Hi Ralph, I'm no expert but I suggest you look at the website for Katrina Lee Chambers (possibly even just her Instagram). She's renovated a bathroom in an air bnb and outlined what trades she's done herself vs where she's hired professionals.

Electrical and plumbing need qualifications. I would also get subfloor and waterproofing done by experts as you need right drainage, support and critically waterproofing. Some states require licences waterproofers. Then ask your self how good are you at the rest? If it’s your first go at tiling how good will you be? How much time do you have?

Many thanks for the comments. I have a plumber I have used for several jobs and he will inspect the work in the coming days to advise me on what will be involved. With the addition of the new ensuite so there is a lot of plumbing involved and so I will only carry out prep work if Matt is ok with that, otherwise I'll leave it for him. The electrical work I can prepare but I will have Jordy who is licensed to carry out the connections and certify it

I'm reasonably handy and have done a fair bit of tiling and have damp-proofed as part of that but I will check to see if that has to be carried out by licensed persons so thanks for that snippet.

Biggest question mark I think is regarding the window. Can I brick-in parts of the window to suit a new frame?

Also with the window, and perhaps best posed as a seperate discussion, is that "keying" in new bricks to the present brickwork, would I have to remove half-bricks or can I just tie the new bricks to the existing bricks? The wall has a render and white-wash paint so the brickwork is not visible

Thanks again...!!

we've replaced windows in a double brick wall and removed whole bricks to install a new lintel and key into the old wall...adding half bricks risks a potential weak point ..but double check that any new bricks are the same size as the old bricks and more work is usually better for most jobs!! and height and weight of the new window needed two strong people to lift safely and the fact that the walls are rendered and white washed should resolve the potential problem of how the patch will look from outside.. sounds like you have everything under control and the electrician and plumber should also be good sources of extra advice...but i'm also wondering if the window replacement is essential as it could be worthwhile to consider if the glass could be frosted (with stick on window frosting) and/or use blinds and/or external shutters for privacy and save all the work of changing the window?) but very good luck with your project and especially your partner's treatments

you can do everything besides electrical and plumbing and waterproofing if your in NSW. You could waterproof I suppose but if its not certified and something happens your insurance wont cover it. Try to do as much yourself if your confident. Good luck..

I've attached the existing plan of the bedroom / study (the study was classed as a bedroom in the selling of the property as opposed to a study) and also the plans from the designer. The large window in bedroom bisects the stud wall of the rework and so I'm not sure if much can be done to make it look natural as if it belongs there hence I am thinking to brick it up and centre it around the toilet position? I will not be touching the lintel at all so structurally I wont affect anything and I am thinking I can tie the bricks to the existing brickwork

Many thanks for the comment regarding Laura's treatments. I work away a lot and so her second daughter is moving in as she wants to be close to her. Daughter 1 stays with us and things are fractious between 1&2 and so it's all about creating their own areas. I also think it will add value to the house as neither the bedroom and especially the "study" are very spacious. Also for a relatively big house there is a toilet in the master ensuite and the only other toilet is in the laundry so it's not ideal. A future project might be to swap the laundry and the bathroom around

Thanks again for the comments - extremely useful info....!!

Google owner builder regulations for your state. In Vic if the work is over $16k you need to work in within owner builder guidelines. Of course, there is always flexibility in how you measure the $ or how many stages you break it into.

Was just away in an apartment with a 1.2m deep ensuite. Worked well, although basin was perhaps a little small for some tastes. Layout was like this. If I was doing an ensuite for 2 people I’d go bigger, if I had the space. But this had heaps of storage with the long bench and shaving cabinet. The toilet roll holder was in a recess under the bench which was set up to store extra toilet paper roll below the holder. This open shelves under the bench beside the toilet was handy storage without doors.

Thanks Bigreader and Kate. It seems over$20k is the owner builder threshold for WA and that will explain the designer Loreta saying a few times "as long as you keep it below $20k"

Your design Kate is almost identical to what I proposed to Loreta and then she developed that into the plan above which works fantastically well and includes a large additional storage cupboard accessible in the hallway :)