Bathroom Renovations in Bombo's Older Cottages

A narrow strip of coast

Bombo sits between the headland and the beach at the northern edge of Kiama, with the rail line running through it. It is small, it is close to the water, and the housing is mostly modest: cottages, post-war fibro and brick homes, a scattering of newer infill and some units and townhouses.

It is also one of the more exposed pockets in the council area. There is very little between these streets and the ocean, and bathrooms show it.

The typical Bombo bathroom

If the house is older — and a lot of them are — the pattern is consistent:

• A bathroom in a rear addition or a closed-in verandah, sometimes at a slightly different floor level to the rest of the house
• A timber floor on piers, occasionally with low subfloor clearance
• Fibro linings on the walls, the ceiling or both, needing testing before anything is disturbed
• No waterproof membrane — tiles laid on a mortar bed, or painted sheeting around a bath
• A bath with a shower over it and a curtain rail, or a moulded base added later
• Original galvanised supply pipe, narrowed and rust-marked
• Framing near the old shower that has been damp for decades
• An exhaust fan that vents into the roof space, or none at all

None of that is unusual and none of it is a reason not to proceed. It is a reason to test first, open it up properly, and price the repairs honestly instead of tiling over them. That sequence is on the full bathroom renovations page.

Salt, and why it is worse here

Exposure is not uniform along a coastline, and Bombo is at the sharp end of it. The onshore wind arrives with very little to slow it down, and salt-laden air settles on every metal surface in and on the house.

In a bathroom that turns up as:

• Pitted, blotchy tapware, often within a few years on a cheap electroplated finish
• Screen rollers that seize and hinges that stop moving smoothly
• Rusting fan grilles, which is also a sign the fan is not clearing the room
• Corroded fixings behind a towel rail or mirror, which fail before the fitting does
• Stained floor waste grates

The response is a specification decision, not a maintenance regime. Fewer metal parts — a fixed glass panel rather than a framed door — and better metal in what remains, with stainless fixings into solid backing. On a job in this suburb it is the last thing to cut from a quote.

Ventilation in a damp, sandy, exposed house

Bombo bathrooms deal with sea humidity from outside and shower steam from inside, and a lot of them have no effective way to clear either. A fan sized for the room, ducted through the eave or roof to outside air, with the duct insulated across cold roof space and a run-on timer on the switch, is the single most effective change available. A window helps, but nobody opens a stiff window in winter, so the fan has to do the work regardless.

Access and the practicalities

Some Bombo streets are narrow, some properties sit awkwardly relative to the road, and the rail corridor limits how a few of them can be approached. What that means for a renovation:

• Material gets carried further than average, and rubble gets carried back
• A skip may need to sit on the street, which generally requires a council permit
• Delivery timing matters more than usual, because there may be nowhere to leave a pallet

It is all routine, and it should be a line in the quote rather than a conversation in week two.

What these houses become

The rewarding part of a Bombo renovation is the gap between before and after. A small, dark, mouldy room with a curtain over the bath becomes a level-entry shower behind a single glass panel, full-height tile, a wall-hung vanity with drawers, a light at the mirror and a fan that actually works — usually in the same footprint. See small bathrooms for how the space gets found without moving walls.

For the older residents who have been in these streets a long time, the renovation is also the moment to build in solid backing, a level-entry shower and a slip-rated floor. It costs very little at that point and it is expensive later. See accessible bathrooms.

Units, townhouses and let properties

Where the property is part of a strata scheme, consent is needed for replacing waterproofing and it is worth starting that early. Where the house is let short-term over summer, the fit-out wants fewer moving parts and a program written around bookings — see the rental and holiday-let page.

Costs

Older Bombo bathrooms are more likely than average to need floor repairs, pipework replacement and asbestos removal, which is what pushes a small room toward the upper part of a tier. The cost page sets out the broad guide tiers and the factors that move a job between them, and a measure produces the real figure.

Nearby

We also work in Kiama Downs, Minnamurra, Gerringong, Jamberoo and Gerroa, plus Kiama and Kiama Heights.

Renovation work is carried out in partnership with Coastal Renovation Group, a licensed NSW builder. Licence and insurance details are provided on request.

Call 02 4214 4021 or send the room details through.