A bathroom renovation is the highest-disruption job per square metre in a house. It is also the one where cutting corners shows fastest: waterproofing you cannot see, plumbing that was never right, tiles on a floor that was never flat. We renovate bathrooms across Cape Town as one accountable job, from strip-out to handover.
What a bathroom renovation includes
- Layout changes. Removing adjoining walls, and where a separate toilet and bathroom make the space feel cramped, opening them up into one room
- Full strip-out. Old tiles, flooring, sanitaryware, and windows where they are being replaced
- Wet works first. Plumbing and waterproofing before anything is covered up, so the finishes go onto a bathroom that is right underneath
- Tiling and detail work, including recessed niches built into the shower walls for a clean, shelf-free finish
- Finishes and fit-off. Sanitaryware installed, fittings mounted, painting and final finishes
- Everything required to hand the room back complete, one team, not a parade of separate trades you have to coordinate
How the job runs
- Strip-out. Tiles, sanitaryware, flooring and anything being replaced comes out. This is the moment older bathrooms reveal damp, failed waterproofing or plumbing that was never right, and it is better discovered now than tiled over
- Structural and layout work. Walls removed or openings formed where the layout is changing
- Plumbing and electrical. Points moved or renewed while the walls and floor are open
- Waterproofing and screed. The part you never see again, and the part that decides whether the bathroom lasts
- Tiling. Walls, floors and niches
- Fit-off and finishes. Sanitaryware, glass, fittings, paint
- Clean handover. Snag list completed, site cleared, quality certificate issued
How long it takes
A single bathroom usually takes two to three weeks. That figure assumes a straightforward job: what actually sets the timeline is the condition of what comes out of the walls, whether the layout changes, and whether your fittings have arrived. We cover this honestly in how long a bathroom renovation takes.
You get a realistic timeline in writing with your quote, and we keep you updated against it.
What drives the cost
- How much the layout changes. Keeping the toilet, shower and basin where they are is the single biggest saving. Moving them adds plumbing, and days
- What the strip-out reveals. Damp, failed waterproofing and substandard plumbing have to be fixed, not hidden
- Sanitaryware and tile choice. The range between standard and premium is wide. Choosing them is generally left to you, and either works: supply your own, or we supply them for you. The quote shows it clearly either way
- Windows and glass. Replacing a window or adding a frameless shower screen moves the number
We do not publish prices, because a number without a scope behind it is meaningless. Your quote is fixed and itemised, so you can see exactly what is included before you commit.
See it before we build it
We model your bathroom in SketchUp to the real dimensions of the room, so you can judge the layout properly, especially when walls are coming out. Finish and styling visuals are impressions of how it could look, not construction drawings. You receive a high resolution proposal electronically and as a printed copy, included at no cost where there is a genuine intention to move forward together.
Work we have done
A full bathroom renovation at Richmond Estate: freestanding bath, recessed shower niches, floor-to-ceiling tiling and a complete refit. More completed work is on the projects page.
Before you appoint anyone
Whoever you use, ask what happens when the strip-out reveals a problem, and ask to see the quote broken down line by line. Our guide to what a renovation quote should cover sets out what to look for, and your rights when hiring a builder explains what the law already gives you.
Your itemised quote comes back within 3 to 5 working days of the site visit.
