Compact modern bathroom with white horizontal wall tiles, a glass shower enclosure, wall-mounted shower fittings, white toilet and dark vanity.
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SERVICE 08 · SHOWER RENOVATIONS

SHOWER RENOVATIONS IN MURRUMBEENA

Plenty of bathrooms don’t need to be gutted. The vanity is fine, the floor is sound, but the shower has a cracked base, a tired hob, a screen that never seals or a bath you have to climb into to wash. A shower renovation rebuilds that one zone properly, with the waterproofing, drainage and tiling done in the right order, for homes in Murrumbeena, Carnegie, Hughesdale, Oakleigh and nearby suburbs.

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Water already getting through? Start with Leaking Shower Repairs.

TRADE BOARD · SCOPE

A NEW SHOWER WITHOUT A NEW BATHROOM

A shower renovation is defined by where the work stops. The strip-out is limited to the shower walls and floor, plus whatever is needed to reach pipes and set the right falls to the waste. The rest of the room stays in use, though some tiling around the edge usually needs to be matched or redone.

Replacing an old shower base or hob

Moulded acrylic bases and tiled hobs from older renovations crack, discolour or trap water at the joints. We remove them and rebuild the floor as a tiled shower with a proper fall, or a hobless one with a flush entry where the floor allows.

Converting a shower-over-bath

Taking out a bath frees up the full length of the room for a wider shower. It means moving the waste, rethinking the mixer height and waterproofing a floor area that was never a shower before. For open, screen-light layouts, see Walk-In Showers.

Rebuilding the shower in the same spot

Same footprint, new everything: membrane, wall and floor tiles, a niche, a new screen and updated tapware. It’s the most common choice when the layout works but the finishes and the seal have run their course.

MATERIAL GUIDE

SCREENS, MIXERS & DRAINS

These choices are made at design stage, because each one affects plumbing positions and tile set-out.

Shower screens

Framed: a metal frame around the glass, sturdy and forgiving of walls that aren’t quite square.

Semi-frameless: frame on the fixed edges, frameless door. A cleaner look with some structure.

Frameless: heavier glass held by hinges and brackets. It shows off the tiling, but needs accurate walls and falls.

Chrome showerhead, handheld shower and thermostatic control mounted on white tiled walls inside a shower enclosure.

Mixers, rails & rain heads

A wall mixer can pair with a hand shower on a rail, which is easy for rinsing kids, pets and the shower itself. Or it can pair with a fixed overhead rain head, or both on a diverter.

Overhead heads need the arm or ceiling outlet placed before the walls are sheeted, so they’re settled early.

Niches & drainage

A recessed niche replaces wire caddies, but it has to sit between studs, clear of pipes, and line up with tile joints.

A centre floor waste suits a four-way fall. A linear drain along one wall lets the floor fall in a single direction, which suits larger tiles and flush entries.

Bright bathroom with a large marble-look tiled walk-in shower, clear glass screen, rainfall showerhead, toilet, dark vanity and grey bath mats.
STAGE 08–09 · WET TRADES

THE LAYERS BEHIND THE TILES

Waterproofing comes first

Once the old shower is out, the floor is prepared and a membrane goes over the floor, up the walls and around every penetration, including the waste, the mixer and the niche. It must cure before any tile goes on. Tile glue and grout are not waterproof, so this layer does the real work. More on Waterproofing.

Tiling is where the fall shows

Floor tiles are laid to carry water to the drain without puddling, and wall tiles are set out so cuts land neatly at the niche, corners and screen line. Tile size affects how easily a floor can follow its falls. Options are covered under Bathroom Tiling.

RUNNING ORDER

TWELVE STAGES, SHOWER-SIZED

A shower job follows the same sequence as a full renovation, just on a smaller footprint. See the whole renovation process.

STAGES 01–04 · PLAN

Consultation to quote

Consultation and assessment of the existing shower, walls and waste. Then design of the layout, screen and tapware, followed by a written quote.

STAGES 05–09 · BUILD

Materials to tiling

Materials are ordered so nothing holds up the trades. Then comes demolition of the old base, hob or bath, and plumbing and electrical work to move the waste, mixer and lighting where needed. Waterproofing is left to cure before tiling to the planned falls.

STAGES 10–12 · HAND OVER

Fixtures to handover

Fixtures go in: mixer trims, shower head, drain grate and screen. Finishing covers sealing, silicone and a full clean. At handover we walk you through the shower and how to look after it.

QUESTIONS ON SCOPE

SHOWER JOB OR FULL RENOVATION?

Still weighing it up? Contact us with your question.

Can you renovate just the shower and leave the rest of the bathroom?

Often, yes. The assessment checks whether the surrounding floor and wall tiles can be cut back cleanly, and whether matching or complementary tiles are available where the new shower meets the old room.

When does a full renovation make more sense?

It makes more sense when the floor tiles need replacing anyway, the vanity and toilet are due, the layout itself is the problem, or water damage has spread beyond the shower. At that point, much of the cost is already in the room, so a full bathroom renovation is usually the better plan.

Can a shower-over-bath become a separate shower?

In most bathrooms, yes. The bath waste is reworked into a floor waste, the floor is built up or recessed to create falls, and the whole new shower area is waterproofed before tiling.

Does the waterproofing get redone?

Yes. Once the old shower is removed, a new membrane is applied to the prepared floor and walls. Tiling over an old or unknown membrane isn’t part of a shower renovation.

My shower leaks. Is that a repair or a renovation?

That depends on the cause. Failed grout or silicone may only need a repair, but a failed membrane under the tiles means rebuilding the shower. Leaking Shower Repairs explains the difference.

PUT YOUR SHOWER ON THE BOARD

Tell us what’s wrong with the shower you have and what you’d like instead. We’ll look at the scope for homes in Murrumbeena, Chadstone, Malvern East, Bentleigh East, Ormond and the suburbs around them.

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