The Mumbai bathroom, measured
Before you look at tile, look at what you have. These are the sizes we actually measure across the city, and what each one allows.
| Building type | Typical bathroom | What fits | What does not |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s–70s society block | 28 – 34 sq ft | WC, basin, open wet area with a curtain or a 6 mm glass fin | A hinged shower enclosure; a vanity with drawers |
| 1990s mid-rise | 34 – 42 sq ft | WC, counter basin, 850 × 850 mm enclosure | A bath; twin basins |
| 2010-onward tower, common bath | 36 – 44 sq ft | Full enclosure, vanity with two drawers, mirror cabinet | A separate WC compartment |
| 2010-onward tower, master bath | 48 – 65 sq ft | 900 × 1,000 mm enclosure, 1,200 mm vanity, niche storage | A freestanding tub under 60 sq ft |
| Redevelopment possession | 30 – 38 sq ft | The developer layout, improved | Moving anything — the stack is cast into the shaft |
What the society will and will not allow
Every managing committee words it differently and they all mean roughly the same five things. Get the NOC conditions in writing before the design is frozen, because two of these change the layout.
- No relocation of the WC or the floor trap. Nearly universal. The stack is shared and the fall is fixed; moving a WC means a raised plinth or a macerator, and most committees refuse both.
- No chasing of structural members. Beams and columns are off limits for concealed pipework, which is why a good Mumbai bathroom drawing shows the chase routes before it shows the tile.
- Work hours 10am to 6pm, no Sundays, no public holidays, and in many buildings no breaking work at all during society festival weeks.
- A refundable deposit, typically ₹25,000 to ₹1,00,000 for a bathroom-only job, released after a clean handover and no complaint from below.
- A written undertaking on leakage. You will be asked to accept liability for any water reaching the flat below for a stated period. Sign it, then insist on the ponding test that makes it safe.
Thirty-two square feet, one stack, and a neighbour below
The neighbour below is a design input
More Mumbai bathroom projects end badly over a downstairs ceiling stain than over anything the client can see. We treat the flat below as a stakeholder from day one.
- Photograph their ceiling before you startDated photographs of the downstairs bathroom and adjacent ceiling, countersigned. If a stain already exists, this is the only evidence that it did.
- Tell them the programmeA note with the start date, the noisy-works window and a phone number. It costs nothing and it converts a complainant into a neighbour.
- Strip out to the slab, not to the screedRemoving only the tile and relaying over the old membrane is how you inherit somebody else's failure. On a pre-2000 bathroom we go to the slab.
- Two-coat membrane with a 48-hour pondCementitious or PU, two coats at right angles, 150 mm up all walls and 1,800 mm in the shower. Pond it, photograph it, and invite the neighbour to look at their ceiling at the 48-hour mark.
- Re-test after first fixA second short pond after sanitaryware is fitted catches the commonest real-world failure, which is a penetration made after the membrane was signed off.
Materials that survive a Mumbai monsoon
| Element | What we specify here | What fails here |
|---|---|---|
| Vanity carcass | WPC board or BWP 710 with an edge-sealed base | MR ply — swells at the plinth within two monsoons |
| Vanity legs and frame | SS 304 inland, SS 316 within 2 km of the sea | Powder-coated MS — pits at the weld within three years |
| Shutter finish | Acrylic or laminate, matte | Veneer and PU below counter height in a wet room |
| Mirror | Copper-free, silicone-backed, 6 mm | Standard mirror — black edge spotting inside two years |
| Grout | Epoxy in the shower zone and all floor-wall junctions | Cement grout in the wet zone — mould colonises it |
| Ceiling | Moisture-resistant gypsum or an aluminium slat ceiling with access | Standard gypsum — sags above a poorly extracted shower |
| Extract fan | 85–105 m³/h, ducted to the shaft, humidistat controlled | A fan discharging into the ceiling void |
A Mumbai bathroom spends four months a year at eighty per cent humidity with the door shut. Everything you choose is being tested at that condition, not at the showroom.
Greenbox principal designer
Rates by suburb
A bathroom is priced per square foot of floor area because the fixed content — one WC, one basin, one shower, one membrane — barely changes with size. These bands sit inside the city figures on bathroom renovation cost in Mumbai.
| Area | Mid-spec ₹ / sq ft | A 35 sq ft bathroom | Local factor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bandra West, Juhu, Worli | ₹6,200 – 9,000 | ₹2.17 – 3.15 L | Old stacks, SS 316, tight lanes, strict committees |
| Powai, Chembur, Ghatkopar | ₹4,600 – 6,400 | ₹1.61 – 2.24 L | Organised societies, good access, newer plumbing |
| Andheri West, Goregaon, Malad | ₹4,400 – 6,200 | ₹1.54 – 2.17 L | The city baseline; mixed stock |
| Borivali, Kandivali, Mulund | ₹4,000 – 5,600 | ₹1.40 – 1.96 L | Redevelopment possessions, developer layouts retained |
| Thane and Navi Mumbai | ₹3,600 – 5,200 | ₹1.26 – 1.82 L | Newer stock, easier logistics, lower labour |
Ex-GST. Floor-area basis, including strip-out, waterproofing, tiling, sanitaryware, vanity, lighting and extract. Excludes society deposit.
A realistic programme
Fourteen to twenty-two working days on site for a single bathroom, inside 10am–6pm. The membrane cure and the ponding test are three of those days and they cannot be compressed.
- Days 1–3. Protection of the lift lobby and passage, strip-out to the slab, debris bagged and removed the same day. This is the noisiest phase and the one the society will hear.
- Days 4–6. Plumbing and electrical rough-in, chases cut and filled, screed laid to a 1:80 fall. If the stack is being replaced, it happens here, with the flats above and below notified.
- Days 7–9. Two-coat membrane with a full cure between coats, then the 48-hour pond. Nothing else happens in the room during this window and no honest programme pretends otherwise.
- Days 10–15. Tiling, grouting, ceiling and the vanity carcass. Epoxy grout in the wet zone needs a clean, dry surface, so this follows the tiling by a day rather than the same evening.
- Days 16–22. Sanitaryware, mirror, glass, lighting, extract commissioning, second short pond test and snag closure.
If the household has only one bathroom we phase it differently: the WC is refitted temporarily at the end of day six and removed again on day thirteen, which adds about two days to the programme and removes the need to move out.
If you are outside Mumbai
The planning dimensions, fall gradients, IP zones and tile setting-out rules are the same everywhere — those are on bathroom interior design. What changes here is the stack, the society and the humidity. For the works sequence on an existing bathroom, see bathroom renovation contractors in Mumbai.
Selected work by Greenbox Design Studio. Tap any image to enlarge.
Frequently asked questions
Can I move the WC in a Mumbai flat?+
Usually not. The soil stack is shared and sits in a shaft outside your control, and most societies explicitly prohibit relocating wet areas. Where it is technically possible it needs a raised plinth to build the 1:40 branch fall, which costs floor-to-ceiling height you rarely have. Design to the existing position.
How long does a Mumbai bathroom take?+
Fourteen to twenty-two working days on site with 10am–6pm society hours and no Sunday work. Three of those days are waterproofing cure and the 48-hour ponding test, which cannot be shortened. If it is the only bathroom in the flat, we phase it so the WC is usable overnight from about day six.
What does a bathroom cost in Mumbai?+
₹3,600–₹5,200 per sq ft of floor area in Thane and Navi Mumbai, ₹4,400–₹6,200 across the western suburbs and ₹6,200–₹9,000 in Bandra West, Juhu and Worli at a mid specification. A 35 sq ft bathroom therefore runs ₹1.26 lakh to ₹3.15 lakh, excluding 18% GST and the society deposit.
Do I need a society NOC for bathroom work?+
Yes, in almost every Mumbai society. Expect a written scope, contractor and worker details, a refundable deposit of ₹25,000–₹1,00,000, an undertaking that no structural member will be chased, and a leakage liability clause. Allow a week to ten days to obtain it before you plan a start date.
Should I replace a cast-iron soil stack?+
If the building is pre-1990 and the stack is corroding at the joints, yes — and do it while the wall is already open. Replacement in CPVC or SWR costs ₹55,000–₹1,10,000 per stack, needs the agreement of the flats above and below because it is a shared line, and is far more disruptive once your new tiling is in.
How do I stop mould in a Mumbai bathroom?+
Mechanical extract sized at 85–105 m³/h for a typical 40 sq ft room, ducted to the shaft rather than into the ceiling void, on a humidistat or timer rather than the light switch, with a 12 mm undercut on the door to let replacement air in. Epoxy grout in the wet zone removes the surface mould colonises first.