A laundry is the smallest room most New Zealanders renovate and the easiest to misprice, because the laundry renovation cost depends far less on the size of the room than on the cabinetry tier and whether the plumbing moves. A modular fit-out on the existing connections sits at one end of the range; full-custom joinery with a stone benchtop and a relocated layout sits at the other, and the two can differ by fifteen thousand dollars in a room you could cross in two steps.
That is the trap in pricing a laundry. It looks like a cupboard with a bench, so homeowners price it like joinery and miss that the real variables are the cabinetry specification and the services behind it — the tub plumbing, the dryer circuit, the ventilation. Understanding laundry renovation cost in New Zealand means pricing the cabinetry tier and the connections together, not the bench you can see.
A laundry's price is set by the cabinetry tier and whether the plumbing moves — not by the size of the room.
What follows are the real 2026 ranges in New Zealand dollars, GST included, what actually drives the number, where the money goes line by line, and the building consent rules that apply when the plumbing moves.
How much does a laundry renovation cost in NZ in 2026
Laundry renovation cost is best read by scope tier. Drawing on 2026 figures from New Zealand renovation specialists such as Superior Renovations and Refresh Renovations, a standard laundry renovation runs roughly $6,000 to $11,000 including plumbing, electrical, painting, demolition, and cabinetry, with the tiers breaking down like this:
- Basic refresh: from around $5,000. Modular melamine cabinetry, a laminate benchtop, a new tub and tapware on the existing plumbing, repaint, and new flooring. The cheapest tier because nothing behind the wall moves.
- Mid-range makeover: roughly $10,000 to $15,000. Better cabinetry in polyurethane or a timber look, a stone or solid benchtop, new lighting and ventilation, integrated appliances, and some plumbing or electrical work to suit the layout. Where most homeowners land for a full renovation.
- High-end or full custom: $20,000 and beyond. Floor-to-ceiling custom joinery, a stone benchtop and splashback, a built-in ironing board, heating and ventilation upgrades, and premium appliances. The cabinetry alone at this tier can run past a basic laundry's whole budget.
All figures include GST at 15 percent, which is how a New Zealand quote should be presented. Auckland renovations run about 10 to 20 percent above the national figure on higher local labour and material costs, so a specification that lands mid-range elsewhere sits toward the top of the band in the city.
Get your laundry number before you call a trade
The free Renovation Cost Calculator gives you a trade-by-trade estimate in under 5 minutes — before your first trade conversation. It separates the cabinetry you can see from the plumbing and electrical you cannot, so the first quote has something to be measured against.
What drives the price of a laundry renovation
Three things move the number more than the rest combined. The cabinetry tier is the largest single lever: basic modular melamine, mid-range polyurethane or timber-look, and premium full-custom joinery span a wide range on the same footprint, and the jump between them can treble the cabinetry line. Whether the plumbing moves is the second: keeping the tub and the machine on their existing connections keeps the plumbing minimal, while relocating them means new supply and waste runs and, often, a building consent.
The benchtop and appliances are the third lever. A laminate benchtop is budget; stone is several times the price, and a built-in or integrated appliance package adds cost and electrical load over a freestanding machine. Tying these together is the labour: demolition, the builder, the plumber, and the electrician all bill their time, and the more the layout moves, the more days the job takes.
Where does the money actually go in a laundry
A laundry renovation is a stack of small trades, and seeing the breakdown is what lets you read a quote instead of staring at a total. On a typical mid-range renovation the rough allocation looks like this:
- Cabinetry. Usually the largest line, and the one most sensitive to the modular-versus-custom decision. The same run of joinery can treble in price between melamine and full custom.
- Benchtop. Laminate at the budget end, stone or solid surface at the top. A laundry benchtop takes hard wear, so the choice is practical as much as aesthetic.
- Plumbing. Connecting the tub, the tapware, and the washing machine, and any waste work. This balloons the moment a fixture moves away from the existing connections.
- Electrical. A new GPO, the exhaust fan, LED lighting, and any dedicated dryer circuit. Basic electrical runs roughly $500 to $1,200, while a dryer circuit or heated flooring pushes it to $1,500 to $2,500.
- Flooring and finishes. A water-resistant floor such as vinyl or tile, paint, and any splashback — the visible layer over the services work.
- Appliances and ventilation. A washing machine, any dryer, and the ventilation that clears the moisture they produce.
Before you choose a single cabinet, settle two questions: which cabinetry tier, and does the plumbing move? Those two answers set which band the project sits in.
Keep the plumbing in place and choose modular cabinetry and a laundry is a finishes job near the bottom of the range. Move the plumbing and specify custom joinery and it becomes a different project entirely.
Do you need building consent for a laundry renovation
It depends on whether the plumbing moves. A like-for-like renovation — replacing the tub, cabinetry, and tapware in the same positions with no plumbing reconfiguration — is generally exempt building work under Schedule 1 of the Building Act 2004, so it needs no consent. The moment you relocate the tub or the machine, re-run waste or supply, or make any structural change, a building consent is generally required, with a 20-working-day statutory processing window.
Restricted Building Work that affects the structure or weathertightness must be carried out or supervised by a Licensed Building Practitioner, who issues a Record of Work, and electrical work must be done by a registered electrician. A laundry that stays put is usually a consent-free finishes job; a laundry that moves pulls in the consent timeline and the certified trades, which is part of why relocation costs more in time as well as money. Confirm the consent position with your local council before committing to a start date.
How to set a laundry budget that holds
A budget holds when it is built from the trades up, not from a cabinetry catalogue down. Start by settling the two decisions that set the tier — the cabinetry specification and whether the plumbing moves — then estimate each line: cabinetry, benchtop, plumbing, electrical, flooring, and appliances, rather than a single hoped-for figure. Because a laundry shares its trades and its benchtop logic with a kitchen, the same discipline in the kitchen renovation cost guide applies directly to the smaller room.
Then lock the design before requesting quotes so every trade prices the same room, confirm the consent position before work starts, and carry a contingency of 10 to 15 percent for what lifting an old floor or opening a wall reveals. None of this needs a bigger budget; it needs the budget defended in the right order. The cross-trade sequence the budget has to follow on site is in the kitchen renovation order of trades, which applies the same logic to a comparable small room.
Where the number comes from
A reliable laundry budget is the output of the early phases of The 12-Phase System — Property Blueprint Co.'s framework for running a renovation from the first quote conversation to final sign-off without paying the variation premium the unprepared homeowner pays. The budget is validated against the trades, protected by a locked design and a clear scope, and defended by the contingency. A laundry runs over budget not because the cabinetry was mispriced, but because the plumbing move, the dryer circuit, or the consent step was never in the original number. The full cross-trade sequence is in the twelve phases of a renovation.
Knowing the ranges is the starting point. Turning them into a number your laundry actually costs — one that prices the cabinetry tier and the connections behind it — is the operational work the planning phases do, before a trade sets the price for you.
See The Laundry Renovation Blueprint
Every phase of a New Zealand laundry renovation, with the cabinetry tier to decide, the plumbing and consent to plan for, and the quote breakdown to demand before the first trade is called.
If the cost baseline is the right first step, use the free Renovation Cost Calculator — a trade-by-trade estimate for the specific laundry, in under 5 minutes, before any trade has quoted.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a laundry renovation cost in New Zealand in 2026?
A standard laundry renovation runs roughly $6,000 to $11,000 including plumbing, electrical, painting, demolition, and cabinetry. A basic refresh starts from around $5,000, a mid-range makeover runs $10,000 to $15,000, and a high-end or full-custom laundry runs $20,000 and beyond. All figures include GST at 15 percent, and Auckland runs about 10 to 20 percent above the national average.
What is the biggest cost in a laundry renovation?
The cabinetry, and then whether the plumbing moves. Cabinetry spans basic modular melamine, mid-range polyurethane or timber-look, and premium full-custom joinery, and the jump between tiers can treble the line. The cost that dwarfs it when it applies is relocating the tub or washing machine, because moving the plumbing means new supply and waste runs and, generally, a building consent.
Do I need building consent for a laundry renovation in NZ?
Generally no if the work is like-for-like — replacing the tub, cabinetry, and tapware in the same positions with no plumbing reconfiguration — which is usually exempt under Schedule 1 of the Building Act 2004. You generally do need a building consent if you relocate the tub or machine, re-run waste or supply, or make a structural change, with a 20-working-day processing window. Confirm with your local council before starting.
How much does laundry electrical work cost in NZ?
Basic electrical work — adding a GPO, installing an exhaust fan, or upgrading to LED lighting — typically costs $500 to $1,200. More extensive work, such as adding a dedicated circuit for a dryer or installing heated floor elements, pushes the figure to $1,500 to $2,500. Electrical work must be carried out by a registered electrician.
Is a laundry cheaper than a kitchen to renovate?
Usually yes, because it is smaller, uses less cabinetry, and needs fewer appliances and a shorter benchtop. But it shares the same trades — cabinetry, benchtop, plumbing, electrical — so it is priced the same way, and a full-custom laundry with a relocated layout can cost more than a basic kitchen refresh. The size lowers the floor of the range, not how the cost is built up.
How can I save money on a laundry renovation?
Keep the tub and machine on their existing plumbing, choose modular cabinetry over custom joinery, and fit a laminate benchtop rather than stone. Those three decisions move the number more than any finish choice. Spend the saving on a water-resistant floor and proper ventilation — the parts of a laundry that take daily moisture and wear — rather than on joinery you could downgrade without noticing.