Bathroom Remodeling
The finishes are what you see. The waterproofing behind them is what decides whether the room is still perfect in ten years. We do both properly.
What a bathroom remodel involves
Bathrooms are the densest rooms in a house. A primary bath the size of a small bedroom can carry more plumbing, more waterproofing and more tile detail than the entire rest of the floor. Scope varies enormously, so here is what each one really is.
Powder rooms
No shower, no tub, so no wet-area waterproofing. That makes a powder bath the best value in the house for visual impact. Wallpaper or panelling, a statement vanity and mirror, good lighting, and it becomes the most memorable small room you own.
Guest and kids' baths
Usually a tub and shower combination in a standard alcove. The work is tearing out the surround, waterproofing the wet wall properly, tiling to the ceiling, and replacing the vanity, toilet, floor and lighting. Durability and cleanability matter more than drama here.
Primary suites
This is where the decisions stack up: a walk-in or curbless shower, a freestanding tub, a double vanity, a separate water closet, heated floors, a linen tower, and often a connected closet. Every one of those changes the plumbing plan.
The parts you will never see, and why they matter most
Nearly every bathroom failure we get called to fix is a waterproofing failure, not a tile failure. Tile and grout are not waterproof. What keeps water out of your framing is the membrane behind the tile, and it either goes in correctly or it does not.
- Shower waterproofing. A bonded or sheet membrane over the walls and pan, with the corners and the seams treated as the actual job. Cement board on its own is not a waterproofing system.
- Pan slope. The floor of a shower has to fall consistently to the drain. Get it wrong and you get standing water, then staining, then mold at the grout lines.
- Curbless showers. Beautiful, and they are structural work. The floor either drops within the joist bay or the slab is recessed. Decide this at design, not at demo.
- Freestanding tubs. A floor-mounted filler needs its supply rough-in set precisely before the floor closes up. Moving the tub six inches after that is a jackhammer, not an adjustment.
- Niches and benches. Framed and waterproofed as part of the shell, sized to the tile so you are not left with a sliver cut across the back of the niche.
- Ventilation. An exhaust fan sized for the room and ducted outside, not into the attic. This is what keeps the paint and the grout alive.
What drives the price
Bathroom remodels from $15,000. A powder room sits well below a primary suite, and these are the decisions that move the number.
- Tile choice and coverage. Floor only versus tile to the ceiling is a large swing. Large-format tile needs a flatter substrate and more prep. Mosaic, herringbone and picket patterns cost more labor per square foot than a straight lay.
- Whether plumbing moves. Keeping the toilet, tub and vanity where they are keeps the job predictable. Relocating any of them means opening the floor.
- Shower glass. Frameless costs considerably more than framed, and heavier glass needs the right hinges and blocking in the wall.
- Vanity. A stock vanity, a semi-custom cabinet and a built-to-fit double vanity with a stone top are three different budgets.
- Extras that are worth naming early. Heated floors, a steam unit, a curbless entry and a wall-hung toilet all need to be in the plan before rough-in.
- What we find behind the wall. Old galvanized supply lines, a rotted subfloor under a leaking pan, or undersized framing. We tell you the day we find it and price it before we touch it.
How the work actually goes
- Consultation and measure. We look at the room, the plumbing you already have, and what you want the finished bath to do for you.
- Design and renderings. Tile layout, vanity plan, lighting and fixture selections drawn up so you approve a picture rather than a description.
- Selections and ordering. Tile, stone, plumbing fixtures, vanity and lighting. Special-order stone and fixtures set the start date.
- Demo. Down to studs and subfloor in the wet areas.
- Rough-in and inspection. Plumbing moves, electrical for lighting, heated floor and fans, blocking for grab bars and glass, then inspection where the scope requires it.
- Waterproofing. Membrane, pan, corners and seams. We do not tile until this is done and checked.
- Tile. Floor, walls, niche and bench, then grout and seal.
- Vanity, tops, paint and trim.
- Glass measure. Frameless glass is measured off the finished tile, not off the drawing, then fabricated. That is typically two to three weeks, and the shower is not usable until it arrives. Plan a second bathroom for that window.
- Fixture trim, mirrors, hardware, punch list and walkthrough.
When you do not need a full remodel
- The tile is sound and only looks tired. Regrouting, resealing, a new vanity, new mirror, new lighting and paint transforms a bathroom for a fraction of a gut. Take that instead.
- You only dislike the vanity. Replace the vanity and top. That is a two-day job, not a three-week one.
- You have an active leak. Then the first job is finding the source, not choosing tile. Tiling over a failing pan hides the problem and doubles the cost of fixing it.
- It is a rental or a short-term hold. Fixture and finish updates return better than tearing the room out.
How we work on a bathroom
A design you approve first
Our in-house designer draws the tile layout and the fixture plan before demo. Deciding where the niche lands on a rendering costs nothing. Deciding it on site costs a day.
The same crew every day
A dedicated project manager, background-checked and insured trades, and a clean job site. You are not coordinating four subcontractors yourself.
Backed after the glass goes in
A 365-day workmanship warranty on the work, and professional photographs of the finished room at no additional cost.
Bathrooms we have built
Bathroom remodeling by city
The right approach to a bathroom changes with the housing stock. Three cities we work in often enough to have specific notes on:
Related services
- Wallpaper installation, which powder rooms were made for
- Custom built-ins and cabinetry for linen towers and built-to-fit vanities
- Flooring installation for tile that runs beyond the bathroom door
- Interior design if the bath is part of a larger plan
Let's talk about your bathroom
Book a consultation and we will tell you honestly whether you need a gut or a refresh, and what each one would cost.
Bathroom remodeling in McKinney, Plano, Frisco, Prosper, Dallas, Carrollton, Celina, Allen, Aubrey, Little Elm, The Colony, Anna, Fort Worth and the surrounding DFW metro.