You don’t want to start your day in an old, ugly bathroom or shower in a small space where cold tile assaults your skin. Your powder room is a sanctuary where you can wash away the day’s stress.
That’s why bathroom remodels are among the most popular home improvement projects, second only to kitchen remodels. A new bathroom makes you feel new.
In this guide, we’ll analyze bathroom remodeling costs, so you can accurately calculate how to get the best return on investment with your remodeling budget.
Cost to Remodel a Bathroom
The cost to remodel a bathroom may be best understood by what constitutes a bathroom remodel.
So, how much does it cost to remodel your bathroom? It depends on several factors, including the following:
- Plumbing costs
- Refitting costs
- Material and labor costs
- Bathroom design costs
- Single or double vanity
Home Advisor estimates that you’ll pay between $6,618 to $16,663, a national average of $11,240, and a high-end cost of $28,000.
Let’s break down each of the costs and review what they entail.
Plumbing Costs
Your home’s plumbing is a significant system that keeps your house clean. In most cases, you’ll want to hire a professional to help renovate your bathroom’s pipes, drain, and fixtures.
The first cost associated with plumbing work is labor. A plumber is a specialist in the plumbing trade with hours upon hours of training and certification.
As highly-trained professionals, plumbers usually charge anywhere from $45 to $200 for their expertise. That figure depends on the plumber’s experience and the difficulty of the repair or renovation.
Other factors that affect the cost of your bathroom remodel include:
- Difficulty of the job
- Emergency repairs
- Home’s location
- Labor and permits
- Plumber’s expertise
Difficulty of the job
A challenging job can take days or weeks to address; that extended time increases your labor costs.
A complicated renovation might involve problems with the water main or sewer line. In that type of renovation, your plumber may have to reroute the pipes, and that’s an exceedingly complex process.
Generally, the more time and labor your remodel takes, the more costly it will be.
Emergency repairs
If an emergency repair needs to occur during your home renovation, you will run into higher costs.
In general, there is an emergency fee plus the plumber’s rate.
Home’s location
Your home’s location determines the plumbing costs you’ll pay.
You might have to pay more in urban areas because of additional demand. In highly rural areas, the remoteness of the job may add to the price tag.
Labor and permits
Labor is typically the number one cost in a plumbing job. You’re paying for the plumber’s expertise and getting the job done right the first time. You’ll need to pay for permits if you have a large or complex project.
Permit prices vary by municipality, but you can expect to pay $200 to $800 for bathroom remodel permits.
Plumber’s expertise
Apprentice plumbers have the lowest rates but usually won’t work alone. In any case, you wouldn’t want a novice handling your bathroom remodel.
You can hire a journeyman plumber for about $100 an hour if you have basic plumbing needs.
If you have a complex remodel, you must hire a master plumber with the requisite experience and expertise. Their rates may be about $200 an hour.
Refitting Costs
You may want to remodel and refit your entire bathroom. When you refit your bathroom, you’ll need to consider the following factors when evaluating the cost:
- Electrical work
- Master bathroom or guest bathroom
- New fixtures, faucets, and cabinetry
- Installation
- Removal
New fixtures
This is the primary cost driver, especially if you renovate with all new fixtures. For instance, you’ll need to evaluate the price of the following:
- Bath remodel or half bath
- Cabinets
- Flooring
- Light fixtures
- New shower and showerhead
- Shower door
- Sinks
- New toilet
Installation
The installation costs will revolve around how long the project takes and the number of people involved.
Removal
You’ll need to pay for the cost of removing the following items:
- Shower
- Sinks
- Tub
- Flooring
Materials and Labor Costs
Now that you’ve learned about the cost of a bathroom remodel, you may be curious about what exactly you’re paying for in a remodel.
| Item | Average cost | Low-end cost | High-end cost |
| Bathroom countertop | $2,300 | $400 | $4,300 |
| Bathroom vanity | $1,500 | $300 | $3,800 |
| Bathtub installation | $4,370 | $1,448 | $7,292 |
| Bath to shower conversion | $3,000 | $1,200 | $8,000 |
| Tilework | $1,833 | $886 | $2,855 |
Those are the major costs. You may also pay for the following:
Those are the major costs. You may also pay for the following:
Bathroom Specification Costs
Remodeling your bathroom has the potential to make an impact on your day-to-day life and the resale value of your home.
The cost of the remodel depends on many factors. As we’ve reviewed, the cost of plumbing, refitting, and materials affect the remodel price. A small bathroom will cost less to remodel.
The area of your bathroom impacts the cost as well. Generally, you can expect to pay $125 per square foot for a bathroom remodel.
| Bathroom size | Low-end cost | High-end cost |
| 3 x 5 (15 sq. ft.) | $1,500 | $2,250 |
| 4 x 6 (24 sq. ft.) | $2,400 | $3,600 |
| 4 x 8 (32 sq. ft.) | $3,200 | $4,800 |
| 5 x 8 (40 sq. ft.) | $4,000 | $6,000 |
| 7 x 9 (63 sq. ft.) | $6,300 | $9,450 |
| 8 x 10 (80 sq. ft.) | $8,000 | $12,000 |
| 9 x 10 (90 sq. ft.) | $9,000 | $13,500 |
Average Cost to Remodel a Bathroom
The average total cost to remodel a bathroom is $11,240 based on the price of a complete remodel that includes tearing out and replacing walls, fixtures, appliances, and size of your bathroom.
The average bathroom remodel cost is figured by evaluating remodel labor costs, materials costs, location of the home, and other factors.
Labor costs
In most cases, bathroom renovation costs include labor costs that may comprise up to 65% of your budget.
When shopping for contractors, ask for a detailed bid, invoice, and accounting of demolition, disposal, material, and labor fees.
Typically, you’ll need to hire a variety of professionals and pay for the following:
- Electrician: $75 per hour
- General contractor: $350 per day
- Interior designer: $325 in total
- Plumber: $1,500 in total
Materials cost
Materials for a bathroom remodel cost anywhere from $1,000 to $9,000. That price also depends on your bathroom’s square footage.
An experienced interior designer may mitigate the prices of materials by having a solid floor plan with an eye for creating a luxurious look on a budget.
The following price ranges are for materials only.
| Item | Low-end | High-end |
| Bathroom fan | $50 | $300 |
| Countertop | $200 | $1,000 |
| Entry door/window | $200 | $1,800 |
| Fixtures | $200 | $1,800 |
| Lights | $100 | $400 |
| Plumbing | $250 | $1,450 |
| Shower | $300 | $3,000 |
| Vanity | $300 | $3,800 |
| Total | $1,600 | $13,550 |
Location
Depending on where your house is located, your remodeling costs will vary.
The top three most expensive cities for a bathroom remodel are:
- San Jose, California: $20,179
- San Francisco, California: $19,476
- Los Angeles, California: $19,467
The three least expensive cities for a bathroom remodel are:
- Columbus, Ohio: $7,173
- Cincinnati, Ohio: $7,282
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: $7,476
How to Remodel a Bathroom on a Budget
You can save money by choosing a DIY bathroom remodeling project.
As long as you don’t plan on completely tearing out and replacing your bathroom, you can improve your bathroom without draining your bank account.
Here are some options for saving money on remodeling costs:
1. Use affordable materials
New tile is a popular and nice-looking addition to your bathroom. But tile is also an expensive material and carries a costly installation cost. To save money, you can use floor tile or wall tiles, but not both.
Some more affordable options for your bathroom floor include:
- Engineered wood
- Peel-and-stick tile
- Laminate flooring
2. Wall upgrades
You don’t have to tile your bathroom walls. There are plenty of visually pleasing alternatives that you might consider, including:
- Acrylic panels
- Fiberglass panels
- Paint
3. Accentuate walls with art
The moisture in the air makes choosing wall art difficult. You don’t want the humidity to ruin your decorations.
In general, stay away from paintings as water damage can ruin them. Instead, select one of the following:
- Ceramic pieces
- Framed photos or posters
- Metal wall art
4. Update your vanity
Your vanity may be the centerpiece of your bathroom. As a central piece, any updates to it make an enormous impact.
Here are some affordable upgrades you can make to our vanity for a striking remodel:
- Change the countertop
- Install new lighting
- Paint the vanity
- Replace the fixtures
5. The beauty of organizing
The cheapest and easiest way to upgrade your bathroom is to reorganize it. Make efficient use of space and reduce clutter to make your bathroom a beautiful area.
Here are some aesthetic suggestions to organize your bathroom:
- Deep clean
- Install shelves
- Use baskets for storage
6. Update your accents
You can make the space pop with inexpensive upgrades to towels, shower curtains, rugs, and repurposing items in your home for use in the bathroom.
Conclusion
A bathroom can improve your daily life; a newly refreshed space may make you feel refreshed as you start your day.
A full bathroom remodel can increase your home’s value. When deciding on a home renovation, you need to consider the overall cost of labor, materials, and space size. Alternatively, you can save money with a DIY renovation.
Sometimes, there may be better decisions than a bathroom renovation. It can be costly to clean a home well enough to renovate, or you may run into issues with code violations. If you want to avoid the hassles and cost of remodeling your bathroom, We Buy House For Cash can help.
We specialize in helping homeowners get rid of problem homes for a fair price. The best thing is that you can close on your terms on your timeline. Contact us to learn how we can help you!
