Every figure in this article is a sample based on projects we have completed in Buncombe and Henderson counties. Your bathroom will be different, and the only number that matters is the one on a written proposal for your actual room.
That said, people are usually surprised by the shape of the breakdown rather than the total. Here is where $36,000 goes on a typical full hall bath remodel.
Where the money actually goes
The number that surprises people is the first one. Almost half of a bathroom remodel is skilled hours, and the majority of those hours go into work you will never see: pan slope, membrane laps, blocking, substrate flatness and drain fall.
That is not an argument for spending more. It is an argument for understanding what you are buying. A cheap bathroom is almost always cheap in the invisible half.
- Labour, roughly 48 percent: demolition, framing, waterproofing, tile setting, carpentry and finishing
- Licensed trades, roughly 14 percent: plumbing and electrical rough-in, fixture connection and inspection attendance
- Tile and stone, roughly 12 percent: the visible surfaces plus setting materials and membrane
- Fixtures and fittings, roughly 10 percent: valves, heads, toilet, basin and hardware
- Cabinetry and glass, roughly 9 percent: vanity, mirror, shower panel
- Permits, disposal, protection and contingency, roughly 7 percent
The decisions that move the number most
Moving plumbing is the big one. Keeping the toilet, basin and shower drain in their existing positions typically saves several thousand dollars and two to four days. If a layout change genuinely improves how the room works, it is worth paying for. If it is a preference, we will show you a version both ways.
Tile pattern is second. Switching a shower floor from mosaic to herringbone can add a day and a half of setting labour. The tile itself may cost the same.
Tiling height is third and the cheapest upgrade on the list. Going from a 7 foot tile line to the ceiling adds about 12 percent of the tile cost and one working day, and it makes a small room read considerably taller.
The three line items nobody expects
First, subfloor repair. In pre-1960 Asheville houses we find soft decking around the toilet flange or under the tub apron roughly a third of the time. Budget a contingency of five to eight percent and hope not to use it.
Second, supply line replacement. Galvanised steel lines are common in older North Asheville and Montford homes and are usually well past their life. Replacing back to an accessible joint while the wall is open costs a fraction of doing it later.
Third, glass lead time. Glass is measured after tile and fabricated locally, and a busy period in Arden can add a week to the end of a schedule. We order as early as the tile allows and flag it in the schedule rather than at the end.
What you can sensibly save on
- Keep the existing layout wherever it works
- Choose porcelain that imitates stone rather than stone itself, and spend the difference on the vanity
- One feature material, not three
- A fixed glass panel instead of a hinged door with header and hardware
- Stock cabinetry when the wall width happens to suit it, custom only when it does not
What is a false economy
- Skipping the membrane or the flood test
- Reusing an old valve because the trim still matches
- Tiling over existing tile to avoid removal
- A cheap fan, or a good fan on a bad duct
- Leaving out blocking in a house you intend to grow old in
Our proposals are line-itemed so you can see each of these decisions priced separately and change your mind before anything is ordered. If a number surprises you, ask what is behind it. There is always a reason, and if we cannot explain it clearly it probably should not be in the quote.
