Wet rooms · Vanities · Tile
Waterproofed properly. Once.
Every bathroom looks good on handover day. The ones that still look good in year twelve are the ones where the invisible layer under the tile was done right.
The thing that matters
Tile is not waterproof. Grout is not waterproof.
Water passes through a tiled surface. It always has. What stops it reaching your joists is the waterproofing membrane behind and beneath the tile — and that is the layer cheap bathrooms skip.
A shower installed over plain cement board with no membrane will look identical to a properly built one for about five years. Then the smell starts, the tile at the base sounds hollow, and the repair is not a bathroom — it is a bathroom plus the subfloor plus, occasionally, the ceiling of the room below.
We build every wet area with a bonded waterproofing membrane, a correctly pre-sloped shower base and sealed corners and penetrations. It is a modest percentage of the project cost and it is the entire difference between doing this once and doing it twice.
Curbless wet room
Tub-to-shower conversion
Primary ensuiteWhat we build
Four kinds of bathroom project.
Most enquiries fall into one of these. The scope, timeline and cost differ significantly between them.
Full gut renovation
Everything out to the studs and joists. The only route if there is existing water damage, and the only way to change the layout meaningfully.
- Layout changes possible
- 3–5 weeks typical
- New waterproofing throughout
Tub-to-shower conversion
The most requested project we do. Converting an unused tub into a walk-in shower, usually with a bench, niche and frameless glass.
- Drain relocation required
- 2–3 weeks typical
- Adds usable space
Curbless & accessible
Level-entry showers, blocking for future grab bars, wider door openings and comfort-height fixtures — designed to age with the house.
- Floor structure modified
- Linear drainage
- Future-proofed blocking
Powder rooms
Small, high-impact and quick. No wet area means no waterproofing complexity, so the whole job is usually done inside two weeks.
- 1–2 weeks typical
- Strong resale return
- Minimal disruption
Membrane & pre-slope
Build standard
What sits behind your tile.
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01
Bonded membrane
A continuous waterproof layer across the shower walls, floor and curb — lapped, sealed and pressure-tested before a single tile goes on.
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02
Correct pre-slope
The base slopes to the drain beneath the membrane, not just above it. Without it, water sits permanently in the mortar bed.
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03
Sealed penetrations
Every valve, spout and fixing through the membrane is sealed with the manufacturer's own collar — not caulk and optimism.
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04
Extraction that works
Ducted to the outside, sized for the room, and on a timer or humidistat. Most mould problems are ventilation problems.
Bathroom questions
What people ask us.
A powder room is one to two weeks. A tub-to-shower conversion is two to three. A full gut renovation is three to five, and longer if we find damage once it is open. If it is your only bathroom, tell us at the consultation — we sequence those projects differently and compress the days where the room is genuinely unusable.
Usually, but it is the single biggest cost driver in a bathroom. Waste pipes need a specific fall, and achieving it means working within the joist depth — sometimes possible, sometimes requiring a raised floor or work from the ceiling below. We check the joist direction and the run to the stack before promising anything.
If you intend to stay in the house long term, yes — at least the cheap parts. Adding solid blocking in the walls for future grab bars costs very little during a renovation and is a significant job to retrofit later. A curbless entry and a slightly wider door are worth considering at the same time. None of it has to look clinical.
It happens in a meaningful share of bathroom demolitions, so we plan for it. Your contract carries a stated contingency and agreed unit rates for subfloor and joist repair, which means if we find rot you already know what it costs. We photograph it, show you, and price it against the rate you approved — never a number invented on the day.
Bathrooms
Build it right the first time.
Free consultation, an honest read on your existing bathroom, and a written scope before anything is demolished.