Every layer in a bathroom hides the one below it. Here is the order the work should follow, and the check that has to pass before each stage is covered up.
A bathroom renovation should run in a fixed order: plan and get approval, protect and hack out, rough in the plumbing and electrical points, lay the screed to fall towards the floor trap, waterproof and ponding-test, tile the walls and floor, close the ceiling, fit the sanitaryware and glass, then seal, snag and hand over. Each stage has a check that must pass before the next one covers it up. Skip a check and the fault gets buried under tiles. ClickBina's cost guide puts a bathroom renovation at RM6,000–RM25,000 per bathroom (indicative 2026, Klang Valley).
A bathroom is the most layered room in the house. Pipes sit inside the slab and walls, a screed sits on the slab, the waterproofing membrane sits on the screed, and the tiles sit on the membrane. Every layer hides the one below it. That is why the sequence matters more here than anywhere else: once a layer is covered, checking it again means breaking out everything on top.
A good contractor treats each stage as a hold point. The work stops, someone checks it, and only then does the next trade start. A rushed contractor runs the stages together to save a day or two, and the owner finds out months later through a stain on the ceiling below or a floor that ponds around the trap. Our renovation process and timeline guide sets out the same logic for the whole house; this page walks it through for one bathroom.
Decide the scope before anyone picks up a hammer. The single biggest decision is whether the toilet, floor trap and shower stay where they are. The toilet drain is cast into the slab, and ClickBina's cost guide puts relocating it at typically RM2,000–RM5,000 extra, so a layout that keeps the existing points saves money and slab work. Choose tiles, sanitaryware, vanity and glass now, because lead times on some items are longer than the building work itself.
To turn these figures into a number for your own home, try the Bathroom Renovation Cost Calculator: it multiplies the renovation tier by the number of bathrooms and adds the extras you tick.
In a condo, submit the renovation application and wait for the approval letter before hacking. Management commonly asks for a refundable renovation deposit of RM1,000–RM5,000, returned after a post-renovation inspection. Our bathroom renovation waterproofing requirements guide lists the house rules most Klang Valley buildings apply to wet works.
Before hacking, the lift, corridor and the rooms the crew walks through are covered, and the water supply to the bathroom is isolated. Then the old tiles, screed and fittings come out, down to the structural slab if the job is a full renovation. Hacking destroys the old membrane, which is why a bathroom that is hacked must be fully re-waterproofed later; there is no partial version.
Once the floor is open, look at what is there: corroded pipes, a cracked slab, old repairs and the condition of the floor trap. This is the cheapest moment to fix any of it.
| Stage | What happens | Hold point before the next stage |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Plan & approve | Layout, materials, management approval | Approval letter in hand; layout signed off |
| 2. Protect & hack | Cover common areas, remove old finishes | Slab inspected; hidden damage noted |
| 3. Plumbing rough-in | New pipes, points and trap positions | Pipes pressure-checked before they are covered |
| 4. Electrical points | Heater, fan, lighting and socket positions | Positions confirmed against the tile layout |
| 5. Screed & falls | Floor built up with a fall to the trap | Water test shows it drains, no ponding |
| 6. Waterproofing | Primer, membrane, corners and upturns | Membrane cured, then ponding test passed |
| 7. Tiling | Walls, then floor; grout | Levels, falls and hollow-tile check |
| 8. Ceiling | Moisture-resistant board or PVC, access panel | Fan duct and lights fitted |
| 9. Fit-out | Toilet, basin, shower, heater, glass, vanity | Every fitting run and checked for leaks |
| 10. Seal & hand over | Silicone, snagging, cleaning | Owner walk-through and defects list closed |
The plumber sets the new water supply lines, the positions for the mixer, shower, basin and toilet, and the waste connections. This is the stage to decide the heights of the shower mixer and basin, because they are fixed once the wall is tiled. New pipe runs should be pressure-checked before they disappear behind render or into the floor; a leaking joint found now costs minutes, found after tiling it costs a wall.
Floor trap and toilet positions are settled here too. If the layout keeps the existing drain positions, the work is quicker and there is less coring through the slab, which is always a risk point for leaks to the unit below.
Water heater, exhaust fan, lighting, a mirror light and any socket for a shaver or a heated towel rail are positioned now, alongside the plumbing. Bathroom electrical work is a specialist trade and has to be done by a competent electrician; the point here is sequence, not method. Mark every position on the wall before the tiler sets out, so a switch does not land across a grout line or a heater point sit behind the glass panel.
A bathroom without a window needs an exhaust fan and somewhere to duct it; plan the route through the ceiling now, because it is awkward to add once the ceiling is closed.
The floor is built back up with a screed laid to fall towards the floor trap, so water runs away instead of sitting in a corner. The fall belongs in the screed, not in the tile adhesive: trying to create it later with extra adhesive gives hollow tiles and uneven joints. Before anything covers the screed, pour water on it and watch where it goes. Any puddle now will still be a puddle after tiling.
Our small bathroom layout guide explains how the fall and the step between the wet and dry zones are planned together.
The membrane goes on over a clean, sound, primed surface, with corners and pipe penetrations reinforced, and is carried up the walls; ClickBina's worked example prices the membrane with a 200 mm wall turn-up, and the wet zone goes higher. ClickBina's cost guide notes that a membrane needs 24–48 hours to cure before it is tiled over.
Then comes the most important check of the whole job. The trap is plugged, the floor is flooded, and the water stands for 24–48 hours while the ceiling below is checked. If it leaks, the fix is a re-coat, not a hacked-up bathroom. Make the ponding test a payment milestone and keep a dated record of it. The full method is in our bathroom waterproofing guide.
Walls are normally tiled before the floor, so nothing is dropped onto a finished floor and the wall tiles sit on the floor tiles cleanly at the base. The tiler sets out from the most visible wall and plans cuts so the narrow slivers land in corners, not in the middle of the shower wall. Floor tiles follow the screed's fall to the trap. Tap every tile once the adhesive has set; hollow-sounding ones are relaid now, not after handover.
Our tiling contractor guide covers setting out, grout and movement joints in detail.
The ceiling closes over the exhaust duct, the lighting cables and often the pipework from the unit above, so it goes in after the tiling and before the fittings. Choose a board made for wet rooms and leave an access panel under any valves, the heater connections or the fan. Our bathroom ceiling board guide compares moisture-resistant board, calcium silicate and PVC.
Sanitaryware, the shower set, the basin and vanity, the water heater and the glass screen go in last, once the dusty trades are finished. Each one is connected, run and checked for leaks at the joints. The glass screen is usually measured only after tiling, because it has to fit the finished walls and floor, so allow for its lead time in the schedule.
ClickBina's cost guide puts a full bathroom renovation at typically 1–2 weeks per bathroom in the Klang Valley, including hacking, waterproofing cure time, tiling and fitting. Prices below are quoted from that guide and are indicative Klang Valley ranges for 2026.
| Item | Indicative price | Source guide |
|---|---|---|
| Basic renovation: re-tile, new toilet, basin, tap, shower set | RM6,000 – RM10,000 | Bathroom renovation cost guide |
| Mid-range: full re-tile, waterproofing, vanity, glass screen, water heater | RM12,000 – RM18,000 | Bathroom renovation cost guide |
| Premium: large-format tiles, rain shower, custom vanity | RM20,000 – RM35,000+ | Bathroom renovation cost guide |
| Hacking & debris disposal (worked example) | RM1,500 | Bathroom renovation cost guide |
| Waterproofing membrane (worked example) | RM1,500 | Bathroom renovation cost guide |
| Relocating the toilet drain | RM2,000 – RM5,000 extra | Bathroom renovation cost guide |
| Condo renovation deposit (refundable) | RM1,000 – RM5,000 | Waterproofing requirements guide |
WhatsApp us your job details for a quote — we reply within the hour.
💬 WhatsApp for a quoteOur bathroom renovation cost guide breaks the budget down item by item and shows where it is safe to save.
ClickBina is an experienced KL & Selangor contractor for whole-house refurbishment and trade coordination, and a bathroom is the clearest case of trades that have to follow each other in the right order: hacking, plumbing, electrical points, screed, waterproofing, tiling, ceiling and fitting. WhatsApp us your job details for a quote, with the bathroom size and what you want changed. We reply within the hour, the price we agree is a flat price with no hidden charges, and a site visit is RM150, waived if you go ahead.
How we estimated prices: every RM figure on this page is quoted unchanged from the ClickBina guides named above; they are indicative Klang Valley ranges for 2026, not fixed rates or a quotation for your bathroom.
WhatsApp us your job details for a quote — we reply within the hour.
💬 WhatsApp for a quoteTell us what you need — we reply within the hour.