ᐅ Costs of Bathroom Renovation in Munich

Hello everyone,

I would like to get your assessment of my situation.

I live in an older apartment in Munich and want to renovate my bathroom. The bathroom is about 5.5 sqm (59 sq ft) in size.
My first visit to a local bathroom showroom was disappointing.

I visited the bathroom exhibition and after a brief consultation where I showed some pictures, I was told to expect a price of around 50,000 euros.

That is completely beyond my budget. My budget is a maximum of 30,000 euros.

So I thought I would go to a larger plumbing company located just outside Munich, hoping it might be a bit cheaper there.

I quickly found a company that offers everything from a single source and made a good impression. They measured my bathroom free of charge. Then I had an appointment at the bathroom studio to select the bathroom furniture and sanitary ware.

Here is what I selected:
- Burgbad washbasin
- Shower fittings from the bathroom studio’s own brand
- Faucet from the bathroom studio’s own brand
- Geberit toilet
- Shower tray with Geberit CleanLine drain channel
- Shower enclosure made of glass
- Standard wall tiles / floor tiles (€50 per sqm (approx. $54 per sqft))
- A new radiator

The following work is planned:
- Completely gut and dispose of the old bathroom
- New tiling
- New plastering
- Convert bathtub into a walk-in shower
- New sanitary ware
- New bathroom furniture
- A smaller water meter

Now I have a concrete offer for 38,000 euros. This is not a luxury bathroom, just standard equipment.

I’m not sure what to do now.

I only have this one offer. I want everything from a single source because I cannot be without my bathroom for too long. Individual services from platforms like MyHammer are not an option for me.

I’d prefer not to request another quote here only to end up with such a high price again. (This is always a time-consuming process.)

What would you do?

Should I try to get a quote from a plumbing company in a more affordable region of Germany, if that is even done? Or are these simply the prices one has to pay nowadays in Munich?

I would either contract the gutting work separately or do it myself.

I have a friend who is a general handyman. He would do everything except the plumbing connections. And that’s the main problem. You have different trades involved and a relatively small bathroom in a high-cost area. But 50,000 for a standard bathroom of 5.5 m² (59 sq ft) is definitely a significant amount...

Which items are particularly expensive?

For comparison: we also have 5.5m² (59 ft²) and received a quote for 27k last week. We won’t be doing any of it ourselves. The quote includes two days with two people (one skilled worker, one apprentice) for the gutting. Since I would likely need more time to handle the dismantling alone, it would mean taking a week off work. That’s not worthwhile for me.

You won’t know how good the €38,000 offer really is until you get at least one more quote with EXACTLY the same items.

Is everything detailed in the quote?

Is the bathroom studio part of a large chain? Because for just five fittings a week, there’s no such thing as a “private label.” Or is it just rebranded?

Burgbad doesn’t seem like a “cheap” option, even if it’s only a washbasin and probably a vanity unit, you can easily spend over €3,000 (about $3,200).
(The catalog is 500 pages long, so you can customize everything…)

The first “supplier” who casually threw out €50,000 (about $53,500) either didn’t feel like it or is fully booked for the next two years. (Or they only install Dornbracht, and even the employees drive AMG/M models 😀)

Perhaps it would be better to go with something from Ikea or a custom wood countertop ordered from a carpenter for the washbasin. Other homeowners here do the same because there is no longer enough budget for brands like Burgbad. The mirror won’t come cheap either. You’ll pay about 10% of the price of your Burgbad washbasin. The same applies to the glass partition.

You can also do the gutting yourself. It saves about €5000 if you fill the container yourself.