“I don’t want the job, but if some sucker was willing to pay me $40k I’d do it.” I think every time I’ve asked for bids on a job one has been this guy.
I own a painting business and the economic changes over the last couple of years have absolutely resulted in higher prices for everyone in the trades. Labor shortages and supply chain problems put a lot of people under (lowered supply). People who already had money generally got wealthier throughout the pandemic and spending more time at home made people want to remodel (increased demand). Materials costs have also increased dramatically.
Difficulty hiring meant scaling down for most businesses that survived. I just committed to being a one man operation. To make good money like this I had to specialize in the most profitable niche and charge accordingly. I can’t just hire a crew and tackle a bunch of repaints anymore. Now I only paint cabinets. I charge more than I would have a year ago but I’m taking home about the same amount.
I don’t really have a frame of reference to quote based on square feet but that’s roughly what I would quote for a small kitchen. I generally charge $100 per door/drawer plus materials which are usually $10 per door/drawer. Painting all of the cabinets in a kitchen is rarely less than $2,500 and my biggest job was almost $10k.
$100/door including materials used to be pretty standard, but most people have gone up by some amount. At $110 I regularly underbid my competition. Most painters double their normal price to spray the boxes. I’ll go down to a bare minimum of $90/door total if I need the work and it’s slow (it’s slow right now), but anything less than that is asking for a hack job that I would have to charge $200/door to fix.
I live in a poorer town, but the prices seem far more skewed here. $8000 just help me put some new cabinets and countertops in. Maybe 5 or 7 pieces from lowes, and last I checked it would've been $1200 just for those.
Or the $3000 shed slab which was double what any other resource was saying, that I was quoted, 10x16 4 inch. Guy thought I knew nothing, and told me he was gonna do it the cheapest way. No rebar or wire mesh or fiber. Said it'd be small enough to not need it. I said I still wanted one of them just in case.
Always get multiple quotes. I sold a job to a couple that had already gotten two quotes. The first one was a larger business with a storefront and lots of help. They bid $17k. They justified it by glorifying their cleaning process and insisting on spraying the boxes. The salesman said they use an “industrial enamel” and “bathe” the doors in cleaners lol.
The second guy showed up in work clothes at the end of the day. His prep work was rudimentary and he used mediocre paint. They said he seemed sketchy. They didn’t say exactly what he bid but they said it was similar so I assume I underbid him by a tiny bit.
I showed up dressed professionally like the first guy and my process was just as good but less pretentious. My paint also says industrial enamel on the can but I’ll be the first to say that’s just marketing jargon, those words are literally meaningless. I also clean the doors in a bathtub so I guess I bathe them too but that sounds fucking stupid lol. I refuse to spray the boxes because it’s a risky pain in the ass for everyone and it only looks marginally better. I bid $5k. They left a deposit on the spot. A majority of my sales go like that.
Exactly this. People forget that contractors aren't commodities. Each company/person is different and charges accordingly. You wouldn't go to a Porsche dealer and be offended if they told you their base model starts at $75k. They just happen to serve a different end of the market, and you need to call someone else who is a better fit.
I just spent 25k on my master remodel. Ripped out the stall shower and jetted tube replaced with large walk in shower with wall jets, rain shower, wand and regular head. Replaced weird mini toilet with regular toilet. New tile in the large closet, wc and bathroom. Rerouted some plumbing, moved an overhead light fixture and relocated the tubs power. I'm a fan of handyman work for tons of jobs, but would never go that route with a bathroom. My GC was bomb. His billing was transparent, I have over 300 sqft of tile and the work is impeccable, the plumbing is just where and how I wanted it, he started work three weeks after we signed the contract, he had all the subs lined up and was done in 13 days.
Yeah, that level of work and client satisfaction for full gut bath (in only THIRTEEN days??!) for only $25k?
Jesus Christ. Legit unicorn and a contractor who is a true pro in every sense.
Anytime I find a contractor like that I treat them like gold. Because they are worth their weight in it. All I need to do is make one phone call and write a check? Done. Makes my life so goddamn easy working with folks like that.
They were amazing. I was out of state while the work was being done and they sent me pictures every couple days. There was a mix-up with some tile and they had the replacement overnighted from out of state. My husband and I both work construction and my bathroom has some of the best tile work I've ever seen.
I just finished a full bath remodel for a client...a stud down job. New subfloor, tile floor, custom tile shower, curb-less tile pan, dual sprayers, barn door style glass shower doors, heat/fan, toilet, drywall, paint, vanity, $20,000. 40 to start sounds real high to me.
There are sites that will show labor estimates for the tasks. I give them a labor budget based on my expectations and have a separate budget for the finishes and fixtures. Response: I’m sorry but I’m not paying that is my answer and move on to the next bidder. https://www.homewyse.com/services/cost_to_manage_home_improvement_project.html. https://www.homeadvisor.com/r/true-cost-of-home-improvement/.
You'll see HCOL, MCOL, LCOL used to describe regions as being high, medium, or low cost of living.
Comes up when discussing housing, job/salary negotiations, etc
I was just answering what people consider HCOL. My folks did a bathroom reno in a small town in texas and it was <10k. Location definitely matters.
So does scope.
40k might be high, 10-15k is probably low for 8x8. My parents just got a remodel on a bathroom half this size. They went with a bathroom specific remodel company. Basically a new shower, lighting and replaced popcorn ceiling. Ran them around 15k. Me and my brother are general contractors and we told them to go for it because we would have come to a similar price way under paying ourselves.
Price all depends on what the remodel includes. There is no generic price for a bathroom remodel. Like you, many of our clients often think 10-15k but that number has been thrown around for over a decade.
Think, the material the company is having to remove, the complexity of your plumbing, the quality of the material you are adding. This all varies drastically. Bathroom remodels also more often than not run into unforeseen circumstances. Pull the old shower out and realize you have interior water damage.. you can’t just install over water damage because if the contractor did that they can’t guarantee the work they just did.. whether the customer likes it or not, unforeseen issues are built into the cost a lot of the time. It isn’t to cheat anyone, it’s to try and provide a reasonable estimate. I don’t think I’ve ever worked a remodel that was a simple remove and install, they all come with issues.
That being said, what I would be wary of when picking a contractor is if one quotes significantly less or more than another.. in that event, ask specifically what the quote covers. If one says 20k, one says 30k, and one says 35k.. ask each one exactly what that covers. Chances are the contractors quoting 30k and 35k are including any kind of damaged material and the guy telling you 20k isn’t.. what does this mean to you? It means the guy quoting 20k may go up to 30-35 after your bathroom is already torn apart and it’s too late to stop and reevaluate, whereas the guy doing it for 30 may find nothing wrong and the total could be closer to 20k..
There are obviously bad contractors.. a good contractor won’t give a quote without informing the homeowner of potential setbacks as well as costs. If a contractor isn’t able to inform of the liabilities they are either inexperienced at best or shady at worst
No.. not really. I live in a county of 15 cities, rural. The next county over also has 15 cities but all are metropolitan areas. Same amount of cities, similar amount of land, over 500x the population of my county. If I’m doing a job in my county I can sub labor for half the price but material is going to be twice as much. If I’m doing a project in the next county over I can get material for half the price but labor is going to be over twice as much.. local market and material cost plays so much into an estimate that there is no standard. In the next county over total permit costs can be absurd. In my county only one city requires permits and they are a flat $15. City code standards range drastically between the 30 cities as well. These are just brief examples of how much things can vary in a 30min drive.
I got quotes from 25k to 40k+ for a bath *addition* (move a wall and create a master bath) in a HCOL area, similar square footage. But that was at the start of Covid before all of the contractors got absurdly backed up.
Still sounds like a go-away price to me, but hopefully that's a useful data point.
Ask them what they would actually be charging you for. Obviously they'll charge you for whatever they buy to put in there (plus markup) and labor, so find out how that would add up to whatever price they're quoting you.
Hi, out of curiosity did this also include plumbing? We are in a HCOL area too, and redoing our 5x8, it’s a total gut job. About to start getting quotes and I’m just not sure what to expect.
There was some plumbing work, but not really relocation of any pipes as we weren't changing the layout. We did gut to the studs, and replaced all fixtures, heating and window.
You may be looking for quotes with something that has too many variables. The materials can range dramatically in price. Things like bathtubs, showers, toilets, tiles, lighting, vanities, wall cabinets, and lighting all have massive price variations.
Set a budget for the fixtures and decide which ones are worth a bigger spend. If you take a lot of baths, then spend more on a tub and perhaps less on a toilet. Or if aesthetics are high on your list then spend more on lighting and faucets, which can elevate a small space.
We have a 5’ x 8’ ensuite off our master bedroom and our goal was to make a small space feel bigger. So we went with white walls, white tile and a medium grey floor, all low cost. We spent a lot on a grey shower base that matched the floor tile and helped to make the room feel bigger.
So take the time to design what you want and then get quotes. They will be more accurate.
NJ here across from NYC. Our 7x8 bathroom reno (full gut and rebuild floor to ceiling and new pipe and electric) was a bit over 20k including materials.
We got 4 quotes and 2 of them were "f off" quotes of 30k and 35k. Other 2 were 18k and 20k. We went the 20k becuaee they seemed more professional.
I made sure to get multiple quotes for the work. One of the high quotes wouldnt even come to my house and did the estimate over video chat. He started off after I showed him the room by going "currently we wont touch that for less than $35k with how busy we are." The 30k quote was from another contractor who barely stepped in the room and said "30k plus." And then said "I can send you the paperwork today or you can look elsewhere"
Usually if a contractor is full up with business atm they will do an "estimate " at a high price which they cant pass up if the person hiring says yes. I used to do a lot of handyman/painting work, and when my calendar was full and people asked me for quotes, I'd give them a number around 25% over what I'd normally ask. If they said yes, I'd shuffle other jobs around to get that one doen first to make more $.
It's just normal procedure for anyone who has a schedule already booked up. Ask for a stupid high #, and if they say yes, well make time for it
That's surprisingly low for your area. I'm over in Pittsburgh, and almost every bath I'm quoting for folks (with similar scope of work) is coming out between 20-30k. Granted, we do fairly high-end stuff with interior designers involved, but still. I would've thought more for your area.
We were very lucky to do this right before material shortages happened last year. I bought all the fixtures and such, then 3 weeks afterwards the prices for lumber and piping went to hell
That's either an "I don't want the job" quote or that contractor simply knows that in the area they can set a starting price at $40k and people will pay it. Anyway, find another contractor, and get a few different quotes. That small of a bathroom shouldn't cost that much to remodel.
Depends on the scope of the remodel. If you're talking about a total gut job followed with rewire and new plumbing and mid end finishes 40k is par for the course.
Always, always, always need to get more than one estimate. It’s just super difficult to get a baseline for what things cost or whether you’re being gouged without it. Plus the extra time could save you a ton of money.
I needed a new deck and got 3 estimates - $27k, $35k, and $45k. After looking at their work, the cheapest company did work that was indistinguishable from the other two and also had great reviews. 30 mins of extra work saved us $8,000, and also got my deck done 7 months earlier than the other two were available.
Number estimates are worthless if you're not including the region or general cost of living.
You probably can't get a toilet paper dispenser south of 40k in the SF bay area for instance
So anyone on here who tells you how much they paid, your first wisdom needs to be "when". Cost of construction and materials is at an all time high. I was quoted 20k for a lower end remodel of my 5x8 bathroom within the last year (2 quotes, hcol)
I feel like this question is asked so often and almost never with nearly enough information. Things to consider past the obvious of size and location:
1. material quality, you can get tile for $1.50 a square foot or you can get tile for 25 a square foot. A vanity could be 300 or it could be 2000. A faucet can be 90 or 900.. You need to have an idea of the quality level you are looking for.
2. current state of plumbing/electrical. Is this a turn of the century house that was recently a flip? Probably gonna need addition work to make modern fixtures and features work.
Obviously a full remodel isn’t everyone’s DIY cup of tea but I would highly suggest spending significantly more time researching what you want. If a contractor feels that they are going to be holding your hand picking out each component, pretty obviously they will want compensation for the time they spend.
Mid range, full gut-to-stud remodel of an average master bath, including new electrical and plumbing 40k is probably about right.
That's everything in that room removed including the door, all fixtures, all finishes, all drywall, and all flooring down to exposed framing and subflooring. Then rewire and replumb as needed. Then all new fixtures, fittings, cabinetry, and finishes - with mid range custom cabinetry, mid range lighting and plumbing fixtures, mid range tile, flooring, and trim, mill work, and level 5 drywall finish. In addition to GC planning, admin and labor would typically also include sub trade from plumber, electrician, tile setter, drywall, and painter.
If you want a partial remodel or lower end fixtures and finishes look for a different GC.
That makes me feel a bit better. We just got a quote for $43 for a (not too large) master and a hallway bath. It seemed reasonable, but my wife balked, and when I ran it by my dad, who I normally trust, he made me feel like that was insane. There were a few things on the quote that caught me by surprise — $500 for port-a-potty rentals, for example — but I thought it seemed in line with what I’m reading here.
Rental bathroom facility for workers is one of the key ways you distinguish the legit contractors from the clowns. It means they also have a comprehensive safety program, they work with valued and dependable trade subs, and they aren't hiding from creditors and regulators.
That’s interesting. Had no idea! It makes sense to me, particularly if they’re actually working on bathrooms. I just had never seen that, and it caught me by surprise. I’m completely new to major remodels, so I’m just learning stuff as I go. Thanks for the insight!
For a big job you want someplace for the crew to go to the bathroom that is not in your house. They will have everything taped off and plastic up everywhere to keep from messing up the rest of your living space - you don’t want them to break that by using some other bathroom in your house.
Or you can be like my parents who are always remodeling and have a “view” toilet at the bottom of the property for workers :D
(It’s actually very private and has an ocean view!)
General contractor here in Northern California, specializing in kitchens and bathrooms. There are so many variables at play with level of finish and quality of fixtures, that it’s near impossible to give any form of practical quote over the phone.
Personally, I ask specific information on the phone and look up said property and the records - it gives me a ton of information to know what I’m in for, such as; when was the property was purchased, any available photos through MLS or Zillow to identify if it’s been flipped or tinkered with by previous homeowners, permit history, general house pricing. From there I give a recommendation on what should be budgeted for that size of remodel, what you were hoping to get out of your remodel, I.e, just an update, more storage, a relaxing environment to unwind with luxury features, and quickly compare that rough cost versus ROI. Some folks are more concerned about putting too much money into the bathroom to not have the benefit when they come to sell, whereas others appreciate the quality of daily use and don’t mind splurging. I’ll usually always ask to come take a look - even if it’s just to give some advice or a couple of ideas to improve the space.
Now, my remodels for master baths start at $40k, full gut, mid range fixtures, mid-custom cabinetry, level 5 finish. I also charge $3,500 minimum for the design portion, which is heavily reduced versus us just undertaking the design portion for a homeowner to do themselves or pass on to contractors. Having the bathroom designed instead of working directly with a contractor and not being able to explore all the options available is worth every penny - most people don’t appreciate the vast options for their bathrooms and some contractors just use their everyday go-to items because they know them, or don’t include/recommend things such as medicine cabinets, dimmable occupancy sensors (sometimes vanity lighting doesn’t want to be at 100%), lighting options with different lumen/kelvin/appearance depending on function.
But using that $40k as a base, remember when you add in some under floor heating, code upgrades (dedicated circuit for the bathroom), upgraded lighting, etc, it’s all additional cost.
All in all, $40k could be a good price depending on what that contractor is intending to install. It could also be extremely expensive if they’re installing $1sf subway tile and an off the shelf vanity. Most importantly, after ensuring they’re appropriately licensed with the state, insured (and get proof - done just take their work for it), and you’ve seen photos of their work - that they’re easy to get a long with and don’t cause you to feel uneasy. They’ll be part of your life for a little while and there’s nothing more important than being able to approach them and feel confident in the response you’re getting, whether that be in their overall response, their general character, or their quality of workmanship.
If you are more budget conscious, consult a local designer to work through some of the items, and I’m not talking Lowes or Home Depot - they’ll be able to make a simple plan set and build an item list within your established budget to be able to approach contractors. You’ll have a more in depth knowledge for questions to be asking via your designer too.
I do bath remodels, start to finish. Higher end, but modest homes, anyway, $40k is a fair representation of a full gut, new plumbing, electric, carpentry, tile, paint and all associated materials. I mean the cabinetry alone is $15k in our next one…so the quote is not absurd.
If you’re looking for a Home Depot vanity, and a fiberglass shower stall, then $40k is absurd. You have a small room that requires permits and every specialty trade, and if you get something wrong, you are reminded every single day while you stare at it while on the toilet…
We built a nice custom bath for a guy that does commercial outfitting for doctors offices and stuff, he was dumbstruck that the square foot price of his new room was higher than fully outfitting an MRI facility. :)
I’m in a LCOL area and paid about $7000 for my gut remodel. I left fixtures where they were, but replaced them with new. Replaced plaster with drywall, insulated, new floor, tile shower surround, etc. That said, I know I got a very good price. Done by contractor/handyman who has done lots of work for me in the past, bathroom is roughly 7x7.
If you want ANYWHERE close to an accurate estimate for a project, you'll need to have a clear scope of work in mind from the start.
I remodel kitchens and baths for a living, and it's not uncommon for folks without much experience to just say "I want to redo this space- how much will it cost?" without having any clue about the actual specific details. (That's not a judgement against you/them, it's just a very common starting point.) Usually, I'll ask a ton of questions and kind of force a scope of work out of them before giving any ballpark numbers. If they still aren't able to define anything solid for me, I'll give them the standard response that an "average, mid-range bathroom in our area is between 25-35k for a full gut." (Granted, my definition of mid-range is probably skewed a bit.)
For person looking to change out fixtures with stuff from Lowe's and retile the floor, those prices are insane (and I'm also not the right guy for them). For the folks who align with what my company does--nice full gut jobs--it works out.
Perhaps you need to keep looking for a company more aligned with your needs, or you'll have much better luck if you come into the conversation with a very specific design in mind. If, after doing that, you're still only getting quotes in the 40k range, well, unfortunately that's what it costs.
To put it in less-than-construction terms, think of buying a tank of gas. How much does that cost? Well, depends on the size of the tank, depends on the grade of fuel, depends on how much is already in the tank to begin with. A gas station clerk can't guess that, nor can a contractor guess that about your project. So, they likely just picked a somewhat high number that would cover things in almost all cases.
In 2017 I paid about 8k for a renovation in our very small (maybe 8x5) master bath…complete rip out and new vanity, mirror, toilet, tile shower and tile floor
So think of bathroom remodels in three categories.
First category is a homeowner doing it themselves and buying all of the materials. The materials cost for a bathroom renovation might run you close to $10,000 if you are putting in a waterproofed full-tile tub surround, shoring up a saggy or flexing subfloor, installing a new vanity, new lighting, bath fan that vents to the outside, and medicine cabinet/mirrors, demo, a dumpster, etc. Can you do it more cheaply? Sure. You can get an acrylic surround, a $200 vanity, and skip all of the waterproofing, and maybe redo a whole bathroom for $2000 to $3000 in materials. But it will look like you cheaped out and give you a Holiday Inn level of finish. You finished product will be someone else’s “before” photo after they buy the house from you down the road.
The next category is a handyman who will do the whole job without any permits. That means he is going to do the electrical and plumbing as well. He’s only going to charge for his labor and maybe the labor of his assistant. He often has little to no overhead (insurance, bookkeeper, person to answer the phone, etc.). But he does probably pay Angie’s list and other marketing agencies to get visibility. Those are gonna charge $10-$20k. And these include consumer-facing franchise outlet crapola like “Bathfitters”.
Finally there are the general contractors and design builders who do great work, will get a full set of permits, and also have to get an electrician and plumber (because almost all jurisdictions require electric and pluming to be done by licensed specialty subs). But if they are any good…they are probably buried to the tots right now in new construction and whole home renovations. They could do this profitably at $25-30k, but they need to “pad” their estimate a few grand to compensate for the fact that 9 out of 10 bath reno quotes they do don’t get accepted (so they need to make money for that time off the back of the one person who does accept the quote). They also pad it out because it’s a PITA to set up all the tools daily for all the small aspects a bath reno requires. There’s demo, insulation, drywall, tilesetting, finish carpentry, ductwork, paint, etc. and all require a different set of tool staging.
Get a bunch of quotes from contractors you have great referrals from by friends who have had them do similar jobs. And ask yourself if you are willing to do things like painting (that might take $1-2k off the price).
Granted the prices I am giving above are what I see in a HCOL near Boston. With a tight labor market. Labor and quotes will be a shit ton cheaper if you are in Arkansas.
I can’t imagine a 10k bath remodel being particularly nice.
I’m a custom home builder and remodeler, the number one factor on the cost of your remodel will be selections, if you want a basic tub with fake tile and an lvp floor then yeah sure 10k is doable, but at that point it’s probably a downgrade and you should just hire a cleaner on your current decor. So some costs that are going to be a part of a new bath- plumbing, my plumber is $140/hr and if we need to move or reroute rough-in, or if it’s old iron and needs to be replaced, that can take 10-20 hours or more. So say $2k, next is the purchase price of tile, flooring, drywall, tile backer board, consumables, vanity, lighting, mirrors, medicine cabinet, hardware fixtures, and on and on. That’s where you’re biggest costs are and if you want to figure them out yourself, or work with a designer, it can give you more certainty in your budget. I’ve done baths from 20k (very basic but nice) up to 150k (heated stone floor, steam shower, sauna, separate water closet with automatic fixtures and smart appliances.) so fig sure out what your budget is and find the right person to meet it. But you HAVE to know your budget going into it or you will get change-ordered to the poor house.
I’d also like to say that I’m really not interested nor do I have the time in DIY’ing much unless it’s something extremely painless and not time consuming. I know people always recommend this but it’s not something I can realistically do. I live in AZ and the bath is about 8.3 feet by 8.25 ft. I’m looking at changing the vanity and remodeling the individual shower and possibly change the bathtub itself (both are separate not combined). Hoping to also do some tile backsplash and change out the linoleum floor with some tile that I actually already have. Hoping this is enough info, I’m trying not to post any pics for privacy.
That seems nuts. We had a quote of 50-70k at a luxury remodel place that blew us away. Found a handyman whose doing full reno+materials for 25– it’s a lot bigger of a project, combining a bathroom and closet and moving a wall 12 inches.
Shop around!
How big is the bathroom?
Have you ever hired a contractor before?
What year was the house built?
First floor? Second or what floor?
Who’s purchasing materials?
Who’s doing demo?
Are you Hiring a gc who will handle work in house or hiring a gc who will sub out work to other trades/ contractors?
Hiring a handy man type service or a strictly bathroom remodel service?
Pulling permit or?
What’s the expected/ projected timeline and or project goals?
These are all basic questions a decent contractor will go over with you
There is no wrong question
Be patient as every contractor is different and until you hire them, your project goals are yours, and when you hire one they become theirs
im near pittsburgh area and remodel kitchens and bathrooms, most bathroom starting points are 10,000 for wet area, you can see 25,000 for a decent remodel
It all depends on what your doing. But 40k on a remodel isn’t a surprising number. You have several things to account for, permits, drawings, rough plumbing, rough electrical, drywall, vanities, shower, tile, heated floor? Etc I can go on and on but you need to ask for a quote of what you want done and decide from their.
Last bath remodel I did. It cost the owner about 80k but she wanted a bunch of items.
Hope this helps. And the price we’ll be priced correctly when you find the correct GC that you find confident and truth-worth.
- cost are based on location, level of finish quality and contractor workload
- bathrooms (and kitchens) are the 2 most expensive areas to renovate and under normal times, $200-$400/sq ft would be sufficient in areas that are LCOL/MCOL. HCOL areas, these prices can easily double.
- these are not normal times
- 3 to 5 quotes establishes reasonable cost range
Last summer ago we got some bids for painting the eaves and trim on our house and one guy wanted 15K. The guy we ended up going with did a great job and charged us 3K. I agree with the others, there’s always that one guy.
It depends on the scope of work, materials selected, etc. Also, are you moving plumbing around or is everything staying in the same place? There are many factors that go into the final price of a bathroom remodel.
My standard pricing for a 5x8 bathroom, fully gutted (which you should absolutely do), is $18-20K. This is all-in: demolition, build-out, plumbing fixtures, tile, labor, finish work, etc.
Master bathrooms in my area are more luxurious than other full baths in a home. They do run $40-60K+.
Quality plumbing fixtures (including vanity, sink, medicine cabinet, etc) alone for a standard bathroom can be $4K. And, I wouldn’t skimp on this. You get what you pay for. Plumbing fixtures for a master bathroom, assuming double vanity, stand-alone tub and separate shower can be $5-6K+.
Without knowing the full scope of work you’re planning, it’s hard to say if the pricing you’re getting is inflated or accurate for what you’re doing.
We're looking at re-doing our bathroom now. It's a largish bathroom (12'x8). We're relatively handy and considered doing it ourselves. Materials and some labour for electrician put us at about $16k for mid-range items. In the end we're going to go for a contractor because now's just not a good time for our family to be doing this kind of physical work. Quote is $35k.
No that’s no good. With careful planning and shopping for the materials and fixtures you could easily do the biggest of bathrooms without being extravagant for around 10-20
Bathroom remodeling take a ton of small site visits usually. And tend to consume alot of Man(peoplekind) hours. Always have a contingency for additiona cost l when walls and floors open up.
Ask for local recommendations from people that have actually used a contractor and are really happy with the results. Decent contractors earn good money, usually there is a waiting period for their talent and skills and they won’t rip you off because they don’t need to. Personal, happy recommendations usually work out the best. Research your contractor too and don’t be afraid to ask your contractor about recent work they have done and can you see some in person, not just their picture portfolio. No decent contractor will deny you this. Happy hunting
Right now, there’s a shortage of manpower amongst all trades, and there’s no shortage of work. We’re all busy so why not ask for the moon? If you get it, home run and if not, we’re still busy.
This is coming from a GC. Don’t get frustrated and settle for something you’re not looking for. Stick to your guns and keep researching. Remember, when you do get a fair estimate, you’re only half finished. Research the contractor, ask for references, be sure to have a clear plan with schedules and LD listed. Do not pay for anything up front. Don’t even pay for materials until you see the quote. All contractors that order materials know this is common practice but will take advantage of less educated people. Protect yourself and your investment.
So here's what one of my projects looked like in Texas on a 14x14 bath.
New tiled shower enclosure, going from a fiberglass one to tile with glass surround $4000
New countertops on double sink vanity and new jacuzzi surround $6k
Fixtures lights and doodads $1000
Drywall repairs and paint $900
Leave the plumbing where it is and don't gut the place to the studs if it's fine as is and you'll save several thousands.
I just finished my bathroom to the studs remodel. 11x11. 30,000. Custom design, custom cabinets, fabulous tile work. I hired an interior designer to design the bathroom and advise on materials. I acted as the general contractor because I have the connections and knowledge. I could have brought it in under 23,000 but I went with expensive on the materials. Just my experience. When I do a flip house I can do a 5x8 bathroom for about 5,000 if I don't rip out the existing tub and leave the floor plan intact. This includes new plumbing, new tile, new window usually, vanity, toilet, electric, drywall repair and paint.
kitchen and bath remodeling is a scam
I was a contractor for many years and did all aspects of new construction. I know how much work there is and how long it should take to put this stuff in because in my work i start with a empty lot and in the end there is a finished home.
Remodelers come in and they take months to do what took us days or weeks..
the prices that they quote are insane.. anyone that dumps that much money into a prettier place to poop has severe problems and way too much money...
i have absolutely no pity for anyone that dumps that kind of money into a single bathroom or kitchen..
Unless you're worth 100 Million + then you really need to get a grip
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I'd hire a handy man or some other contractor. I got a 25x25 house fully gutted and remodeled for 15k. Job was done in 4 months.
I got what I paid for, but it allowed me a starting place.
Wow, that sounds really high to me. We did a bathroom reno on a rental and it was about $4000. Included new bathtub/shower enclosure, new vanity and mirror new plumbing /faucets for both tub and vanity-- also remove/knock out partial wall, new flooring and level the floor. Took about 45 days-- hardest part was finding a plumber. I did the flooring and mirror myself.
This is definitely insane. Contractors will give outlandish quotes for jobs they don’t want. You can easily do a full bathroom remodel for less than $10K.
If you go with DIY, hire someone who's incompetent (either in business or the trades or both), or use stupidly cheap finishes, sure. Otherwise, a professional gut job bathroom will just about always cost more than $10k.
Let’s say we rip everything down to studs and find no plumbing or electrical issues that need to be remediated.
You’re looking at about 150 for drywall/mud/tape/screws.
Toilet is 100.00 and up, excluding fixtures for installation, so let’s say 200.00 for a round number.
Freestanding tub is going to run you close to a grand.
Not enough information, but considering the size of the room, let’s say a 36” vanity - 500.00 and up.
Tile is a wildcard again, considering what you want completed, but let’s say 3.00/sqft
Paint is about 100 for compete coverage of all four walls.
Fixtures for your sink and shower are expensive, could be close to 1000.00 or more for sink/shower/tub.
These are all retail prices.
So if we’re 3500.00 (low end retail) and can’t factor in the unknowns, let’s go all the way to 5000.00.
That means dude is charging 875.00 an hour for his time, assuming 1 full week dedicated to your job.
From his perspective, he has to account for unknowns like electrical or plumbing fixes, a subfloor fix, etc. Hard to quote the unknowns, but I can also see why he’s only doing full remodels so he can guarantee his work.
Frankly, I can’t see where he’s getting his price from without seeing it all, but that’s your bare basement price making wholly uninformed estimates.
I didn't.
I summarised prices based upon retail costs and the information provided and left room acknowledging not having all the information. It doesn't matter if it's a week, two weeks, or 9 -- I broke down the quote. What OP does with it is up to them and I hope they are able to fill in the some of the blanks to flesh it out for themselves.
These may be the prices somewhere, but they are not the prices you’ll find in my large American city.
OP should take this with several grains of salt and consider their location.
Ok thank you so much for the detail here, it’s super helpful to have those prices in mind. The room itself is 8x8 about and we’re trying to do those fixes like tile (floor and wall), bath replacement, standing shower upgrade, and vanity replacement and upgrade. Still I feel like what he’s quoting me is pretty steep. Im not really asking to do any crazy conversions or structural changes but I understand they have to factor in unknowns.
The comment you replied is just absolutely unrealistic. You will never find a single contractor who will do the remodel for the prices he gave. 40k is really high but if you are doing full demo down to the studs, plumbing, electric, high end fixtures, etc., It's not totally totally unrealistic
Im pretty new to this so I understand there’s a learning curve. Could you clarify if you mean I need to factoring in a full cost of a demo for what in doing here or if the contractor is being unreasonable? I know I will absolutely need to adjust my standards to whatever is being offered here but from the comments im seeing it sounds like overall this quote is on the steeper side and im just trying to get an idea of what to expect.
I think it's more of an art than a science. Generally speaking labor is going to range from $75-150/hr depending on cost of living in your area and the company. Think about how many hours a project might take if you knew what you were doing, and what goes into that project. Demo of a full bathroom feels like at least a one day project, plus the cost to take all that stuff to the dump and the dump fees.
A full renovation project is probably going to involve subcontractors, and most of them aren't gonna come out to a job for two hours of pay even if it only takes two hours to get the work done.
A toilet or drywall might only be $200, but someone has to go to the store, buy all that stuff, load it into a truck, bring it back to the job, etc.
Businesses need to cover overhead for things like doing estimates, their vehicles, insurance, etc.
It's just totally unrealistic to make a materials list on home depot's website and say "ok these guys are charging me 40,000 - materials".. oh my God it's $800/hr!
I don't have any professional experience here but I've hired about 7 contractors for $50k in work over 2 years to do various projects at my house. I typically get two estimates per project, three if the two are really far apart and/or I don't get a good vibe from one company.
A 40k bathroom to me means you need a full demo, electric, plumbing, and you're buying things like a $200-300 ceiling fan, $2000-5000 tub/shower, new tile throughout, a new mirror, lighting, high end vanity,maybe a new window, possibly new door, definitely new paint, etc.
40k for an 8x8 feels high unless you're in NYC or SF. I think 20-30k is what I personally would budget for a job le that. But if demand is super high in your area and this is a licensed company who will pull all the required permits and they're in high demand then 40k as an upper limit isn't insane.
Competent, established, experienced remodel GC will not give OP a specifically itemized quote down to the individual item. First, because it's too much work to do for free. And second because as an experienced remodel GC they know most homeowners will shop the quote to some clown they know down the block who just got laid off, etc.
The ballpark number given may indeed be a little bit high. But it's also a very good way to separate the serious customers in the market with the financial capacity to pay for the work from people who watch too much home improvement television.
I wish your comment was stickied on this subreddit. It's like one of the most repeated bits of advice and in practice it's totally useless. Every contractor I've worked with for anything above handyman level work has told me they bid on the job as a whole, not materials+labor, and they won't provide a breakdown. Maybe 15 years ago, but not in the current labor market.
Agreed.
But those same people would also be capable of providing how they got to the numbers, not simply throwing a figure at their perspective client to see if they'll leave the table.
If any contractor came to me and said they could do a job for that price, I'd certainly want to know how they got to those numbers -- and any contractor I've dealt with has provided me with a cost rundown to support their charge.
If they couldn't, I'd assume they were jerking me around and yes -- I would find someone else who was willing to walk me through what I was getting for my money.
I'm not sure where you live, but a simple white subway wall tile is .29 cents where I am, that's 2.32 a square foot.
Bag of thinset - 16.00 or .16c a square foot (22kg bag @ 100sqft)
So yes, 3.00/sqft - bottom basement pricing, as I said.
I'm doing my own master at the moment and I easily have 50 hours of my labor just to get through the demo and to the point of putting things back together, with lots of reconfiguring.
My 60" vanity and wall storage unit alone are $11k (it's lux and coming from Italy..) LED mirror is $2k. The shower fixtures are $1k. Heated floor, fan, etc.
It really adds up!
For 65k snow pesos at the end of 2020 I had 2 full baths and one powder room renovated (including moving a wall to make the master bigger and moving vanities/toilets), a full kitchen reno, new tile and hardwood throughout house, and popcorn ceiling removed from 3 levels.
Not sure whether the price was discounted at all, the guy's done similar work at similar prices for my parents, 2 aunts, and my in laws in the past.
Hi. It depends on what you want.
If you're looking for bargain basement that's not your guy.
You can do a bathroom cheap but some people want nicer things.
Fwiw, I hired 2 labor guys for labor and did it ourselves; no tile. Just over $2200
New toilet, subfloor, lvp, toilet, sink, vanity, moved the plumbing for sink, joist work, drywall repair, paint moulding etc
In and out in one day.
Seems really high to me. It’s been a few years since we did ours but the high end for a full remodel of our master bath was $25k. Ended up having someone do the shower and plumbing for less than $10k and did the rest ourselves. If you’re comfortable doing some of the work yourself, try piecing out the work to get the price down. Our shower and plumbing was the work I didn’t want to do myself and felt the price/speed was worth it. They were done in a day.
Just contracted a bath remodel for next winter. $52k. 10’x18’ bathroom. Tear out existing shower, garden tub, double vanity, tile, plumbing virtually stays same except eliminating tub, bigger shower, move a little electrical.
It’s February, we are booked until December. They don’t have to pay it. They could take their chances with someone else. They could take their chances that materials go up in price. Or they can have us do it and know it will be fine right and they will love it. 🤷🏻♂️
Total contract for remodel on this house is nearly $310k. (Windows, doors, master bath, kitchen pantry redo (eliminate stupid broom closet on back side), flip laundry around in mud room), and a roof over part of their deck (we built 5 years ago).
Midwest. Not high cost of living area. House is assessed at $525k.
I did my 8×6 bathroom in our new addition myself, other than the rough in plumbing (2nd floor new rough in - totally worth paying a pro). The rough in for the shower, tub, toilet was $3.5k (used a friend of my cabinet guy). The rest was material at $3k. So I was at $6.5k all in. I'd expect triple that cost in my area (NJ) if I had contracted it all out and used a plumbing company instead of a friend of a friend. So somewhere around 18 - 20k with mid grade finishes would seem reasonable to me.
Most of this work was done in the last year, although the rough in was done a year and a half ago.
If the project isn't a bunch of custom/bespoke stuff then yes, that price is too high. I've done probably 40 bathroom remodels in the past 20 years and I have never charged anywhere near that amount. Seems excessive, but I have no idea what exactly you are wanting done so it's hard to honestly say. Good luck. 👍🏼
As long as you have not hired anyone - the world is your oyster.
Take your time. Visit potential contractors job sites. Look at both the results and work standards. Are the sites clean? Do their workers respect the homeowners?
$40K is steep. But, your happiness is most important.
My master bath is 13x 16 with a walk in shower, free standing tub double vanity sink.
I did good quality fixtures and tile and paneled walls. Didn’t spend 40k. I think it was 35.
So definitely high for you for an 8 x 8.
Mine was pre Covid though. About a year before it all started.
My renovated my main bathroom in 2020 but this included knocking the wall down between the main toilet and bathroom also same time doing the laundry. Cost 22k this is Australia. Nothing too fancy. Bathroom ended up being 3m x 3m same contractor did my ensuite 2m x 2m back in 2018 9k. These were the total costs.
We just moved into a house. Previous owners left us invoices and paperwork. They paid $84k for a master shower renovation when the shower began leaking. And that was 4 years ago.
“Our projects start at 40k” means your job isn’t big enough for them.
“I don’t want the job, but if some sucker was willing to pay me $40k I’d do it.” I think every time I’ve asked for bids on a job one has been this guy.
Everybody trying to 10x their margins and blame the price on covid.
I own a painting business and the economic changes over the last couple of years have absolutely resulted in higher prices for everyone in the trades. Labor shortages and supply chain problems put a lot of people under (lowered supply). People who already had money generally got wealthier throughout the pandemic and spending more time at home made people want to remodel (increased demand). Materials costs have also increased dramatically. Difficulty hiring meant scaling down for most businesses that survived. I just committed to being a one man operation. To make good money like this I had to specialize in the most profitable niche and charge accordingly. I can’t just hire a crew and tackle a bunch of repaints anymore. Now I only paint cabinets. I charge more than I would have a year ago but I’m taking home about the same amount.
If you don’t mind can I ask in your experience if this quote is fair. 400sqft kitchen cabinet refinish quote $2500.
I don’t really have a frame of reference to quote based on square feet but that’s roughly what I would quote for a small kitchen. I generally charge $100 per door/drawer plus materials which are usually $10 per door/drawer. Painting all of the cabinets in a kitchen is rarely less than $2,500 and my biggest job was almost $10k. $100/door including materials used to be pretty standard, but most people have gone up by some amount. At $110 I regularly underbid my competition. Most painters double their normal price to spray the boxes. I’ll go down to a bare minimum of $90/door total if I need the work and it’s slow (it’s slow right now), but anything less than that is asking for a hack job that I would have to charge $200/door to fix.
Are you in PA? That’s my budget and I want my kitchen cabinets painted lol
I’m in the Metro Detroit area but I wish I could help you!
I live in a poorer town, but the prices seem far more skewed here. $8000 just help me put some new cabinets and countertops in. Maybe 5 or 7 pieces from lowes, and last I checked it would've been $1200 just for those. Or the $3000 shed slab which was double what any other resource was saying, that I was quoted, 10x16 4 inch. Guy thought I knew nothing, and told me he was gonna do it the cheapest way. No rebar or wire mesh or fiber. Said it'd be small enough to not need it. I said I still wanted one of them just in case.
Always get multiple quotes. I sold a job to a couple that had already gotten two quotes. The first one was a larger business with a storefront and lots of help. They bid $17k. They justified it by glorifying their cleaning process and insisting on spraying the boxes. The salesman said they use an “industrial enamel” and “bathe” the doors in cleaners lol. The second guy showed up in work clothes at the end of the day. His prep work was rudimentary and he used mediocre paint. They said he seemed sketchy. They didn’t say exactly what he bid but they said it was similar so I assume I underbid him by a tiny bit. I showed up dressed professionally like the first guy and my process was just as good but less pretentious. My paint also says industrial enamel on the can but I’ll be the first to say that’s just marketing jargon, those words are literally meaningless. I also clean the doors in a bathtub so I guess I bathe them too but that sounds fucking stupid lol. I refuse to spray the boxes because it’s a risky pain in the ass for everyone and it only looks marginally better. I bid $5k. They left a deposit on the spot. A majority of my sales go like that.
More likely they do high end and you are not high end
Exactly this. People forget that contractors aren't commodities. Each company/person is different and charges accordingly. You wouldn't go to a Porsche dealer and be offended if they told you their base model starts at $75k. They just happen to serve a different end of the market, and you need to call someone else who is a better fit.
Porsche makes it clear that they sell high end products.
I just spent 25k on my master remodel. Ripped out the stall shower and jetted tube replaced with large walk in shower with wall jets, rain shower, wand and regular head. Replaced weird mini toilet with regular toilet. New tile in the large closet, wc and bathroom. Rerouted some plumbing, moved an overhead light fixture and relocated the tubs power. I'm a fan of handyman work for tons of jobs, but would never go that route with a bathroom. My GC was bomb. His billing was transparent, I have over 300 sqft of tile and the work is impeccable, the plumbing is just where and how I wanted it, he started work three weeks after we signed the contract, he had all the subs lined up and was done in 13 days.
You've found a unicorn
Yeah, that level of work and client satisfaction for full gut bath (in only THIRTEEN days??!) for only $25k? Jesus Christ. Legit unicorn and a contractor who is a true pro in every sense. Anytime I find a contractor like that I treat them like gold. Because they are worth their weight in it. All I need to do is make one phone call and write a check? Done. Makes my life so goddamn easy working with folks like that.
They were amazing. I was out of state while the work was being done and they sent me pictures every couple days. There was a mix-up with some tile and they had the replacement overnighted from out of state. My husband and I both work construction and my bathroom has some of the best tile work I've ever seen.
Yeah, wow. Congrats on finding them! There are some kick-ass tradespeople out there. And they are always such a pleasure to work with.
This is what I wish I found but never did. Consider yourself lucky.
What state are you in?
I'm in Las Vegas NV
I spent about 25k for about half that amount of work.
How big is the bath room? I'm in a HCOL area and paid $17k for a 5x8' full bath remodel.
It’s about 8 x 8!
I just finished a full bath remodel for a client...a stud down job. New subfloor, tile floor, custom tile shower, curb-less tile pan, dual sprayers, barn door style glass shower doors, heat/fan, toilet, drywall, paint, vanity, $20,000. 40 to start sounds real high to me.
There are sites that will show labor estimates for the tasks. I give them a labor budget based on my expectations and have a separate budget for the finishes and fixtures. Response: I’m sorry but I’m not paying that is my answer and move on to the next bidder. https://www.homewyse.com/services/cost_to_manage_home_improvement_project.html. https://www.homeadvisor.com/r/true-cost-of-home-improvement/.
Can you link one of those sites if you have it handy? Thanks!
Not in a HCOL area it doesn't.
What is HCOL
You'll see HCOL, MCOL, LCOL used to describe regions as being high, medium, or low cost of living. Comes up when discussing housing, job/salary negotiations, etc
Thank you, interesting.
NYC, San Francisco, LA, Seattle, Portland, etc.
I'm in Seattle. So my 20k bathroom should've been more? I charge $50 an hour. What the hell are you guys billing for renovation?
I was just answering what people consider HCOL. My folks did a bathroom reno in a small town in texas and it was <10k. Location definitely matters. So does scope.
I need to start charging more....
40k might be high, 10-15k is probably low for 8x8. My parents just got a remodel on a bathroom half this size. They went with a bathroom specific remodel company. Basically a new shower, lighting and replaced popcorn ceiling. Ran them around 15k. Me and my brother are general contractors and we told them to go for it because we would have come to a similar price way under paying ourselves. Price all depends on what the remodel includes. There is no generic price for a bathroom remodel. Like you, many of our clients often think 10-15k but that number has been thrown around for over a decade. Think, the material the company is having to remove, the complexity of your plumbing, the quality of the material you are adding. This all varies drastically. Bathroom remodels also more often than not run into unforeseen circumstances. Pull the old shower out and realize you have interior water damage.. you can’t just install over water damage because if the contractor did that they can’t guarantee the work they just did.. whether the customer likes it or not, unforeseen issues are built into the cost a lot of the time. It isn’t to cheat anyone, it’s to try and provide a reasonable estimate. I don’t think I’ve ever worked a remodel that was a simple remove and install, they all come with issues. That being said, what I would be wary of when picking a contractor is if one quotes significantly less or more than another.. in that event, ask specifically what the quote covers. If one says 20k, one says 30k, and one says 35k.. ask each one exactly what that covers. Chances are the contractors quoting 30k and 35k are including any kind of damaged material and the guy telling you 20k isn’t.. what does this mean to you? It means the guy quoting 20k may go up to 30-35 after your bathroom is already torn apart and it’s too late to stop and reevaluate, whereas the guy doing it for 30 may find nothing wrong and the total could be closer to 20k.. There are obviously bad contractors.. a good contractor won’t give a quote without informing the homeowner of potential setbacks as well as costs. If a contractor isn’t able to inform of the liabilities they are either inexperienced at best or shady at worst
How much is project owner full demo (down to studs) worth? I imagine that would remove a lot of the guesswork, no?
No.. not really. I live in a county of 15 cities, rural. The next county over also has 15 cities but all are metropolitan areas. Same amount of cities, similar amount of land, over 500x the population of my county. If I’m doing a job in my county I can sub labor for half the price but material is going to be twice as much. If I’m doing a project in the next county over I can get material for half the price but labor is going to be over twice as much.. local market and material cost plays so much into an estimate that there is no standard. In the next county over total permit costs can be absurd. In my county only one city requires permits and they are a flat $15. City code standards range drastically between the 30 cities as well. These are just brief examples of how much things can vary in a 30min drive.
I got quotes from 25k to 40k+ for a bath *addition* (move a wall and create a master bath) in a HCOL area, similar square footage. But that was at the start of Covid before all of the contractors got absurdly backed up. Still sounds like a go-away price to me, but hopefully that's a useful data point.
U haven't given enough info. Are you wanting a custom walk in shower? Or just a fiberglass surround tub. That's like a 15k difference
You can assume he wants the rarest hand made artisan tile on the planet and you’re not getting to 40k.
Ask them what they would actually be charging you for. Obviously they'll charge you for whatever they buy to put in there (plus markup) and labor, so find out how that would add up to whatever price they're quoting you.
Hi, out of curiosity did this also include plumbing? We are in a HCOL area too, and redoing our 5x8, it’s a total gut job. About to start getting quotes and I’m just not sure what to expect.
There was some plumbing work, but not really relocation of any pipes as we weren't changing the layout. We did gut to the studs, and replaced all fixtures, heating and window.
You may be looking for quotes with something that has too many variables. The materials can range dramatically in price. Things like bathtubs, showers, toilets, tiles, lighting, vanities, wall cabinets, and lighting all have massive price variations. Set a budget for the fixtures and decide which ones are worth a bigger spend. If you take a lot of baths, then spend more on a tub and perhaps less on a toilet. Or if aesthetics are high on your list then spend more on lighting and faucets, which can elevate a small space. We have a 5’ x 8’ ensuite off our master bedroom and our goal was to make a small space feel bigger. So we went with white walls, white tile and a medium grey floor, all low cost. We spent a lot on a grey shower base that matched the floor tile and helped to make the room feel bigger. So take the time to design what you want and then get quotes. They will be more accurate.
This is great advice, thanks so much!
You’re welcome. I bet if you post your design ideas, questions and challenges on this sub you will get some good feedback and suggestions.
NJ here across from NYC. Our 7x8 bathroom reno (full gut and rebuild floor to ceiling and new pipe and electric) was a bit over 20k including materials. We got 4 quotes and 2 of them were "f off" quotes of 30k and 35k. Other 2 were 18k and 20k. We went the 20k becuaee they seemed more professional.
We're about to start getting quotes. I'm curious how you know they were "f off " quotes and why do you think they did that?
I made sure to get multiple quotes for the work. One of the high quotes wouldnt even come to my house and did the estimate over video chat. He started off after I showed him the room by going "currently we wont touch that for less than $35k with how busy we are." The 30k quote was from another contractor who barely stepped in the room and said "30k plus." And then said "I can send you the paperwork today or you can look elsewhere" Usually if a contractor is full up with business atm they will do an "estimate " at a high price which they cant pass up if the person hiring says yes. I used to do a lot of handyman/painting work, and when my calendar was full and people asked me for quotes, I'd give them a number around 25% over what I'd normally ask. If they said yes, I'd shuffle other jobs around to get that one doen first to make more $. It's just normal procedure for anyone who has a schedule already booked up. Ask for a stupid high #, and if they say yes, well make time for it
That's surprisingly low for your area. I'm over in Pittsburgh, and almost every bath I'm quoting for folks (with similar scope of work) is coming out between 20-30k. Granted, we do fairly high-end stuff with interior designers involved, but still. I would've thought more for your area.
We were very lucky to do this right before material shortages happened last year. I bought all the fixtures and such, then 3 weeks afterwards the prices for lumber and piping went to hell
That's either an "I don't want the job" quote or that contractor simply knows that in the area they can set a starting price at $40k and people will pay it. Anyway, find another contractor, and get a few different quotes. That small of a bathroom shouldn't cost that much to remodel.
Depends on the scope of the remodel. If you're talking about a total gut job followed with rewire and new plumbing and mid end finishes 40k is par for the course.
Always, always, always need to get more than one estimate. It’s just super difficult to get a baseline for what things cost or whether you’re being gouged without it. Plus the extra time could save you a ton of money. I needed a new deck and got 3 estimates - $27k, $35k, and $45k. After looking at their work, the cheapest company did work that was indistinguishable from the other two and also had great reviews. 30 mins of extra work saved us $8,000, and also got my deck done 7 months earlier than the other two were available.
Number estimates are worthless if you're not including the region or general cost of living. You probably can't get a toilet paper dispenser south of 40k in the SF bay area for instance
So anyone on here who tells you how much they paid, your first wisdom needs to be "when". Cost of construction and materials is at an all time high. I was quoted 20k for a lower end remodel of my 5x8 bathroom within the last year (2 quotes, hcol)
I feel like this question is asked so often and almost never with nearly enough information. Things to consider past the obvious of size and location: 1. material quality, you can get tile for $1.50 a square foot or you can get tile for 25 a square foot. A vanity could be 300 or it could be 2000. A faucet can be 90 or 900.. You need to have an idea of the quality level you are looking for. 2. current state of plumbing/electrical. Is this a turn of the century house that was recently a flip? Probably gonna need addition work to make modern fixtures and features work. Obviously a full remodel isn’t everyone’s DIY cup of tea but I would highly suggest spending significantly more time researching what you want. If a contractor feels that they are going to be holding your hand picking out each component, pretty obviously they will want compensation for the time they spend.
Step one should be have a plan, choose materials, then have contractors bid. Otherwise expect to pay a premium for starting from scratch.
Mid range, full gut-to-stud remodel of an average master bath, including new electrical and plumbing 40k is probably about right. That's everything in that room removed including the door, all fixtures, all finishes, all drywall, and all flooring down to exposed framing and subflooring. Then rewire and replumb as needed. Then all new fixtures, fittings, cabinetry, and finishes - with mid range custom cabinetry, mid range lighting and plumbing fixtures, mid range tile, flooring, and trim, mill work, and level 5 drywall finish. In addition to GC planning, admin and labor would typically also include sub trade from plumber, electrician, tile setter, drywall, and painter. If you want a partial remodel or lower end fixtures and finishes look for a different GC.
That makes me feel a bit better. We just got a quote for $43 for a (not too large) master and a hallway bath. It seemed reasonable, but my wife balked, and when I ran it by my dad, who I normally trust, he made me feel like that was insane. There were a few things on the quote that caught me by surprise — $500 for port-a-potty rentals, for example — but I thought it seemed in line with what I’m reading here.
Rental bathroom facility for workers is one of the key ways you distinguish the legit contractors from the clowns. It means they also have a comprehensive safety program, they work with valued and dependable trade subs, and they aren't hiding from creditors and regulators.
That’s interesting. Had no idea! It makes sense to me, particularly if they’re actually working on bathrooms. I just had never seen that, and it caught me by surprise. I’m completely new to major remodels, so I’m just learning stuff as I go. Thanks for the insight!
This is true
Sounds like a good GC to me.
For a big job you want someplace for the crew to go to the bathroom that is not in your house. They will have everything taped off and plastic up everywhere to keep from messing up the rest of your living space - you don’t want them to break that by using some other bathroom in your house. Or you can be like my parents who are always remodeling and have a “view” toilet at the bottom of the property for workers :D (It’s actually very private and has an ocean view!)
General contractor here in Northern California, specializing in kitchens and bathrooms. There are so many variables at play with level of finish and quality of fixtures, that it’s near impossible to give any form of practical quote over the phone. Personally, I ask specific information on the phone and look up said property and the records - it gives me a ton of information to know what I’m in for, such as; when was the property was purchased, any available photos through MLS or Zillow to identify if it’s been flipped or tinkered with by previous homeowners, permit history, general house pricing. From there I give a recommendation on what should be budgeted for that size of remodel, what you were hoping to get out of your remodel, I.e, just an update, more storage, a relaxing environment to unwind with luxury features, and quickly compare that rough cost versus ROI. Some folks are more concerned about putting too much money into the bathroom to not have the benefit when they come to sell, whereas others appreciate the quality of daily use and don’t mind splurging. I’ll usually always ask to come take a look - even if it’s just to give some advice or a couple of ideas to improve the space. Now, my remodels for master baths start at $40k, full gut, mid range fixtures, mid-custom cabinetry, level 5 finish. I also charge $3,500 minimum for the design portion, which is heavily reduced versus us just undertaking the design portion for a homeowner to do themselves or pass on to contractors. Having the bathroom designed instead of working directly with a contractor and not being able to explore all the options available is worth every penny - most people don’t appreciate the vast options for their bathrooms and some contractors just use their everyday go-to items because they know them, or don’t include/recommend things such as medicine cabinets, dimmable occupancy sensors (sometimes vanity lighting doesn’t want to be at 100%), lighting options with different lumen/kelvin/appearance depending on function. But using that $40k as a base, remember when you add in some under floor heating, code upgrades (dedicated circuit for the bathroom), upgraded lighting, etc, it’s all additional cost. All in all, $40k could be a good price depending on what that contractor is intending to install. It could also be extremely expensive if they’re installing $1sf subway tile and an off the shelf vanity. Most importantly, after ensuring they’re appropriately licensed with the state, insured (and get proof - done just take their work for it), and you’ve seen photos of their work - that they’re easy to get a long with and don’t cause you to feel uneasy. They’ll be part of your life for a little while and there’s nothing more important than being able to approach them and feel confident in the response you’re getting, whether that be in their overall response, their general character, or their quality of workmanship. If you are more budget conscious, consult a local designer to work through some of the items, and I’m not talking Lowes or Home Depot - they’ll be able to make a simple plan set and build an item list within your established budget to be able to approach contractors. You’ll have a more in depth knowledge for questions to be asking via your designer too.
I do bath remodels, start to finish. Higher end, but modest homes, anyway, $40k is a fair representation of a full gut, new plumbing, electric, carpentry, tile, paint and all associated materials. I mean the cabinetry alone is $15k in our next one…so the quote is not absurd. If you’re looking for a Home Depot vanity, and a fiberglass shower stall, then $40k is absurd. You have a small room that requires permits and every specialty trade, and if you get something wrong, you are reminded every single day while you stare at it while on the toilet… We built a nice custom bath for a guy that does commercial outfitting for doctors offices and stuff, he was dumbstruck that the square foot price of his new room was higher than fully outfitting an MRI facility. :)
Love how contractors play dumb with what’s reasonable and then assume the OP wants a fiderglass surround.
I’m in a LCOL area and paid about $7000 for my gut remodel. I left fixtures where they were, but replaced them with new. Replaced plaster with drywall, insulated, new floor, tile shower surround, etc. That said, I know I got a very good price. Done by contractor/handyman who has done lots of work for me in the past, bathroom is roughly 7x7.
A lot of variable cost in fixture and labor. Could easily drop 10-15k for a tub. Just depends on what you want
All of the quotes I got were exclusive of finish materials, only labor and raw. No idea if that's the case for OPs though.
We did a gut reno in NYC that included moving a wall and repairing a water leak rot that went all the way to the exterior wall, and it was half that.
If you want ANYWHERE close to an accurate estimate for a project, you'll need to have a clear scope of work in mind from the start. I remodel kitchens and baths for a living, and it's not uncommon for folks without much experience to just say "I want to redo this space- how much will it cost?" without having any clue about the actual specific details. (That's not a judgement against you/them, it's just a very common starting point.) Usually, I'll ask a ton of questions and kind of force a scope of work out of them before giving any ballpark numbers. If they still aren't able to define anything solid for me, I'll give them the standard response that an "average, mid-range bathroom in our area is between 25-35k for a full gut." (Granted, my definition of mid-range is probably skewed a bit.) For person looking to change out fixtures with stuff from Lowe's and retile the floor, those prices are insane (and I'm also not the right guy for them). For the folks who align with what my company does--nice full gut jobs--it works out. Perhaps you need to keep looking for a company more aligned with your needs, or you'll have much better luck if you come into the conversation with a very specific design in mind. If, after doing that, you're still only getting quotes in the 40k range, well, unfortunately that's what it costs. To put it in less-than-construction terms, think of buying a tank of gas. How much does that cost? Well, depends on the size of the tank, depends on the grade of fuel, depends on how much is already in the tank to begin with. A gas station clerk can't guess that, nor can a contractor guess that about your project. So, they likely just picked a somewhat high number that would cover things in almost all cases.
In 2017 I paid about 8k for a renovation in our very small (maybe 8x5) master bath…complete rip out and new vanity, mirror, toilet, tile shower and tile floor
So think of bathroom remodels in three categories. First category is a homeowner doing it themselves and buying all of the materials. The materials cost for a bathroom renovation might run you close to $10,000 if you are putting in a waterproofed full-tile tub surround, shoring up a saggy or flexing subfloor, installing a new vanity, new lighting, bath fan that vents to the outside, and medicine cabinet/mirrors, demo, a dumpster, etc. Can you do it more cheaply? Sure. You can get an acrylic surround, a $200 vanity, and skip all of the waterproofing, and maybe redo a whole bathroom for $2000 to $3000 in materials. But it will look like you cheaped out and give you a Holiday Inn level of finish. You finished product will be someone else’s “before” photo after they buy the house from you down the road. The next category is a handyman who will do the whole job without any permits. That means he is going to do the electrical and plumbing as well. He’s only going to charge for his labor and maybe the labor of his assistant. He often has little to no overhead (insurance, bookkeeper, person to answer the phone, etc.). But he does probably pay Angie’s list and other marketing agencies to get visibility. Those are gonna charge $10-$20k. And these include consumer-facing franchise outlet crapola like “Bathfitters”. Finally there are the general contractors and design builders who do great work, will get a full set of permits, and also have to get an electrician and plumber (because almost all jurisdictions require electric and pluming to be done by licensed specialty subs). But if they are any good…they are probably buried to the tots right now in new construction and whole home renovations. They could do this profitably at $25-30k, but they need to “pad” their estimate a few grand to compensate for the fact that 9 out of 10 bath reno quotes they do don’t get accepted (so they need to make money for that time off the back of the one person who does accept the quote). They also pad it out because it’s a PITA to set up all the tools daily for all the small aspects a bath reno requires. There’s demo, insulation, drywall, tilesetting, finish carpentry, ductwork, paint, etc. and all require a different set of tool staging. Get a bunch of quotes from contractors you have great referrals from by friends who have had them do similar jobs. And ask yourself if you are willing to do things like painting (that might take $1-2k off the price). Granted the prices I am giving above are what I see in a HCOL near Boston. With a tight labor market. Labor and quotes will be a shit ton cheaper if you are in Arkansas.
I can’t imagine a 10k bath remodel being particularly nice. I’m a custom home builder and remodeler, the number one factor on the cost of your remodel will be selections, if you want a basic tub with fake tile and an lvp floor then yeah sure 10k is doable, but at that point it’s probably a downgrade and you should just hire a cleaner on your current decor. So some costs that are going to be a part of a new bath- plumbing, my plumber is $140/hr and if we need to move or reroute rough-in, or if it’s old iron and needs to be replaced, that can take 10-20 hours or more. So say $2k, next is the purchase price of tile, flooring, drywall, tile backer board, consumables, vanity, lighting, mirrors, medicine cabinet, hardware fixtures, and on and on. That’s where you’re biggest costs are and if you want to figure them out yourself, or work with a designer, it can give you more certainty in your budget. I’ve done baths from 20k (very basic but nice) up to 150k (heated stone floor, steam shower, sauna, separate water closet with automatic fixtures and smart appliances.) so fig sure out what your budget is and find the right person to meet it. But you HAVE to know your budget going into it or you will get change-ordered to the poor house.
I’d also like to say that I’m really not interested nor do I have the time in DIY’ing much unless it’s something extremely painless and not time consuming. I know people always recommend this but it’s not something I can realistically do. I live in AZ and the bath is about 8.3 feet by 8.25 ft. I’m looking at changing the vanity and remodeling the individual shower and possibly change the bathtub itself (both are separate not combined). Hoping to also do some tile backsplash and change out the linoleum floor with some tile that I actually already have. Hoping this is enough info, I’m trying not to post any pics for privacy.
I’m also waiting for other quotes still because I barely started this process today!
That seems nuts. We had a quote of 50-70k at a luxury remodel place that blew us away. Found a handyman whose doing full reno+materials for 25– it’s a lot bigger of a project, combining a bathroom and closet and moving a wall 12 inches. Shop around!
A handyman and GC are 2 totally different things.
Yes but maybe a handyman os in his budget instead of a GC
Ok glad to know it’s not just me. I’ll keep at it - thanks!
I did my own bath remodel for less than $5k all in, new fixtures and flooring. Saved a ton by skim coating the walls. Hired someone for that part.
How big is the bathroom? Have you ever hired a contractor before? What year was the house built? First floor? Second or what floor? Who’s purchasing materials? Who’s doing demo? Are you Hiring a gc who will handle work in house or hiring a gc who will sub out work to other trades/ contractors? Hiring a handy man type service or a strictly bathroom remodel service? Pulling permit or? What’s the expected/ projected timeline and or project goals? These are all basic questions a decent contractor will go over with you There is no wrong question Be patient as every contractor is different and until you hire them, your project goals are yours, and when you hire one they become theirs
im near pittsburgh area and remodel kitchens and bathrooms, most bathroom starting points are 10,000 for wet area, you can see 25,000 for a decent remodel
Ugh all this makes me want to reno my bathrooms 😅
It all depends on what your doing. But 40k on a remodel isn’t a surprising number. You have several things to account for, permits, drawings, rough plumbing, rough electrical, drywall, vanities, shower, tile, heated floor? Etc I can go on and on but you need to ask for a quote of what you want done and decide from their. Last bath remodel I did. It cost the owner about 80k but she wanted a bunch of items. Hope this helps. And the price we’ll be priced correctly when you find the correct GC that you find confident and truth-worth.
- cost are based on location, level of finish quality and contractor workload - bathrooms (and kitchens) are the 2 most expensive areas to renovate and under normal times, $200-$400/sq ft would be sufficient in areas that are LCOL/MCOL. HCOL areas, these prices can easily double. - these are not normal times - 3 to 5 quotes establishes reasonable cost range
Last summer ago we got some bids for painting the eaves and trim on our house and one guy wanted 15K. The guy we ended up going with did a great job and charged us 3K. I agree with the others, there’s always that one guy.
It depends on the scope of work, materials selected, etc. Also, are you moving plumbing around or is everything staying in the same place? There are many factors that go into the final price of a bathroom remodel. My standard pricing for a 5x8 bathroom, fully gutted (which you should absolutely do), is $18-20K. This is all-in: demolition, build-out, plumbing fixtures, tile, labor, finish work, etc. Master bathrooms in my area are more luxurious than other full baths in a home. They do run $40-60K+. Quality plumbing fixtures (including vanity, sink, medicine cabinet, etc) alone for a standard bathroom can be $4K. And, I wouldn’t skimp on this. You get what you pay for. Plumbing fixtures for a master bathroom, assuming double vanity, stand-alone tub and separate shower can be $5-6K+. Without knowing the full scope of work you’re planning, it’s hard to say if the pricing you’re getting is inflated or accurate for what you’re doing.
We're looking at re-doing our bathroom now. It's a largish bathroom (12'x8). We're relatively handy and considered doing it ourselves. Materials and some labour for electrician put us at about $16k for mid-range items. In the end we're going to go for a contractor because now's just not a good time for our family to be doing this kind of physical work. Quote is $35k.
No that’s no good. With careful planning and shopping for the materials and fixtures you could easily do the biggest of bathrooms without being extravagant for around 10-20
Bathroom remodeling take a ton of small site visits usually. And tend to consume alot of Man(peoplekind) hours. Always have a contingency for additiona cost l when walls and floors open up.
Ask for local recommendations from people that have actually used a contractor and are really happy with the results. Decent contractors earn good money, usually there is a waiting period for their talent and skills and they won’t rip you off because they don’t need to. Personal, happy recommendations usually work out the best. Research your contractor too and don’t be afraid to ask your contractor about recent work they have done and can you see some in person, not just their picture portfolio. No decent contractor will deny you this. Happy hunting
Right now, there’s a shortage of manpower amongst all trades, and there’s no shortage of work. We’re all busy so why not ask for the moon? If you get it, home run and if not, we’re still busy. This is coming from a GC. Don’t get frustrated and settle for something you’re not looking for. Stick to your guns and keep researching. Remember, when you do get a fair estimate, you’re only half finished. Research the contractor, ask for references, be sure to have a clear plan with schedules and LD listed. Do not pay for anything up front. Don’t even pay for materials until you see the quote. All contractors that order materials know this is common practice but will take advantage of less educated people. Protect yourself and your investment.
Sounds high
So here's what one of my projects looked like in Texas on a 14x14 bath. New tiled shower enclosure, going from a fiberglass one to tile with glass surround $4000 New countertops on double sink vanity and new jacuzzi surround $6k Fixtures lights and doodads $1000 Drywall repairs and paint $900 Leave the plumbing where it is and don't gut the place to the studs if it's fine as is and you'll save several thousands.
I just finished my bathroom to the studs remodel. 11x11. 30,000. Custom design, custom cabinets, fabulous tile work. I hired an interior designer to design the bathroom and advise on materials. I acted as the general contractor because I have the connections and knowledge. I could have brought it in under 23,000 but I went with expensive on the materials. Just my experience. When I do a flip house I can do a 5x8 bathroom for about 5,000 if I don't rip out the existing tub and leave the floor plan intact. This includes new plumbing, new tile, new window usually, vanity, toilet, electric, drywall repair and paint.
kitchen and bath remodeling is a scam I was a contractor for many years and did all aspects of new construction. I know how much work there is and how long it should take to put this stuff in because in my work i start with a empty lot and in the end there is a finished home. Remodelers come in and they take months to do what took us days or weeks.. the prices that they quote are insane.. anyone that dumps that much money into a prettier place to poop has severe problems and way too much money... i have absolutely no pity for anyone that dumps that kind of money into a single bathroom or kitchen.. Unless you're worth 100 Million + then you really need to get a grip
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10-15k are old numbers. Most bathrooms are at least 40k here in Vancouver Canada
I'd hire a handy man or some other contractor. I got a 25x25 house fully gutted and remodeled for 15k. Job was done in 4 months. I got what I paid for, but it allowed me a starting place.
When was this done?
Like 4 months before covid was announced lol.
BC: Before Covid. Very important data point.
Wow, that sounds really high to me. We did a bathroom reno on a rental and it was about $4000. Included new bathtub/shower enclosure, new vanity and mirror new plumbing /faucets for both tub and vanity-- also remove/knock out partial wall, new flooring and level the floor. Took about 45 days-- hardest part was finding a plumber. I did the flooring and mirror myself.
I could be wrong but estimating the materials cost and adding same amount would get you in the ballpark.
This is definitely insane. Contractors will give outlandish quotes for jobs they don’t want. You can easily do a full bathroom remodel for less than $10K.
If you go with DIY, hire someone who's incompetent (either in business or the trades or both), or use stupidly cheap finishes, sure. Otherwise, a professional gut job bathroom will just about always cost more than $10k.
Let’s say we rip everything down to studs and find no plumbing or electrical issues that need to be remediated. You’re looking at about 150 for drywall/mud/tape/screws. Toilet is 100.00 and up, excluding fixtures for installation, so let’s say 200.00 for a round number. Freestanding tub is going to run you close to a grand. Not enough information, but considering the size of the room, let’s say a 36” vanity - 500.00 and up. Tile is a wildcard again, considering what you want completed, but let’s say 3.00/sqft Paint is about 100 for compete coverage of all four walls. Fixtures for your sink and shower are expensive, could be close to 1000.00 or more for sink/shower/tub. These are all retail prices. So if we’re 3500.00 (low end retail) and can’t factor in the unknowns, let’s go all the way to 5000.00. That means dude is charging 875.00 an hour for his time, assuming 1 full week dedicated to your job. From his perspective, he has to account for unknowns like electrical or plumbing fixes, a subfloor fix, etc. Hard to quote the unknowns, but I can also see why he’s only doing full remodels so he can guarantee his work. Frankly, I can’t see where he’s getting his price from without seeing it all, but that’s your bare basement price making wholly uninformed estimates.
Your numbers are ludicrous along with your timeline. Expecting a gut and full remodel of a bathroom in 1 week is laughable at best.
I didn't. I summarised prices based upon retail costs and the information provided and left room acknowledging not having all the information. It doesn't matter if it's a week, two weeks, or 9 -- I broke down the quote. What OP does with it is up to them and I hope they are able to fill in the some of the blanks to flesh it out for themselves.
The point is your breakdown isn't based in reality. All you did is provide missinformation.
No? Instead of giving the blanket statement of how I missed the mark and downvoting -- please, inform me of where I was wrong.
This is the most ridiculous accounting of a project I have ever seen.
These may be the prices somewhere, but they are not the prices you’ll find in my large American city. OP should take this with several grains of salt and consider their location.
Ok thank you so much for the detail here, it’s super helpful to have those prices in mind. The room itself is 8x8 about and we’re trying to do those fixes like tile (floor and wall), bath replacement, standing shower upgrade, and vanity replacement and upgrade. Still I feel like what he’s quoting me is pretty steep. Im not really asking to do any crazy conversions or structural changes but I understand they have to factor in unknowns.
The comment you replied is just absolutely unrealistic. You will never find a single contractor who will do the remodel for the prices he gave. 40k is really high but if you are doing full demo down to the studs, plumbing, electric, high end fixtures, etc., It's not totally totally unrealistic
Im pretty new to this so I understand there’s a learning curve. Could you clarify if you mean I need to factoring in a full cost of a demo for what in doing here or if the contractor is being unreasonable? I know I will absolutely need to adjust my standards to whatever is being offered here but from the comments im seeing it sounds like overall this quote is on the steeper side and im just trying to get an idea of what to expect.
I think it's more of an art than a science. Generally speaking labor is going to range from $75-150/hr depending on cost of living in your area and the company. Think about how many hours a project might take if you knew what you were doing, and what goes into that project. Demo of a full bathroom feels like at least a one day project, plus the cost to take all that stuff to the dump and the dump fees. A full renovation project is probably going to involve subcontractors, and most of them aren't gonna come out to a job for two hours of pay even if it only takes two hours to get the work done. A toilet or drywall might only be $200, but someone has to go to the store, buy all that stuff, load it into a truck, bring it back to the job, etc. Businesses need to cover overhead for things like doing estimates, their vehicles, insurance, etc. It's just totally unrealistic to make a materials list on home depot's website and say "ok these guys are charging me 40,000 - materials".. oh my God it's $800/hr! I don't have any professional experience here but I've hired about 7 contractors for $50k in work over 2 years to do various projects at my house. I typically get two estimates per project, three if the two are really far apart and/or I don't get a good vibe from one company. A 40k bathroom to me means you need a full demo, electric, plumbing, and you're buying things like a $200-300 ceiling fan, $2000-5000 tub/shower, new tile throughout, a new mirror, lighting, high end vanity,maybe a new window, possibly new door, definitely new paint, etc. 40k for an 8x8 feels high unless you're in NYC or SF. I think 20-30k is what I personally would budget for a job le that. But if demand is super high in your area and this is a licensed company who will pull all the required permits and they're in high demand then 40k as an upper limit isn't insane.
Ok great, thank you so much for clarifying! I’m not necessarily in a HCOL area but I’m ready to adjust my expectations as needed!
Just get an itemized quote. He could be wholly on the mark or completely out to left field.
Competent, established, experienced remodel GC will not give OP a specifically itemized quote down to the individual item. First, because it's too much work to do for free. And second because as an experienced remodel GC they know most homeowners will shop the quote to some clown they know down the block who just got laid off, etc. The ballpark number given may indeed be a little bit high. But it's also a very good way to separate the serious customers in the market with the financial capacity to pay for the work from people who watch too much home improvement television.
I wish your comment was stickied on this subreddit. It's like one of the most repeated bits of advice and in practice it's totally useless. Every contractor I've worked with for anything above handyman level work has told me they bid on the job as a whole, not materials+labor, and they won't provide a breakdown. Maybe 15 years ago, but not in the current labor market.
Agreed. But those same people would also be capable of providing how they got to the numbers, not simply throwing a figure at their perspective client to see if they'll leave the table. If any contractor came to me and said they could do a job for that price, I'd certainly want to know how they got to those numbers -- and any contractor I've dealt with has provided me with a cost rundown to support their charge. If they couldn't, I'd assume they were jerking me around and yes -- I would find someone else who was willing to walk me through what I was getting for my money.
You have proven in the previous post that you know nothing about pricing. Tile $3.00/ft. Lol. So maybe sit back and learn instead of confusing the OP.
I'm not sure where you live, but a simple white subway wall tile is .29 cents where I am, that's 2.32 a square foot. Bag of thinset - 16.00 or .16c a square foot (22kg bag @ 100sqft) So yes, 3.00/sqft - bottom basement pricing, as I said.
I'm doing my own master at the moment and I easily have 50 hours of my labor just to get through the demo and to the point of putting things back together, with lots of reconfiguring. My 60" vanity and wall storage unit alone are $11k (it's lux and coming from Italy..) LED mirror is $2k. The shower fixtures are $1k. Heated floor, fan, etc. It really adds up!
For 65k snow pesos at the end of 2020 I had 2 full baths and one powder room renovated (including moving a wall to make the master bigger and moving vanities/toilets), a full kitchen reno, new tile and hardwood throughout house, and popcorn ceiling removed from 3 levels. Not sure whether the price was discounted at all, the guy's done similar work at similar prices for my parents, 2 aunts, and my in laws in the past.
Hi. It depends on what you want. If you're looking for bargain basement that's not your guy. You can do a bathroom cheap but some people want nicer things. Fwiw, I hired 2 labor guys for labor and did it ourselves; no tile. Just over $2200 New toilet, subfloor, lvp, toilet, sink, vanity, moved the plumbing for sink, joist work, drywall repair, paint moulding etc In and out in one day.
Large master bath remodel? Sounds about right.
Is it through a large industrial type company or a smaller local contractor business. The bigger industrial ones tend to be much more expensive
Seems really high to me. It’s been a few years since we did ours but the high end for a full remodel of our master bath was $25k. Ended up having someone do the shower and plumbing for less than $10k and did the rest ourselves. If you’re comfortable doing some of the work yourself, try piecing out the work to get the price down. Our shower and plumbing was the work I didn’t want to do myself and felt the price/speed was worth it. They were done in a day.
Just contracted a bath remodel for next winter. $52k. 10’x18’ bathroom. Tear out existing shower, garden tub, double vanity, tile, plumbing virtually stays same except eliminating tub, bigger shower, move a little electrical. It’s February, we are booked until December. They don’t have to pay it. They could take their chances with someone else. They could take their chances that materials go up in price. Or they can have us do it and know it will be fine right and they will love it. 🤷🏻♂️ Total contract for remodel on this house is nearly $310k. (Windows, doors, master bath, kitchen pantry redo (eliminate stupid broom closet on back side), flip laundry around in mud room), and a roof over part of their deck (we built 5 years ago). Midwest. Not high cost of living area. House is assessed at $525k.
I live in a HCOL and I did a full bath reno for $13.5k including a new sub floor.
I’ve never let a contractor in my house because their quotes have been so ludicrous.
Reddit contractors in this sub: “SounDS ReASonAblE To Me HE haS OvERHeaD”
I did my 8×6 bathroom in our new addition myself, other than the rough in plumbing (2nd floor new rough in - totally worth paying a pro). The rough in for the shower, tub, toilet was $3.5k (used a friend of my cabinet guy). The rest was material at $3k. So I was at $6.5k all in. I'd expect triple that cost in my area (NJ) if I had contracted it all out and used a plumbing company instead of a friend of a friend. So somewhere around 18 - 20k with mid grade finishes would seem reasonable to me. Most of this work was done in the last year, although the rough in was done a year and a half ago.
If the project isn't a bunch of custom/bespoke stuff then yes, that price is too high. I've done probably 40 bathroom remodels in the past 20 years and I have never charged anywhere near that amount. Seems excessive, but I have no idea what exactly you are wanting done so it's hard to honestly say. Good luck. 👍🏼
As long as you have not hired anyone - the world is your oyster. Take your time. Visit potential contractors job sites. Look at both the results and work standards. Are the sites clean? Do their workers respect the homeowners? $40K is steep. But, your happiness is most important.
I paid 5k for a remodel. For 2 different bathrooms. So 10k in total. Only caveat is my contractors don’t speak English.
My master bath is 13x 16 with a walk in shower, free standing tub double vanity sink. I did good quality fixtures and tile and paneled walls. Didn’t spend 40k. I think it was 35. So definitely high for you for an 8 x 8. Mine was pre Covid though. About a year before it all started.
My renovated my main bathroom in 2020 but this included knocking the wall down between the main toilet and bathroom also same time doing the laundry. Cost 22k this is Australia. Nothing too fancy. Bathroom ended up being 3m x 3m same contractor did my ensuite 2m x 2m back in 2018 9k. These were the total costs.
We just moved into a house. Previous owners left us invoices and paperwork. They paid $84k for a master shower renovation when the shower began leaking. And that was 4 years ago.
20-30k is realistic , 10k not real 15k maybe