Bathroom Fit Off: What to Have Ready Before Your Plumber Arrives
If you've made it to fit off, you're close. The tiles are down, the waterproofing is done, and your bathroom is starting to look like a bathroom. Fit off is the stage where your plumber returns to install everything that was roughed in during the early stages - tapware, toilets, shower heads, basins, baths, heated towel rails and any other fixtures that connect to your plumbing.
It's one of the most satisfying stages of a renovation. It's also one of the most expensive stages to get wrong.
Here's what you need to have ready before your plumber sets foot on site.
What is bathroom fit off?
Fit off — sometimes called fix off or second fix plumbing — is the final plumbing stage of your bathroom renovation. It happens after tiling is complete and before any finishing touches go in.
During rough in, your plumber set the pipes and drainage in the correct positions. During fit off, they return to connect everything to those rough ins — your tapware, shower head, toilet suite, basin, bath and heated towel rails.
The critical thing to understand is this: your rough in positions were set based on the fixtures you specified at the start of your renovation. If those fixtures have changed, your rough in positions may be wrong. That's an expensive problem to discover on fit off day.
What needs to be confirmed before fit off
Before your plumber arrives, every fixture that connects to plumbing needs to be confirmed, ordered and ideally on site. This means:
Your tapware. Every tap, mixer, shower rose, hand shower, bath filler and outlet. The brand, the model, the finish. Your plumber needs to know the rough in dimensions for each one — and different brands and models have different requirements. A tapware decision changed at fit off stage can mean moving a pipe. That costs money.
Your toilet suite. Wall faced or back to wall, close coupled or wall hung — each one has different rough in requirements. This decision should have been locked in before your plumber did the rough in. If it wasn't, confirm it immediately.
Your basin. Undermount, above counter or inset — the rough in height and position of your tap holes depends on the basin you've specified. If your basin has changed since rough in, your plumber needs to know before they arrive.
Your shower head and rail. Fixed overhead, rail shower, combination — each has different rough in positions. If you've changed your mind since rough in, this is the conversation to have now, not on the day.
Your heated towel rail. Hardwired or hydronic — your electrician and plumber both need to know. The position should have been locked in at tile stage because the cables or pipes are already in the wall.
What products need to be on site
Your plumber's time on site costs money. The fastest way to blow your fit off budget is to have your plumber arrive and spend the first hour waiting for products to be located, unboxed and checked.
Everything that is being installed on fit off day needs to be on site, unboxed and checked before your plumber arrives. That means:
Check every product against your order confirmation. Tapware comes in multiple finishes and variants — a brushed nickel shower rose ordered in chrome is a problem you want to discover before your plumber is standing there.
Check for damage. Tapware and fixtures can be damaged in transit. Discovering a damaged basin on fit off day means a delay and a replacement order. Check everything when it arrives, not on the day.
Have your product specification sheets ready. Your plumber may need the installation instructions for specific products. Have them printed or accessible on your phone before they arrive.
The most common fit off mistakes — and what they cost
Tapware ordered in the wrong finish. Brushed nickel and brushed gold look similar in product photos and very different in person. Always order samples before committing to a finish and check every product when it arrives.
Fixtures that don't match the rough in. A toilet suite with a different rough in dimension to what was originally specified means moving plumbing. That's a variation — and variations cost money.
Products not on site. A plumber who arrives and can't complete the job because a product is still in transit will charge you for their time anyway. Get everything on site before booking fit off day.
Damaged products discovered on the day. Always unbox and inspect every product when it arrives. Not the morning your plumber is due.
Changed decisions at the last minute. Fit off is not the time to decide you'd prefer matte black tapware over brushed nickel. That decision needed to be made before the tiles went down, before the rough in was set, before anyone was on site. Every last minute change at this stage has a cost attached to it.
How to prepare properly
The renovators who get to fit off day without panic made every fixture decision before the build started. They had every tapware selection documented, every specification confirmed, every product ordered and checked weeks before their plumber was booked.
That's not luck. That's a system.
The Renovation Complete Pack gives you the fixture and finishes schedule to document every bathroom selection - tapware, toilets, shower heads, basins, heated towel rails - before anyone sets foot on site. The Measurement Guides make sure every rough in position is based on accurate measurements, not estimates.
Both are available at measureandmark.com.au