A minor bathroom alteration is fixture-level work that doesn't need the room stripped out — replacing a vanity, toilet, tap, mixer, or showerhead, fitting an extractor fan, resealing a leaking shower or bath, repairing a leak, or adding accessibility fittings like grab rails. The defining feature is that the layout stays the same and the plumbing isn't being relocated. If you're moving fixtures, changing the layout, or building a new bathroom, that's a renovation rather than an alteration, and Superior Renovations handles that work.

It depends on the job. As a rough guide, a tap or showerhead swap starts from around $180, a toilet or extractor fan replacement from around $350, and a like-for-like vanity from around $450. The final figure depends on the fixture you choose, how easy it is to get to, and the condition of the pipework behind it. We give you a fixed quote covering labour, materials, and any certification before any work starts, so you approve the full cost upfront.

For anything connected to your water supply or waste — taps, toilets, vanities, showers — yes. That's sanitary plumbing work in New Zealand and must be done by a plumber registered with the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board (PGDB). Some minor maintenance can be exempt, but the safe rule is that if water or waste is being disconnected and reconnected, a registered plumber does it. Every plumber we send is PGDB-registered, and you can verify any registration at pgdb.co.nz.

Most don't. A like-for-like fixture replacement that doesn't change the layout or relocate plumbing generally falls under the exemptions in Schedule 1 of the Building Act, so no building consent is needed. Consent can be required if you're adding a new bathroom, relocating one, or creating a new wet area that needs waterproofing. We tell you which applies to your job before we start, and you can check the current rules at building.govt.nz.

Most single-fixture jobs — a tap, a toilet, a fan, a vanity — are done in a single visit, often a few hours. Bundling several small jobs into one visit takes longer but still usually fits inside a day. If we find tired pipework or soft framing behind the fixture, we'll flag it before carrying on, since that can change the timeframe. We give you an expected duration as part of the fixed quote.

Yes. If you've already bought the vanity, the tapware, or the toilet, we'll fit it for you. If you haven't, we can source fixtures to suit the space and your budget so you're not trailing around plumbing merchants. Either way the fitting and the certification are done to the same standard. Just let us know which way you'd like to go when you enquire.

A bathroom with no ventilation traps moisture, and that's what feeds mould on the ceiling and around the window. For rental properties, the Healthy Homes ventilation standard requires an extractor fan in the bathroom that vents to the outside. Even in an owner-occupied home, a properly ducted fan is the single most effective fix for a damp, mouldy bathroom. We fit fans that vent outside the house, not just into the ceiling cavity where the moisture has nowhere to go.

Yes. We fit grab rails, lever taps, hand-held showers, and comfort-height toilets to keep a bathroom safe to use as needs change — common for ageing-in-place and for landlords upgrading rentals. The important part with grab rails is fixing them into solid framing rather than just the gib, so they actually hold weight when someone leans on them. We make sure they're mounted properly, not just screwed to the lining.

Yes. We batch bathroom assessments and minor alterations across landlord portfolios regularly. If several of your rentals each need a tap, a fan, a reseal, or a vanity, we assess them together, schedule the work around your tenancies, and give you a single scope covering everything — one call, one company, and one set of compliance paperwork where plumbing work is involved.