Average Bathroom Renovation Costs for Materials and Labor

Last Updated: 2021-10-28By

Instead of saying that it “It all Depends” how much bathroom remodeling costs, On Point Remodeling is breaking down all different bathroom renovation types, trades involved and materials required for the job.

Average size (8×10 feet) bathroom renovation costs $19 000. It includes regular finish materials and all labor required. Contractors supply rough materials and dispose garbage after demolition within this estimate. Cost will very depending on size of bathroom, quality of work and finish materials.

Before deciding on bathroom remodeling we all know want to know how much it will drain from our pockets and what are we actually paying for.

In this post you can see what works for you, how much you want to spend on each finishing material to work with exact budget.

Small Size (5×8)Average Size (8×10)Large Size (10×14)
DIY Project$5 000$6 000$8 000
Cheap$12 000$15 000$19 000
Regular$14 000$19 000$25 000
Expensive$18 000$24 000$33 000
Luxury$23 000$32 000$42 000
See Average Bathroom Cost Breakdown Below

There are variation of prices even in same area from different companies and it all can depend on smallest things like heavy supply of customers, reputation and experience.

Our idea is for now to leave behind most of these factors and explain details from types of materials and labor involved. After all, by being educated on bathroom renovation costs breakdown you can negotiate with contractors to get a better deal.

Breakdown of Material Costs for Average Bathroom Remodeling

When you know what finishing materials are needed for bathroom renovation cost calculation, you can start creating a picture of overall costs.

Construction companies having difficulties explaining to home owners why job costs that much, simply because they are unaware the amount of materials have to be purchased and their actual costs.

In table below On Point Remodeling lists materials that most bathrooms will have with average prices from local stores and suppliers.

Size/AmountBasicAverageExpensive
Rough Materials$750$750$750
Mechanical Materials$200$300$500
Tiles150 – 180 sq ft$400$700$1200
Grout
Marble Jamb1 -3 Pieces$60$190
Baseboards30 Feet$30$50$100
VanitySingle – Double$500$850$1800
Faucets1-2$120$150$300
Showerhead1$100$350$750
Tub1$400$720$1340
Toilet1-2$180$350$820
Vanity Lights1-2$50$150$570
Mirror1$60$100$480
Drain Cover1$30$60$200
Shower Glass1$450$850$1300
Paint$60$80$140
Total$3330$5520$10440

Rough Materials

Everything contractors use and you do not see at the end of remodeling process is called rough materials. In industry also we say construction materials when  addressing things that go inside the walls during renovation.

Bathroom projects have rough materials like drywall with compound, wood or metal studs, insulation for walls, screws, plywood and few others.

Cost of all construction materials for average bathroom costs should not exceed $1000 but most complicated factor is knowing exactly what you need and buying it from supplier with on site delivery.

For average size bathroom you should be purchasing:

  • 5-6 sheets (4×8) of water and mold resistant drywall.
  • 6-8 sheets (4×8) of regular drywall
  • 1 Box oh mud compound for drywall
  • 1 Roll of tape for connections
  • 25 – 30 of 2×4 wood studs or metal studs (if framing required)
  • 40 – 120 sq ft of insulation (if 1 or 2 walls of bathroom are exterior)
  • Screws for framing and drywall installation
  • 1-2 piece of 4×8 plywood (for replacing subfloor)

Mechanical Materials

Plumbing materials

Different types of plumbing materials for the bathroom.

For technical work that is done by licensed specialists like plumbers, electricians and hvac workers special material is required to be purchased, which we call mechanical material.

Normally technicians purchase these items in specific supplier stores that sell only electrical materials or plumbing details.

Bathroom remodeling is considered a small and not complicated project, for which all mechanical materials can be purchased in local hardware stores.

Mechanical materials required for bathroom remodeling:

  • Drain pipes for vanity, toilet and shower
  • Plumbing water pipes for hot and cold water
  • Electrical wires for lights, outlets and switches
  • Boxes for outlets and switches inside the wall
  • Exhaust and duct pipes for heat and fan ventilation

DIY Project

If you think that you have the abilities to completely finish this project completely by yourself than you can save tons of money. You should have experience in renovation to even consider this type of work without hiring contractors.

Proper tools have to be used each step of work and if you do not have some of them, you can rent it at Home Depot or Lowes for several day. DIY bathroom remodeling projects can save home owners more than $10 000, but you need to know what you are doing.

What we suggest doing if you do want to go ahead with DIY bathroom project, is to hire licensed electrician, HVAC professional and plumber to do their part and do everything else by yourself. 

Hiring Team of Subcontractors or Handyman

Hiring team of subcontractors

Workers team with different construction specialties.

The most preferred way of finishing or renovating bathroom is to hire subcontractors for all the work. Why should you spend extra money out of your pocket on brand name that will have same workers anyways.

It is hard to find these professionals and you have to have some inside connections.

The problem with subcontractors is that their work will not be warranted and sometimes completed without proper licensing.

Labor costs can be cut in half when hiring handyman and subcontractors. You pay the same price for all the materials and your overall project cost on average can be $11 000.

Bathroom Remodeling Company Costs

Larger cities would have companies with dedicated crews that work on bathroom renovation projects. These companies operate as any other business and dealing with them will cost a little bit extra.

They have websites, portfolio, reviews on many platforms but they also have overheads with company profit that you will pay for by hiring them.

Bathroom remodeling companies provide warranty and customer services that is a must in developed world. They have a salesman and possibly a supervisor or foreman that will be controlling the flow of the job and making schedule for work and deliveries.

Our team specified the above table of bathroom renovation costs breakdown when dealing with bathroom remodeling companies.

Supervising Job and Hiring Sub Trades One by One

The supervisor works with the engineer

The supervisor checks the construction project.

We all have friends and family members that can be connected to renovation or construction industry one way or another. For home owners that have extra time to manage the job and know experienced trades for the job, On Point Remodeling recommends breaking down each step of bathroom remodeling project and hiring separate trades for work.

This process will save the money and insure that each task is competed by true professional that specializes in one particular type of work. 

Our suggestions for supervising trades:

  • Leave last payment until job is complete and quality checked
  • Make sure they clean up after completion of their work
  • Check next trade previous work for deficiencies (e.g. drywallers to check framing work, painters to check taping work)
  • Have then on schedule or they will not take it seriously

Trades that Get Involved in Bathroom Remodeling

We wanted to break down the project for home owners to understand what trades get involved in bathroom remodeling jobs and what is the sequence of all steps. Very complicated bathrooms may have additional steps and trades, and our post is for average project that all our readers can go through.

1.Planning and Designing – $1500

Designers charge for their knowledge and professionalism in gathering your thoughts with ideas and expressing it on layout with items that work in renovation. Drafting professionals also will save you tons of money and time with efforts to create proper layout with finishes.

2.Demolition – $500

This part of work is often forgotten or undervalued by home owners. Demolition is the most dangerous and dirties work in renovation. Guys need to carefully remove existing parts, package it in bags or bins, carry out for disposal and clean after without leaving a trace.

3.Framing and Insulation – $300

Installing new wall studs for boundaries of your new bathrooms is not that complicated and professional framer can complete the job in half a day. Adding insulation into cavities is even easier and literally anyone can do it with proper tools.

4.Heat and Exhaust – $500

You wont always require HVAC professional on bathroom remodeling project. They are needed when the plan is to add or relocate heat runs from furnace or change/add exhaust pipes for ventilation system in ceiling.

5.Plumbing Rough ins and Final – $1800

Average cost for license plumber is $600 per spot and bathrooms 3+ spots. They spend a day on installation of rough ins for drain and water liens and than come in at the end of remodeling for final installations of faucets, showeheads and toilet.

6.Electrical Rough ins and Final – $400

Electricians have the same process idea as plumbers. They create rough ins and come back later on for putting last touches on plugs and switches. Electrical rough ins should be done within 1-2 hours by licensed professional and same time for final work.

7.Drywall and Tape – $500

Screwing drywall to studs is the easiest task in this part of work. The more complicated step is taping, mudding and sanding. Bathroom is relatively small project for tapers and they don’t wish to come back many times after leaving mud to dry. This why the bring ventilators with warm air to speed up drying process.

8.Prime and Painting – $350

Similar to drywallers, painter should use fan and ventilator to speed up drying for prime and paint. They want to finish everything by the end of the day and never come back for additional coats.

9.Tile Installations – $1100

First day tilers put cement as preparation for tiles. This is done to even out deficiencies on the floor and walls. Next day after everything is dry and sturdy, they install tiles. They need to come back again to complete grout for all tiles. Sometimes work is speed up and cane be completed in 2 days.

10.Carpentry and Cabinets – $300

Carpenters come in almost as last stage workers for installation of door, casings around window/door and baseboards on the floor. It should take less than a day to complete 1 small or medium size bathroom for carpenter.

11.Overall Finishes – $300

Last touch up finishes can be done by handyman that has basic tools like screwdrivers, caulking gun, drills and knife. Their work will not be running for more than 1 full day. After-all its only missed caulking spots, installing hardware for towel and toilet paper holder and few more touch ups.

Condo Projects Are 25% More Expensive

Condo project cost

Couple calculating the cost of a condo project.

Not all the bathroom remodeling projects cost the same even though the size and details of project are identical. In complicated for work spaces such as condo buildings and apartments the prices go up because of multiple restrictions in the building and problems with delivery materials.

Be ready to spend 20% – 30% more on similar projects when hiring bathroom renovation contractors in condo unit.

Doing the project by yourself is not going to be more expensive, because materials will cost the same, but you will spend much more time and efforts for the same work.

Other Items that Increase Overall Bathroom Costs

Now you are almost ready for bathroom remodeling project and understand most of the costs involved. Here are listed other possible expenses that may come up in your specific project:

  • Protection of other places at home with tarps, plastic and ramboards
  • Structural changes for enlarging bathroom sizes or repositioning walls
  • Moving plumbing lines through joists and walls for new locations of toilet, vanity and shower
  • Drawings and permits that may be required for adding new bathroom or relocation
  • Installation of new window or skylight in bathroom
  • Hiring local designer or using On Point design services

Our team of designers can create your perfect sketch with rendering to know exactly what bathroom renovation costs breakdown will be. With spending this money we will help save much more on outsourcing all finish materials and creating complete work process schedule.

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Each building has some sort of driveway or at least should have. The main reason is for vehicles to come closer without need to walk all the way. Some homes are residential with small driveway for their car to come in and park before garage or front entrance, and others can be large commercial buildings with loading docks, delivery entrances and casual parking entrances. On Point Remodeling was asked for suggestions on residential driveway for new home construction, and we decided to write detailed article for all our readers. Using this guide you can select the material for your driveway and see what works for your budget. Here are the materials for driveway we will be discussing in our guide:
  • Asphalt
  • Concrete
  • Paver Stone
  • Crushed stone
  • Brick
  • Seashell
  • Gravel
To find good contractor for your driveway, you can either ask our team by email or try to find someone local that worked with neighbors or nearby buildings.

Installation process of any material surface on your driveway

a) Demolition and Excavation – Before anything is done, your contractor will get heavy machinery and scratch off old layer of driveway. They need to go down at least 5-6 inches to insure proper layering before your final layer of material is installed. b) Material Purchase and Delivery – At this point your contract is signed and you already know how the surface will look. Contracting company purchases necessary materials and delivers them to site. Double check if material is correct and not damaged. c) Preparation of Sublevel – Whatever you place as final material, it cannot just be installed directly on top soil. Gravel is the first choice of material that goes down at this stage. Other preferred material is screen sand that can go on top of gravel and works better with stone and bricks. d) Compaction of Ground – To prevent your driveway from moving and changing shapes, all the layers from bottom up have to be properly compacted. Do not leave any spot untouched while doing this or you can get small holes and cracks in driveway after installation. E) Final Installation – This is when all the magic happens. After all preparations and dirty work the final installation is made literally within hours and you can enjoy new driveway. Stone and brick is set up by hand, while other materials require some sort of machinery with manual labor to even out surface.

1. Asphalt

Probably the most used material for road top surfaces as well as driveways is asphalt. This is a mix of gravel and sand that is mixed in and combined by asphalt cement with crude oil. Pros of Asphalt Driveway
  • Very popular and easy to find materials/contractor
  • Completed in 1 day and you can drive on it after
  • Patches and small holes can be fixed fast
Cons of Asphalt Driveway
  • Easy to damage and cracks appear in few years
  • Almost everyone else has same surface
  • Oily surface and chemicals used in mix
Prepared for asphalt driveway will cost you around $5 per square foot to finish. The contractors that take care of entire process from taking out old driveway surface, install subsurface and compact the ground with new asphalt on top, will charge on average $5500 per regular size driveway at single home property.

2. Concrete

What we call concrete is a mixture of Portland cement, aggregate as well as sand with gravel. Suggested thickness of concrete for driveway is 6 inches. The mixture needs to cure without being touched or driven on top for several days. Pros of Concrete Driveway
  • Durable material for large weights
  • Long lifespan if installed properly
  • Winter and summer friendly
Cons of Concrete Driveway
  • Has marks and stains over time
  • Hard to repair without replacement
  • Super hard to DIY
To hire contractors for concrete driveway it will cost around $7-$9 per square foot. This will include site preparation with gravel spread and new concrete installation. They will order full truck of concrete (or several for larger driveways) to pour inside forming. Smoothening and curing is required after installation.

3. Paver Stone

The most luxurious material that you can use to create driveway path with is paver stone. It is made out of natural stone with uneven rough shapes that have different line patterns. Paver stones are very heavy and are perfect for weights on top of them. Almost every city in Europe has roads and walks made out of stone that were installed centuries ago. Pros of Paver Stone Driveway
  • Creative designs can be done
  • Personal looks, can match the house
  • Can replace single stone in minutes
Cons of Paver Stone Driveway
  • Weeds growing through
  • Stone can move over time
  • Most expensive material
There is wide selection of stone that can be purchased for your driveway. On average we recommend settling with $17-$20 per square foot for stone with installation included. Working with this material is very intense labor and we recommend hiring professionals that do this type of work every day.

4. Crushed Stone

Our readers sometimes mistake crushed stone with gravel, but this is not the same material. Crushed stone material is achieved when machine is mechanically crushing larger pieces of unused stone for this specific purpose. It is larger than gravel and can have smooth finish. Crushed stone can also have a mix of colors, which is much pleasant to eyes than gravel. Pros of Crushed Stone Driveway
  • Low maintenance required
  • Fits rural area style
  • Can be reused for other purposes
Cons of Crushed Stone Driveway
  • Gets very hot during summer
  • Can be messy after many drives
  • Hard to remove snow and ice
Buying crushed stone and installing it on your driveway is as easy as it gets. Similar to other rough materials discussed in this post, only small tools like shovels, dolly and buckets are required to spread it on the road. The cost of crushed stone driveway is between $4 and $6 per square foot from professional local contractors that can finish the job in several days.

5. Brick

The same brick we see being used in wall construction can be installed as top driveway surface. Brick is manufactured by compressing clay with plastic mass. It is heated to extreme temperature and dried up to become as solid as you know it. Pros of Brick Driveway
  • Variety of selections in shapes and shades
  • Bricks are recyclable
  • Slip resistant with rough top part
Cons of Brick Driveway
  • Needs regular maintenance
  • Change color over time
  • Old fashion looking
Installing brick on driveway costs $10 per square foot, which is not too far from masonry brick laying as part of the wall. To save money you can use or purchase old brick, that was part of a wall before. Do not mix these two jobs and contact landscaping professionals instead of masonry contractors that work with bricks.

6. Seashell

This material is popular on the coast line where shells can be found near the water. Construction companies use seashells to add in other materials as well as spread them on driveway in rough condition, without adding anything else. It usually comes in white or pearl color and darkens within year because of mixing with sand and dirt. Pros of Seashell Driveway
  • Environmentally friendly
  • Has natural drainage
  • Creates worm vibe of beach house
Cons of Seashell Driveway
  • Break and crack under light weight
  • Sharp and very hard to walk on
  • Gets stuck in shoes and tires
To deliver and spread seashells on driveways costs below $4, which is only slightly more expensive than rough gravel. As you go further from coast line, cost of material increases due to delivery. This material is elegant and very soft. We recommend adding edge lines with darker color landscape material to create visual path.

7. Gravel

This material is used in other construction mixes and underlayment systems. It’s literally fragments and small crushed stones that are put on top of soil. It is easily spread out by hands and anyone can do it. Pros of Gravel Driveway
  • Cheapest of them all
  • Easy DIY Job
  • Can install another material on top
Cons of Gravel Driveway
  • Needs to be graded very often
  • Will mix with dirt and leaves
  • Washes up with heavy rains
It is rough material and can be purchased in bulk (by metric tons or cubic meters). The cost of driveway with gravel should not exceed $3 per square foot, but you can save tons of money by purchasing materials and doings installation by yourself. You do not require specific tools or heavy equipment for the job and delivery of gravel can be arranged directly to your project.

Conclusion

To properly finish any and all of these driveways requires skills and experience. There is no way you can complete any of these projects without heavy equipment and tools that regular home owner’s just store in their garages. Most of those who will read this post will prefer to install asphalt driveway, because of its popularity and low costs. We want to encourage home owners to go for personal preference and what matches your house, rather than getting the most affordable and popular items. Driveway jobs have to be completed fast; otherwise you will need to park elsewhere while the project is running. To not overpay, ask us for quotation sample on material you prefer in specific region where the work need to be done and our team can provide some numbers.

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