Average cost of remodeling a bathroom is a relative term but an example below might help you.
To get an idea of an average cost of remodeling a bathroom, lets give you a real life bathroom remodeling example with a listing of material and labor costs and scope of work, so you can get an idea of what to expect with a bathroom project of that size.
it would probably help you to look at a bathroom remodeling example from an owner/re modeler point of view, so I chose a bathroom remodeling project of a home I used to own.
Another reason I’m choosing this particular bathroom is because I have quiet a few photos to include here, once I get some time to do it.
Description of the home
The home we are looking at is a large top floor apartment, with glimpses of the bay area, close to the train station and 20 minutes ride to Sydney city center.
The building was a double brick, concrete slab construction in excellent structural and all round condition.
The interior was in an original condition, same as it was 35 years ago, complete with ugly wallpaper in some rooms, basic bathroom fixtures, copper stove range hood, brown veneer cabinets and an original carpet taking you back to the 1970’s era. An elderly gentleman lived in it since it was built.
I bought that apartment with a view to completely rebuild it, remodel it and sell it for a profit. I sold the previous home I remodeled, in which I also lived, at the peak of the real estate boom, just in time.
However by the time I finished remodeling this apartment I bought, the real estate market slumped, and I loved the place so much I ended living in it.
Scope of bathroom remodeling
The existing layout was a small bathroom with shower cubicle, wash basin and bathtub and a separate toilet room with toilet only.
I played around with some ideas for a new bathroom and toilet layout and drew a few floor plan sketches, to try to fit in what I wanted in that space.
After looking at the dimensions of spa baths, vanity units and other fixtures I wanted, I came to the conclusion that I need more room.
By combining the existing toilet room and existing bathroom ( which had no toilet ) and adding another 1 m2 of the corridor space to the room, I would be able to include what I wanted in the bathroom and make it more spacious at the same time.
Demolition work
- strip out and dispose of all existing fixtures, wall tiles. floor tiles and cement bedding.
- as the old wall tiles were glued to the wall with cement mortar, all the cement render had to be removed down to the bear brick wall.
- demolish 2.5 linear meters of brick wall, from floor to ceiling, including 2 door frames and doors and dispose of all waste.
- remove and dispose of existing false ceilings in bathroom and toilet room.
- mark out position of new copper piping and outlets for spa bath, shower taps, toilet cistern and wash basin in the brick walls and chisel out rebates in the walls for the plumbing work; note-this would normally be part of the plumbers job, but in this way I speed ed up the work schedule and saved money as well.duration : 3 days ( carrying materials downstairs 3 levels makes it slow going )
cost – labor and waste disposal: $ 1,300
Tiles removed
Structural and rough work
- prior to demolishing 2 small walls, install a hanging beam on top of the ceiling joists to support them, as their span has doubled after removing the existing walls.
- build a brick wall with a new steel door frame ( custom ordered to size with anchor bolt holes on one side ).
- build the brick wall around the spa bath tub, water pump enclosure and around shower cubicle as well as timber frame and compressed fibre-cement sheeting [ AC board].
- install a false ceiling in the new bathroom enclosure with shadow line trim around the walls.
- cement render the exposed brick walls after all the water and electric installations have been finished and tested by a plumber and electrician.duration: 7 days ( in a few stages )
labor and materials: $2,800
Waterproofing membrane
- upon the cement render curing ( approximately 4 days ) prepare the wall and floor surfaces by grinding the concrete floor with a vacuum assisted floor grinder.
- prime the floor and wall surfaces to be waterproofed with an water epoxy based sealer/primer.
- seal all corners where wall meets floor with a bead of polyurethane sealant (Sikaflex)
- install a brass angle at the bathroom door threshold, by fixing it into the concrete floor with nylon plugs and raising it to the correct height, which is the level of the top of the floor tiles.
- apply a flexible polyurethane membrane on floor surfaces and a flexible acrylic modified membrane on walls with the floor membrane turned down into floor wastes and turned up approximately 100mm ( 4 inches ) onto the walls and waste pipes as well as up the internal side of the brass angle..
- important to note here is that the floor waterproofing membrane in this case needs to be done first and allowed to dry thoroughly at least 24 hours before applying the waterproofing membrane to walls as these are 2 different materials.
- seal all penetrations of pipes coming from the wall to prevent water ingress into the wall later. duration: 4 days ( materials need curing time between coats etc )
labor and materials: $ 1,400
bathroom remodeling – stage : waterproofing and floor screed finished
Tiling and preparing floor levels
- a considerable cost in time is choosing the right type, color and a good deal on the purchase of floor and wall tiles and the best design of the tiling, borders and the overall look, but before the actual tiling sand and cement bedding on the floor of the room and shower cubicle needs to be done first.
- laying of a sand and cement bedding with falls towards floor wastes with at least 4 days curing time before gluing floor tiles on top.
- install protection on top of spa bath to avoid damage during tiling.
- floor to ceiling tiling with polished aluminium trims at corners of walls, around windows and doors, including border tiles and grouting.
- floor tiling in bathroom and shower cubicle with tile grouting.
- sealing of bathroom corners and around spa bath with a bathroom grade silicone with neat finish using masking tape.duration: 7 days
tiles, trims and other materials: $ 2,300
Plumbing work
- install new copper piping and fittings in brick walls prior to cement rendering of walls and connect to existing main water supply point including pressure testing for 24 hours.
- install toilet pan, cistern and toilet seat
- connect spa bath drain to waste pipe, install water pump and power it up to pressure test all connections and seals – this is the first thing that needs to be done after the plumbing pipes and electrical wiring is installed into walls and before the walls around the spa bath are built.
- install vanity unit with wash basin together with spout ,tap handles and waste water connection of basin.
- install the towel holder, toilet paper holder. 2 soap holders, 1 cup holder and a towel hook.duration: 5 days ( in a few2 stages )
labor: $ 2,400
materials ( copper pipes and fittings ): $ 800
bathroom remodeling – stage : new copper water pipework installed
Shower screen
- order a custom made to measure shower screen with sliding doors in polished aluminium finish, with measurements taken upon tiling completion and installed as a last item to enable easier work on the false ceiling – waiting time 1 week.duration: half a day to install ( 1 week wait to be made in factory }
cost: $ 800
Spa bath access/ventilation panels
- measure to size and make 2 brass plate access panels with ventilation holes an 4 wall mounting holes to cover access holes in the spa bath wall, then have it chromed and polished at a galvanizing factory.duration: 1 day to source, cut, make and install and 3 days wait for chroming at factory.
labor, materials and chroming: $ 500
bathroom remodeling – stage : near completion
Electrical work
- install a combined ceiling fan/light/4 bulb heating unit with a wall switch.
- install a separate circuit for spa bath pump assembly on main switchboard as part of a complete main switchboard renewal, which also includes installing a separate wiring as well.
- install 1new wall power point with wiring.duration: 2 days
- labor and materials: $ 1,100
New bathroom door
- install a new internal door with door handles and a privacy lock.duration: 1 day
labor and materials: $ 400.00
Painting
- apply an undercoat and two coats of white ceiling paint on plasterboard false ceiling.
- apply an oil based undercoat and 2 coats of oil based paint to the bathroom door and new door frame.duration: 3 days ( oil based paint – 3 coats need 24 hrs drying time between coats )
labor and materials: $ 500
Bathroom fixtures
vanity unit with porcelain basin ( 900mm width ) $ 450
mirror – frame-less, beveled edges ( 900 mm ) $ 240
toilet set – quality $ 700
spa bath – therapeutic grade $ 1,700
tap ware – solid brass chromed,Italian made $ 800
other – matching toilet/towel/soap etc holders, $ 400
total bathroom fixtures $ 4,290
DURATION: 4 weeks (note: noise not permitted on weekends, some work schedules overlap )
TOTAL COST $ 18,590
note: if needing permits and engineers structural drawings it would add additional cost to the project not to mention design work, which is not included here.
The labor prices I included are an estimate of the time I spent on each item and taking into account an average amount a trades person would charge to come out and do an individual task and added up together to form a reasonably accurate overall cost.
The figures above are by no means very accurate in detail, but I believe would be very close if I had a detailed bill of quantities with actual receipts to back it up.
However if you want to get an idea of an average cost of remodeling a bathroom you can get an idea of what costs you could expect for a bathroom remodeling project of this nature.
After all is said and done,the cost of your bathroom remodeling will be depend on many factors.
You need to break down the work processes and have a detailed and specific costing of the fixtures, labor cost/estimates for different trades, design cost if you are going to hire someone as well as relevant permit cost and other bathroom remodeling costs, specific to your circumstances.