I know it's probably hard to say because of different variables, and I get that. But, here are some details…..we currently have two vanities, a jacuzzi tub, and a shower stall.

Ideally we would like to just strip everything down to the studs and re-do. Pretty much the same setup but everything updated. Probably two new vanities, a stand alone tub instead of jacuzzi, and a new shower stall. Also new flooring. So I'm not anticipating any major plumbing changes, etc.

So just kind of going off of that, can anyone give a ballpark figure that we would be looking at?

Thanks

I was given a 'rough guess" by a GC of 30-50k depending on materials and details for our master bath and it sounds similar to yours.

Damn…I was hoping more of the $25-$35. I guess maybe it still could

Fixing to have our first estimate come out hopefully next week. And then we will go from there on getting a couple more.

jpd - where are you located?

That could fit in a 25-30k budget with fairly modest but nice selections. Master baths are always hard because a tub alone can be 3-5k or some elaborate shower system or $40/sf tile and wainscots and wall paper it goes on and on.

I would estimate $200/sf for essentially interior remodel is appropriate.

Any demo you can do yourself will save as well

Thank you for the tips

Much appreciated

We are pursuing the same thing - upgrading our master bathroom and replacing vanity in middle bath in our 20 year old home, contacting 3 contractors so far. We plan the following:

A. Master bath:
* remove corner tub - that we never use
*replace and enlarge shower, add grab bar, new shower plumbing, corner seat, add large niches
* replace builder grade vanities with custom built, under-mount sinks, granite or quartz
* add linen cabinet
* replace floor tile
*remove wallpaper, texture and paint walls & ceilings
*add recess lighting, replace wall lights

B. Middle bath:
*Replace large mirror and vanity-

Contractor 1 - told to me to send photos of the room. He sent a project that was similar to mine, but moved a door and added a new tub. His price for that master bath project - $89K!

Contractor 2 - well regarded firm but was not flexible. She uses pre-fab cabinets which means both vanities had to be 38" high only (nothing lower), didn't want to place recessed lighting, and ignored request for new vanity in middle bathroom. Her price - $50K. I called her later that we wouldn't be needing her.

Contractor 3 - very flexible, will do whatever we want, uses custom cabinets, has good suggestions. Don't have final figure but he gave a rough estimate of $42K. We plan to move forward with him.

I originally thought that $25K would be enough, but inflation has made things much more expensive.

Ordinary Man said:

---

We are pursuing the same thing - upgrading our master bathroom and replacing vanity in middle bath in our 20 year old home, contacting 3 contractors so far. We plan the following:

A. Master bath:
* remove corner tub - that we never use
*replace and enlarge shower, add grab bar, new shower plumbing, corner seat, add large niches
* replace builder grade vanities with customer built, under-mount sinks, granite or quartz
* add linen cabinet
* replace floor tile
*remove wallpaper, texture and paint walls & ceilings
*add recess lighting, replace wall lights

B. Middle bath:
*Replace large mirror and vanity-

Contractor 1 - told to me to send photos of the room. He sent a project that was similar to mine, but moved a door and added a new tub. His price for that master bath project - $89K!

Contractor 2 - well regarded firm but was not flexible. She uses pre-fab cabinets which means both vanities had to be 38" high only (nothing lower), didn't want to place recessed lighting, and ignored request for new vanity in middle bathroom. Her price - $50K. I called her later that we wouldn't be needing her.

Contractor 3 - very flexible, will do whatever we want, uses customer cabinets, has good suggestions. Don't have final figure but he gave a rough estimate of $42K. We plan to move forward with him.

I originally thought that $25K would be enough, but inflation has made things much more expensive.

---

38" high? Huh? That seems very strange for stock cabinets. Back in the 60's and 70's vanities were 29" to 31" (plus counter top thickness). I admit that is short, but 38" high seems odd, maybe awkward?

Sounds like GC #3 is the choice. Flexible is good, and these days, that's a reasonable price. Would only recommend getting almost everything there on site before you start the tearout. And depending on how you are doing the shower, find out what he allowed in the budget for tile purchase and plumbing fixtures. Those can vary tremendously.

I know one GC who starts pricing basic master baths at $50K. But most rise quickly to $75K+ after people find $50k only gets you HD and Lowe's quality.

Starting ours in the next couple weeks. Full gut to include a couple new windows as well. 55k.

Quote:

---

jpd - where are you located?

---

DFW area.

How much are you willing to/ able to do yourself? Materials are relatively cheap, labor is expensive.

About 95% done with redoing ours.

Removed jet tub we never used: $5 worth of reciprocating saw blades to cut it in pieces to haul out solo, $10 worth of temporary caps for plumbing.

Moved toilet to where tub was: $80 to rent concrete saw from HD to lay in new main line. $350 for new toilet and flange etc. $650 in studs, drywall, vent, wires, etc for new water closet with pocket door.

Demo old nasty fiberglass shower with same recip saw blade. Another $10 in caps for plumbing. $1500 for greenrock backer, pan, tile, new shower head, and glass door.

Move wall in because we don't need space to hold a yoga class in empty bathroom space and utility room on other side of wall was too small for both a W/D and a cat food bowl: $1000 for engineer to build header where wall was since it's load bearing, $10 worth of beer for friend to help install header, $500 for drywall etc to build new wall with no electric.

New cabinets because now wall is 4' shorter: $400 worth of birch plywood, existing drawers and doors, $900 for "engineered" (fake) granite counter, $500 for new 2x new sinks and fixtures, $500 for new big mirror instead of previous 2x absurdly small circle mirrors with more frame than glass.

Replace floor since everything is moved and I broke a dozen tiles dropping random stuff: $50 for long handle tile scraper/remover, $800 in southwest adobe looking tile, grout etc

Reuse baseboards and crown, $100 for 2x gallons of paint.

Total cost for major reno: about $7300.

Some of those jobs suck and you won't want to do them a second time if ever. But some are pretty easy. You could probably find pieces cheaply, like if you're not comfortable building your own cabinets you can find a carpenter to make you a birch plywood box, it will only be expensive if you tell him it's going to be a vanity. Tile sucks, but removing the old is nothing but elbow grease and will cut your pro install cost in half. Plumbing and electrical are tricky and can be frustrating if you're not comfortable with them.

ETA: $100 for code inspector if you care about adding that, otherwise free if you just Google the codes and do what they say

Aggie71013 said:

---

As someone who needs to redo a master bath and kitchen, this thread terrifies me.

---

I think you have to ask yourself several questions before you embark on the trip.

How long are you going to be in the house?
How important is the MBR to you? To your SO? (Tile, cabinet, plumbing fixture quality)
How much can you do yourself? (if so, how much time, energy, frustration, tool purchase will you have to go through)

Certainly GC'ing it yourself will save you some money, but it may take longer. If you know any one person who is a plumber, electrician, tile, or cabinet guy, they will know other people in the trades that you don't know. It may take longer to get done though because they will not necessarily be on your schedule like they would on a GC's schedule who they work for regularly.

YouTube is your friend. You can learn so much on framing, electric, tiling, drywall, etc. I am in the trades, and still look at videos for this or that. I am currently halfway through my master bath, I expect to spend about $19k in total (big shower, no tub, upper end plumbing fixtures, and my own custom cabinetry) I do leave plumbing to plumbers though, that is one trade I am willing to pay someone to do.

This forum has lots of good info. Ask us questions.

Plan to stay in the house for many more years. Unfortunately time and energy are my biggest constraints so the DIY option is out. I envy those that can work a full work day, remodel, go to sleep, and do it again forever how long it takes. I don't have that kind of energ nor is that how I want to spend my time. May do the demo myself, but that's more doable.

MBR is original to the early 90s house so it needs to be done from a functional perspective. Some things are reaching the end of their useful life and need to be replaced.

Wild that it's 4-6 months of gross salary to redo one bathroom.

1988PA-Aggie - we do plan to stay in this house a good while longer.

Regarding doing work myself, I am totally fine with doing anything I can. I definitely don't mind demoing/removing things, like cabinets/vanities, the old jacuzzi tub, shower stall etc.

Now probably wouldn't touch anything to do with plumbing.

Just curious, how much does stripping the old stuff out or demo make up the estimate (%)?

I appreciate all of this info. It's really valuable, so keep it coming.

we did something similar a couple of years ago. We took out a garden tub and the shower, and had the guys make a wall and a full walk in shower, add in custom cabinets and new countertop. I think we were right around 30k for everything.

BucketofBalls99 said:

---

1988PA-Aggie - we do plan to stay in this house a good while longer.

Regarding doing work myself, I am totally fine with doing anything I can. I definitely don't mind demoing/removing things, like cabinets/vanities, the old jacuzzi tub, shower stall etc.

Now probably wouldn't touch anything to do with plumbing.

Just curious, how much does stripping the old stuff out or demo make up the estimate (%)?

I appreciate all of this info. It's really valuable, so keep it coming.

---

Unfortunately demo is very small percentage of the project as it is lower-skilled labor. You can likely empty a room (cabinets, fixtures, drywall, tile floor) in a day, maybe another day to demo a shower stall and clean up. Then disposal be it a dumpster ($$), drop off at a local landfill (truck?), Habitat for Humanity Restore may take certain items, or in your garbage collection a little at a time.

I used to work in 100 year old homes years ago in North Jersey. Older baths had lath and plaster, then 1" minimum of mortar, then heavy tile frequently up the entire walls of the room. It would take an entire week for two guys to gut it to studs, lug all that crap out of the house, and dispose. Good times, not. Not sure what age your house is, how big, how much tile, etc.

Demo is not an art, but you need to take precautions. Capping off plumbing...push/fit fittings can eliminate an extra trip for the plumber. Cap off electrical fixtures. Protect the path to the outside of your house. The last thing you want is your SO to see lots of dust and debris on her floors. My guess it is less than 10% of the job? (I would recommend encouraging a SO to join you in the demo, being a part of the project is invaluable.)

Bathrooms are frustrating in a way because it is smaller room. How can it be $40-50K for one room? But there is so much going on in that smallish space. Usually money is finite, so I applaud any way one can save a few (thousand?) bucks. What other tasks do you think you would want to tackle?