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Good things come in small packages! It may not be one of the biggest rooms in your home, but you can get really creative when renovating your bathroom. Some fantastic bathroom renovation ideas include updating bathroom décor, getting colourful with bathroom paint, adding bathroom lighting, and laying bathroom tiles, vinyl or lino. But how do you renovate a bathroom? How much does a bathroom renovation cost? What are some creative ideas which add value to your property? And do you need building consent?
This blog will explore 14 tips to set you up for the ultimate bathroom renovation. You’ll learn practical bits of advice, words of inspiration and essential tips on safety and bathroom renovation building consent.
Let’s dive in!
Before you even begin planning your bathroom renovation, it’s important to take stock of what you’re working with. First, you should check the situation with your current plumbing. Do the pipes run through the floors or the ceiling and down partition walls? Working around your existing plumbing setup can help reduce your bathroom renovation cost, so it’s vital you know the lay of the land. If you strip off a wall to see where the plumbing is and where fittings go, it can be helpful to take photos along the way.
Next up, you need to find your water main. To do this, look at your water bill to see the number that will coincide with a water valve usually at the front of your property. Sometimes known as a water toby, this valve can turn on and off water flow to your home.
Top tip: If you live in a block or shared driveway with other properties, be extra careful to use the correct water valve. You don’t want to be turning off your neighbour's water while they’re taking a shower!
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Once you know what you’re working with, it’s time to make a bathroom renovation plan. Will it be a few small updates or a full renovation? Will you need to move any walls or change the room's configuration, or will you swap out some key things like the shower and sink and give it a coat of paint to make it feel fresh.
If looking to do a more serious bathroom, it’s worth thinking about what you need from your bathroom, not just what you want it to look like. Kids or pets in your family? A bath may be a must! Fighting over the sink? You may prioritise a vanity with two sinks. When putting together your dream bathroom plans, you may find it helpful to make a ‘must-haves’ list and a ‘nice-to-haves’ list and refine your plans from there.
Pull inspiration from a number of sources (Pinterest, magazines, blogs and more)
Shop around to get a feel for bathroom configurations, types of showers and baths, sinks and toilets, as well as finishes you may want to consider like tile, textured wall panelling or even concrete. You can use tools like Sketch Up or even Photoshop to start playing around with your bathroom layout and making a plan for your bathroom renovation.
Not spending enough time at the designing and planning stage could cost you later in your project when you have to make changes or realise something doesn’t quite work, so it’s worth spending time getting a plan together.
This will undoubtedly happen in tandem with planning, but it's crucial to make and try to stick to a realistic bathroom renovation budget so you don’t run out of cash. How much you will need to budget for will depend on the size of your bathroom and how big of an overhaul you’re planning to carry out.
Things that ramp up your bathroom renovation costs tend to be:
On the other hand, you can look to save money when renovating your bathroom by:
Read our guide on budgeting for home renovations for more words of wisdom. When you need to hire a professional, try to get contact details from someone you’ve dealt with in the past and can trust. That way, you know you won't be taken for a ride.
Top tip: When planning and picking appliances, make sure everything is mm specific with a tape measure. Being precise could save you money and stress in the long run.
Bathroom renos can set you back from $6000 for a small toilet upgrade up to around $22,000 for a mid-range reno where you are altering the layout. As we’ve touched on already, a bit of DIY bathroom renovation can help to lower your overall bathroom renovation cost. Electrical and plumbing work should all be done by a professional, but with helpful guides and gear from Hirepool, you can do a lot of work yourself. Some useful equipment to help with your DIY bathroom renovation include:
Check out other handy tools for DIY bathroom renovation on our building and renovation hub.
Whether you’re renovating the bathroom in your forever home or looking to add value to an investment property, choosing materials that will last is important. Considering durable materials at the reno stage could pay off with your bathroom’s resale value down the track. Try to think ahead when making decisions to do with materials including:
Of course, you don’t want to blow out your budget. So balancing quality and affordability can sometimes be a fine art.
Using the correct tools for the task can make your DIY bathroom renovation so much easier. Hiring equipment that you wouldn’t use often can decrease your bathroom renovation cost. Items like a hand float, wallboard screw gun or lino roller are all bits of kit where hiring is a good option. Chat to the helpful team at your local Hirepool branch if you need advice on picking the right tools for your bathroom reno.
Sure, your bathroom needs to look amazing, but it also needs to be practical. When thinking of bathroom renovation ideas, try to envisage yourself using the bathroom. What would you find convenient? A raised toilet? A toilet with a hydraulic seat that you don’t need to touch to shut? One sink or two? Sure, a hydraulic seat might be out of your bathroom renovation budget, but considering storage options can be a cheap way to keep your bathroom practical. Putting a towel rail on the back of the door or a shelf above the toilet are examples of using space practically. Read our guide on how to drill holes accurately for tips on using a drill to put up shelves and storage.
Your bathroom lighting will help your bathroom feel bigger. Natural light is king, but there are other ways to light up your space. Try to position bathroom lighting in optimal places like over the bathroom vanity, around bathroom mirrors, or above a bath or shower. When choosing your new bathroom lighting, consider:
Remember, all electrical work needs to be carried out by a qualified electrician.
There are a few things to consider regarding bathroom renovation building consent. If you’re just replacing appliances, you won’t need consent, but you will if you’re connecting a new toilet to the wastewater line. It can be helpful to talk with an expert on consent before starting. It’s also important to ensure your new bathroom reaches the Healthy Homes Standards. And speaking of rules and regulations, don’t forget certain work needs to be carried out by a professional!
It’s always an awful feeling getting out of a nice warm shower into a freezing cold bathroom. New Zealand winters can get pretty chilly, so it’s essential to factor in heating options for your renovation. Bathroom heating options to consider include:
Of course, you should’ve identified which fixtures you’ll be using back on day one of your planning.
Getting colourful with your bathroom is a great way to flex your creative muscle. Bathroom paint, bathroom wallpaper, coloured tiles and accessories are all ways you can splash some colour. When picking colours for your new bathroom, it’s important to think of your bathroom in the big picture of your house. Do the colours fit the flow of the house? Will the colours you choose be timeless? Do you want to keep things simple with monochromatic greys or make your new space feel warm with yellows?
Top tip: Put cuts of tiles behind fixtures and appliances, so they are out of sight. Check out our helpful guides on removing floor tiles, removing wallpaper and removing paint for prepping tips before getting colourful.
You need adequate ventilation to make your bathroom reach Healthy Homes Standards, but that shouldn’t be the only reason you want good airflow. Proper ventilation is vital to remove bad smells and odours and to control humidity and moisture in the air. Bathroom fans, extractors, and dehumidifiers are all ways to keep the air fresh and dry in your new bathroom.
Renovations almost always take longer than you initially plan for them to take. Sitting down with a calendar can only help so much as there will always be unexpect delays. Contractors could become ill, and there could be shipping delays with materials, among other variables. When thinking about bathroom renovation ideas, try to be realistic with the amount of time you have. At the end of the day, time is money!
While your bathroom is undergoing its transformation, it’s unlikely to be very functional, so you’ll need to think about how you’ll do your business and shower while your reno is underway. If you’re lucky enough to have a spare bathroom or en suite, then this isn’t a problem, but you may want to consider staying with friends and family or at the least - hiring a portaloo while renovations are taking place.
Renovating your bathroom is one of the most rewarding renos to sink your teeth into. Following our tips, choosing the right contractors, and hiring top gear for your DIY work are all ways you can create the ultimate stunning bathroom renovation on a budget.
See our building and renovation hub for helpful gear and insightful guides, or speak with Hirepool’s knowledgeable staff at your nearest Hirepool branch to get started. Check out our 10 DIY ideas for a big impact room for other ways you can get creative at home.
