Apartment stock, and what that means
North Sydney, Milsons Point, Kirribilli and Lavender Bay sit immediately across the harbour from the CBD, and the housing reflects that: predominantly apartments, ranging from interwar buildings in Kirribilli and Lavender Bay through the 1960s and 1970s walk-ups that line the streets behind the commercial core, to contemporary towers.
That makes almost every bathroom renovation here a strata renovation, on a concrete slab, in a building with rules. None of that is a problem. It is simply a different set of constraints to a house, and the jobs that go badly are the ones quoted as though the constraints were not there.
Strata is the critical path
In a NSW strata scheme, work affecting waterproofing or common property generally needs owners corporation approval before it starts. In practice, that means a bathroom renovation almost always needs it, because the membrane is the thing standing between your floor and somebody else's ceiling.
How long that takes depends entirely on the scheme. Some can deal with it administratively; others need a general meeting. Either way, it belongs at the very front of the program — before drawings, before ordering, definitely before a start date is promised to anyone.
Most buildings also set permitted work hours, require lift protection, and expect neighbours to be notified. Those rules shape how the trades are sequenced and how long the job takes in elapsed time.
The slab, and designing around it
A concrete slab makes moving the toilet or shower waste expensive — the options are cutting the slab or building the floor up to create new fall, and in a strata building both invite additional scrutiny. The sensible approach in almost every North Sydney unit is to keep the waste positions and spend the budget on everything else.
That constraint is less limiting than it sounds. Converting an unused bath to a walk-in shower, changing to a slimline wall-hung vanity, tiling to the ceiling, fitting a full-width mirror and putting light where you actually need it will change a compact bathroom substantially without a single pipe moving. The small bathroom page covers the approach in detail.
Older buildings, more unknowns
The interwar and mid-century buildings around Kirribilli and Lavender Bay reward caution at quoting stage. Plumbing may be original or patched repeatedly, and what is behind the tiles is genuinely unknown until they come off. A quote for one of these should be explicit about how variations are priced and approved.
What it costs
North Sydney unit bathrooms mostly land in the $18,000–$28,000 like-for-like band, with older buildings and higher specifications running above it. The 2026 cost bands set out the full picture, and how a renovation runs covers the program — remembering that strata approval sits in front of all of it.
Nearby
We also work in Crows Nest, Mosman and Lane Cove, plus Neutral Bay, Cremorne and Waverton.
Call 02 4602 1201 or send the room details through.
Frequently asked questions
How long does strata approval take in a North Sydney building?
It varies by scheme and it is rarely quick. Some owners corporations can approve minor renovations between meetings; others require a general meeting, which may be months away. Ask your strata manager what your scheme requires and when the next meeting is before you plan a start date — this is the single most common cause of a delayed unit renovation.
Are older Kirribilli and Milsons Point apartments harder to renovate?
They present more unknowns. Buildings from the 1920s through to the 1960s in these pockets can have original or heavily patched plumbing, and the condition behind the tiles is genuinely unpredictable until the strip-out. That makes the variation clause in your quote more important here than almost anywhere else on the North Shore.
Can I get a skip and a service lift booking?
Usually, within the building's rules and the council's. Most North Sydney buildings restrict delivery hours, require lift protection to be fitted, and expect notice to neighbours. On street level, skip placement close to the CBD frequently needs a council permit. These constraints shape the program and should be priced into it.