How much does it cost to remodel a small bathroom?

Answer SVG
Answer
The average cost to remodel a small bathroom in 2024 is around $6,500, with a typical range between $1,500 and $15,000125. However, the exact cost can vary significantly depending on several factors:
  • Bathroom size: Larger bathrooms require more materials and labor, increasing costs. For example, a 5x10 bathroom remodel is likely more expensive than a 5x7 bathroom2.
  • Fixtures and finishes: High-end materials like natural stone countertops can cost up to $200 per square foot, while more affordable options like laminate range from $8 to $27 per square foot2. Replacing a tub or shower can cost $659 to $2,1051.
  • Labor costs: Labor typically accounts for 45% of the final bill and varies by location12.
  • Scope of work: Remodels that require structural changes, fixture relocation, or electrical/plumbing work will be more expensive than cosmetic updates13.
To save money on a small bathroom remodel, consider:
  • Remodeling in stages to focus on one area at a time3
  • Avoiding moving the tub, toilet, or shower to minimize plumbing changes3
  • Purchasing materials yourself to get the best deals3
  • Using lower-cost lookalike materials like laminate or porcelain3
  • Refinishing fixtures like tubs instead of replacing them3
  • Designing the bathroom yourself to avoid hiring a designer3
By understanding these factors and cost-saving strategies, homeowners can better plan their small bathroom remodel budget1235.




Author: DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen



Key insights

  • The cost of remodeling a bathroom is like asking how much a car or a house costs - it depends on a lot of variables.
  • The remodeling process includes removing all existing items, making electrical and plumbing changes, and installing all new plumbing fixtures, toilet, and pedestal sink.
  • A "turnkey" project includes all materials, labor, trades, painting, permits, and accessories, providing a comprehensive solution for bathroom remodeling.
  • The price includes all design, installation, materials, permitting, and trades for electrical and plumbing fixtures.
  • Switching from a tub/shower combination to a walk-in shower can greatly improve the functionality and aesthetics of a bathroom.
  • A freestanding solid surface tub can be a pricey addition to a bathroom remodel, significantly impacting the overall cost.
  • 🪞 The existing exterior window was maintained to provide additional light, and a wall feature of tile was added from the countertop up to the ceiling.
  • Having a plan for your bathroom remodel can save you time, money, and stress, making it easier to make changes on paper than after gutting the space.

Timestamped Summary

  • 00:00 Bathroom remodeling costs vary based on the scope of work and project size, with no fixed price.
  • 01:09 Remodeling a 5' x 8' bathroom in a newer home involves removing existing fixtures, making electrical and plumbing changes, and installing all new fixtures in white.
  • 01:47 A basic bathroom remodel with luxury vinyl tile floor, subway tile surround, and accessories can cost around $14,600, with more elaborate options reaching $17,000.
  • 02:48 A bathroom remodel with luxury features and design/build services costs between $19,000 to $21,000.
  • 04:33 Bathroom remodel included replacing tub with walk-in shower, natural stone walls and floor, custom vanity with under cabinet lights and wall-mounted fixtures.
  • 05:59 Remodeling a bathroom can cost $24,000 to $26,000 for basic and $45,000 to $48,000 for extensive renovations, with factors like size and features affecting the price.
  • 08:30 Bathroom remodel included elaborate shower, new plumbing, cabinetry, accent tile, and wall feature, while maintaining existing window for additional light.
  • 09:36 Remodeling a bathroom can cost $45,000 to $49,000, prioritize and plan before contacting a designer for the project.

Video Full Text

  • 00:00 - One of the most common questions we get is how much do you think it's going to cost to remodel my bathroom? Or how much do you think it's going to be to renovate my SMALL bathroom? Or what does it typically cost to remodel a MASTER bath? And those are legitimate questions, but a lot like asking... How much does a car cost? How much does a house cost? Or how much does dinner costs? There are a lot of variables that go into that, but it is a legitimate question. So we thought what we do is take a look at five different bathroom. Remodel projects that we've done in the last couple of years with our design build company. And if you want to learn more about that Design/Build Process, take a look at "Different Ways to Remodel Your Bathroom". What we thought we would do is take a look at those five projects. Look at some before pictures, discuss the scope of work of each of those projects, and then identify what a target budget range was for each of those projects. So hopefully with taking a look at these different scenarios, you're going to see some similarities between one of these projects and the project that you're considering. So let's go ahead and get started. Let's go ahead and take a look at our first project. This is actually a scenario that we have constructed in our showroom.
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  • 01:09 So this is based off of a 5' x 8' bathroom, which is one of the most common sizes. You'll see, many homes have at least one of these. And, this is going to be based on a scenario where we would come in, again, a home that's newer than 50 years old. So we've got drywall on the walls, tub, toilet, pedestal sink. Remove all of the items that are here, many times the drywall as well. Make any electrical changes, plumbing changes, all new plumbing fixtures in the shower or tub area, new toilet, new pedestal sink. You'll notice that everything is in white.
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  • 01:47 That just kind of keeps the costs down as far as an entry level bathroom project. We've got a luxury vinyl tile floor, subway tile surround around the tub with an accent tile. It would include all of the painting, drywall finishing, we've got a bathroom fan light, right over top of the tub space. So it includes everything you see here and all the way down to the towel bars and accessories, toilet paper holder ... those kinds of things. And this one is priced in the Showroom with the curve shower rod at $14,600. So usually what I would say is if you're going to maybe do a more elaborate shower door, maybe dress up the cabinetry, or do different cabinetry, that kind of thing, you may be looking at a price point for a project like this between $14,000 and $17,000. Again, that is "Turnkey"- we'll provide all the materials, labor, trades, painting, permits, all of those things.
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  • 02:48 So that's scenario number one. Here's another display from our Showroom, that is based off of a 5' x 10' space. This is a little bit bigger than the last one we looked at, which would allow us to do a 48 inch vanity, again with a luxury vinyl tile floor, as well as a cultured marble shower surround and shower pan . A lot of times we'll go into a scenario where somebody has a fiberglass shower enclosure, and they want to change that out to just a walk-in shower. So this is a classic scenario that we'll do for that. Again, this would include the mirror, the accessories, bathroom vent fan, LED light over top of the shower, cultured marble top, Toto toilet. Everything is included in this price point other than the two pendants that hang down on either side of the mirror, as well as the heavy glass door. We have this priced at $19,000 and that would include, a curved shower rod rather than the heavy glass. If you do the heavy glass shower door, couple pendants, you're going to probably be in that price range between $19,000 to $21,000 for a scenario like this. Again, that's Design/Build, where we do all the design, installation, materials, permitting, trades for electrical, plumbing, all new electrical and plumbing fixtures, as well as recess caddy, grab bar in the shower as well, and that gives you a price point for that scenario.
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  • 04:33 So here's another, hall bathroom. This bathroom - footprint of this space is five feet wide - I think it's closer to about 13 feet in length, so it is kind of a longer, narrow bathroom. Fiberglass tub you can see from the original pictures there- wallpaper border up on the top- it did have a nine foot ceiling- but a fiberglass shower enclosure with aluminum sliding door, inexpensive vanity was there with a sheet mirror, a cultured marble top, and a tile floor. So, we removed all of that and went back with a walk-in shower rather than the tub/shower combination. We've got a much nicer shower head there and we relocated the shower valve to the opposite wall. So all of the plumbing, the surround walls in this particular shower are a thin wall travertine, so it's actually a natural stone. And then we did a matching travertine tile floor with that and a travertine countertop on a custom ordered vanity that's floating with under cabinet lights. So, over at the vanity as well, we do have another sheet mirror with some wall fixtures mounted, light fixtures mounted directly on the mirror.
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  • 05:59 And, some new lighting in that space, a new painting finishing of the drywall and all your accessories, as well as a new toilet in that space and budget for that one was between $24,000 and $26,000 for that particular project. So here's a master bath project that we actually did a couple years ago. Home was constructed, around 2005-2006, and had a built-in garden tub, as you can see, with the shower at the one end where the garden tub created the bench seat in the shower, pretty common to see that. And then, there on the opposite wall was a wall of cabinetry, and then there was a water closet off of this bathroom. So we basically went in and gutted most of the space, removed all of the tile floor, the tub, shower, cabinetry and went ahead and redesigned the cabinetry on that wall to create space with the cabinetry there, and did a much larger tiled shower in that space with all new fixtures, handheld shower, heavy glass shower surround. And then the client also wanted a freestanding solid surface tub, which is a a very heavy, pricey tub with a floor-standing tub faucet mounted to the floor and all new tile flooring in there as well, paint, light fixtures, mirrors, towel bars, all of those. And the price point in this was $45,000-$48,000 for that. So it gives you a pretty good size space, and a pretty elaborate, master bathroom project. Okay, this is another one we're going to take a look at, pretty elaborate master bath project as well that we did just in the last couple of years. A home was constructed right around 2000, and, again it's got your jetted tub & deck with the integrated shower on the end forming the bench, and then on the opposite wall, again.
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  • 08:30 We've got cabinetry as well as a water closet off at the end and another closet at the very end. So basically we went in, removed everything from the space and the client really just wanted to have a much more elaborate shower. So we went ahead and actually constructed a wall to create shower wall for our plumbing, and then we did a large shower pan and, did wall panels on each of those walls with quite a few square feet of accent tile to liven up that space. We maintained the existing exterior window in there to provide additional light. And, you can see the added plumbing in those pictures as well as the new cabinetry on the opposite wall. And then went ahead and did a wall feature of tile that runs from the countertop up to the ceiling, nine foot ceilings in that space.
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  • 09:36 And we did quartz on the tops for this particular, project. New tile floor as well, new painting, new accessories, and total project range on this one is about $45,000 to $49,000 for a project like this. So by taking a look at these five examples, hopefully these provide you with some good baseline information in establishing a budget for remodeling your bathroom project. I also want to give 4 other tips that we like to give people when considering a budget. Number one, is older homes, and what we mean by older homes is homes that are older than 50 years old, are going to typically cost more money to remodel. What we find is that building practices weren't horribly consistent in older homes, and thus they lead to more surprises. Number two, is moving fixture. Location will increase the price of your project. So typically when we start looking at a design and looking at some options, we'll always try to use the existing footprint as much as possible. Because some of the times, you don't take into account the plumbing and electrical work that is required, to move those fixtures. And that's especially the case with a bathroom remodel. Three, is make sure that you have a plan because just like any other planning, a plan is going to save you time, save you money, as well as frustration and stress. And it's really important to have that plan put together so that if you're going to remove your bathroom, you can get that put back together as quickly as possible. And it's a whole lot easier to change things on paper than it is once you've gutted your bathroom space. And then four, is understand your priorities for your project. It's easy to get caught up in "scope-creep" or getting caught up in making selections because it's the latest greatest thing. And what we usually encourage people to do is identify three or four priorities to their project and make sure you focus your attention on those specific things. So there you go, the basics for establishing a bathroom remodel project. We hope you found this helpful. If you want to discuss the specifics about your project, don't hesitate to contact one of our Designers at DreamMaker Bath and Kitchen in Springfield. We look forward to helping you enhance your home.
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