15 Years
Waterproofing guarantee
BP1021390
Licensed Building Practitioner
PSA127420
Producer statement author
30 Years
Renovating Auckland bathrooms
1,200+
Bathrooms completed in Auckland
4.7 ★
From 70+ Google reviews
Central Auckland bathroom work
Bathrooms for Character Homes, Ensuites and Apartments
Six kinds of bathroom job, each matched to the homes Central Auckland was built with.
Villa and Cottage Bathrooms
Villas and cottages from the 1880s to the 1910s fill streets in Grey Lynn, Arch Hill, Parnell and Grafton.
We take the bathroom back to the framing, level and strengthen the timber floor where it needs it, and tile neatly around sash windows instead of replacing them.
The house keeps its period look from the street, and the bathroom inside is new.
Bungalow and English Cottage Bathrooms
Bungalows and English Cottage homes from the 1920s and 1930s line the streets around Mountain Road in Epsom.
Many still have the toilet in its own room beside a small bathroom. One option joins the two rooms into a larger bathroom; the other keeps them apart and rebuilds both.
Herringbone tiles, a vessel basin or a walk-in shower all suit these homes.
Master Ensuites in Large Homes
About four in ten homes in the Ōrākei local board have four or more bedrooms.
In a house that size, we build the master ensuite off the main bedroom with a walk-in shower, twin vanities or a freestanding bath.
Nick prices the ensuite and the main bathroom on one quote, so you can compare doing one room or both.
Established Apartment Bathrooms
Three in four homes in the Waitematā local board are apartments, units or townhouses.
We plan around the building: body corporate approval, lift bookings, parking and the hours noisy work is allowed.
A compact apartment bathroom can still take a frameless walk-in shower, a wall-hung vanity and a tiled niche.
Freestanding Baths and Walk-In Showers
With more floor space, a main bathroom can hold both a freestanding bath and its own walk-in shower.
We check the floor before a stone or cast bath goes in, set the shower floor to fall to a linear drain and run the tiles full height.
Matte black or brushed tapware, a heated towel rail and large-format porcelain complete the room.
Toilets and Laundries in the Same Programme
Many Central Auckland houses have a separate toilet and a laundry close to the bathroom.
We renovate them on the same programme, so the strip-out, the plumber and the tiler are shared across every room.
Our Ponsonby job covered a bathroom, two toilet rooms and a laundry with a custom tiled shower.
Central Auckland housing
Bathrooms in Central Auckland Homes, Villas to the Eastern Bays
Central Auckland was built in stages, and each stage left a different kind of bathroom to renovate.
Parnell, Grafton and Grey Lynn, 1850s to 1910s
Cottages and villas from this period often have a bathroom that was added or moved after the house was built. We strip it to the framing, check the floor, and rebuild with a waterproofing membrane while keeping the timber windows.
Auckland Council's 2025 special character findings date the cottages here to the 1850s-1880s and the villas to the 1880s-1910s. Our page on Parnell villa and apartment bathrooms covers that suburb in detail.
Remuera and Epsom, Villas to the 1930s
In a Remuera villa or an Epsom bungalow, the bathroom is often small with the toilet next door. Joining the rooms, or rebuilding both, gives a larger bathroom without moving outside walls.
The same Council findings record villas from the 1880s-1910s in a Remuera character area, and bungalows, English Cottages and Arts and Crafts homes from 1920 to 1940 around Mountain Road. Prices and housing data for bathroom renovations in Remuera sit on their own page.
Three Kings and Mount Roskill, From 1939
Homes from Mount Roskill's building boom often keep a compact original bathroom. In a home built before 2000, the old linings are tested for asbestos before the strip-out, and the test is listed on the quote.
The Council findings describe 1940s homes in a compact English Cottage style on McCullough Avenue, Three Kings. Our Mount Roskill bathroom page covers its character homes and larger houses.
St Heliers and the Eastern Bays, After 1932
Larger Eastern Bays homes often have room for a master ensuite as well as the main bathroom. We plan both on one programme so the trades are shared.
Te Ara records St Heliers growing after Tāmaki Drive opened in 1932, and the Ōrākei board now has the highest share of four-bedroom homes in Central Auckland.
Era dates come from Auckland Council's 2025 special character findings reports for the isthmus and from Te Ara, the Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
From first call to handover
Site Visit, Quote, Build and Handover
Five steps, with the price and the timeframe in writing before any work starts.
Free Site Visit
Nick measures the bathroom, looks at the floor, the window joinery and the plumbing he can see, and talks through the layout with you.
Written Quote
Every trade, fixture and finish is its own line. In a home built before 2000, the quote includes an asbestos test of the old linings.
Strip-Out
The old room is stripped to the studs, with any asbestos removed under WorkSafe rules before anything else is broken out.
Waterproofing and Fittings
New plumbing, wiring and linings go in, then the waterproofing membrane, then the tiles and fittings.
Handover With Nick
Nick walks you through the finished room and explains the 15-year waterproofing guarantee.
Free, no-obligation site visit
Book Your Central Auckland Site Visit
One call books the visit. Nick comes to your home or apartment, measures the bathroom and sends a written quote with every trade and fixture listed.
Central Auckland bathroom prices
What a Central Auckland Bathroom Costs
$15,000 to $65,000+
A main bathroom rebuild in Central Auckland usually sits between $22,000 and $40,000. Master ensuites with stone, a freestanding bath or underfloor heating run higher.
Character homes carry work a newer house does not, such as levelling an old timber floor or tiling around sash windows. Nick lists those items separately on the quote.
Use the ranges to plan. The written quote after the free site visit is the figure to budget on.
| Central Auckland bathroom | Range | What sits in it |
|---|---|---|
| Ensuite or apartment bathroom, same layout | $15,000 to $28,000 | New linings, waterproofing membrane, tiles, vanity, shower, toilet, tapware and a fan ducted outside |
| Family bathroom, full rebuild | $22,000 to $40,000 | Everything above, plus a new layout, a walk-in shower or a toilet joined into the room |
| Master ensuite or high-spec main bathroom | $40,000 to $65,000+ | Freestanding bath, stone, large-format porcelain, twin vanities or underfloor heating |
| Villa, cottage or bungalow with floor or framing work | Quoted after the site visit | Priced once Nick has seen the floor, the framing he can reach and the window joinery |
What moves a Central Auckland price
Four Things That Change a Central Auckland Quote
Four items move the price most here, and the age of the house decides three of them.
Old timber floors
A villa or bungalow floor that has dropped needs levelling and strengthening before tiles or a heavy bath go down.
Sash windows and joinery
Tiling around an original timber window takes more time than tiling a plain wall.
Apartment access
Lift bookings, protected common areas and set work hours add time to an apartment job.
Asbestos testing
Homes built before 2000 may have asbestos in old wall linings or bath panels, so a test comes before the strip-out.
Why homeowners call us
Why Central Auckland Owners Choose Us
Six reasons owners of character homes and apartments book us.
An LBP on every job
Nick McKelvie, LBP BP1021390, does or supervises the restricted building work on each Central Auckland bathroom.
PS3 for the waterproofing
As registered producer statement author PSA127420, Nick signs the PS3 for each waterproofing membrane we lay.
15-year waterproofing guarantee
The waterproofing membrane is guaranteed for 15 years from handover.
Period detail kept
We tile around sash windows and keep the street view of a character home as it is.
Design input
Kathy's review mentions Nick's long-time designer helping with the big design decisions on her renovation.
One quote for every room
A bathroom, ensuite, toilet and laundry can sit on one quote and one programme.
40%
Ōrākei homes with 4+ bedrooms
75%
Waitematā homes that are apartments, units or townhouses
Central Auckland at the 2023 Census
Homes Across Central Auckland, by Local Board
Central Auckland covers five local boards: Waitematā, Albert-Eden, Puketāpapa, Ōrākei and Maungakiekie-Tāmaki. Together they held about 145,500 occupied homes at the 2023 Census, and just over half were standalone houses.
The mix changes across the isthmus. In the Ōrākei board, which takes in St Heliers, Kohimarama and Glendowie, about 40% of homes have four or more bedrooms, so master ensuites and second bathrooms come up often. In the Waitematā board, about 75% of homes are apartments, units or townhouses. Newmarket is a good example, and our page on apartment and house bathrooms in Newmarket covers that mix.
Damp levels differ too. The 2023 Census recorded 17.2% of Ōrākei homes and 23.1% of Albert-Eden homes as damp always or sometimes. Every bathroom we renovate gets a fan ducted outside, and Building Code clause E3 requires wet areas to resist moisture build-up.
Central Auckland jobs
Finished Bathrooms in Central Auckland
Finished jobs from Central Auckland. Each one has a project page with more photos and the work done.
Character Home Bathroom, Mount Eden
A clawfoot bath under a sash window, a walk-in shower and an oak-look vanity with a backlit mirror. See the clawfoot bath bathroom in Mount Eden.
Three Bathrooms, St Heliers
A freestanding bath under a window, marble-look porcelain and a floating vanity, across three rooms. View the St Heliers three-bathroom renovation.
Bathroom, Toilets and Laundry, Ponsonby
A custom tiled shower with a black tiled base and frameless glass, plus two toilet rooms and a laundry. Read about the Ponsonby multi-room renovation.
Black and White Bathroom, Epsom
White subway tiles, matte black tapware, twin floating vanities and a bath under frosted windows. Look through the Epsom black and white bathroom.
Main Bathroom, Kohimarama
Marble-look tiles to the ceiling, a freestanding oval bath with wall tapware and a glass corner shower, built around the owners' shaker vanity. See the Kohimarama main bathroom with a glass corner shower.
Bathroom and Toilet Room, Glendowie
A walk-in shower with a lit niche, a timber vanity with finger mosaic tiles and a bath, with the separate toilet room rebuilt in the same finish. See the Glendowie bathroom and separate toilet room.
Google reviews
What Our Clients Say
Tamás Balogh
August 2026
We worked with Nick on 2 bathrooms, a toilet and washroom renovation. All was great, on time, on quality, on budget. Very pleasant experience.
Kathy Gilroy
2024
Another successful and much admired full renovation by the Alchemy crew .The team did a great job, on time, tidy and did not hesitate to give input.It was great to have all the trades available and all were of high quality.A bonus was having Nick's long time designer, Lesley Bros, available to point us in the right direction for some major design moments.Alchemy met the brief to create a light and airy home with great functionality.This is the second time we have used Alchemy and would highly recommend their services.
Bella Pettered
Edited 2024
Nick and his team have provided us with an amazing new bathroom. The crew is amiable, competent, trustworthy, and they met the deadline. Highly recommended.
Central Auckland bathroom questions
Bathroom Renovations in Central Auckland
Our prices run from $15,000 for an ensuite or apartment bathroom in its current layout to $65,000 or more for a master ensuite with stone or a freestanding bath. Rebuilding a whole main bathroom costs $22,000 to $40,000.
Plan a Central Auckland Bathroom With Nick
Send the form below or call 09 884 6535 to book a free site visit anywhere in Central Auckland. Tell Nick roughly when the house was built, or the name of the apartment building, and which rooms you want done.
Contact Alchemy
Alchemy Bathroom Renovations Auckland
Led by Nick McKelvie, Licensed Building Practitioner BP1021390 and producer statement author PSA127420. Complete bathroom, ensuite, small bathroom, villa, laundry and commercial renovations across Auckland, with a 15-year guarantee on the waterproofing.
All of Auckland
North Shore, West, East, South and Central Auckland.
Mon to Fri, 8am to 5pm
Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 5:00pm. Free site visits across Auckland.
