the decision calendar

The layout, and which wastes, toilets, showers and walls move

Moving a waste or a wall drives cost and every later stage.

Ask: Is anything that drains moving? Check the fall to the sewer before you commit.

Appliance models: oven, cooktop, rangehood, fridge, dishwasher, washer, dryer

The joinery is built around their cut-outs and clearances.

Ask: Do you have the spec sheet, with cut-out sizes, for every appliance?

Buy appliances in Australia: they need RCM and a local warranty. The joinery is drawn to their cut-outs.

Shower type: step-down, level entry with a linear drain, or a hob

It sets how the floor is built and how deep the screed is.

Ask: Can the floor be set down, or do you need a hob or linear drain to get the entry you want?

Everything recessed: shaving cabinets, niches, cavity sliders, TV recesses

Each one needs framing, so it has to be known before the carpenter starts.

Ask: Which items sit in the wall rather than on it?

Order dates for long-lead items: custom joinery, imported tiles and tapware, stone

Some take weeks or months to arrive, longer than the gap to the stage that needs them.

Ask: What has a lead time longer than the time until it is needed?

The list of everything made overseas, with an order date for each. This page works it out from your program.

Which NCC and state rules apply to your work

Livable housing rules, for example, apply differently by state and not at all in some. Source

Ask: Have you asked your certifier or builder which rules apply to this job?

The recessed mirror or shaving cabinet: exact model, size and mounting height

The carpenter frames the opening to the product. A different cabinet later means re-framing.

Ask: Is the cabinet in hand, or its spec sheet final? The framer needs the real size, not an estimate.

Lock the exact size at framing; the cabinet itself can follow in a later shipment.

Shower niche position and size

It is framed now and tiled later, so its size should suit whole tiles. Source

Ask: Is the niche sized to whole tiles, clear of the mixer, and between studs? A common base height is 900 to 1100 mm.

In-wall cistern frame model

The frame sets the pan height, the button height and the wall depth.

Ask: Which frame, and does it suit your pan and your wall depth?

The frame goes in at framing, so it rides in the first container, or comes from local stock of the same maker.

Which vanities, toilets and cabinets are wall-hung

Wall-hung items need a frame or heavy blocking behind them.

Ask: What is hanging off the wall, and what does its install sheet ask for behind it?

Wall-hung toilets need their frame at framing. Vanities can follow with the joinery.

Bath: freestanding or built-in, and a floor-mounted or wall filler

A floor-mounted filler can't be added once the floor is poured or screeded. Source

Ask: If the filler comes up through the floor, is its position fixed now?

A built-in bath goes in before waterproofing. A freestanding bath can follow at fit-off.

Door sizes and cavity sliders

Openings are framed now. Where livable housing rules apply, doors need an 820 mm clear opening. Source

Ask: Which doors are sliders, and do the openings meet any rule that applies to you?

Internal doors and frames ride with the joinery. Cavity slider units are bought locally.

Window sill heights against benches, splashbacks, tapware and mirrors

A sill that clips the splashback or the tap is a framing fix, not a tiling one.

Ask: Does every sill clear the bench, splashback and taps under it?

Windows and external doors: order straight after approval. Made in 35 to 45 working days, then shipped.

Rangehood type, height and duct route

The duct runs through the ceiling or wall before linings. Over gas, the hood must be at least 650 mm above the cooktop. Source

Ask: Where does the duct go, and is the hood at least 650 mm above a gas cooktop?

Buy locally, but the duct route is set now.

Tapware type and brand for every wall mixer and spout

In-wall mixer bodies are brand-specific. The trim must match the body already in the wall.

Ask: Is the trim you want the same brand as the body going in now?

In-wall mixer bodies go in at rough-in and the trims must be the same brand. WaterMark on the exact model, checked before you order.

Shower: rail set or overhead arm, and the rose and mixer heights

The outlets are fixed in the wall. Roses usually sit 2000 to 2200 mm and mixers about 1000 to 1200 mm. Source

Ask: Rail or arm? Have you set the heights from the finished floor?

The in-wall parts are needed at rough-in; the rail or rose can follow.

Floor waste: point or linear, and where it goes

It sets the falls and should sit on the tile grid.

Ask: Will the waste land on a tile joint, and which way does the floor fall to it?

Linear drains need WaterMark. Order with the tapware or buy locally.

Vanity top height and basin type (above counter, under counter, wall basin)

It sets the waste and supply heights, and the spout is set off the basin rim. Tops usually sit 850 to 900 mm. Source

Ask: What height is the finished top, and how high is the basin rim above it?

Vanities and basins ride with the joinery.

Toilet pan and its set-out from the wall

Pans are set out at 140 or 165 mm from the wall. The waste is placed to suit the pan. Source

Ask: Which pan, and which set-out does its install sheet give?

The plumber sets out from the pan's install sheet at rough-in, so lock the model then; the pan itself can follow.

Hot water system type and location

It sets pipe runs and power or gas. Water at basins, baths and showers is limited to 50 degrees C. Source

Ask: Where does the hot water unit go, and how far is the longest run?

Every power point, switch and light, including power inside joinery

Cables go in before the walls close. Power points are usually about 300 mm high and switches about 1000 to 1200 mm, by convention, not code. Source

Ask: Have you walked each room with the furniture: bedsides, desk, TV, benches, robe, appliances?

What electrical items go near the shower and bath

AS/NZS 3000 sets zones around showers and baths that limit what can go where. Source

Ask: Has your electrician checked every point near water against the wet-area zones?

Heated towel rail, LED mirror, shaving cabinet power and exhaust fan

Each needs a point at the height its install sheet gives, and the fan needs a duct.

Ask: Do you have the install sheet for each powered item?

Power, gas and water for each appliance: cooktop, oven, dishwasher, fridge water, microwave

Each sits at a position the appliance's spec sheet sets.

Ask: Is every appliance's point placed to its spec sheet, not a guess?

Each point sits where the appliance's install sheet says.

Outdoor power, taps and lighting

Outdoor power points must be at least 300 mm above the ground. Source

Ask: Where do you need power, water and light outside?

Data, TV, air conditioning heads and drains, and smoke alarms

All run in the walls and ceiling. Smoke alarm rules differ by state.

Ask: Have you checked your state's smoke alarm rules, and where the AC drain runs?

Tile size and layout, at least in general

It sets the joint lines, the cuts and where the waste sits. You can pick the exact colour later.

Ask: Do you know the tile size, so the floor and the waste can be set out?

The size is needed at set-out even if the colour comes later. Ask for an AS 4586 slip report on every floor tile.

Bedding and screed depth

Allow about 40 to 50 mm. It moves the finished floor, and every height in the room is measured from the finished floor.

Ask: Have you allowed 40 to 50 mm for bedding? Your heights are from the finished floor, not the slab.

Wall build-up: sheet, membrane and tile

About 15 to 25 mm is added to the wall face, which moves outlets, niches and set-outs. Source

Ask: Have pipe and outlet depths allowed for the finished wall face?

Falls to the waste, and the entry into the shower

Wet-area falls are set by the NCC and AS 3740. Get them wrong and water sits or escapes. Source

Ask: Have your tiler and waterproofer agreed the falls and the shower entry?

A finished floor level datum line, marked on the studs

Every fixture height is from the finished floor. Mark it once, then set out from it.

Ask: Is there a datum line on the studs before anything is set out?

Thresholds and floor transitions between rooms

Tile next to timber or carpet needs matching heights and a trim.

Ask: Do the finished floor levels line up at every doorway?

Membrane heights and junctions

Shower walls are waterproofed to at least 1800 mm (or 50 mm above the rose if higher), with 40 mm each side of wall junctions. Source

Ask: Does your waterproofer's scope meet the NCC heights?

Puddle flanges at every waste, and the niche and hob details

These are the leak points, and they are buried once tiled.

Ask: Is every waste flanged, and is the niche sill falling back into the shower?

Blocking behind every fixing: towel and grab rails, cabinets, shelves, TV, heavy mirrors, curtain tracks

Once the sheet is on, adding it means cutting the wall. Where livable housing rules apply, grab-rail walls need 12 mm ply or 25 mm noggings. Source

Ask: Has every fixing point got blocking, photographed before sheeting?

Plasterboard finish level

Level 4 is standard. Gloss paint, dark colours and raking light need Level 5, which is set when the board is stopped, not painted. Source

Ask: Are any walls going gloss, dark, or in raking light?

Wet-area board for walls and ceiling

Wet areas take a water-resistant board under the membrane and tile.

Ask: Is wet-area board specified for every wet wall?

Tile heights: band, full height or skirting, wall by wall

The tiler sets out from these. Keep one skirting height on every wall; a height that changes is the first thing people notice.

Ask: For each wall: floor to where?

Grout colour and type: cement, epoxy or urethane

Pale floor grout tends to go grey; epoxy needs no sealing and suits showers but costs more.

Ask: Have you seen the grout beside the real tile, in the room's own light?

Edge trims and their finish, or mitred edges

Trims show on every external corner and should match the tapware finish.

Ask: Which edges get a trim, and in what finish?

Ship trims with the tiles so the finish matches.

Mirror and cabinet heights against the tile line

Two trades meeting on one line shows every millimetre of tolerance. Keep the top of a mirror cabinet off the tile line, about 100 mm below it.

Ask: Do any edges from two different trades land on the same line?

Slip rating for every floor

P3 is the usual minimum for bathroom floors; P4 or P5 for outdoors, ramps and pool surrounds.

Ask: Does each floor tile carry a published P rating that suits where it goes?

A factory slip test to AS 4586 for every floor tile, before you order. P3 or better for a bathroom floor.

Splashback: tile, glass or stone, and its height

It meets the benchtop, the cupboards and the rangehood, so the junctions need deciding.

Ask: Where does the splashback stop at each end and at the top?

Stone or tile splashbacks ride with the benchtops.

Measure what was built before ordering

Drawings can be well out. Laser-measure the finished walls, then order.

Ask: Have the cabinet sizes been checked against a site measure after linings?

Importing reverses this: the drawings are signed to the plan before the walls exist. Check the critical dimensions on site after framing.

Benchtop material, thickness, edge and overhangs

The edge profile can move the price more than the colour does.

Ask: Which edge, which thickness, and where are the overhangs?

Factory-cut stone is cut to the shop drawings, so it is decided with the joinery. Engineered stone is banned.

Board colours and finishes, and handles or push-to-open

Boards are ordered with the cabinets.

Ask: Have you seen the board sample next to the benchtop and the floor?

Sign the shop drawings 12 to 16 weeks before install. Many owners sign to the plan and accept a site check.

Sink, tap and cooktop on site for the benchtop template

Stone is templated around the real sink, tap and cooktop. Without them, expect a return visit.

Ask: Are the sink, tap and cooktop on site when the templater comes?

No template on site: the factory cuts stone to the drawings, so the sink, tap and cooktop models must be on them.

Bench height and wall oven height

Benches usually sit 900 to 950 mm, and the top of a wall oven no higher than about 1700 mm, by convention. Source

Ask: Have you checked the bench height against the tallest and shortest cook?

On the shop drawings, so it is fixed when they are signed.

Robe layout: hanging heights, drawers, shelves, lighting

Robes are ordered with the cabinets, and any lighting needs power at rough-in.

Ask: Long hanging, double hanging, drawers: how much of each?

Robes ride with the kitchen joinery.

Colours for each room and surface: walls, ceilings, trims, doors

The painter quotes per surface.

Ask: Have you put real samples on your own walls, in the room's light?

Sheen for each surface

Ceilings are usually flat, walls low sheen, and wet areas, trims and doors semi-gloss or gloss.

Ask: Is the sheen written next to every colour in the painter's scope?

Prep and number of coats in the painter's scope

Quotes differ most on prep and coats. Master Painters recommend three coats on new work. Source

Ask: Does every quote state the prep and the coats, so you can compare them?

Exterior colours against the roof

Most houses are coloured from the roof down, and darker roofs run hotter.

Ask: Do the wall and trim colours work with the roof colour you have?

Light fittings

Positions were fixed at rough-in, so the fitting itself can be chosen late.

Ask: Do the fittings suit the points already in the ceiling?

A later shipment is fine. Every light needs RCM before it is installed.

Handles, towel rails, hooks and accessories

The blocking is already in, so these can wait.

Ask: Do the finishes match the tapware?

A later shipment is fine.

Shower screen and surface-mounted mirrors

Screens are measured after tiling.

Ask: Has the screen been measured off the finished tiles?

Shower glass must meet AS 1288: ask for the test report. Can follow in a later shipment.

Window furnishings and loose furniture

Nothing else depends on them.

Ask: Did the power points land where the furniture went?