Latest / USA Cabinet Store Remodeling Podcast / How To Plan A Bathroom Remodel: Six Steps, Timelines, Permits

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How To Plan A Bathroom Remodel: Six Steps, Timelines, Permits · USA Cabinet Store Remodeling Podcast

• 0:05
  Welcome back to the Remodel Report by USA Cabinet
• 0:08
  Store. I am Chris, and today we are doing something
• 0:11
  different. We are not talking about what a bathroom
• 0:14
  remodel costs. We are talking about how to plan
• 0:17
  one. Which is the episode people actually need.
• 0:21
  Hi everyone, Jessica here. In our showrooms,
• 0:24
  the projects that go wrong were almost never
• 0:26
  built wrong. They were planned wrong, months
• 0:29
  before the first tile came off the wall. So give
• 0:32
  me the whole plan in one breath. How do you plan
• 0:34
  a bathroom remodel? Six steps in order. Consultation,
• 0:38
  where the goals and the budget get honest. Measurement
• 0:41
  and discovery. Layout and 3D design before you
• 0:44
  fall in love with finishes. Material selection.
• 0:48
  A written itemized scope and estimate with permits
• 0:50
  assigned. And only then, ordering and installation.
• 0:54
  The plan is finished when the permit is issued
• 0:56
  and every product is sitting in your garage.
• 0:59
  Not before. That last part sounds like a rule
• 1:02
  you enforce. It is the rule. Demolition does
• 1:05
  not start until everything is on site and inspected.
• 1:08
  A missing faucet cartridge during planning is
• 1:10
  a phone call. During construction, it is a bathroom
• 1:14
  your family cannot use for three extra weeks.
• 1:17
  Okay, timelines. People hear a bathroom takes
• 1:18
  two weeks, true? Construction on a typical hall
• 1:22
  bathroom takes four to seven weeks and a primary
• 1:24
  suite seven to ten. But door to door, from the
• 1:28
  first meeting to the final walkthrough, plan
• 1:30
  on eight to sixteen weeks. because design decisions,
• 1:33
  material lead times, and permits all run before
• 1:36
  demolition day. The vanity usually sets the clock.
• 1:40
  Stock arrives in days, semi -custom in about
• 1:42
  four to six weeks, and full custom can take up
• 1:45
  to 12. So the long pull is not the construction
• 1:48
  at all? Almost never. It is the ordering and
• 1:51
  the permits, which is why a well -planned project
• 1:54
  orders everything early and then builds fast,
• 1:57
  and a badly planned one demos fast and then waits.
• 2:00
  Let us do money briefly, because this is a planning
• 2:03
  episode. What should people budget? Four planning
• 2:07
  tiers. A budget refresh runs $5 ,000 to $10 ,000.
• 2:11
  Mid -range, $16 ,000 to $28 ,000. And that is
• 2:14
  where most full remodels land. High end, $30
• 2:18
  ,000 to $50 ,000. Luxury custom starts around
• 2:21
  $60 ,000. The national average sits near $16
• 2:24
  ,500. And whatever your number is, hold 10 %
• 2:27
  to 20 % on top of it outside the contract. for
• 2:30
  what the walls are hiding. Is $10 ,000 enough?
• 2:34
  For a refresh, yes, if you are disciplined. Keep
• 2:39
  every fixture where it is. Reuse what works.
• 2:43
  Choose a stock vanity. Skip the custom glass.
• 2:47
  It is not enough for anything that moves plumbing.
• 2:50
  Relocating a single fixture adds roughly $600
• 2:53
  to $1 ,500 and a tub -to -shower conversion runs
• 2:56
  $2 ,000 to $8 ,000 even without moving the plumbing.
• 2:59
  That leads to the layout question. You say the
• 3:01
  layout is where the money is saved or spent.
• 3:04
  The strongest cost control decision in bathroom
• 3:06
  planning is keeping fixtures where they are.
• 3:10
  Every move, toilet, or drain buys plumbing work,
• 3:12
  open floors, permits, and inspections. Sometimes
• 3:16
  the layout truly fails you, and the move is worth
• 3:18
  it. But make that decision at the design step
• 3:22
  with a floor plan in front of you, not in week
• 3:24
  two of construction. And when you review a layout,
• 3:27
  what are you actually checking? Clearances first.
• 3:30
  The industry guideline from the Kitchen and Bath
• 3:32
  Association recommends 30 inches of clear floor
• 3:35
  space in front of every fixture, and code minimums
• 3:38
  sit around 21. Then the practical stuff. Door
• 3:42
  and drawer swings that do not collide. Shower
• 3:45
  door clearance. Where the towel bars and the
• 3:48
  storage actually go. Outlets in the right places
• 3:50
  with proper protection. And where the exhaust
• 3:53
  duct runs, because a fan that vents into the
• 3:56
  attic instead of outdoors is a mold farm on a
• 3:58
  timer. You also push people to think about the
• 4:01
  future while the walls are open. Because it is
• 4:04
  nearly free during framing and expensive forever
• 4:06
  after. Solid blocking behind the drywall for
• 4:09
  future grab bars. A curbless shower entry. A
• 4:13
  comfort height vanity. And the crowd favorite
• 4:15
  from the remodeling forums. An outlet by the
• 4:18
  toilet for a bed A seat. Costs almost nothing
• 4:21
  at rough -in. People love it. Speaking of the
• 4:24
  forms, there's a Reddit thread where someone
• 4:27
  about to start a bathroom remodel asked for advice,
• 4:30
  and the top answers were brutal. Brutally accurate.
• 4:34
  The most upvoted warning was simply, it will
• 4:37
  take longer than you expect. And one commenter
• 4:40
  gave a formula I quote to clients, take your
• 4:43
  schedule and multiply by three, then add 10 %
• 4:46
  more time and 20 % more cost for every decade
• 4:49
  your home is older than 1990. The multiplier
• 4:52
  is dramatic, but the direction is dead right,
• 4:54
  and it is exactly why the contingency exists.
• 4:57
  There was also a confession in that thread about
• 4:59
  a shower bench. A homeowner built a tiled bench
• 5:02
  into the shower, used it three times in two years,
• 5:06
  and called it their biggest remodel mistake.
• 5:08
  That is a planning lesson. Interrogate every
• 5:11
  feature at the design step. What does it cost
• 5:14
  in space and waterproofing complexity? And would
• 5:17
  a $40 teak stool do the same job? All right,
• 5:20
  permits. You work in seven states. How different
• 5:23
  can bathroom permits really be? Very. The general
• 5:27
  rule travels everywhere. Move or add plumbing,
• 5:30
  wiring, or walls, and you need a permit. Paint,
• 5:34
  flooring, and a like -for -like fixture swap
• 5:36
  usually do not. But the details are local. Fairfax
• 5:41
  County, Virginia exempts strictly cosmetic work,
• 5:44
  even a vanity swap on identical plumbing, and
• 5:46
  runs everything else through an online portal.
• 5:49
  with eligible minor projects clearing review
• 5:51
  in a few business days. Maryland requires contractors
• 5:55
  to hold a state home improvement license, and
• 5:57
  it is enforced. Houston treats flooring, tile,
• 6:01
  and simple faucet or toilet swaps as exempt finish
• 6:03
  work. And Florida sounds permissive until plumbing
• 6:07
  or electrical gets involved, which in a bathroom
• 6:09
  is always, so most real remodels there are permitted
• 6:12
  and some counties flood test your shower pan
• 6:14
  before they let anyone tile it. Flood test. Explain
• 6:18
  that because it sounds dramatic. It is the best
• 6:21
  moment of the whole project. Before any tile
• 6:23
  goes on, the shower pan gets its waterproofing
• 6:26
  membrane, the drain is plugged, and the pan holds
• 6:29
  standing water to prove nothing leaks. We also
• 6:32
  insist the waterproofing system is named in the
• 6:34
  contract, a liquid membrane like RedGuard or
• 6:37
  a sheet system like Schluter -Kerdi. A shower
• 6:40
  that is merely tiled is not waterproofed, and
• 6:43
  water always finds the shortcut. One more permit
• 6:47
  thing. Who should actually pull the permit? The
• 6:49
  licensed contractor. Every time. The permit holder
• 6:53
  answers for the work. If a contractor asks you
• 6:56
  to pull it yourself as an owner -builder, that
• 6:58
  is often a sign they do not hold the license
• 7:00
  the trade work requires. In Virginia, you can
• 7:03
  look up a contractor's license class online in
• 7:06
  about a minute. Do it before you sign anything.
• 7:09
  Rapid fire. Where does someone start today if
• 7:11
  their bathroom drives them crazy? Write down
• 7:14
  what actually fails you. Storage, lighting, ventilation,
• 7:19
  safety. Then set your true ceiling number, measure
• 7:22
  the room, and take photos. Those three things
• 7:25
  turn your first conversation from browsing into
• 7:28
  planning. Biggest planning mistake you see? Choosing
• 7:31
  tile before the layout is settled. Finishes are
• 7:34
  the fun part, so people start there, and then
• 7:37
  the whole plan bends around a backsplash. Layout
• 7:39
  first, finishes last. Your future self will thank
• 7:43
  you. And the quote comparison trap? Never compare
• 7:47
  bottom lines. Compare line by line. Allowances,
• 7:51
  exclusions, brands and model numbers, who pulls
• 7:53
  the permits, payment milestones tied to progress,
• 7:56
  and the change order procedure. The lowest preliminary
• 8:00
  bid is usually just the least complete one. Three
• 8:03
  things to remember, Jessica. One. Plan in six
• 8:06
  steps, in order, and do not let demolition start
• 8:09
  until permits are issued and every product is
• 8:12
  on site. 2. Budget from the tiers? Hold 10 -20
• 8:17
  % for surprises and keep the plumbing where it
• 8:19
  is unless the layout truly fails you. 3. Permits
• 8:24
  are local. What is exempt in Houston needs paperwork
• 8:27
  and Fairfax, so ask your local office or your
• 8:29
  local showroom and put the answer in writing.
• 8:37
  is at usacabinetstore .com. The design consultation
• 8:42
  is free, in a showroom, at your home, or virtual.
• 8:46
  Bring your measurements. And your failure list.
• 8:49
  That is where every good plan starts. That is
• 8:52
  the remodel report. See you next episode.