The first decision in a condo bathroom is not tile. It is whether the alteration will be approved, and on what terms. Most stratas require a written request to council describing the scope, drawings where the layout changes, and evidence that the contractor carries liability insurance and WorkSafeBC coverage. Council meets on its own schedule, so a request submitted after materials are ordered can sit for weeks. The agreement that comes back normally assigns ongoing responsibility for the altered work to the owner and to whoever owns the unit next — a lasting obligation, not a formality.
The boundary between what is yours and what is the building's runs through the bathroom wall. A strata plan sets where the strata lot stops, and any pipe serving more than one unit is common property wherever it happens to sit. The riser in the wall belongs to the building; the branch from it to the fixtures generally does not. Cutting into the riser needs the strata's authorisation, and often the building's own contractor. The slab is common property too, which is why coring is never simply an owner's decision.
Slab construction removes recessing as an option entirely. The existing drain is fixed in position and height, so a new toilet has to land within what a flange offset can absorb. Moving it further means either coring — usually refused, and requiring the slab to be scanned first, because cutting a post-tension tendon is a structural event rather than a repair — or building a raised platform to run drainage above the slab, costing 100 to 150mm of height and adding a step at the door.
The logistics then set the schedule. A riser shutdown is booked by the building, notice goes to affected units, and everything needing water off has to fit inside that window. Elevator time is booked and padded, and anything that will not fit the car does not come up. Work hours are limited by bylaw, debris leaves in bags rather than a bin, and the unit below is the reason waterproofing is checked before tile covers it.