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Straight answers on what it costs and how long it takes.
We renovate bathrooms and kitchens across Kew, Kew East, Balwyn, Canterbury, Hawthorn and Deepdene. Based in Clayton, about 25 minutes away.
Two fields. We call you back within one business day with an indicative price.
Kew is one of Melbourne’s oldest established suburbs and the housing shows it. Substantial Victorian and Edwardian homes through the older streets, a strong band of interwar and Californian bungalow housing, some significant architect designed homes from the 1950s through the 1970s, and apartment stock closer to the main roads.
That age brings a fairly consistent set of renovation issues.
This is the defining Kew renovation issue. Grand houses were built when bathrooms were an afterthought. It is common to find a five bedroom home with one small original bathroom and a separate toilet. The best result usually comes from reworking the floor plan rather than retiling inside the existing walls.
Larger Kew homes often have an original bathroom, an ensuite added in the 1990s, and a powder room somewhere else. They rarely match and they were rarely planned together. We are often asked to bring them into line.
Leadlight, ceiling roses, deep skirtings, picture rails and baltic pine. In Kew these carry real value. We work around them rather than through them, which takes longer and needs planning in the quote.
Original plumbing, sometimes original wiring, behind lath and plaster. In a house of this age we plan for finding both rather than hoping we do not.
Parts of Kew fall away toward the river. Split level homes and bathrooms at odd levels are common, and that affects drainage and how a floor waste can be set. It is worth knowing before you plan a layout change.
Kew sits in the City of Boroondara, the same council as Camberwell, Balwyn, Canterbury and Hawthorn.
Keeping the same layout and not touching the exterior generally makes it building work rather than planning work.
Boroondara has extensive heritage overlays and Kew has more of them than most of the municipality, particularly through the older streets and around Studley Park. If your home is covered, anything affecting the exterior or the street facing part of the house can need a planning permit. Interior bathroom and kitchen work usually does not.
People with heritage listed homes are sometimes told they cannot renovate at all. That is usually not correct. Heritage controls are mainly concerned with what can be seen and with significant original fabric, not with whether your 1950s bathroom can be replaced.
Before you spend anything we tell you whether your property is in an overlay and whether your job is likely to need a permit. If it does, we tell you what that means for your timeline.
Ranges, not a single number. You get a fixed price in writing once we have measured.
Cosmetic refresh through to a full renovation with layout changes
Facelift through to a full renovation with a new layout
Reworking a floor plan rather than retiling in place, which is often the right call here. Working around original features rather than removing them. Old plumbing that needs replacing. Split level and sloping sites affecting drainage. Higher finish expectations than the Melbourne average.
In a house of this age there are more unknowns than in newer stock. We look for them at the quote stage and tell you honestly what the worst case would cost rather than quoting low and adding to it later.
Full strip out, waterproofing, plumbing, electrical, tiling, cabinetry and fit off. In older Kew homes we plan around what is worth keeping.
Custom cabinetry and benchtops, including opening up rear kitchens in period homes.
Very common in Kew, where large homes often have small original wet areas.
Recent work from across Melbourne’s south east. Where we have worked in or near Kew we have said so.
Six steps from your first call to the day we hand it back. The first one costs you nothing.
Call or request a cost estimate. Two minutes.
What you want and roughly what it costs.
Free measure and quote in Kew. About 25 minutes from our base.
Itemised.
Same team throughout.
Cleaned and ready to use.
We renovate across Kew and the surrounding Boroondara suburbs including Kew East, Balwyn, Balwyn North, Canterbury, Camberwell, Hawthorn, Hawthorn East and Deepdene.
The things people in Kew actually ask us before they call.
Yes. We are based in Clayton, about 25 minutes away. We also cover Kew East, Balwyn, Canterbury, Camberwell and Hawthorn.
Almost always yes. Kew has more heritage overlays than most of Boroondara, but they are mainly concerned with what can be seen from the street and with significant original fabric. An internal bathroom renovation that does not change the exterior usually does not need a planning permit. We check your property before you spend anything.
Bathroom renovations here start from $8,000. Kew often sits higher than average because the best result in an older home frequently means reworking the floor plan rather than retiling in place. We give you a fixed price after we have measured.
This is the most common question we get in Kew. Older homes were built when bathrooms were purely functional, so a big house with one small bathroom is normal here. Often the answer is borrowing space from an adjoining hallway, bedroom or linen press rather than working inside the existing walls. We will tell you what is possible when we measure.
Yes, and in Kew that is usually the right call. Leadlight, ceiling roses and original skirtings add real value. Working around them takes longer than removing them and we allow for it in the quote.
Yes, and it is a common request in larger Kew homes where bathrooms were added at different times. We can do them together or stage them over time. Staging costs a little more overall but it spreads the spend.
Usually two to four weeks on site. Layout changes take longer. If a permit is needed for exterior work, add weeks before we start. We tell you at the quote stage.
Tell us what you are planning. We will give you a straight answer on cost and timing. No obligation.
Your name and mobile. That’s it. Two fields.
