Quick - ballpark estimate for bathroom renovation

[Anonymous]

Don't be too jealous of the big bathroom. We bought a house that happens to have a large master bath. It is cold in the winter time. You can take a shower for thirty minutes, and it will still be chilly. The only time we use the oversize soaking tub is when dc wants to take a bubble bath (those jets can really make some bubbles!), because it takes FOREVER to fill up with water. I really do think it is wasted space. However, we did put a steam shower in another bathroom, and that was worth every penny. We are buying a new house, and a large master bath is actually on my "prefer not to have" list.

I saw an article a while back about how people were paying to have the big oversized "spa" tubs taken out for many of these same reasons. People said they got tired of dusting them.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous}

I saw an article a while back about how people were paying to have the big oversized "spa" tubs taken out for many of these same reasons. People said they got tired of dusting them.

We just redid our mater bath and choose not to put a tub in it. It just would have taken up space and collected dust.

[Anonymous]

$100K bath??? Now I am depressed. I just sold a whole condo in Florida for less than that.

[Anonymous]

$100K bathroom poster here. Actually, our total cost was closer to $80K. I don't mean to shock or depress anyone with that figure. We just really wanted it to be a fantastic room, a real retreat, very zenlike, and it truly is. It was quite a large bathroom to begin with. We took out the jacuzzi tub and replaced it with an oversized shower with multiple shower heads and massage features. Put in 2 separate vanities, with beautiful imported stone countertops (I fell in love with one particular color of stone which happened to be insanely expensive). We also got heated tile floors. The light fixtures are gorgeous. So are the faucets and handles. The shower functions as a regular shower, but also as a steam shower/sauna. The sauna is lined with a beautiful crushed glass border and mosaic. The floors are a gorgeous natural, rough-hewn limestone. All the cabinetry is custom-made and designed. I don't say any of this to boast, but just to explain what we got for our money. I certainly think it could have been done cheaper. But we went with a well respected design/build firm that does fantastic work, but is certainly no bargain. That said, we truly love how the renovation turned out!!! It is exactly what we were hoping for.

[Anonymous]

OP here. sounds gorgeous, but um, so not the tiny 1940s bathroom I was asking about. Telling me you spent $80K really isn't helpful in terms of an estimate for the project I'm talking about. In response to PPs, I don't know if it's the true original tile, or something replaced sometime before we bought the house in the mid90s. Small (2.2inch) black and white tiles waist high around the whole room and on the floor plus larger more standard size tiles in the tub.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$100K bathroom poster here. Actually, our total cost was closer to $80K. I don't mean to shock or depress anyone with that figure. We just really wanted it to be a fantastic room, a real retreat, very zenlike, and it truly is. It was quite a large bathroom to begin with. We took out the jacuzzi tub and replaced it with an oversized shower with multiple shower heads and massage features. Put in 2 separate vanities, with beautiful imported stone countertops (I fell in love with one particular color of stone which happened to be insanely expensive). We also got heated tile floors. The light fixtures are gorgeous. So are the faucets and handles. The shower functions as a regular shower, but also as a steam shower/sauna. The sauna is lined with a beautiful crushed glass border and mosaic. The floors are a gorgeous natural, rough-hewn limestone. All the cabinetry is custom-made and designed. I don't say any of this to boast, but just to explain what we got for our money. I certainly think it could have been done cheaper. But we went with a well respected design/build firm that does fantastic work, but is certainly no bargain. That said, we truly love how the renovation turned out!!! It is exactly what we were hoping for.

Are you my SIL who lives over an hour from DC without traffic? if this is you, it is simply fantastic and I loved hanging in there at your party. It is worth every nickel! well done.

OP, we live in Bethesda and spent $12k total on our closet like master bathroom. I bought all the stuff from all the vendors and lugged it home. We used a friend who is a general contractor who had time last year to sub it out and oversee it. Marble walls from floor to ceiling, basket weave Carrara marble floor and shower pan, Toto commode, cheap but awesome modern cabinets from designer surplus
in FREDERICK, kohler fixtures, custom shower door with cute built ins. It is timeless and most importantly, it fit my tight budget! Need to find an even cheaper option for the next one if that is possible without doing the labor and pulling permits myself which I am totally willing to do. Suggestions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$100K bathroom poster here. Actually, our total cost was closer to $80K. I don't mean to shock or depress anyone with that figure. We just really wanted it to be a fantastic room, a real retreat, very zenlike, and it truly is. It was quite a large bathroom to begin with. We took out the jacuzzi tub and replaced it with an oversized shower with multiple shower heads and massage features. Put in 2 separate vanities, with beautiful imported stone countertops (I fell in love with one particular color of stone which happened to be insanely expensive). We also got heated tile floors. The light fixtures are gorgeous. So are the faucets and handles. The shower functions as a regular shower, but also as a steam shower/sauna. The sauna is lined with a beautiful crushed glass border and mosaic. The floors are a gorgeous natural, rough-hewn limestone. All the cabinetry is custom-made and designed. I don't say any of this to boast, but just to explain what we got for our money. I certainly think it could have been done cheaper. But we went with a well respected design/build firm that does fantastic work, but is certainly no bargain. That said, we truly love how the renovation turned out!!! It is exactly what we were hoping for.

What firm?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. sounds gorgeous, but um, so not the tiny 1940s bathroom I was asking about. Telling me you spent $80K really isn't helpful in terms of an estimate for the project I'm talking about. In response to PPs, I don't know if it's the true original tile, or something replaced sometime before we bought the house in the mid90s. Small (2.2inch) black and white tiles waist high around the whole room and on the floor plus larger more standard size tiles in the tub.

Where the tile meets the wall, is the protrusion about 1/4 inch or is it more like 5/8 inch. That is what will tell you if the tile is set in concrete vs. just on with a layer of thinset. If the protrusion is about 5/8, that is the old stuff concrete, more difficult to remove, thus more expensive to remove.

[Anonymous]

Probably closer to 1/4inch. That's good news it sounds like?

[Anonymous]

I also want the name of the $100K contractor... not that I want to spend that much, but I do want something great. Just redid kitchen with a kitchen only contractor (complete redo - with many of the same elements in the $100K bath). need a master bath contractor now.

[Anonymous]

Metro Bath and tile told me it would cost $17 to redo our bathroom. I think it's easier to have a contractor do it but I'm so reluctant to hire a contractor and it turns into a project from hell.

[Anonymous]

We are currently redoing a small hall bath and are paying $4500 to a contractor plus we spent another $1200 on supplies. We had four full walls of tile demo'd and luckily they weren't set in concrete or it would have altered the price by at least $1k b/c of the additional labor. Tile floor demo'd and leveled, tub, sink, vanity, vent fan, etc all removed to the studs. The window in the tub is also being replaced.

We're going with pretty standard Lowes subway tile, beadboard, vanity, etc. and our contractor neighbor is doing the work hence the great price. We'll get away with about $6200 all in but I know most contractors will tell you closer to $8-10k. If you use a design/build firm you're probably looking at closer to $15k.

Shop around, ask neighbors for referrals and hopefully you can find something within your budget.