Bathroom Renovation

The big difference is whether the floor comes up. MoneySmart's condo renovation guide, updated in April 2026, using Qanvast's figures, puts a light bathroom upgrade with no tiles hacked at S$400 to S$6,100, and an extensive one, with every wall and floor tile hacked out, full retiling, pipes rerouted for three or more fittings, and a full-height mirror and complete vanity cabinet, at S$12,600 to S$46,800. Those are figures for flats, not landed houses, and there's no current independent figure for a landed bathroom. A landed bathroom can cost more. It may be bigger, an older house may need the floor taken back to the concrete and waterproofed again, moving the toilet means new waste pipes, and a leak can leave the ceiling below to repair. That's why our fixed-price quote comes after a free site assessment, within 3 to 5 working days, and never from a photo. The toilet, basin, taps and screen you pick change the total too, and the bathroom buying guide covers choosing them.

We can't give you a number of weeks until the scope is set, because replacing worn fittings and rebuilding the floor are different jobs. A rebuild also has waiting time that can't be rushed. For its Sikalastic-668 Dampflex bathroom membrane, Sika says a new concrete slab should cure for at least 28 days and newly rendered surfaces must cure for at least 7 days before the membrane goes on. The first coat then dries for 1 to 2 hours and the second for about 4, and the ponding test can be carried out 24 hours after the final coat. Those are one product's times, not the length of a job, and the screed, tiles and fittings all come after them.

Not always for the building work, but the plumbing has its own rule. BCA says some minor building works don't need plans submitted to it, and that private owners should engage a Qualified Person, a registered architect or professional engineer, to advise on the approvals needed from BCA and other authorities. BCA's advice is to consult your Qualified Person when in doubt. Cutting into the structure or adding a bathroom where there wasn't one are the kinds of changes to ask about first. PUB says regulated water and sanitary plumbing must be carried out by a PUB Licensed Plumber, apart from a list of simple jobs a handyman may do, and the Licensed Plumber lodges the submissions PUB needs. For building works, PUB says the owner must engage a Qualified Person to prepare and submit the sanitary plans. Where the job needs a Qualified Person, engineers or BCA submissions, we arrange them.

Yes, up front, because nothing is hacked out or carted away. There's no current independent figure for how much less it costs in a landed bathroom, so ask for both routes to be priced. What you give up is access. The old waterproofing stays underneath and the floor keeps its old slope, so water that pools now will still pool. The floor also rises at the door and around the drain, and a leak under the old tiles can't be reached without taking up both layers. We recommend an overlay only where the floor is dry, there's no stain on the ceiling below and water still runs to the floor trap. Where there's a leak, new tiles on top won't stop it.

Not necessarily. The stain tells you water is getting through, not where it's coming from. It can be a leaking pipe joint, a cracked floor trap, sealant that has failed around the shower, or a waterproof membrane that has broken down across the floor. One joint can be a local repair. A failed membrane means the floor comes up, because patching over it just moves the leak. Note when the stain appears and grows, and see what to record when a bathroom leaks into the room below before agreeing to any hacking. If the wet patch is near a ceiling light or fan, switch that circuit off and have a Licensed Electrical Worker look at it before it's used again.

It can work if the new position can still drain downhill to the existing soil stack, the main pipe that carries waste down through the house. The waste pipe needs a steady fall all the way, and that run has to fit either in a raised floor, which can mean a step at the door, or in the ceiling of the room below. So the depth of the floor and the room underneath decide the layout. PUB lists installing, changing or relocating a toilet bowl as sanitary plumbing work, which a PUB Licensed Plumber must carry out. Have the plumber check the stack and the route before the layout is drawn.

By testing it before anything covers it. In a ponding test the floor is flooded and left to stand while the membrane is still exposed, to show whether water gets through. For its Sikalastic-668 Dampflex, Sika says at least 2 coats should be applied, the ponding test can be carried out 24 hours after the final coat, the membrane must be protected by rendering or screeding afterwards, and the floor needs enough fall that water doesn't pond. A pass tells you the membrane held when it was tested, not that later drilling can't damage it. The waterproofing checks to make before the tiles go down go further.

AIC's home safety advice lists grab bars, non-slip mats or a non-slip treatment on toilet floors, a shower chair with a portable shower head, and night lights between the bed and the bathroom, and says an occupational therapist or healthcare professional can assess the home for hazards. A renovation is the time for changes that are hard to add later. A level shower entrance removes the kerb people trip over, but the floor then has to fall to a drain, such as a slot drain along one edge, to keep the water in. How a step-free shower keeps the water in explains the levels. Grab bars need something solid to fix into, so decide where they go before tiling. A door that opens outward or slides can still be opened if someone has fallen against it. AIC also notes that EASE subsidises home modifications for eligible HDB and private property owners, and EASE and EASE (Private) cover different work.

It can be an extractor fan that was never ducted to the outside, or one too small for the room, so the damp air has nowhere to go. A floor trap in a bathroom nobody uses can dry out and let drain smells back in, and a wall can stay damp from an old leak. Note whether it's worse after showers, after rain or after the room has stood unused, because that points to which it is. New tiles over the same problem leave the smell where it is.