What a Bathroom Remodel Really Costs in Dallas

It's the first thing everyone wants to know. It's also the question most contractors dodge.

There's a reason the answer is hard. Two bathrooms the same size can be $20,000 apart. One keeps the toilet, tub and vanity where they are and swaps the finishes. The other moves the shower, adds a niche and a bench, and uses small mosaic tile on every wall.

So instead of a single number, here are our real starting points and the things that move the price from there.

These are starting points, not quotes. Your estimate is built from your room and your selections, line by line.

We don't bring our value down to meet your budget. We bring the scope of work down to your budget.

1. 1. Moving plumbing. This is the biggest one. Moving a drain or a toilet, or widening a shower so the drain and valve are no longer centered, can mean cutting into a slab or opening a ceiling below. Keeping the original footprint is the best way to control cost.
2. 2. Tile choices. Small mosaics, penny tile and hexagons take far more labor to set than large-format tile or classic subway tile. The tile itself is often not the expensive part. The hours are.
3. 3. Custom shower details. Niches, benches, curbless entries and frameless glass all add time and material.
4. 4. Fixtures and vanity. A stock vanity with an integrated top costs a fraction of a custom piece. The same is true of plumbing fixtures.
5. 5. Electrical changes. Moving a sconce a few inches means new wiring and drywall repair. Adding lighting, outlets or a quieter exhaust fan adds cost, but it's often worth it.
6. 6. What's behind the walls. Older Dallas homes can have cast-iron drain lines, water damage or work that was never done to code. We can't see it until the room is opened up.

• Keep the toilet, shower and vanity where they are.
• Use large-format or subway tile on most walls, and save the special tile for one feature.
• Choose a quality stock vanity with an integrated stone or quartz top over a custom one. Skip the pedestal sink unless it's a half bath, because it gives you zero storage.
• Consider a prefab shower pan instead of a custom-tiled pan.
• Leave electrical boxes where they are unless moving them really matters to you.

None of these mean cutting corners. We're not into cutting corners. They're choices about scope, and we'll walk you through each one so you can decide where your money matters most.

Most rework in a bathroom starts with a layout call that nobody thought through. Three to make early:

• Rethink the door swing. If an inward door crowds the vanity or blocks your path, swap the hinges so it swings out. It's a small change that can make the whole room feel bigger.
• Watch the freestanding tub trap. A 60-inch built-in alcove tub often has more room inside than a 60-inch freestanding tub, because freestanding tubs have thick walls and a taper that eats legroom. They also need about 6 inches of clearance on every side so you can clean around them. Squeezing one into a two-wall corner is a common mistake. Sit-test any tub in the showroom, and look at 60 to 70-inch models for real comfort.
• Dress up the alcove instead. No room for a freestanding tub? Face the front of an alcove tub with wood-look paneling and add a stone deck that matches your vanity top. You get a finished, built-in look without giving up floor space.

Good tile work is half craft and half math. Here's what we lock in before the thinset is mixed:

• Lay out from the doorway. We don't start in the back corner because it's convenient. We map floor and shower tile from the entry sightline, so when you open the door you see whole tiles, not sliver cuts or wide grout lines at the threshold.
• Frame the niche to the tile. Jagged cuts around a shower niche happen when it's framed before the tile layout is set. We frame the niche during tiling, so its top and bottom line up with full tile courses.
• Say how you want the pattern set. Hexagons on an angle or square to the door? Herringbone running which way? Decide it and write it down before install day. We'll ask, but it helps to know what you want.

• HVAC off on dusty days. Demo and drywall sanding make a lot of fine dust. If the HVAC runs, the returns pull it through every room in your house and into the unit itself. We shut the system off on those days.
• Seal the work area. We put up zip-wall plastic barriers to the ceiling and seal doorways to keep dust in the work zone. When the job is done, we recommend a professional duct cleaning.
• Don't skimp on the exhaust fan. Good ventilation prevents mold and mildew and protects your new paint. We specify fans rated 1 sone or less, so quiet you'll barely hear them.

Even with a signed, itemized price, set aside 10% to 20% for what nobody can see until the old bathroom comes out.

Want to know how a fixed price protects you? Read How a Fixed-Price Remodeling Contract Protects Your Investment.

If one bid is far below the rest, read 9 Contractor Red Flags Every Dallas–Fort Worth Homeowner Should Know Before Hiring before you sign.

• A free consultation to talk through your room and what you want from it.
• An itemized written estimate you can review and sign right from your phone.
• Permits pulled on every job that needs one. Some estimates build the fee into the price and some list it as its own line, and yours will tell you which.
• Staged payments that follow the work.
• Written, signed change orders before any extra work.
• Regular updates and photos.
• A workmanship warranty: 1 year on remodels, and a 5-year warranty on roof replacements.

See our bathroom work and process on our bathroom remodeling page.

A bathroom is a small room with a lot going on: water, electrical, tile, glass and storage in a few square feet. The right price is the one that's written down, explained line by line, and fits what you actually want from the room.

Construction is like any relationship. As long as we communicate and trust each other, we'll be just fine.