RSK Renovation — Premium Renovation & Fit-Out, Dubai

Overview

Ten Trades in a Room the Size of a Parking Bay.

A bathroom is the most expensive room per square metre in any property, and the reason is density rather than luxury.

Demolition, drainage, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing, screeding, tiling, joinery, glass and fittings all happen in a space of a few square metres. Ten trades in a room the size of a parking bay.

That is why a small bathroom costs what it does, and why the single decision that moves the price most is not the tile.

What Drives Bathroom Cost at a Glance

Whether the fixtures move: the biggest single variable by a wide margin. Keeping the layout avoids new drainage

Tanking scope: full waterproofing and a flood test against partial wet-zone treatment

Tile choice and format: large format and natural stone cost more to buy and more to lay

Tile layout: patterns, mitred corners and feature walls are labour

Sanitaryware and brassware: the widest price range of any line in the room

Concealed or exposed cistern: framing, void construction and an access panel

Shower type: a tiled floor shower against a tray

Vanity joinery: made to measure against off the shelf

Shower glass: thickness, hinges and whether it is cut to size

Pressure and hot water: a booster pump or water heater upgrade where needed

Get a Written BOQ

The Quote

What Should Be Inside a Bathroom Quote

Tanking and the flood test should appear as their own lines. If they do not, you cannot tell whether they are included.

This is the single most useful thing to check on a bathroom quotation. Waterproofing is invisible in the finished room, it adds cost, and it is the easiest line to leave out of a price while still producing a bathroom that looks finished on handover day.

Beyond that, a bathroom quote should name the sanitaryware and brassware by product, state the tile by name and size, identify who supplies what, and list the exclusions.

Sanitaryware supply is worth settling explicitly. Some contractors include a provisional allowance, some expect you to supply. Both are normal. What causes problems is a quote where it is ambiguous.

Project Types

Layout: The Decision That Sets the Budget

Fixtures stay in place

Strip back, retank, retile, refit. Drainage and supply positions are unchanged, so the plumbing work is straightforward. The most common and most predictable scope.

Fixtures move

New waste runs, which need continuous fall to the stack. Where the existing floor does not have the depth for it, the answer is a raised floor section, a repositioned fixture or a macerator. Each carries cost, and in an apartment the structural slab usually cannot be chased, which limits the options further.

Check before assuming

Before assuming a layout change, the position of the soil stack and the available floor depth should be checked at survey. It is a short conversation that can save a redesign.

Shower type

A tiled floor shower needs falls created in the screed and tanking detailed around it. A tray is simpler and cheaper. The choice changes the work underneath more than the visible difference suggests.

Where the Money Goes

Labour, Services, and Where Two Quotes Differ

Where the money actually goes

Labour and services usually outweigh the visible materials, which surprises most people.

Owners tend to budget around tile and sanitaryware, because those are the items they choose and can see priced. But demolition, drainage, first fix, tanking, screed and tiling labour typically account for a larger share than the fittings do.

That has a practical consequence. Upgrading the tile within the same format changes the total less than most people expect. Changing the layout, or moving from a shower tray to a tiled floor shower, changes it more, because both alter the work underneath.

Where a budget is tight, the sensible economies are in tile selection and format rather than in tanking, drainage or fittings that will be used every day.

Where two quotes differ

On a bathroom, the gap is usually under the tiles:

• Tanking scope, and whether it covers the full floor and wall upturns
• Whether a flood test is carried out and recorded
• Whether falls are being corrected in the screed
• Sanitaryware supply: included, provisional allowance, or client supplied
• Concealed cistern framing and the access panel
• Shower glass, and whether it is made to measure
• Vanity carcass material, and whether it is moisture resistant
• Extraction, and whether the existing fan is being replaced
• Making good after chasing
• Waste removal and protection of the rest of the property

Approvals

Do Approvals Add to the Cost?

If the drainage is being altered, usually yes. If it is a fixture swap, usually not.

In an apartment, altering drainage normally needs building management approval, and depending on the tower a modification permit may apply. Buildings take bathroom work seriously because the risk sits with the unit below, and some require a refundable deposit before contractors start.

A like-for-like refurbishment within the existing wet area is a lighter path, though the building still applies its normal rules on access, working hours and waste removal.

In a villa, a bathroom refurbishment within existing walls is usually straightforward. Adding a bathroom moves it into the building permit route.

Cost

How Bathroom Renovation Is Priced in Dubai

Per bathroom, from a survey, with each element listed separately. What to ask for:

Tanking as its own line

The item most often omitted, and the most expensive to retrofit

Flood test named

With a written record issued

Screed and falls

Whether falls are being corrected or assumed correct

Sanitaryware basis

Included, provisional sum, or client supplied

Named products

Brassware, sanitaryware and tile by product and size

Glass specification

Thickness, treatment and whether made to measure

Vanity carcass material

Moisture-resistant board or marine plywood

Extraction

Whether the existing fan is retained or replaced

Making good

After chasing walls for services

Snagging and warranty

Length, and what the waterproofing is guaranteed for

The number that matters

Not a per-square-foot estimate from a website — a written BOQ after a site visit, showing quantities, materials, exclusions and payment milestones.

Usually excluded from cheap quotes

Approvals and drawings, protection of retained finishes, MEP upgrades, waste removal, snagging after handover, and anything described as "subject to site condition".

See the general guide: renovation cost in Dubai →

Timeline

How Long Does a Bathroom Take?

Curing and testing set the pace, not the number of people on site.

Tanking cures, then the flood test is held, then screed cures, then tiling, then grout cures before use. These are fixed periods and adding labour does not shorten them. It is why a bathroom takes longer than its size suggests.

Material lead times are the other factor. Specific tiles, sanitaryware and made-to-measure glass can take time to arrive, so selections should be locked before strip-out begins rather than during.

Avoid These

Mistakes That Cost Money

Accepting a bathroom price with no tanking line. If it is not named, assume it is not priced.

Moving fixtures without checking floor depth. Fall to the stack is a physical requirement, not a design preference.

Economising on waterproofing to afford better tile. The tile sits on the waterproofing. It is the wrong way round.

Ordering fittings after first fix. Waste and supply positions are built to the specific fixture.

Specifying a rain shower without testing pressure. The fitting arrives and the shower disappoints.

Forgetting the access panel. A concealed cistern needs one, and cutting it in later means breaking tiles.

Checklist

What to Check Before You Start

Whether the fixtures are staying or moving

Soil stack position and available floor depth

That tanking and a flood test are named as separate lines

Water pressure tested before fittings are ordered

Who supplies sanitaryware and brassware

Concealed or exposed cistern, decided before wall build-up

Shower tray or tiled floor, and whether falls can be achieved

Vanity carcass material

Extraction route and fan capacity

Tile and glass lead times against the programme

Tanking and the flood test should appear as their own lines. If they do not, you cannot tell whether they are included.

FAQ

Bathroom Cost FAQs

How much does a bathroom renovation cost in Dubai?

It depends most on whether the fixtures stay in place or move, then on tanking scope, tile choice and format, sanitaryware and brassware selections, shower type and whether the vanity is made to measure. A bathroom costs more per square metre than any other room because several trades work in a small area.

What is a realistic budget for a bathroom renovation?

Start with the layout decision. Keeping fixtures where they are and replacing finishes and fittings sits at one level. Moving drainage, retanking and rebuilding the wet area sits well above it. Once that is settled, tile and sanitaryware choices move the number most.

Why is a small bathroom so expensive?

Because the cost is driven by the number of trades rather than the floor area. Demolition, drainage, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing, screeding, tiling, joinery, glass and fittings all happen in a few square metres.

Is it cheaper to keep the bathroom layout?

Considerably. Moving a WC or shower means new waste runs with continuous fall to the stack, which may need a raised floor section. In an apartment the structural slab usually cannot be chased, which limits the options and adds cost.

Where can I save money on a bathroom renovation?

In tile selection and format, and in keeping the layout. Not in tanking, drainage, or fittings you use daily. Waterproofing sits underneath everything else, so economising there means paying for the room twice.

Should I supply my own sanitaryware?

Either arrangement is normal. What matters is that the quotation states which it is, because an ambiguous basis is where disputes start. If you supply, confirm dimensions early, since first fix positions are built to the specific fixture.

Do I need approval to renovate a bathroom in an apartment?

If drainage is being altered, normally yes, through building management and possibly a modification permit. A like-for-like fixture swap usually does not, though the building still applies its access and working hour rules.

Get a Bathroom Quote

Tell us the property and whether the layout is staying. We will check the drainage, floor depth and water pressure on site, and quote with tanking, testing and each fitting listed separately.

+971 8001 217 info@rskrenovation.ae

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Bathroom Renovation Cost in Dubai