A bathroom is the densest room in a home. Water supply, drainage, electrics, ventilation, waterproofing and finishing all meet across four to eight square metres, and each of those layers depends on the one before it. It is also the room where a mistake costs the most: putting right a failed waterproofing layer means lifting the tiles.

Why a bathroom is not like other rooms

Three constraints set it apart.

Water first. Under the tiles sits a waterproofing membrane that has to run up the walls of the shower zone and seal cleanly around every penetration. It is invisible once the work is finished, which makes it easy to skimp on and impossible to check afterwards.

Electrics next. The zones around a bath and a shower demand specific degrees of protection, and most older bathrooms in Geneva and Lausanne have neither a protected socket nor compliant equipotential bonding. A renovation is the logical moment to put that right.

Ventilation last. A bathroom without proper extraction produces condensation, and condensation produces mould in the corners within two winters. The problem is often taken for bad paintwork; it rarely is.

Approvals: whose yes you need

The answer depends on your status, and it often surprises people.

  • **Tenant**: written approval from the managing agent is required as soon as you touch the fixed installations. Repainting is notified; replacing a bath is requested.
  • **Owner in a co-ownership**: the supply and waste risers are common parts. Once the work touches them, the decision belongs to the owners' meeting, not to you alone.
  • **House owner**: you decide, unless you move a drain outside or alter a load-bearing structure.

In all three cases a clear technical description speeds up the answer. We prepare one with the quotation for exactly that reason.

The stages, in order

The order is not negotiable: each trade prepares the next.

  • Stripping out tiles, fixtures and, where needed, the screed
  • Reworking supplies and wastes, setting the correct fall
  • Electrical first fix: lighting, protected sockets, towel rail, ventilation
  • Waterproofing the wet zone, with drying time respected
  • Screed and levelling, then drying that is measured, not assumed
  • Floor and wall tiling, grouting, silicone
  • Fitting appliances, taps, furniture and mirrors
  • Commissioning, leak check and cleaning

A project that skips a drying stage shows it two years later, in cracked grout.

What really moves the quotation

Three factors dominate, and the choice of taps is not one of them.

**Whether the wastes move.** Keeping the supplies and the trap where they are costs little. Moving the WC two metres imposes a new fall on the waste, so a raised floor, so a reworked door. That is the item that tips a budget.

**The condition of what is there.** A sound screed can be covered. A cracked screed, an out-of-plumb wall, lead pipework or an old bitumen waterproofing layer change the volume of work before the first tile is laid.

**Tile format and the number of corners.** A large format on straight walls goes down quickly. The same tile in a room with a niche, a bath panel and two returns takes twice the cutting time.

For scale, a full renovation in Switzerland — electrics and plumbing included — runs around 1,400 to 1,800 CHF per square metre. A bathroom sits at the top of that range, because the technical density is at its highest there. The final figure never comes from a table; it comes from the site visit.

Lake Geneva limescale, to settle now

Water in the region is hard. Limescale clogs taps, cuts the efficiency of the water heater and shortens the life of appliances. If the installation is to have a softener or an anti-scale treatment, now is the moment to decide: adding one later means reopening the distribution you have just closed up.

How we work

We quote after seeing the room, item by item, materials included. Plumbing, electrics and tiling are carried out by our own teams, so a bathroom does not turn into a negotiation between three firms. In an occupied home we sequence the work so that another wet room stays usable where possible — and we say plainly when it is not.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a bathroom renovation take?

Allow two to four weeks for a complete room, drying time included. Those times do not compress: a shorter promise usually hides waterproofing or screed laid too early.

Do I need the managing agent's approval?

In a rented flat, yes, as soon as the fixed installations are touched. We supply the technical description to submit, which shortens the response time considerably.

Can the WC or the shower be moved?

Often yes, but it is the most expensive item, because the waste needs a fall. We check feasibility at the site visit before pricing anything.

Should the electrics be redone at the same time?

Almost always in an older building. The protection zones around a shower have changed, and bringing the room up to standard while the walls are open costs a fraction of the same job two years later.

Can a bath be turned into a level-access shower?

It depends on the height available under the finished floor for the waste. Where the depth is not there, an extra-flat tray remains possible. That answer is given on site, not over the phone.