually a Tuesday. The bathroom has been demolished. The plumber came last week and did the rough-in. The tiler was supposed to start Monday. It is now Tuesday afternoon. No tiler. No message. The builder’s phone goes to voicemail.
The homeowner has one bathroom in the house. Their family has been showering at the gym for 11 days.
Finding a bathroom builder in Melbourne is not the hard part. Finding one who coordinates properly, communicates honestly, and finishes on time — that is the hard part.
There are hundreds of bathroom builders in Melbourne. They mostly have the same things: a website with before-and-after photos, a handful of five-star reviews, and a quote that seems reasonable. The difference between a good one and a bad one is not visible until the project is already in progress.
We at Select Kitchens made a promise to ourselves to give the best possible service to our customers so that they can enjoy their renovation journey at its best.
That’s why in this blog we have discussed finding a bathroom builder and how our team ticks all the boxes of a good bathroom builder.
Without any further delay, let’s get into reading-
What Does a Bathroom Builder Actually Do?
This sounds like a basic question. It is not — because the answer reveals why so many bathroom renovations go wrong.
A bathroom renovation in Melbourne involves at minimum six separate trades: a plumber (for the rough-in and fit-off), an electrician (lighting, exhaust fan, heated towel rail), a waterproofer (applying the waterproofing membrane — the flexible barrier that stops water penetrating the walls behind tiles), a tiler, a plasterer, and a cabinetmaker or joiner for the vanity.
Each of those trades has its own schedule. Their own delays. Their own definition of ‘I’ll be there Wednesday.’
A bathroom builder’s real job is to coordinate all of them in the right order, at the right time, so the project moves from demolition to handover without the homeowner becoming the project manager by default.
| A homeowner in Ashwood was told her bathroom renovation would take four weeks. Six weeks in, the tiler had finished but the plasterer had not yet started — because the plasterer had been booked for a larger commercial job that ran over. No one had thought to book a backup. The homeowner had been living with unfinished walls for a month. When she asked the builder, she was told: ‘These things happen.’ They do not have to. |
What separates our builders at Select Kitchens who prevent this from the ones who cause it comes down to five things — and most homeowners never check any of them.
The Qualities That Separate Good Melbourne Bathroom Builders from Average Ones
They Are a Registered Building Practitioner
In Victoria, any domestic building work over $10,000 must be carried out by a Registered Building Practitioner (RBP — a builder licensed and registered under the Victorian Building Authority). This is a legal requirement, not a preference.
An unregistered builder cannot legally issue a contract for bathroom work over this threshold. If they do, and something goes wrong, you have no access to domestic building insurance — the mandatory insurance that covers defects and incomplete work. Verify any builder’s registration at the Victorian Building Authority website (vba.vic.gov.au) before signing anything.
They Have Dedicated Project Management
Ask specifically: who manages the trades on site? Is it the builder, a named project manager, or you?
The answer tells you more than any review. A bathroom builder who expects you to coordinate between the plumber and the tiler has outsourced the most difficult part of the project to the person least equipped to do it.
Their Quote Is Fixed-Price and Detailed
A proper quote should be line-by-line: waterproofing, tiling, labour, vanity, tapware, toilet, shower screen, waste, electrical, plastering — each with a cost attached.
A quote that reads ‘complete bathroom renovation including all trades’ followed by a single number is an estimate wearing a quote’s clothes. When the invoice comes in higher, there is nothing to dispute.
| A Toorak homeowner received three quotes for a bathroom renovation. The cheapest was $23,000. The most expensive was $34,000. She chose the middle: $28,000. When the build finished, the invoice was $36,000 — because the quote had not included the waterproofer, the plasterer, or the permit fee. The cheapest quote, had she asked the right questions, was actually the most complete. She had compared totals without comparing what was in them. |
They Have Done Projects in Your Suburb
Melbourne’s bathroom renovation landscape varies significantly by suburb. A 1930s Toorak terrace has different structural realities than a 1970s Oakleigh brick veneer. Heritage overlay considerations in Malvern and Camberwell affect what changes are permissible. A builder at Select Kitchens with recent experience in your suburb will not be surprised by what is behind your walls.
They Can Show You Completed Work From the Last 12 Months
Not a photo. Not a render. An actual finished bathroom where you can check the grout alignment, feel the shower screen seal, and see how the vanity doors close.
Builders who do good work are happy to show it. Builders who are not inviting you to look at pictures of someone else’s bathroom instead.
The qualities are checked. Now the specific questions that reveal how a builder actually operates — the ones most homeowners do not know to ask.
Let’s discuss in the following sections.
8 Questions to Ask a Bathroom Builder Before You Sign
1. Are you a Registered Building Practitioner?
Ask for the registration number and verify it independently at vba.vic.gov.au. Takes two minutes. Saves potentially enormous problems.
2. Who is the point of contact during the build?
You should have a named person — not ‘the team’ — who you contact when something needs resolving. One point of accountability is a sign of an organised operation.
3. Is the quote fixed-price?
Confirm this in writing. Understand the variation process — what happens when something unexpected comes up (it will), how it is documented, and how the cost is agreed before additional work proceeds.
4. What are the payment milestones?
Under Victorian law, the maximum deposit for contracts between $10,000 and $20,000 is 10%. For contracts over $20,000, the maximum deposit is 5%. Any builder requesting a larger upfront payment is either unaware of the law or choosing to ignore it. Neither is reassuring.
5. Do you apply the waterproofing or does a licensed specialist?
Waterproofing is the most critical element of a bathroom renovation and the most commonly failed in renovations that develop long-term problems. In Victoria, waterproofing in wet areas must be applied by a licensed waterproofer and must comply with AS 3740 (the Australian Standard for waterproofing of domestic wet areas). Ask who does it, whether they are licensed, and request their licence number.
6. What is your policy on asbestos?
Melbourne homes built before 1990 frequently contain asbestos in wall sheeting, floor tiles, and adhesives. Removal is strictly regulated in Victoria and must be done by a licensed removalist. Ask specifically how the builder handles the discovery of asbestos during demolition — before demolition begins.
7. What is the statutory warranty on your work?
Under the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Victoria), builders must provide a seven-year warranty on structural defects and a two-year warranty on non-structural defects. A builder unfamiliar with these statutory requirements is not one you want managing a $30,000 renovation.
8. Can I see a recently completed bathroom?
Not a photo. A real project. Run your hand along the grout lines. Check the shower seal. Open the vanity drawers. This is the most honest assessment of quality available to you.
What Bathroom Renovation Costs Look Like in Melbourne in 2026
| Finish Level | Cost Range | What Is Included |
| Standard | $18,000 to $28,000 | New tiles, standard vanity and toilet, shower screen, tapware, exhaust fan, waterproofing |
| Mid-range | $28,000 to $40,000 | Larger format tiles, semi-custom or custom vanity, quality tapware, heated towel rail |
| Premium | $40,000 to $65,000 | Large-format stone or terrazzo tiles, custom joinery vanity, freestanding bath, premium tapware, heated floor |
| Luxury | $65,000 and above | Fully custom, designer tapware, book-matched stone, in-wall cisterns, bespoke joinery throughout |
These ranges apply to a standard full bathroom of approximately 6 to 10 square metres. Larger bathrooms, structural changes, or heritage compliance requirements will move costs upward.
The Red Flags to Watch For
Here is what experienced Melbourne homeowners learn — usually after the trouble.
- A deposit request above 10% of the contract value. This is against Victorian law for contracts under $20,000.
- No written contract. Verbal agreements for bathroom work over $10,000 have no legal standing in Victoria.
- Unable to name the licensed waterproofer they use. This is not a minor detail — it is the most failure-prone element of any bathroom renovation.
- Reviews that cluster within a short period and read similarly. Manufactured reviews have a pattern.
- No itemised line for waterproofing in the quote. Builders who lump it with tiling costs often underinvest in it.
- Urgency pressure. Good Melbourne bathroom builders are booked 3 to 5 months ahead. A builder pressuring you to sign this week has availability because their calendar is not full.
| A homeowner in Black Rock discovered two years after her bathroom renovation that the waterproofing behind the shower had failed. Water had been slowly penetrating the wall cavity for 24 months. By the time visible damage appeared, the repair cost was $14,000 — replacing not just the waterproofing and tiles but the water-damaged structural framing behind them. Her builder had no waterproofing line in the original quote. She had not known how to ask about it. |
Conclusion
The difference between a bathroom renovation that finishes well and one that does not is rarely the design.
It is the builder — their registration, their trade coordination, the detail of their quote, and their willingness to stand behind their work when something unexpected comes up. Because something always does.
The homeowners who consistently report the best renovation experiences share one thing: they spent more time vetting the builder than choosing the tiles. They visited completed projects. They asked about waterproofing. They read the contract before signing. The renovation was not stress-free — no renovation is — but the stress was manageable because the right builder had anticipated the problems before they became the homeowner’s problem.
If you are in the early stages of planning a bathroom renovation in Melbourne, the most useful thing you can do before getting quotes is to understand exactly what to look for. A conversation with an experienced designer costs nothing and gives you the questions you need before you sit across a table from a builder.
Select Kitchens has completed bathroom renovations for Melbourne homeowners for 25 years, operating as a registered building practitioner with dedicated project management across every job — from Ashwood and Toorak to Camberwell and Oakleigh.
