Shower replacement: tiled or acrylic, done once
A new tiled shower costs $1,550–8,250 across New Zealand and $2,000–9,500 in Auckland; an acrylic shower unit is $900–2,000 installed (Superior Renovations; the page does not state GST status). Replacing one in the same place, without adding a fixture, is normally exempt from building consent. Whatever the finish, the membrane behind it is the part that matters.
| Option | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Acrylic shower unit, installed | $900–$2,000 | Superior: budget-friendly, low maintenance, quick install, well suited to rentals. |
| New tiled shower, New Zealand range | $1,550–$8,250 | Superior puts the Auckland range higher, at $2,000–9,500, on labour rates and membrane products. |
| New tiled shower, Auckland | $2,000–$9,500 | Superior attributes the gap to Auckland labour rates and membrane product costs. |
| Retiling an existing shower, plumbing left where it is | $1,800–$4,000 | Superior states this figure excludes waterproofing. |
Superior Renovations does not state a GST status on its page, so none of these figures is adjusted. The retile-only figure explicitly excludes waterproofing, so it is not a like-for-like comparison with the others.
Retile the shower, or rebuild it
Two different jobs with similar-sounding names. Retiling takes the tiles off, keeps the plumbing where it is, and puts new tiles on. Superior puts it at $1,800–$4,000 and says that excludes waterproofing. Rebuilding takes the linings back to the framing, replaces the substrate and the membrane, and tiles from there.
If the tiles are coming off, the membrane is coming off with them, and it cannot be re-used. So the honest version of “retile my shower” for most New Zealand bathrooms is a rebuild: the difference in price between the two is largely the membrane and substrate, and the membrane is the thing that stops the wall rotting.
When the membrane has to be redone
- Whenever the wall linings come off. A membrane is bonded to the substrate and goes with it.
- Whenever a moisture reading, a soft spot or a stain next door says water is already behind the tiles.
- Whenever the shower tray or waste is being changed, because the membrane has to be sealed into it.
- Whenever nobody can tell you what membrane is behind the tiles or whether there is one at all.
What the Building Code actually requires
Building Code clause E3 Internal moisture requires that wall surfaces next to sanitary fixtures are impervious and easily cleaned (E3.3.4), that surfaces likely to be splashed are impervious and easily cleaned (E3.3.5), and that they are constructed so water splash cannot penetrate behind linings or into concealed spaces (E3.3.6). In Determination 2024/054 two tiled showers failed all three, because cracked grout let water into the concealed space.
MBIE Determination 2024/054, paras 4.3–4.6 and 5.1.1 · checked 16 September 2026. What a proper membrane step looks like, and what to photograph.
Consent
Schedule 1, clause 12 of the Building Act 2004 exempts “building work in connection with any internal linings or finishes of any wall, ceiling, or floor of an existing dwelling”. MBIE Determination 2024/054 decided that in an existing dwelling the internal linings include the backing substrate, the wet-area membrane applied to it, the tiles adhered to the membrane and the fixings, adhesives and grouting, so installing a wet-area membrane as part of a tiled shower is within clause 12 and did not require building consent.
Exemptions apply to the work as it actually is, not as it is described on a website. Check your own job with your council before anyone starts. The clauses in full.
Time without a shower
This is usually the real question if it is the only bathroom in the house. The sequence is strip-out, repairs if anything is found, plumbing rough-in, substrate, membrane in coats with curing time between them, tiling, grout, silicone, then fit-off. CheckMyBuilder names drying time for waterproofing and tiling as a key part of the schedule, and it cannot be compressed. We put the no-shower window in the written scope. Where the days go.
Questions about showers
How much does it cost to replace a shower in NZ?
A new tiled shower runs $1,550–8,250 across New Zealand and $2,000–9,500 in Auckland; an acrylic shower unit is $900–2,000 installed (Superior Renovations; the page does not state GST status). Retiling an existing shower with the plumbing left where it is runs $1,800–4,000, and Superior states that figure excludes waterproofing.
Do I need a building consent to replace a shower?
Usually not, if it goes back in the same place and the house does not gain a fixture. MBIE Determination 2024/054 (2 October 2024) decided the wet-area membrane under tiled shower walls is part of the internal linings covered by Schedule 1 clause 12, and clause 35 covers the plumbing alteration where the fixture count does not go up and an authorised person does the work. Check your own job with your council before anyone starts.
When does the membrane have to be redone?
Any time the tiles come off, and any time water has got behind them. A membrane is applied to the substrate and covered permanently, so it cannot be repaired in place: if the wall linings are coming off, the membrane goes with them and a new one goes on.
Can I just re-grout?
Only if the grout is the entire problem. Determination 2024/054 is the cautionary example: cracked grout on two tiled showers let water into the concealed space and damaged flooring and joists, and the showers failed Building Code clauses E3.3.4, E3.3.5 and E3.3.6. If a moisture reading says the wall is wet, re-grouting buys time rather than fixing anything.
How long am I without a shower?
For a shower-only job, the strip-out, membrane, tiling and fit-off each need their turn and the membrane and grout need curing time. Superior Renovations puts a budget refresh at 2–5 days in New Zealand and a mid-range full renovation at 2–3 weeks; a shower on its own sits between them. We put the date in the written scope rather than leaving you to guess.
Is an acrylic unit worse?
Different, not worse. It has fewer joints to fail and it fails somewhere you can see, which is why Superior lists it as well suited to rentals. A tiled shower is a better finish and depends entirely on a membrane nobody can inspect once it is tiled.