House Demolition
Full and partial knockdowns of brick-and-tile, weatherboard and double-storey homes, permit through to level site.
Learn more →The room where shortcuts show up later
A bathroom renovation is only as good as the surface it is built on. Waterproofing a cracked screed, tiling over a failed membrane, or leaving a rotten sheet behind a new vanity are the three reasons a two-year-old bathroom starts leaking into the hallway.
So the aim of the strip-out is not speed. It is to expose a sound, dry, correctly-falling substrate and hand it over clean, with the services capped and the room ready for the waterproofer.
Scope of a full strip
- Vanity, basin, mirror, cabinetry and shaving cupboard
- Bath, shower screen, shower base and tapware
- Toilet suite and cistern
- Wall tiles, including the mortar bed on older double-brick installations
- Floor tiles and the sand-cement screed underneath
- Wall and ceiling linings where they are damaged or asbestos-affected
- Exhaust fan, heat lamps and redundant light fittings after isolation
- All waste removed and the room swept
Partial strips are common too — a shower recess only, or a bath removed and replaced with a walk-in shower — where the rest of the room is staying. That is more careful work, because the tiles that remain have to survive.
Perth's wet areas have their own quirks
Double brick construction dominates Perth's housing stock, and it changes what a bathroom strip involves. Wall tiles on brick were commonly laid into a thick render bed, which comes off in slabs and generates a lot of heavy rubble compared with tiles on sheeting. It also means the wall surface behind is uneven masonry, not a flat board, so the new lining or render is a real line item.
Slab-on-ground construction is the other constant. Most Perth bathrooms sit on a concrete slab with a screed over it, and the waste outlet is set into the slab. Where a new layout moves the shower or the toilet, the slab has to be cut and re-drained — work that needs a licensed plumber and a decision made before demolition, not after.
Asbestos, again
Wet areas in pre-1990 homes are one of the highest-probability asbestos locations in a Perth house. Asbestos cement sheet was used as a tile backing, as a ceiling lining and around the bath. Vinyl floor tiles and their adhesive are the other usual culprit.
Nothing suspect gets broken until it has been tested. Where it is confirmed, licensed removal runs first as a separate stage under the asbestos demolition process, with clearance obtained before other trades return.
Booking it with the rest of the renovation
Bathrooms are rarely the only thing being done. Booking the bathroom together with a kitchen strip-out, or as part of a whole-house soft demolition, means one mobilisation, one set of service isolations and one truck instead of three. That is genuinely cheaper, not just tidier.
Waste from a tiled bathroom is heavier than people expect — tile, render and screed are dense — and it leaves with us rather than sitting in a skip on the verge. The disposal side is covered on the rubbish removal page, and where floor tiles are being lifted off a slab across several rooms the work overlaps with concrete removal.
Pricing factors sit in the demolition cost guide. Call (08) 9516 0951 with the bathroom size, the age of the house and whether the screed is coming out.
More services
Explore our other services
Pool Removal and Filling
Fibreglass and concrete pools removed, the void backfilled in layers and compacted ready for whatever comes next.
Learn more →Pool Demolition
Shell demolition for in-ground and above-ground pools, including solid concrete structures and surrounding decking.
Learn more →Strip-Out and Soft Demolition
Internal demolition for offices, shops and homes — walls, ceilings, floors and fit-out stripped back to structure.
Learn more →Kitchen Demolition
Cabinetry, benchtops, splashbacks and floor finishes out, services capped, floor ready for the new install.
Learn more →Asbestos-Affected Demolition
Pre-1990 Perth homes need an asbestos check first. We arrange licensed removal before demolition starts.
Learn more →Garage and Shed Demolition
Colorbond sheds, limestone and brick garages, carports and patios removed, slab included if you want it gone.
Learn more →Site Clearing
Vegetation, rubble, old slabs and fencing cleared off a block so the builder can set out and start pegging.
Learn more →Concrete Removal
Driveways, paths, patios and slabs broken out and carted to a recycler rather than straight to landfill.
Learn more →Rubbish Removal
Household, commercial and construction waste collection — you pay for the volume you actually put on the truck.
Learn more →Mulch Delivery
Bulk mulch delivered across Perth, useful once a cleared or backfilled site needs covering before landscaping.
Learn more →Civil Contracting
Bulk earthworks, site preparation and plant hire for larger residential and commercial projects.
Learn more →
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
How long does a bathroom strip-out take?
Most Perth bathrooms are stripped in a day. Where the floor has a thick sand-cement screed over a slab, or where wall tiles are bedded onto double brick with a full mortar bed, it stretches into a second day. Removing the screed properly is what takes the time, and skipping it causes problems for the waterproofer later.
Does the screed have to come out?
If the floor is being re-waterproofed and re-tiled, almost always yes. Old screeds are frequently cracked, have failed falls to the waste, and sit over waterproofing that has already failed. Tiling over the top only buys a few years. The exception is a sound screed with correct falls that a waterproofer is prepared to certify over.
Who disconnects the plumbing?
A licensed plumber. The shower, basin, bath and toilet are isolated, the fixtures removed and the waste and water points capped so nothing is open to the sewer while the room is out of service. Any electrical work — the exhaust fan, heat lamps, a wall heater, the lighting — is isolated by a licensed electrician before demolition starts.
Is there asbestos in an older Perth bathroom?
Frequently. Pre-1990 wet areas often used asbestos cement sheet as a wall or ceiling lining behind the tiles, and vinyl floor tiles and their adhesive are another common source. Suspect material is sampled before anything is broken, and confirmed asbestos is removed under a licensed process before the strip-out continues.
Will the walls survive tile removal?
Partly, and it should be budgeted for. Tiles on double brick generally take the render off with them; tiles on plasterboard or sheeting often destroy the sheet, which then has to be replaced with a wet-area board anyway. Neither is a mistake — it is the normal condition of a stripped Perth bathroom, and the new lining is part of the renovation.
Free, no-obligation