PAPATOETOE, SOUTH AUCKLAND
Family Bathroom Renovation
in Papatoetoe, South Auckland
A bathroom rebuilt around two young kids, plus a second toilet added to take the pressure off one shared space
Completed August 2019
RENOVATION
Project Managed By
Kevin Yang
Managing Director and Project Management
kevin@superiorrenovations.co.nz
0800 199 888
Quick answer: This was a family bathroom renovation in Papatoetoe, South Auckland — a full bathroom rebuild with a twin-vanity setup for two young children, plus a separate second toilet added in the existing footprint so one shared bathroom stopped being the family’s morning bottleneck.
| Location | Papatoetoe, South Auckland |
| Completed | August 2019 |
| Scope | Full bathroom rebuild + new second toilet, all trades project-managed |
| Project manager | Kevin Yang, Managing Director |
| Project type | Owner-occupier family home |
Why This Papatoetoe Family Decided to Renovate
These were repeat clients. They’d already done their kitchen with us, liked how it went, and came back for the bathroom — which tells you more than any sales pitch could.
The problem was a familiar one for a busy family home. Two young kids, one bathroom between everyone, and a morning routine that turned into a queue. If you’ve ever had a household share a single bathroom while getting kids ready for school, you’ll know exactly how that goes. Something had to give.
A lot of people stall at this point. The reason usually isn’t money — it’s nerves. There are enough horror stories floating around about builders who walk off a job half-finished, or a quote that quietly doubles by the end. First-time renovators feel that risk most. The fact these owners had already been through one project with us, and chose to do a second, was the reassurance that the process actually holds together.
One Project Manager, Every Trade Handled
A bathroom looks like a small room. It isn’t a small job. A single bathroom renovation pulls in electricians, plumbers, tilers, painters, plasterers, waterproofers, a demolition crew, installers and suppliers — and every one of them needs to turn up in the right order, or the whole thing stalls.
That’s the part we own. On this project the only person the family dealt with was Kevin, their project manager. He sequenced the trades, kept the site moving, and fielded the questions — so the owners didn’t have to chase a plumber or wonder why the tiler hadn’t shown. For a household already running on a tight morning schedule, not having to manage a building site themselves was the whole point.
This Papatoetoe project sits alongside the many other full bathroom renovations we plan, sequence and build for Auckland families, from first concept through to the final clean.
“On a bathroom, the trades matter less than the order you run them in. Get waterproofing signed off before anyone tiles, and the rest of the job stays on track. That’s what the homeowner is really paying a project manager for — not to swing a hammer, but to make sure nobody’s standing around waiting on someone else.”
— Kevin Yang, Managing Director, Superior Renovations
Waterproofing the Wet Area Before a Single Tile Went Down
In a family bathroom two kids use every day, the tiling is what you see and the waterproofing is what keeps the house dry behind it. The whole wet area was waterproofed before any tile went on — the step Kevin flagged as the one you can’t rush.
New Zealand’s Building Code sets the rule. Clause E3 Internal Moisture requires wet-area surfaces to stop water getting into the building and reaching materials that can rot or grow mould behind the tiles. The Acceptable Solution E3/AS1 is the common way to meet it: impervious, easily cleaned surfaces through the shower and vanity area, and a waterproofing membrane to the floor and the walls most exposed to splash. Those membranes are manufactured to AS/NZS 4858, the New Zealand product standard for wet-area membranes.
That’s why the running order Kevin talks about matters. The membrane goes on, it gets checked, and only then does the tiler start. Get that sequence right and the room stays sound for years; skip it and you are back inside the walls before long, which is the whole reason a proper wet-area system exists.
Designed for Two Kids and Everyday Wear
The brief was practical, not precious. Everything was chosen for easy maintenance and for two children using the space every day — which shapes the decisions more than any mood board does.
The headline move was a twin-vanity setup, built with the kids in mind. Two basins means two children can brush teeth and wash up at the same time, which is the single biggest fix for a shared-bathroom morning. Small change, big difference to how the room actually works.
The look is calm and hard-wearing: dark charcoal floor tiles ground the room, a light stone-look tile band runs through the wet walls, and the rest is painted white to bounce light and make a modest-sized room feel more open. It’s a deliberate trick: the dark floor grounds the space while the white walls lift it. In a family bathroom that gets daily use, the darker floor tile also hides the day-to-day better than a pale finish would.
What Went Into the Bathroom
Bathroom rebuild
- Full demolition of the existing bathroom
- Waterproofing through the entire bathroom before any tiling
- Englefield shower box installed
- Methven shower head and shower mixer
- Twin-vanity setup built with two young children in mind
- Heated towel rail
- Dark charcoal floor tiles with a light stone-look tile band on the walls
- Walls painted white to open the space up
The added second toilet
- A separate second toilet added in the existing footprint
- Adding the toilet and its waste pipe required Auckland Council consent
- The wall behind the new toilet was damaged, so we restored the wall and the window
- New tiles and toilet installed
- Painted white to keep the small room feeling open
The Second Toilet — and the Wall We Found Behind It
Adding a second toilet was the move that took the daily pressure off one shared bathroom. It also turned out to be the part of the job with the most going on under the surface.
On this job, adding a toilet meant running a new waste pipe, and that change to the drainage needed Auckland Council consent — not a swap-the-pan job you can quietly do over a weekend. Plumbing changes that alter the waste system are the kind of work the council wants documented, and we handled that consent as part of the project so the owners didn’t have to. Whether your own layout needs consent depends on the plumbing and drainage involved, so it’s worth checking with Auckland Council or a licensed plumber.
Then there was the wall. Once we opened up the space behind where the toilet was going, we found the wall was damaged — and the window with it. So the scope grew to include restoring the wall and the window before the new toilet went in. It’s the honest reality of renovating an existing home: you find what you find once things come apart, and you deal with it properly rather than tiling over it. Painted white and finished, the small room ended up feeling far larger than its footprint.
“Finding the damaged wall behind the toilet wasn’t a surprise, exactly — on an older home you expect to uncover something. The job is to fix it properly while you’re in there, not to paper over it and hand the owner a problem in two years.”
— Kevin Yang, Managing Director, Superior Renovations
What a Renovation Like This Costs in Auckland
Every bathroom is priced to its own scope. The size of the room, the materials, whether you’re adding plumbing that needs consent, and what turns up once the old bathroom comes out — all of it moves the number. This project is a good example: the damaged wall behind the new toilet wasn’t visible until demolition, and addressing it added to the work.
Rather than quote a figure that won’t match your home, use our bathroom renovation cost calculator to get a realistic Auckland estimate for your own project.
💡 Quick tip: If you’re adding a toilet, basin or shower where there wasn’t one before, budget for council consent on the plumbing — and for the chance that opening up an old wall reveals repairs worth doing while the room’s already apart.
What the Homeowners Said
“We had such a good experience with the kitchen that we decided to get our bathroom renovated too.”
— The homeowners, Papatoetoe
That’s the line that matters most on this page. A family who’d been through one renovation with us came back for a second. You don’t do that unless the first one was sorted properly.
Their Kitchen Renovation
This bathroom was the second project these owners did with us. The first was their kitchen and laundry — the job that earned the repeat work.
See the full Papatoetoe kitchen and laundry renovation case study
A Family Bathroom That Finally Fits the Family
What started as one overworked bathroom ended as two functioning spaces — a rebuilt main bathroom with a twin vanity sized for two kids, and a separate second toilet that took the morning queue out of the equation. Practical, hard-wearing, and built to handle daily family life in Papatoetoe.
If your household is outgrowing a single bathroom, or you’re weighing up adding a second toilet, that’s exactly the kind of bathroom renovation we manage end to end across South Auckland.
➡ Book your free in-home consultation with Superior Renovations
➡ Estimate your own bathroom renovation cost
➡ Request a free feasibility report for your project
Family Bathroom Renovation Papatoetoe — Your Questions
Do you need council consent to add a second toilet in Auckland?
Yes — on this Papatoetoe project, adding the second toilet meant adding a new waste pipe, and that change to the waste system required Auckland Council consent. Swapping a toilet for a new one in the same spot is usually straightforward, but adding a toilet where there wasn't one, or moving the plumbing, is generally the kind of work that needs consent - worth confirming with Auckland Council or a licensed plumber for your own layout. We handled the consent as part of the project so the owners didn't have to deal with the council themselves.
Why a twin vanity in a family bathroom?
With two young kids sharing one bathroom, a twin-vanity setup lets two children wash and brush their teeth at the same time. It's the single biggest fix for a morning queue. On this family bathroom renovation in Papatoetoe it was the centrepiece of the design, chosen for everyday practicality rather than looks alone.
Why use dark tiles with white walls in a small bathroom?
The dark charcoal floor grounds the room and hides daily family wear far better than a pale tile would. White walls then bounce light and make a modest-sized bathroom feel more open. The contrast does two jobs at once — practical for kids, and visually larger. It's a common move we use where the footprint is tight.
What happens if you find damage once the old bathroom comes out?
You deal with it properly. On this job, opening up behind the new toilet revealed a damaged wall and window, so restoring both was added to the scope before the new toilet went in. Finding the unexpected is normal when you renovate an older home — the important part is fixing it rather than tiling over it and leaving the owner a problem later.
What brands and fittings were used in this bathroom?
The shower box is Englefield, with a Methven shower head and shower mixer. The bathroom also has a heated towel rail, a twin vanity, dark charcoal floor tiles and a light stone-look tile band on the walls. Everything was chosen with easy maintenance and daily family use front of mind.
Can you manage the whole renovation so I'm not chasing tradies?
That's the core of how we work. A bathroom renovation involves electricians, plumbers, tilers, painters, plasterers, waterproofers, demolition and installers. On this Papatoetoe project the family dealt with one person — their project manager — who sequenced every trade and kept the site moving. You don't manage the building site; we do.
How much does a family bathroom renovation in Papatoetoe cost?
It depends on the scope — room size, materials, whether you're adding consentable plumbing like a second toilet, and what's found once the old bathroom is removed. Rather than guess, use our bathroom renovation cost calculator for a realistic Auckland estimate based on your own project, then we can firm it up at a free in-home consultation.
Do you renovate bathrooms across South Auckland?
Yes. This project was in Papatoetoe, and we take on bathroom renovations right across South Auckland, from full rebuilds like this one to adding a second toilet or reworking a tired layout. Every job is run by one project manager who sequences the trades, so you deal with us rather than a rotating cast of subbies. Start with our bathroom renovation cost calculator for a realistic figure, then we'll firm up the detail at a free in-home consultation.
Further Resources
- More completed Auckland renovation projects
- Real client stories from across Auckland
Claim Your Free No Obligation Consultation With Our Design Team In The Comfort Of Your Own Home
Simply fill in the form below to take the first step towards living like new by renovating the old!
