38 / ABOUT
About Bathroom Renovation Malvern
We renovate bathrooms, ensuites, showers and laundries across Malvern and Melbourne’s inner east. The way we work is simple to describe: nothing is demolished until the job is written down line by line — layout, tile format, stone top, tapware finish, screen type, waste position, lighting and storage — so the bathroom that gets installed is the bathroom that was agreed.
This page explains that method, where we work, which trades are coordinated on a typical job, and how a site is run day to day.
01
01 / APPROACH
Selections written down before anything is pulled out
Most of the stress in a bathroom renovation comes from decisions made late — a tile that turns out to be the wrong format for the fall, a vanity that blocks a door swing, a mixer ordered in a finish that no longer matches the rail. Those decisions are cheap on paper and expensive once the walls are open.
So we treat a bathroom as a specification, not a mood board. Each decision gets its own entry: what the item is, where it sits, what it connects to and what has to happen before it can be installed. You see that list before demolition, and you keep it during the build, which means variations are a conversation rather than a surprise.
The documentation stage is covered in more detail on our bathroom design page, and the build order it feeds into is set out on the renovation process page.
02 / DOCUMENTATION
What actually gets documented
Three groups of decisions carry most of the risk in a wet area. We write each of them down in plain language, with the reason behind the choice, so nothing depends on memory.
LDG-01
Layout and clearances
Fixture positions, door and screen swings, niche heights, floor waste location and the falls that follow from it. Set first, because plumbing rough-in is fixed by it.
LDG-02
Materials and finishes
Tile format and setting pattern, grout colour, benchtop material, cabinetry front, tapware and accessory finish, screen glass and hardware — recorded together so the finishes read as one family.
LDG-03
Sequence and lead times
Which items must be on site before a trade can start — screens measured after tiling, membrane cured before tiling, cabinetry confirmed before plumbing rough-in.
03 / COVERAGE
Where we work
We keep the service area tight on purpose. A compact radius means trades move between jobs quickly, deliveries are easier to stage in narrow streets, and a site can be checked the same day when something needs a decision.
Regular work runs across Malvern, Malvern East, Armadale, Toorak, Glen Iris, Kooyong, Prahran, South Yarra, Caulfield North and Carnegie. Each of those areas has its own building stock — Edwardian and Californian bungalow wet areas, post-war brick veneer, and apartment bathrooms with body-corporate rules — and the specification changes accordingly.
04 / TRADES
Trades coordinated on a typical job
A single bathroom usually involves demolition and rubbish removal, carpentry for framing and battens, plumbing rough-in and fit-off, electrical for lighting, heating and power, plastering, waterproofing, screeding, tiling, cabinetry and vanity installation, glass measure and install, then painting and final clean.
They are booked in order against the documented sequence rather than squeezed in when someone is free, because the wrong order is what causes rework — a membrane walked on too early, a screen measured off an untiled wall, a mixer body set at the wrong depth.
Strip-out reference: workers remove material from an interior. Illustrative stock photography, not a completed local project.
05 / SITE CONDUCT
How the site is run while you live in the house
Protection first. Floor coverings and stair runners go down on the access path before the first tool arrives, doorways are sealed where dust is likely, and fixtures being retained are boxed or wrapped.
Clean-down daily. The work area is swept and the access route cleared at the end of each day. Rubbish is bagged or binned rather than stockpiled on a nature strip longer than it needs to be.
Reasonable hours. Noisy work — demolition, core drilling, tile cutting — is kept to normal weekday working hours and, where a body corporate or council sets stricter times, those apply instead.
Neighbours considered. Skip and delivery positions are planned in advance on narrow inner-east streets, and neighbours are given notice before the loudest days rather than after them.
One point of contact. You get a single person to call, a short update at the end of each stage, and any variation put in writing with its cost and time effect before it is actioned.
06 / FIRST CONSULTATION
What to expect from the first conversation
The first consultation is a measuring and listening exercise, not a sales appointment. We look at the existing room, the substrate and the services around it, then talk through what you want the finished bathroom to do — who uses it, when, and what currently fails.
We measure and photograph the existing room — wall lengths, ceiling height, window and door positions, waste and stack locations, and the floor structure where it can be seen.
We ask about the brief in practical terms — bath or no bath, one basin or two, shower size, storage needed, and whether a laundry or ensuite is part of the same scope.
We flag the constraints early — a stack that cannot move, a slab that limits floor waste position, a heritage window, an apartment with restricted access or works hours.
Selections are then documented as a written list you can review and change before pricing is finalised, rather than being decided on site mid-build.
To start, use the enquiry form on our contact page. It asks for your name, email, phone, suburb, renovation type, budget range, timeframe and a short description of the project — enough for us to come back to you with useful questions rather than a generic reply.
07 / NEXT STEP
Talk it through before you commit to anything
Send through the room, the rough budget band and when you would like the work done. We will tell you what is realistic in that space and what the specification would need to include.
Related reading: the twelve-stage process · services · design references and projects · renovation FAQ · bathroom guides