A different kind of renovation
The Parramatta CBD skyline is mostly less than twenty years old. Thousands of apartments sit in towers along and around Church Street, Macquarie Street and the river.
Renovating a bathroom inside one of those buildings has more in common with a commercial fit-out than a suburban house job. There is a building manager, a strata committee, a loading dock, lift bookings, security sign-in, and by-laws that say exactly when a tile can be broken.
Which bathrooms get renovated
Early-2000s towers. Bathrooms now twenty years old. Structurally sound, but dated — a moulded shower tray with a framed door, a bath under a shower in the main bathroom, a laminate vanity, and exhaust fans that no longer clear steam.
Buildings from the last decade. These are rarely renovated for style. They are renovated because something has gone wrong — typically water through a ceiling. In those buildings the first call should be to the strata manager, not a renovator. See below.
What a high-rise job involves
Approval. Work involving waterproofing is generally a major renovation needing a special resolution at a general meeting. Some towers have a building committee that reviews scopes before it goes to the meeting.
Building manager coordination. Loading dock and service lift bookings, lift protection, trade sign-in, and parking — or the lack of it — for trade vehicles.
Waste. No skips. Demolition waste is bagged, taken down in the booked service lift and removed from the loading dock the same day.
Hours. Noisy work — tile removal, cutting, drilling — is confined to set weekday hours. That slightly lengthens the program.
Slab. Post-tensioned slabs are common in towers. No coring without scanning and engineering sign-off. The layout stays; the design works around it.
Ventilation. Bathroom exhaust usually connects to a shared riser. The fan is chosen to suit the building's system.
New building, leaking bathroom
Waterproofing defects are one of the most common problems in recently completed apartment buildings.
Residential building work in NSW carries statutory warranties: six years for major defects and two years for other defects. If your building is young and the bathroom is leaking, report it to the strata manager in writing. The owners corporation may be pursuing the builder, and your bathroom may be part of that claim. Paying to renovate it yourself can make that harder.
If the warranty period has passed, or the leak is due to wear rather than defective work, then a renovation is the fix — and the waterproofing is where most of the care goes.
What changes the room most
- Remove the bath from the main bathroom and build a full-width shower.
- Replace the tray and framed door with a tiled floor and a single glass panel.
- Tile to the ceiling, especially in windowless ensuites.
- A wall-hung vanity with drawers and a lit mirror cabinet.
- An exhaust fan that actually clears steam.
What it costs
High-rise main bathroom: roughly $20,000–$32,000. High-rise ensuite: roughly $16,000–$26,000. See the 2026 cost bands.
Nearby
We also work in Harris Park, North Parramatta, Westmead and Granville, plus Rosehill, Rydalmere and Oatlands.
Call 02 4601 3371 or send the room details through.
Other suburbs we cover
Questions people ask before they commit
How do trades get into a Parramatta CBD tower?
Through the building manager, usually via a loading dock booking, a service lift booking with protection, and sign-in for each trade. Parking for trade vehicles is often limited, which affects deliveries and waste removal. We coordinate all of this with the building manager before the start date.
Can I drill into the slab in a newer tower?
Not without scanning and engineering sign-off, and often not at all. Many modern high-rise buildings use post-tensioned slabs containing tensioned steel tendons. Cutting one can be dangerous and costly. Apartment bathrooms in these buildings are designed around the existing waste positions.
My building is new and the bathroom is already leaking. What do I do?
Report it to the strata manager in writing before doing any work. Under NSW home building law, new residential work carries statutory warranties — six years for major defects and two years for others — and the owners corporation may already be pursuing the builder. Renovating privately can complicate that.
How much does a CBD apartment bathroom cost to renovate?
Typically $20,000 to $32,000 for a main bathroom in a high-rise apartment in 2026, a little above a walk-up because of building-manager coordination, restricted hours and waste handling through the loading dock.