Typical cost of bathroom remodel?

[herbgeek]

I live in what most people would call a starter house (3 bedroom Cape). The main bath is upstairs and small (9' x 5'). I recently had someone come to quote rebuilding the bathroom- the original owners did it themselves with the cheapest Home Depot grade materials and /everything/ needs to be replaced (the house is 24 years old). I told the contractor that I wasn't going for upscale, but reasonable quality. No designer finishes, fancy tiling, just standard toilet, vanity/top, bathtub, flooring.

The quote came in around 12k. I'm having a bit of sticker shock. We had our whole basement remodeled for this price last year, with ceilings, closets, flooring, electrical....

Is this the going rate? He says this will be a full 2 week job- but I can't see how with so little to do. The guy did come recommended, so I don't think he's trying to pull one over on me.

[iris lily]

I live in what most people would call a starter house (3 bedroom Cape). The main bath is upstairs and small (9' x 5'). I recently had someone come to quote rebuilding the bathroom- the original owners did it themselves with the cheapest Home Depot grade materials and /everything/ needs to be replaced (the house is 24 years old). I told the contractor that I wasn't going for upscale, but reasonable quality. No designer finishes, fancy tiling, just standard toilet, vanity/top, bathtub, flooring.

The quote came in around 12k. I'm having a bit of sticker shock. We had our whole basement remodeled for this price last year, with ceilings, closets, flooring, electrical....

Is this the going rate? He says this will be a full 2 week job- but I can't see how with so little to do. The guy did come recommended, so I don't think he's trying to pull one over on me.

If you are not moving any plumbing or installing/moving electrical, this seems high to me. I'll check with DH. You are not replacing the vanity, right? What kind of flooring do you want?

[pinkytoe]

We remodeled our hall bathroom two years ago. Didn't move anything but put in new tub and sink, new wall tile around tub, new floor tile, beaded board wainscot on walls, stainless steel fixtures, PB lights and marble counter. He had to demo the whole room first. The contractor charged us $5000 for the labor and did not up-charge materials. Total came out to $10K and some change. I am thinking your project would be in the $7500 range today depending...

[awakenedsoul]

That sounds high to me, too. I spend $3,000. a year on remodeling/maintenance for my 1940's cottage. I've been doing it little by little. I had tile put in my shower, plus two full days of carpentry on the shower area. The tile was gorgeous...retro style from a store in Hollywood. The job cost $3,000. (Home Depot had quoted me $10,000!) This was much prettier, and they did an excellent job. They are a small business that's been doing this for 50 years. I got a quote to put in the same tile for the floor, and it would be $4,000. I would trust yourself and shop around. Prices really vary. Many people here don't like working on older homes so they give you an outrageous bid.

[Gardenarian]

Hi herbgeek - I was going to say $10k, in the SF Bay Area. $12k does not sound outrageous to me.
Is it the same contractor who did your basement?

[goldensmom]

We must be really thrifty. Doing the labor ourselves and down to the studs we spent about $2000 for a recent bathroom remodel.

[CathyA]

Did they itemize anything?

[herbgeek]

The plumbing fixtures were itemized- the rest of it (80%) was "labor and materials".

[herbgeek]

Questions answered:

Yes I'm replacing the vanity. Its a cheapo crappy white laminate one now.
No this is a different contractor than the one that did my basement. The one that did my basement was not interested in the job.

[catherine]

I agree with Gardenarian that 10-12k is about right. We had a guy come out for a bid to update my MILs house next door and it was 10k.

Now, like goldensmom, DH and I did our bathroom ourselves. Everything BUT the tub and tub surround (which we had ReBath do) cost $1700.

[Kestrel]

We are just embarking on a master bath "remodel", or "upgrade", or whatever you call it. Nothing fancy, but definitely better than what's here now. We live in a typical subdivision and we don't want to spend more on it than we'll get back when we sell, not too far in the future. Replacing tub/shower with shower unit the same size as the tub, with new fixtures and glass door. New molded vanity double skink and fixtures. The bathroom is an odd shape, so will go with vinyl tiles. We won't do much of this work ourselves (DH is too busy right now), and the price, including labor, is expected to be around $5,000. When that's done, over time, we will re-paint, and replace the fan unit, which barely works. Might install a smallish wall heater. Refinish the cabinets, plus little stuff here and there. DH is quite handy (we built our own house, our own selves, 38 years ago) so we're not concerned about the extra stuff .............

[rosarugosa]

We spent about $12K on our 5 x 5 bathroom in our one-bath, funky little cottage 12 years ago. It was a total gut job, materials were decent but not fancy and no extras really, because in that small of a space, we were lucky to fit in a tub, sink and toilet! The plumber is great and has done other work for us, he has an outstanding reputation in town and we are lucky to be on his list of customers. His prices are quite reasonable for things like hot water heaters where one can more easily do apples-to-apples comparisons, so I would say we got a good price and we feel like it was some of the best money we ever spent. I still think of it as our wonderful new bathroom 12 years later!

[ToomuchStuff]

I am trying to figure out replacing the tub thing. (BTDT, due to mine being a smaller, non standard size) WHY?

That is the biggest expense, especially being on the second story. (tub may have to come in through an outside window) Enclosures can be put on afterwards (one option), fixtures could be changed (patch wall, etc). There is a huge cost difference, between doing things oneself and hiring it done. When you hire it done, you only have two things to pay for, parts and labor. (marked up parts and the labor) Hiring it done, well Home Depot and those places go through contractors on a regular basis. When you hire a contractor, they might do part of it themselves and hire trades (the plumber to do the toilet, tub, sink. Flooring contractor, etc) and take a cut off the top.
I try to examine the alternatives.

[pinkytoe]

replacing the tub thingThat was the booger bear in our remodel too. Finding a quality porcelain tub was probably the most expensive item of all other things replaced. And trying to get it in the house and through the doorways was harrowing. Even got dropped once on the hardwood floor leaving a dent.

[Blackdog Lin]

We live in flyover country, where everything is cheaper. And I still spent $6000 on a (very small bathroom) remodel last year. No major remodeling, just replacing the vanity, sink and faucet, toilet, flooring, wall coverings, lighting, and tub fixtures (but not the tub). No tile work, nothing fancy.

It just added up. I went over the figures after the job was done, wanting to blame our contractor for overcharges, and.....nope, it just added up to a large charge. The stuff just all added up to more than what I thought it would. It does, I think, these days.....

[early morning]

Did you only get the one quote? I'd get a couple, and if they're close, go with the one with the best recommendations. That seems like a huge price to me, but we too live in "flyover" country and I get sticker shock when I hear what things cost closer to the coasts!

[catherine]

Hiring it done, well Home Depot and those places go through contractors on a regular basis. When you hire a contractor, they might do part of it themselves and hire trades (the plumber to do the toilet, tub, sink. Flooring contractor, etc) and take a cut off the top.
I try to examine the alternatives.

I personally wouldn't use Home Depot. In my experience their contractor bids are always higher, and the sales people are always slicker.