Can I add an ensuite to an older semi or terrace?

Often, if there is a practical drainage route. Converting part of a large bedroom or a robe works best where the new room sits near an existing wet area or an external wall with a sewer line nearby. We check the route before discussing finishes.

What does an ensuite renovation cost in the Eastern Suburbs?

As a 2026 guide, renovating an existing ensuite typically runs $22,000 to $38,000. Creating a new one from a robe or bedroom corner costs more — often $35,000 to $60,000 — because of new drainage, framing, ventilation and possibly approvals.

How small can a powder room be?

A room about 900 mm wide and 1,500 mm long can take a wall-hung toilet and a small corner or wall basin with a door that opens outward or slides. Below that the space works better as storage.

Does a powder room need waterproofing?

It still needs waterproofing to the floor and wall junctions, though far less than a room with a shower. Because there is no shower, a powder room is one of the few wet areas where a bold, porous-looking finish can be used with less risk.

Will a new ensuite in a strata unit need approval?

Yes. Adding a wet area in a unit typically involves new penetrations through common property and changes to waterproofing, so it goes to the owners corporation and usually needs a by-law. Some buildings will not permit it; that is worth confirming first.

Ensuite & Powder Room Renovations

Two rooms that punch above their size

An ensuite or a powder room is rarely large. In the east it is often tiny — a converted robe off a main bedroom, a former laundry at the back of a semi, a slot under a terrace staircase.

Because these rooms are small, the finish is concentrated. A single basin, a run of tile, one light fitting and a mirror carry the whole design. That makes them the best place in the home to spend on something special.

Ensuites

Renovating an existing ensuite

Many Eastern Suburbs apartments built or refurbished from the 1980s onwards include an ensuite, frequently cramped and without a window. The typical brief is to get a bigger shower into the same footprint, improve ventilation, and replace a basic vanity with something that holds two people's things.

The playbook is the one from our small bathroom page: hobless shower, fixed glass, a floating vanity with drawers, recessed storage and a mirror spanning the wall. In an ensuite we usually add a ceiling-mounted exhaust on a humidity sensor, because windowless ensuites off bedrooms are where mould shows up first.

Creating a new ensuite

Houses and semis built before the 1970s usually had a single bathroom. Adding an ensuite is one of the most valuable upgrades available, but it lives or dies on drainage.

The questions, in order:

Where does the waste go? A new toilet needs a sewer connection at the right grade. On a timber floor the pipe can often run under the house; on a slab it means cutting concrete.
Where does the air go? A new internal wet area needs mechanical ventilation to outside.
What gets smaller? The bedroom or robe loses space. We draw the before and after so you see exactly how much.
Does it need approval? Internal non-structural changes are often exempt development, but not always — heritage items, structural changes and some strata buildings are different. We tell you what is likely and point you to the certifier or council for confirmation.

In a Paddington terrace, the rear upstairs bedroom sometimes backs onto the bathroom wing below or beside it, which makes a new ensuite surprisingly practical. In a Randwick Federation semi, the enclosed side verandah is a common candidate.

Powder rooms

A powder room is a toilet and basin, no shower. In a one-bathroom home with a steady stream of guests, it takes enormous pressure off the main bathroom.

Where they fit. Under stairs in a two-storey terrace or townhouse, in part of a large laundry, at the end of a hallway, or in a disused pantry. The fitting footprint can be very small if the toilet is wall-hung and the door slides.

How to finish them. With no shower, the design brief is freer. Wallpaper suited to bathrooms above a tiled dado, a sculptural stone or ceramic basin on a slim shelf, dramatic dark tile, a statement pendant — all work in a room people use for a few minutes and leave. Hard-wearing matters more on the floor than on the walls.

What they still need. A floor waste where the plumbing allows, correct waterproofing at the floor-wall junction, an exhaust fan and a decent light at the mirror.

Details that matter at this scale

Tapware scale. A compact basin with a large mixer looks wrong and splashes. Choose wall-mounted spouts or small-profile mixers sized to the bowl.
Door hardware. Cavity slider pulls need to be flush; a bulky handle catches clothing in a narrow space.
Toilet projection. Wall-hung pans come in shorter projections — a few centimetres make a difference to knee room.
Mirror depth. A recessed cabinet in an ensuite is worth the extra framing, because there is rarely room for a vanity deep enough for storage.

Ensuite and main bathroom together

If both rooms are due, running them in one program shares the demolition, the waterproofer's visits and the tile delivery. In a one-bathroom household you will not be able to do both at once, so the second room follows the first. In a house with a separate toilet, it is sometimes possible to keep that toilet running while both rooms are rebuilt.

Cost

As a 2026 guide: an existing ensuite renovated, $22,000 to $38,000; a new ensuite created from other space, commonly $35,000 to $60,000; a powder room, $14,000 to $22,000. See the full cost bands for what moves each figure.

Renovation work is carried out in partnership with Coastal Renovation Group, a licensed NSW builder. Licence and insurance details are provided on request.

Call 02 5121 7922 or tell us about the space.

Ensuites and Powder Rooms for Eastern Suburbs Homes