A full bathroom renovation usually takes a few weeks on site. Service.com.au's published guide puts it at around 3 to 4 weeks when each trade follows straight on from the last, and up to 7 weeks when there are gaps between trades or products arrive late. The parts you can't rush are the waterproofing cure and the setting time between tiling and grouting. The parts you can control are mostly decisions made before the first tile comes off the wall.
Before work starts
Get your selections locked in early: tiles, vanity, tapware, toilet, screen and lighting. The most common cause of a stalled renovation is a room stripped to the frame while everyone waits for one item. If your home was built or renovated before 1990, also think about asbestos. SafeWork SA says homes built or renovated before the mid-1980s are highly likely to contain asbestos products, and recommends a licensed removalist where it's present. Wall sheeting and some older floor coverings are typical places to check.
The stages, with typical published durations
The ranges below are from Service.com.au's bathroom renovation timeline (updated December 2024). They are a published industry guide, not a quote. Your bathroom's timeframe comes with your quote.
| Stage | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Demolition and strip-out | 2 to 5 days |
| Plumbing and electrical rough-in | 2 to 4 days |
| Carpentry preparation | About 2 days |
| Plastering or sheeting | Up to 3 days |
| Waterproofing | 2 to 4 days |
| Tiling, then grout and silicone | 2 to 7 days, plus 1 to 3 days |
| Cabinetry | About 1 day |
| Plumbing and electrical fit-off | 2 to 4 days |
| Screen, mirror and accessories | 1 to 2 days |
| Painting and clean | 1 to 2 days |
1. Strip-out
Everything comes out back to the frame or slab: tiles, old bed, sheeting, fixtures. This is also when hidden problems show up, such as water-damaged framing under an old shower or a floor that has dropped.
2. Rough-in
The plumber and electrician run new pipes and wiring before the walls are closed. Plumbing in SA must be done by a licensed plumber, who has to give you an electronic certificate of compliance within 7 days of finishing the work (ABLIS). Moving the toilet, shower or vanity adds time here.
3. Preparation: sheeting, screeding and levelling
Walls are sheeted or rendered and the floor is screeded to the right falls. This is invisible work, but a flat, correctly falling floor is what makes the tiling and the drainage work. Our screeding and floor levelling is done as part of the job, not left to chance.
4. Waterproofing and cure time
The membrane goes on in coats, and then it has to cure. One common membrane's datasheet (ARDEX WPM 001) allows 1 to 2 hours between coats at 23°C and normally 48 hours before tiling, stretching to 72 hours at 10°C in corners or thick films. That's a fixed wait, and it's longer in a cold Adelaide winter. See our guide to waterproofing in SA for what the standard requires.
5. Tiling, grout and silicone
Tiling time depends on the size of the room, the tile format and the layout. Large format tiles, herringbone and feature walls take longer to set out than a simple stack. Adhesive also needs to set before grouting: one Adelaide-made adhesive system's guide says to grout after the adhesive has set, approximately 24 hours (Construction Chemicals).
6. Fit-off and finishing
The vanity goes in, the plumber and electrician connect the toilet, basin, tapware, lights and fan, the glazier fits the screen and mirror, and the room is painted and cleaned. Then it's yours again.
What makes a bathroom renovation take longer
- Water damage or rot found during strip-out.
- Moving plumbing, or changing the layout.
- Floors that need significant screeding or levelling.
- Large format tiles, feature walls and complex patterns.
- Products that aren't on site when the trade is ready for them.
- Cold weather slowing membrane and adhesive cure.
- Asbestos that needs licensed removal first.
How to keep yours on schedule
- Finalise every selection before the start date, and have it delivered before it's needed.
- Ask for a written timeframe that names the stages and the cure times.
- Plan where everyone will shower for the duration.
- Keep one point of contact. With us, Jaedyn quotes the job and oversees it personally.
We renovate bathrooms and ensuites across the southern suburbs, including Hallett Cove, Seaford and Lonsdale. See our full bathroom renovation service for everything that's included.
