Bathroom Renovation Kitchener
Built around a vanity from our own workshop
A bathroom renovation in Kitchener or Waterloo done as one job: strip-out, plumbing and waterproofing, tile, a glass shower or a new tub, and a vanity made to the inch in our workshop. One written, itemised quote, one team, and nobody waiting on a vanity that turns out to be two centimetres too wide.
What a bathroom reno in Kitchener includes
A bathroom renovation with Kitchen Renovation Kitchener rebuilds a bathroom for homeowners in Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge: strip-out, plumbing and waterproofing, tile, a glass shower or a new tub, fixtures, lighting and ventilation, all around a vanity built to measure in the company's workshop in Mississauga. Waterproofing is priced as its own line, permits are arranged where the work needs one, and the quote is written and itemised in Canadian dollars.
A bathroom is the smallest room in the house with the most trades in it. In a few square metres you have a plumber, an electrician, a tiler, a glass installer and whoever builds the vanity, all working around a drain that has to slope the right way and a shower that has to stay watertight for twenty years. Most bathroom renovations that go wrong go wrong at the hand-offs between those people.
One team for every trade in the room
We take those hand-offs on ourselves. The vanity, the linen cabinet and any medicine cabinet are built in our workshop to the room's real measurements, so they arrive fitting the space instead of forcing the plumbing to fit them. The licensed trades are booked into one schedule, and the waterproofing, the part nobody sees and everybody pays for when it fails, is listed as its own line on the quote, so you know exactly what was done behind the tile.
What does a full bathroom renovation include?
Strip-out to the studs where needed, any plumbing changes, the waterproofing membrane behind the tile and a shower floor that slopes to the drain, wall and floor tile, a glass shower or a new tub, toilet, taps, mirrors, lighting and an exhaust fan that vents outdoors, all built around a vanity made for the room.
- Rooms
- Main bathrooms, ensuites, powder rooms, basement bathrooms
- Vanity
- Made to measure in our own workshop
- Waterproofing
- A separate, itemised line on every quote
- Where
- Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and the townships
- Quote
- In writing, in CAD plus HST
- Typical time
- Our own durations [TBC]
Everything a full bathroom renovation covers
"Everything included" only means something when it is written down. This is the list we price against; your quote shows each line.
The vanity and storage
A cabinet made for the wall, drawers planned around the plumbing, the top and basin chosen together, and a medicine cabinet or linen tower to match; one basin or two, depending on the room.
The wet area
A new shower or tub, a glass panel or door, tiled walls and floor with built-in niches; the waterproofing membrane, the drain and the preparation behind the tile appear as separate lines on the quote.
Fixtures and finishing
Toilet, taps, mirrors, lighting, a fan that vents outdoors, accessories and paint, with who supplies what written into the scope.
For later years
A curbless shower entry, a bench and solid backing in the walls for future grab bars, wherever the framing and the codes allow.
Why a workshop-built vanity changes the whole room
A store-bought vanity comes in a few widths, and the room has to adapt to it. A made-to-measure vanity adapts to the room. That matters most in the bathrooms we see every week in Waterloo Region: the 1960s and 1970s main bathroom with a five-foot tub and a narrow wall beside it, the ensuite where a door swing eats a corner, the basement bathroom where a stack or a beam sits exactly where the counter should go.
Drawers, basins and matching cabinets
Because the vanity is drawn with the plumbing, the drawers are planned around the trap and the supply lines instead of losing a drawer to them. A single basin can become a double where the room allows, and a tall linen cabinet or a recessed medicine cabinet can be built in the same finish so the whole wall reads as one piece of furniture.
- Drawers sized around the drain, not a cupboard with a pipe through it
- Countertop and basin coordinated with the cabinet before anything is cut
- Matching linen and medicine cabinets in the same door style and finish
- One basin or two, wall-hung or standing on the floor, as the room permits
Shower, tub, or both: how to decide
Should I replace my tub with a walk-in shower?
In an ensuite, often yes; in the only bathroom of a family house, think twice. A walk-in shower is easier to use and to clean, but many buyers with young children look for a tub, so homeowners often keep one bath in the house and convert the ensuite. Converting usually moves the drain, which needs a permit.
Walk-in shower
Glass panel or door, a niche at a useful height, a bench if there is room. A curbless entry needs the floor recessed or built up so water still runs to the drain. That is possible in many houses, not all, and decided at the measure.
Tub with shower
Still the most practical choice in a family bathroom and the one buyers with young children look for. A new tub, a tiled surround and a glass panel instead of a curtain modernise it without giving up the bath.
Both, separately
An ensuite with room for a freestanding tub and a separate shower is the premium layout. It usually means moving drains, which means a building permit; we flag that at the first visit.
Ventilation is not optional
A bathroom fan that vents outside, not into the attic, is what stops a new bathroom from growing mould behind the paint. We check where the existing fan discharges at the measure and include a new duct run in the scope when it is needed.
When a bathroom needs a City permit
Do I need a permit to renovate a bathroom in Kitchener?
Not to replace fixtures in the same spots, retile, or install a new vanity. You need a building permit to add, remove or relocate a plumbing fixture or change the drainage: moving a toilet, say, or turning a tub into a shower with a new drain. New electrical circuits are notified to the Electrical Safety Authority.
Each city publishes its own list: City of Kitchener: when you need a building permit, City of Waterloo: check if you need a building permit and City of Cambridge: building permits. Electrical work (a new circuit for heated floors, a new fan or new lighting) is a separate matter: a licensed electrical contractor files a notification with the Electrical Safety Authority and the work is inspected.
Adding a bathroom to a basement for an additional dwelling unit is a bigger conversation, covered on our basement renovation page.
What bathrooms cost in Kitchener–Waterloo in 2026
How much does a bathroom renovation cost in Kitchener–Waterloo in 2026?
A Kitchener–Waterloo contractor's published guide (March 2026) puts a cosmetic refresh at $20,000–$35,000, a mid-range renovation gutted to the studs at $35,000–$60,000 and a premium ensuite at $60,000–$100,000. Those are market figures, not our prices; we measure each bathroom first, then quote it in writing, plus HST.
The four tiers, with published timelines
| Tier | What it usually means | Published range | Published timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cosmetic refresh | Same footprint and plumbing: new vanity, toilet, tub or shower surround, tile, flooring, lighting and paint | $20,000–$35,000 | 3–5 weeks |
| Mid-range renovation | Gutted to the studs with updated plumbing, electrical and waterproofing; layout mostly kept; custom vanity | $35,000–$60,000 | 5–8 weeks |
| Premium ensuite | Often a reconfigured layout: walk-in shower, frameless glass, heated tile | $60,000–$100,000 | 7–10 weeks |
| Luxury ensuite | Major reconfiguration, sometimes into adjacent space, custom stonework, steam shower | $100,000–$180,000+ | 10–14 weeks |
Our own ranges appear here once they are confirmed in writing [TBC: our bathroom price ranges]. Until then, every bathroom is measured first and then quoted in writing, line by line, plus HST.
Bathroom renovation in Waterloo
We renovate bathrooms across Waterloo: MacGregor-Albert, Mary Allen, Beechwood, Lakeshore, Laurelwood and the condos in Uptown and near the universities. Two things come up again and again there. In the family houses, the main bathroom is often the original from when the street was built, with a tub-and-tile surround that has been patched more than once; the honest fix is usually a full strip back to the studs and new waterproofing. In the condos, the building sets the rules: written approval, elevator bookings for the delivery, quiet hours, and sometimes a sign-off from the property manager before the water can be shut off.
Waterloo permits
The City of Waterloo's permit rules follow the same Building Code as Kitchener's (a permit when plumbing fixtures are added, removed or moved, none when a fixture is replaced in place), and its building permits page is the reference. If the new bathroom is part of an additional residential unit, Waterloo also requires a rental licence before the unit is rented; see our Waterloo bathroom guide.
The bathroom from our Kitchener project
Photographed on 23 September 2026 in the same house as the kitchen on our homepage.
Bathroom renovation questions
How long does a bathroom renovation take?
The same published Kitchener–Waterloo guide gives 3–5 weeks for a cosmetic refresh and 5–8 weeks for a renovation gutted to the studs, longer for ensuites that change layout. Our own durations are [TBC: bathroom durations]. Tile and waterproofing need curing time between steps, which is why a bathroom cannot be rushed into a long weekend.
Can you build a vanity for an awkward space?
That is the main reason to have one built. The vanity is drawn to the room's real measurements (around a radiator, a sloped ceiling, a door swing or a stack), with drawers planned around the plumbing instead of a cupboard with a pipe through it.
Can I keep my tub and redo everything else?
Yes, if the tub is sound and you like it. We protect it during the work and tile up to it. If it is an older steel or cast-iron tub with chips, replacing it now is far cheaper than doing so after the new tile is on.
Do you handle the plumbing and electrical work?
We coordinate it within the one schedule, and licensed trades do it. Plumbing changes that need a building permit are covered by the City's permit and inspections; electrical work is notified to the Electrical Safety Authority by the licensed electrical contractor and inspected.
What is a curbless shower, and can I have one?
A shower with no step at the entry: the floor runs flat into the shower and slopes gently to a drain. It needs the floor recessed or the rest of the room raised, which depends on the joists and what sits below. Many houses can take one; we check at the measure.
Do you renovate basement bathrooms?
Yes. Below-grade bathrooms often need a pump to lift the waste up to the main drain, so planning the fixture positions early matters. A bathroom for an additional dwelling unit has more rules: see our basement renovation page.
Can I choose my own tile and fixtures?
Yes. The written scope separates what we supply from what you buy. Bring the specification sheets early: the vanity height, the niche positions and the valve rough-in are set from them.
How do you protect the rest of the house?
Floor protection along the route from the door, dust barriers at the bathroom door, and the debris taken out at the end of each stage. If the only toilet is in the room being renovated, we plan when it is out of service so you are never without one overnight.
Planning a bathroom in Kitchener or Waterloo?
Send a few lines and a photo if you have one. We reply within one business day and book a measure on one of our Waterloo Region days.
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