Who Do I Need for a Bathroom Renovation in Queensland?
Planning a bathroom renovation can be exciting, but it can also become confusing very quickly.
Do you need a plumber? Who does the waterproofing? Does the tiler organise everything? Do you need a builder? And can you simply organise all the trades yourself?
A bathroom renovation can involve several different licensed trades, and depending on the value and scope of the project, there may also be QBCC licensing, plumbing compliance and owner-builder requirements to consider.
Here’s a simple guide to who you may need for a bathroom renovation in Queensland and what each trade is responsible for.
What trades do you need for a bathroom renovation?
The exact trades required will depend on your renovation. A simple replacement of existing fixtures is very different from completely stripping a bathroom, changing the layout and rebuilding it.
For a typical full bathroom renovation, you may need:
Licensed plumber and drainer
Electrician
Waterproofer
Tiler
Carpenter or builder
Cabinetmaker
Plasterer
Painter
Glazier or shower-screen installer
If you engage a suitably licensed contractor to manage the entire bathroom renovation, they may organise and coordinate these individual trades for you.
Alternatively, homeowners sometimes choose to coordinate the project themselves. However, there are important Queensland licensing and owner-builder rules to consider before doing so.
1. Licensed plumber and drainer
The plumber is responsible for the water supply, sanitary plumbing and drainage components of your bathroom renovation.
Depending on your design, this can include:
Disconnecting existing plumbing fixtures
Installing or relocating water pipework
Installing or relocating sanitary drainage
Roughing in toilets, showers, baths and basins
Installing floor wastes where required
Connecting new fixtures
Completing the final plumbing fit-off
Testing the completed plumbing
Completing applicable plumbing compliance requirements
If you're changing your bathroom layout — for example, moving the toilet to the opposite side of the room or relocating your shower — there can be considerably more plumbing involved than simply replacing existing fixtures.
Does bathroom renovation plumbing require a Form 4?
Some plumbing and drainage work in Queensland is classified as notifiable work and must be registered with the QBCC by the plumber or drainer. The customer/occupier must also receive a copy of the registration.
Other plumbing work may fall into different regulatory categories depending on what is being completed.
We've written a separate guide explaining this in more detail:
2. Electrician
Bathroom renovations commonly involve electrical work as well as plumbing.
A licensed electrician may be required for work involving:
Power points
Lighting
Exhaust fans
Heated towel rails
Electric mirrors
Underfloor heating
Relocating existing electrical services
Electrical and plumbing layouts should ideally be considered before the renovation begins, particularly if you're significantly changing the layout.
Nobody wants to discover after the walls have been sheeted that the new vanity conflicts with the plumbing or the electrical position isn't going to work.
3. Waterproofer
Waterproofing is an extremely important stage of a bathroom renovation.
Wet areas must be waterproofed appropriately before finishes such as tiles are installed. Depending on the work being performed, relevant QBCC licensing requirements may also apply.
The waterproofing stage usually occurs after the plumbing rough-in and preparation work but before the bathroom is tiled.
This is also why sequencing your trades correctly matters. Bathroom renovations aren't simply a matter of booking a plumber, waterproofer and tiler whenever each happens to be available.
4. Tiler
Once the bathroom has been prepared and waterproofed, the tiler can complete the floor and wall tiling.
Depending on the project, their work may include:
Preparing surfaces
Creating appropriate falls
Floor tiling
Wall tiling
Cutting around plumbing penetrations
Grouting and finishing
Good communication between the plumber, waterproofer and tiler is particularly important around showers, floor wastes, baths and other penetrations.
5. Builder or carpenter
Not every bathroom renovation requires major building work, but larger renovations can involve much more than plumbing and tiles.
For example:
Removing or altering walls
Framing new walls
Altering doorways
Repairing or replacing damaged framing
Installing wall linings
Structural alterations
Coordinating the overall renovation
Queensland even has a specific QBCC licence class called Builder Restricted to Kitchen, Bathroom and Laundry, which allows appropriately licensed contractors to undertake and manage specified kitchen, bathroom and laundry renovation work within the licence scope. It does not automatically allow the licence holder to personally perform occupational work such as plumbing unless they also hold the required occupational licence.
6. Cabinetmaker, painter and shower-screen installer
Depending on the design, you may also require other trades toward the end of the renovation.
A cabinetmaker may supply and install your vanity or custom cabinetry, a painter may complete walls and ceilings, and a glazier or suitable installer may be required for your shower screen or mirrors.
This is why even a relatively small bathroom can involve a surprising number of people before it's finished.
Who is responsible for managing all the trades?
This is an important question that homeowners sometimes don't consider until after they've started. There are essentially two very different approaches.
Option 1: Engage a suitably licensed contractor to manage the renovation
You can engage a contractor who holds the appropriate QBCC licence for the work they are contracting to undertake. They can take responsibility for coordinating the renovation and scheduling the different trades required within the scope of the contract and their licensing.
This can make the process considerably simpler for homeowners because you're not personally trying to work out whether the plumber needs to come before the waterproofer, when the tiler can start, or who needs access next.
Option 2: Manage the renovation yourself
Some homeowners prefer to organise their individual trades themselves. However, once you're effectively taking responsibility for undertaking or supervising the overall building project, owner-builder requirements can become relevant.
In Queensland, an owner-builder permit is required if you want to undertake or supervise a building project on your own land with a market value of more than $11,000 including GST. QBCC describes the owner-builder as taking on the role of head contractor, including engaging and coordinating contractors and scheduling the work.
So before deciding to project-manage a larger bathroom renovation yourself, it's important to check whether an owner-builder permit applies to your project.
Can an owner-builder do their own plumbing?
Generally, no, not unless they hold the appropriate occupational licence.
Having an owner-builder permit does not give you permission to perform regulated plumbing and drainage work yourself.
QBCC states that owner-builders cannot carry out occupational plumbing or drainage work unless they hold the appropriate occupational licence. Otherwise, an appropriately licensed contractor must be engaged. The same principle applies to other separately regulated work such as electrical work.
Owner-builder essentially means you're taking responsibility for managing the building project. It doesn't suddenly make you a licensed plumber, electrician or other licensed trade.
What order do the trades come in for a bathroom renovation?
Every project is different, but a complete bathroom renovation might broadly progress through:
Demolition → framing/building work → plumbing & electrical rough-in → wall/floor preparation → waterproofing → tiling → cabinetry → plumbing & electrical fit-off → shower screen → painting/finishing
There can be additional stages depending on the scope.
This is another reason it's worth having the bathroom design and fixture selections sorted before work begins.
Your plumber needs to know things such as where the toilet, basin, bath and shower are going. Different fixtures can also have different installation requirements.
Changing your mind once the plumbing has already been roughed in can mean additional work and additional cost.
When should I contact the plumber?
Ideally, before demolition begins.
If you're planning to alter the layout, your plumber can assess whether what you're proposing is practical and identify plumbing or drainage considerations before everything has been ordered.
For example, moving a vanity may be relatively straightforward on one project, while moving a toilet can require concrete cutting, excavation or significant changes to the sanitary drainage on another.
Knowing this before finalising your bathroom design can save some unpleasant surprises later.
Bathroom Renovation Plumbing in Hervey Bay & the Fraser Coast
At CNL Plumbing & Drainage, we complete the plumbing and drainage component of bathroom renovations throughout Hervey Bay and the Fraser Coast.
Our bathroom renovation plumbing can include:
Plumbing disconnections
Water and drainage alterations
New bathroom plumbing rough-ins
Relocation of toilets, showers, baths and basins
Plumbing fit-off
Applicable plumbing compliance documentation
We work with homeowners, builders and other trades to make sure the plumbing component of the renovation is completed correctly and at the appropriate stage of the project.
Planning a bathroom renovation in Hervey Bay or the Fraser Coast? Contact CNL Plumbing & Drainage to discuss the plumbing requirements for your project.
The information in this article is general in nature. Licensing, approval and compliance requirements can vary depending on the scope, value and circumstances of a particular renovation. Homeowners should confirm the requirements applicable to their project with the QBCC and relevant authorities before commencing work.
