Bathroom renovation Vienna the bathroom that lasts longer than the financing.

Bathroom renovation Vienna: costs 2026

The figures below are contractor prices for Vienna, as of 2026, net, without special requests such as designer taps or natural stone. The price becomes binding after a site survey, because in period buildings the condition behind the wall decides more than a third of the cost.

Unit prices, so you can check a quote

A lump-sum price without line items cannot be checked. These unit prices are the yardstick against which you can measure any Viennese quotation.

What the price really depends on

The gap between €9,800 and €22,000 is not arbitrary but comes down to seven concrete factors. If you know them, you can steer the costs instead of suffering them.

• Condition of the risers. Lead pipes, galvanised steel or a 50-year-old gas line turn a bathroom renovation into a pipework project. Connecting to a decaying riser is burning money – in that case the riser renovation should come first.
• Ceiling build-up. A timber beam ceiling or Dippelboden ceiling means: no heavy wet build-ups, particularly careful waterproofing, often strengthening of the ceiling. A concrete ceiling is the simpler case.
• The layout stays or moves. If the WC and bath stay where they are, you save €1,500 to €4,000. If the WC moves two metres, the waste pipe needs a new fall, often with a 20 cm deep pre-wall.
• Level-access shower. The drain needs build-up height. In a period building with a thin ceiling this becomes a channel along the wall or an extra-flat drain – technically solvable, but not free of charge.
• Tile format. 30 × 60 cm is standard. 120 × 120 cm looks better but costs 30 to 50% more to lay, because the substrate and flatness have to be prepared differently.
• Accessibility. Fourth floor without a lift in a narrow lane: material and rubble go via the stairs, plus a parking lane permit from MA 46. That is €600 to €1,800 for logistics alone.
• Time pressure. If you have a fixed deadline, you pay for parallel work. If you allow three weeks of buffer, you get the better price.

Where you can save without regretting it later

Saving is good, saving in the wrong place is expensive. This split has proven itself over more than ten years of Viennese period buildings.

Bathroom renovation at a fixed price

For us, fixed price means: after the survey there is a sum in the contract that only changes if you change something yourself. That requires someone to have been in the bathroom beforehand and looked into the wall – without a survey every fixed price is a guess.

What you should check when comparing: is the waterproofing listed as a separate item with the standard in the quotation, or does it not appear at all? Is disposal calculated by tonnage? Are sanitary items named with type and price or only as a lump sum? If one of these points is missing, the cheap price will later become more expensive than the expensive one.

Bathroom renovation in Vienna by district

What a bathroom costs depends more on the building than on the district. Still, there are patterns we encounter again and again in certain areas — and which you should know in advance.

• 1220 Donaustadt and 1210 Floridsdorf: a lot of stock from the sixties to the eighties. Solid ceilings, bundled risers, a lift in the building — these are the least complicated bathrooms and usually in the lower third of the price range. Our base is in the 21st district.
• 1110 Simmering and 1100 Favoriten: council housing and residential estates. Here the consent of the property management for work on the riser is the first step, not the last.
• 1230 Liesing: terraced and detached houses. A frequent wish: a level-access shower on the upper floor — possible, but it needs build-up height, which is often lacking in prefabricated houses.
• 1030 to 1090, Gründerzeit stock: timber beam ceilings. A level-access shower almost always needs a new floor build-up here, and the bathroom is often a small room converted later without a window. Both push the price up.
• 1010 Innere Stadt: protection zone, narrow access, deliveries in time slots. Expect a surcharge for site logistics, not for the construction work itself.
• 1130, 1180, 1190: larger bathrooms, higher fit-out standard, often two bathrooms in one order.

We renovate bathrooms in all 23 districts and in the surrounding area of Lower Austria. The survey is free of charge throughout Vienna, and we name the fixed price afterwards.

Bath out, shower in: the small bathroom project

Not every bathroom needs a complete renovation. The most common wish in Vienna is replacing the bathtub with a shower – often because stepping over the edge of the bath has become a problem.

The course of a bathroom renovation, day by day

This is how an average 6 m² bathroom in a Viennese period building goes. The order is not arbitrary: each step requires the one before to be dry, watertight and checked.

Construction time: what is realistic

If you live without a second WC in the flat, you should plan a solution for the time without a bathroom. On request we provide a site toilet or stagger the work so that the WC remains usable until the last third – this costs two to three days more but makes living there bearable.

The waterproofing decides whether the bathroom lasts 5 or 30 years

Tiles are not watertight. Joints even less so. What makes a bathroom watertight lies invisibly underneath: the bonded waterproofing in combination with the tile covering, regulated in ÖNORM B 3407. It is the only component that can no longer be checked after completion – and the most common point where shoddy work is done in Vienna.

What the standard requires

• Exposure classes. The standard distinguishes by water exposure. A bathroom in residential construction usually falls under moderate exposure, the shower zone itself under high exposure. This determines how far up the waterproofing must be taken and which product is permitted.
• Areas. Floor over the full area, wall in the splash zone at least 20 cm above the shower head, with a level-access shower the entire shower area plus 20 cm to the sides, behind the bath at least 20 cm above the rim of the bath.
• Details. Corners, junctions and pipe penetrations are the weak points. That is where sealing tapes and prefabricated sleeves belong – not more sealing compound, but the system-tested component.
• Layer thickness. Two layers, applied crosswise, at the wet film thickness specified by the manufacturer. A single thin coat looks the same and does not hold.
• System consistency. Primer, sealing compound, tapes and adhesive must come from one tested system. Mixing three manufacturers costs you the warranty in the event of damage.

How to recognise missing or poor waterproofing

In the finished bathroom you cannot see it. Beforehand you can: if the quotation does not have a separate item "bonded waterproofing to ÖNORM B 3407", it is very likely not calculated. If the site goes straight from screed to tiles without a day with blue or grey compound in between, it was skipped. And if someone explains that "the tiles seal anyway", you should end the conversation.

Level-access shower in a period building: what works and what does not

The most common wish in Viennese bathroom renovations and at the same time the most technically demanding. The decisive factor is the available build-up height between the structural ceiling and the finished floor.

In a Gründerzeit building there are often only 8 to 12 cm between the Dippelboden ceiling and the finished floor. Then the vertical point drain is ruled out, leaving a channel, a flat drain or a super-flat tray. If you want to open the ceiling to create space, you need a structural engineer – and must bear in mind that someone else's flat lies below.

Fall: 1.5 to 2 per cent, no more and no less

Too little fall means standing water and limescale rings. Too much fall means that shower stools and walkers tip over and large-format tiles break. In practice it is 1.5 to 2% towards the drain. With a channel one plane is enough; with a point drain the tile has to slope in four directions – from 60 × 60 cm this becomes visible, from 90 × 90 cm it usually looks unattractive. Hence: large format plus channel, small format plus point drain.

Tiles: format, joint, slip resistance

The tile determines appearance, cleaning effort and safety. Three decisions are more important than the colour.

Format

Large format looks calm and has fewer joints, but requires a very flat substrate. From 60 × 120 cm, buttering-floating is a must: adhesive on the substrate and on the back of the tile, otherwise voids form that later lead to cracks. A small 5 m² Viennese bathroom with 120 tiles looks spacious but has a lot of offcuts – allow 15 to 20% instead of the usual 10%.

Joint

Narrow joints (2 mm) look high-quality but need rectified tiles. Epoxy resin joints are practically indestructible and stain-resistant, but cost two to three times as much and forgive no rework. For most bathrooms a good cement joint with fungicide is the right choice. Silicone belongs only in movement joints: corners, floor-wall junction, junction with bath and shower tray.

Slip resistance

Too much slip resistance is no gain: R12 in a residential bathroom is hardly cleanable, because the rough surface holds soap residue.

Plumbing installation: what happens behind the pre-wall

The pre-wall is not a design element but a building component. It houses the cistern, pipes and fixings, decouples from the often crooked old masonry and creates a straight surface for tiling. 15 to 20 cm depth is usual; in a 4 m² bathroom every centimetre hurts – here planning to the millimetre pays off.

• Waste water needs a fall. At least 1 cm per metre, better 2. If the WC moves, this fall has to come from somewhere. That is why the WC is rarely moved far in a period building.
• Sound insulation to ÖNORM B 8115. Cistern modules are mounted acoustically decoupled, waste pipes are sheathed. Otherwise the neighbour hears every flush – and in a tenement building that quickly turns into a legal dispute.
• Inspection opening. Every cistern flush plate is one, but shut-off valves also need access. If you tile over them, you pay for the tiles as well at the next defect.
• Material. Multilayer composite pipe is standard in residential construction, copper for existing copper systems, stainless steel in the riser. Mixing materials without an isolating piece leads to corrosion.
• Pressure test. After the first fix, with a report, before closing up. Without this sheet there is no acceptance.
• Hot water. If you still have an instantaneous water heater or a gas boiler in the bathroom, you should consider replacing it now – opening the wall later costs twice as much.

Electrics in the bathroom: the protection zones

Wet rooms are strictly regulated electrically. The relevant standard is ÖVE/ÖNORM E 8101. The zones determine what may be installed where – not taste.

Mandatory in every renovated bathroom: a dedicated residual current device with 30 mA and equipotential bonding of all conductive parts. If you plan to connect to an old two-wire installation without a protective conductor, you are renovating at the wrong end – then the electrical cable up to the distribution board must be renewed. This is carried out by a licensed electrical engineer; we coordinate and provide the findings.

Ventilation: the underestimated point

In Viennese period buildings the bathroom is often internal, without a window – historically created as a bath recess in the kitchen. Without mechanical ventilation mould develops, no matter how good the waterproofing is. One shower releases around half a litre of water as vapour into the room.

• Run-on instead of light switch. A fan that switches off with the light has achieved nothing. 10 to 20 minutes of run-on or a humidity sensor from 65% relative humidity are the minimum.
• Air flow. As a rule of thumb, five air changes per hour apply. For a 6 m² bathroom with a 2.8 m ceiling height that is around 85 m³/h.
• Exhaust route. Into the existing ventilation shaft, outdoors via core drilling or – with gas appliances in the room – only after consulting the chimney sweep. An exhaust system can starve a room-air-dependent gas boiler of air. That is not a formality but a danger to life.
• A window is rarely enough. In winter nobody airs the room for ten minutes after every shower. A €500 fan prevents a €3,000 mould remediation.

Heating in the bathroom

A bathroom should be warm in ten minutes and dry towels. There are three ways to achieve this, and they can be combined.

Bathroom renovation in the Viennese districts

The district says a lot about the bathroom before we have even seen it. In Vienna, year of construction, ceiling build-up and pipe routing follow the age of the neighbourhoods, and this determines effort and price.

We work in all 23 districts. What differs is the preparation: in residential complexes we need the consent of the management and a time window for shutting off the water; in a detached house agreeing with you is enough. We clarify both before the quotation, not afterwards.

What a complete bathroom includes

The term complete bathroom renovation is used in different ways. For us it means: you clear out the bathroom, we take care of everything else up to handover – one contract, one contact person, one date.

The Viennese period building: six peculiarities that play no role elsewhere

A bathroom in a new building from 2015 is a craft project. A bathroom in a tenement building from 1890 is a construction project. These six points come up again and again in Vienna.

1. Timber beam ceiling and Dippelboden

Over 60% of Viennese Gründerzeit flats have timber joist ceilings. They are load-bearing, but not made for heavy wet build-ups, and they move with moisture. The consequence: the floor build-up stays light, the waterproofing is flexible, the screed is installed decoupled. Anyone who bricks a bath directly onto a timber beam ceiling produces cracks. With a planned full bath of 200 litres plus the user, that is around 280 kg on two square metres – this has to be calculated, not estimated.

2. The bath recess in the kitchen

Until the 1970s Viennese flats were built without their own bathroom; the bathtub stood in a recess in the kitchen, the WC was in the corridor. Anyone who wants a real bathroom today usually builds it out of a small side room or pantry. That means: a new waste water connection, often a pre-wall, mandatory ventilation, and the question of whether a load-bearing wall is affected. Such projects cost €18,000 to €30,000, but they are the biggest jump in value a period flat can make.

3. Risers from another era

Lead until the 1930s, galvanised steel until the 1970s. Both have reached the end of their service life today. If the riser has to be renovated, the bathroom renovation is the right moment – the walls are open anyway. Conversely: anyone who connects a new bathroom to a 60-year-old riser gets brown water in a white bath.

4. Gas boiler in the bathroom

Installed millions of times in Vienna and a real issue. If the boiler stays, the combustion air supply must be maintained – a tight door or a strong extractor fan can become dangerous. If the boiler is replaced, the chimney sweep must be involved. And anyone considering district heating or a heat pump should do so before, not after, the bathroom renovation.

5. Protection zone and window

If the bathroom has a window facing the street and the building is in a protection zone, the replacement is not freely selectable. MA 19 assesses division, material and appearance. Usually the box-type window is retained and refurbished – in the bathroom with particular attention to condensation.

6. Neighbours, stairs, noise times

Construction work in residential buildings is permitted on working days from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; we nevertheless announce dusty and noisy work in writing. Skips need a permit from MA 46, as does closing off a parking lane. Ignoring this means a fine and a lost day – both avoidable.

Barrier-free bathroom: more than a level-access shower

Accessibility can be planned and is not expensive if it is considered from the start. Retrofitting makes it expensive. The dimensions come from ÖNORM B 1600.

The most important point costs nothing: if cross-members for later grab bars are built into the pre-wall during construction, the bathroom can later be retrofitted in two hours instead of two weeks. We do this as a matter of principle in every renovation where the occupants are over 60 or will be.

In detail on planning to ÖNORM B 1600, door widths, grab bars and the City of Vienna subsidy: Barrier-free bathroom in Vienna.

Tenancy law: who may do what, who pays what

Most Viennese bathrooms are in rented flats under the Tenancy Act (MRG). This results in clear rules that should be clarified before the renovation.

• Maintenance is the landlord's business. If the bathroom is unusable because pipes are defective or the bath has rusted through, the repair falls under the maintenance obligation under § 3 MRG. The tenant can demand it.
• Improvements are paid for by whoever wants them. Anyone who turns a functioning bathroom into a nicer one bears the costs themselves – as a tenant with the landlord's consent under § 9 MRG.
• Compensation and reimbursement of investments. A tenant who builds a bathroom at their own expense can, under certain conditions, claim compensation under § 10 MRG when moving out. Keep invoices and photos, otherwise the claim is worthless.
• Obligation to tolerate. If the landlord renovates, tenants must tolerate the work (§ 8 MRG), but must be informed in advance; unreasonable impairments must be compensated.
• Written form. Every consent from the owner belongs in writing in the documents before the first tile chisel is applied.

For landlords and property managers we provide a verifiable bill of quantities that makes the separation between maintenance and improvement traceable. This saves discussions later during billing.

Subsidies 2026: what still exists and what has expired

The subsidy landscape changed noticeably in 2026. Anyone who comes across older guides online will find amounts there that no longer exist. The situation today:

What still applies: as soon as the bathroom is converted to be age-appropriate or barrier-free or is part of a subsidised building refurbishment, grants are possible – some of them substantial.

At the survey we tell you which route is realistic in your case, and we draw up the quotation so that it can be submitted to the relevant subsidy body: with labour and material costs shown separately, named measures according to ÖNORM B 1600 and verifiable items. Amounts and conditions change; the information from the relevant body is always binding.

The ten mistakes we find most often in Viennese bathrooms

This is not theory, but what regularly comes to light during measurement and demolition in other people's bathrooms.

• No waterproofing, only tile adhesive. By far the most common find. It holds until the first joint cracks.
• Silicone instead of sealing tape in the corners. Silicone is a maintenance joint, not a waterproofing component. It ages within five to eight years.
• Shower channel installed without a fall. Water stands, limescale settles, the channel starts to smell.
• Tiles on tiles. Saves a day, costs build-up height and turns every later search for damage into guesswork.
• Inspection openings tiled over. At the next dripping valve half the wall is opened.
• Socket in zone 1. Next to the bath, at grab height. Formally impermissible, practically dangerous.
• No dedicated RCD. The bathroom is on the same circuit as the kitchen, the protection trips too late.
• Fan without run-on. Runs for three minutes during the shower and switches off with the light – ineffective.
• New fixtures on the old riser. After half a year brown rings in the new ceramics.
• Tile format too large with a point drain. The tile cannot follow the four-way fall, edges and voids result.

How to make three quotations for the same bathroom comparable

If three companies quote €11,000, €15,500 and €23,000, you are usually not comparing the same bathroom. These eight questions make the quotations comparable.

What you get from us before you sign

• Photo report of the survey with the condition of pipes, substrate and ceiling.
• Bill of quantities to ÖNORM B 2110 with every item, every quantity and the explicit exclusions.
• Construction schedule with days, shut-off times and the point from which the bathroom can be used again.
• Material list with tile format, grout colour, fixtures and taps – agreed, not a surprise.
• Proof of construction liability insurance of €3 million and the licence certificates of the licensed partner businesses for plumbing and electrics.
• Payment schedule according to construction progress, with no blind advance payment.

Who we renovate bathrooms for

When you do not need us

If only the silicone joints need renewing or a tap needs replacing, call a plumber – a coordinating construction company is too much apparatus for that. If the bath is intact and merely unsightly, professional re-enamelling for €700 to €1,400 is often the smarter solution than a renovation.

And if the risers in the building are going to be renewed in two years anyway, wait – otherwise your new bathroom will be opened up again. We tell you that at the survey, even if it costs us an order.

Four bathroom types that keep turning up in Vienna

If you know which type you have at home, you can estimate effort and costs much better. These four cover most of the Viennese stock.

Type 1 · The bathroom added later in a Gründerzeit building, 1960s to 1980s

Recognisable by small, often coloured tiles, a bath in a bricked recess and pipes running on the surface or in shallow chases. Usually no waterproofing, often galvanised pipes, electrics without a dedicated RCD. Renovation effort: high, because practically everything is redone. Price range €12,000 to €20,000 for 5 to 6 m². In return, the gain in living quality is greatest.

Type 2 · The bathroom from the 1990s and early 2000s

Beige or grey tiles, a shower tray with a high rim, pre-wall present, copper or plastic pipes. Waterproofing is often present, but only in the shower zone. A partial renovation is often enough here: new shower, new floor, replace fixtures, supplement electrics. Price range €7,000 to €12,000, construction time 8 to 12 days.

Type 3 · The bath recess in the kitchen

Not a separate room but a partitioned corner, often with a curtain or folding wall, WC in the corridor or hallway. This is not about renovation but about creating something new: a room is partitioned off or a small side room is converted, waste water and ventilation have to be rethought. Price range €18,000 to €30,000, construction time 20 to 30 days. Experience shows that the increase in the flat's value is well above the construction costs.

Type 4 · The bathroom in council housing or a post-war building

Concrete ceiling, compact layout, pipes in the shaft, often accessible via an inspection hatch. Technically the simplest case: clear conditions, predictable build-up heights, usually enough space for a point drain. Price range €9,800 to €15,000, construction time 12 to 16 days. Pay attention to the house rules and, with housing cooperatives, to prior consent.

From the idea to the start of work: planning in six steps

Most delays do not arise on the construction site but before it. This sequence has proven itself.

Three examples from practice

Anonymised but really calculated – so that the figures become tangible.

Example 1 · 5.2 m² in the 7th district, Gründerzeit, full renovation

Existing: bath in a bricked recess, galvanised pipes, no RCD, no ventilation, Dippelboden ceiling. Carried out: complete demolition, new pipes up to the riser, pre-wall with cistern module, level-access shower with wall channel because of 10 cm build-up height, waterproofing to ÖNORM B 3407, tiles 30 × 60, fan with humidity sensor, towel radiator, electric heating mat. Construction time 17 working days. Cost €15,900 net without sanitary fixtures, which the client contributed himself for around €2,400.

Example 2 · 7.8 m² in the 21st district, post-war building, barrier-free

Reason: need for care after a hospital stay. Carried out: bath removed, level-access shower 120 × 120 with point drain, door widened to 85 cm and hung to open outwards, grab bars on cross-members in the pre-wall, WC seat height 47 cm, wheelchair-accessible washbasin, thermostatic tap, R11 floor. Construction time 19 working days. Cost €21,400 net; around €4,000 of this was reimbursed through a subsidy for barrier-free living.

Example 3 · Tenement building in the 15th district, six bathrooms on the same riser

Client: property management, together with the riser renovation. Six bathrooms in three stages of two flats each, so that only one riser in the building was ever open. Uniform material, uniform execution, one site manager, weekly photo reports to the management. Cost per bathroom €11,800 net – around 20% below the individual price, because site set-up, skips and journeys were shared. Total construction time 9 weeks.

Materials: where quality pays off and where it does not

With sanitary materials the range from DIY store to designer piece spans a factor of ten. After more than ten years of Viennese bathrooms, we can say fairly precisely where the extra cost pays back and where it only looks nice.

A point that is often overlooked: if you buy fixtures yourself, you should have them delivered before the work starts and store them in the flat. If the WC is missing on installation day, the site stands still – and a crew that comes back three days later costs time and money. With every quotation we supply a material list with dimensions and connection points, so that nothing goes wrong when buying.

Small bathroom, big effect: what really helps in 4 to 6 m²

Most Viennese bathrooms are small. That is not a disadvantage if a few decisions are right. These measures work without blowing the budget.

• Level-access shower instead of a bath. The biggest gain in perceived space. If you don't want to give up the bath: 160 × 70 cm instead of 170 × 75 cm often already creates the passage.
• Continuous floor. The same covering in the shower and the room, without thresholds and without a change of colour, makes the room look like a whole.
• Wall-hung fixtures. A WC and washbasin without a pedestal visibly free up the floor – and make cleaning underneath a matter of two minutes.
• Niche in the pre-wall. Costs €150 to €350 extra and replaces any shower shelf that would otherwise hang on the wall.
• Light on three levels. Ceiling light for cleaning, mirror light from the side for shaving and make-up, indirect light for the evening. Side lighting at the mirror is objectively better than a spotlight from above, because it does not cast shadows on the face.
• Sliding door or outward-opening door. Saves up to one square metre of manoeuvring space and is safer in an emergency.
• Large, calm surfaces. One format, one grout colour, few changes. Mosaic borders at half height make any small bathroom look even smaller.

After the renovation: care and service life

A professionally built bathroom lasts 25 to 30 years, individual components considerably less. If you know what is due when, you won't be surprised.

The simplest rule for everyday life: squeegee and air after showering. This prevents limescale and mould more effectively than any cleaning agent. Mild soapy water is enough for the joints – strong acids attack cement joints and loosen them from the bond in the long term.

If water damage does occur

In a tenement building, water damage from the bathroom almost always affects the neighbour below. What counts then is the order of steps and documentation.

We take care of leak detection, drying and reinstatement as one service and compile the documents the way insurers need them. If mould is found, the cause must be eliminated, not the spot painted over – more on this on the page Mould remediation Vienna.

Bathroom renovation from a single source: what that means in concrete terms

"Everything from a single source" is on almost every website. For us it means: one contract, one contact person, one warranty – and a construction company that carries out most of the work itself instead of passing on orders. Strip-out, drywall, screed, waterproofing, tiling and painting are done by our own people. Plumbing and electrics are handled by licensed partner businesses that are named in the quotation. You don't negotiate with five companies and don't hear at the end that the other one is to blame.

Why Viennese prices are below the German figures

Anyone searching online for bathroom renovation costs often lands on German sites quoting €20,000 to €50,000. These figures refer to larger bathrooms, high-end fittings and a different price level. A typical Viennese period-building bathroom has 4 to 8 m², not 12.

That is why the realistic range here is €9,800 to €32,000: partial renovation from €7,000, complete bathroom in an existing building €14,000 to €22,000, period building with riser replacement €22,000 to €32,000. Anyone who gives you a fixed price without a survey either builds in a buffer or recalculates later.

Bathroom renovation in all 23 Viennese districts

We carry out bathroom renovations throughout Vienna – 1010 Innere Stadt, 1020 Leopoldstadt, 1030 Landstraße, 1040 Wieden, 1050 Margareten, 1060 Mariahilf, 1070 Neubau, 1080 Josefstadt, 1090 Alsergrund, 1100 Favoriten, 1110 Simmering, 1120 Meidling, 1130 Hietzing, 1140 Penzing, 1150 Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus, 1160 Ottakring, 1170 Hernals, 1180 Währing, 1190 Döbling, 1200 Brigittenau, 1210 Floridsdorf, 1220 Donaustadt, 1230 Liesing. In the 22nd district (Donaustadt) and the 21st district (Floridsdorf) these are often bathrooms in terraced and detached houses or more recent residential complexes, in the inner districts mostly period-building bathrooms with cast-iron risers. The fixed price applies equally in every district, travel included.

Shower renovation: when only the shower is the problem

Often it is not the whole bathroom that has reached its end, but only the shower area. The signs are typical: black, detached silicone joints, tiles that sound hollow when tapped, a damp patch on the wall in the next room or a musty smell that remains despite airing. Behind this there is almost always water that has got behind the tiles because the waterproofing is missing or has torn at corners and pipe penetrations.

Whether a shower renovation alone is enough is decided by the substrate. If only the joint is leaking and the plaster behind it is dry, renewing the silicone is enough. If the substrate is soaked, the shower zone must be opened down to the masonry, dried, re-waterproofed and tiled. The rest of the bathroom can often be left as it is, if matching tiles can be found for the transitions or a contrast is deliberately chosen. How to treat moisture damage that has already occurred professionally is described under water damage remediation.

Coat or replace the bathtub?

Bathtub coating renews the surface of an existing bath with a lacquer or plastic system. It is worthwhile if the bath sits firmly, is tightly connected and only the enamel is dull, discoloured or chipped in places. Then it costs only a fraction of a replacement, and the tiles around the bath remain untouched.

It does not help, however, if water escapes behind the bath panel, the drain is leaking or stepping over the rim has become too high. A coating lasts a few years if done well, but is more sensitive to harsh cleaners than new enamel. We do not carry out coatings ourselves. At the viewing, however, we tell you openly when a specialist company is the cheaper solution and when replacement with a shower or a new bath is more worthwhile.

Bathroom technology: what is behind the tap, cistern and fan

Bathroom technology covers the parts you hardly see after the renovation: water pipes, drainage, pre-wall module with cistern, concealed bodies for the taps, fan and the electrical installation with its own residual current protection. In a complete bathroom this part often accounts for a third of the costs. Guide values net from this page: plumbing installation for four fixtures €2,800–5,200, pre-wall installation €190–340 per running metre, electrical installation in the bathroom €900–2,200.

Saving here is saving at the wrong end, because everything later disappears behind tiles. A concealed body from a brand manufacturer can still be supplied with spare parts after years, a no-name part often cannot, and then the wall has to be opened again. Plumbing and electrical work is carried out by authorised partner businesses, the coordination between the trades lies with us. More on pipes and heating in the bathroom can be found under heating, air conditioning, ventilation, plumbing.

Frequently asked questions about bathroom renovation in Vienna

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