I agree. Lock in your prices and materials now. Prices are generally going up. The most important part is getting a contractor you trust. There are some really bad ones out there and you can't rely on online reviews.

Do it now and enjoy it sooner. In January of 2020 you might have thought the prices were high and waited a few months...

No one has a crystal ball. It might be a long time before the supply chain catches up with the demand.

Wow! Gosh, I didn't realize those prices were average. I've heard people talk about a $20K bathroom remodel so I thought that was more typical though I do realize price varies depending on scope of the project. I appreciate the feedback. I did speak with one contractor on the phone who told me he was completely booked for 2021. He had suggested that prices could be lower in the fall.

20K for ALL of that! No way!

I'm expecting to pay 20k to have a new shower tiled, replace the tub and tile the floor.

Shirlpp- Appreciate your feedback. The poster who said 20K (on a neighborhood fb group) was upset about the cost- though I don't know the extent of their renovation.

I did a gut remodel in Los Angeles which included two tiled bathrooms and I am not surprised by the price. Los Angeles is a high cost of living area and bathrooms are expensive. A small bathroom is not significantly less expensive than a larger bathroom because all you are saving is a small amount in actual materials. I probably spent more than that and my remodel was contracted for in 2018. My lack of knowing exactly what the final total is for the bathrooms is partly because some costs were subsumed in overall costs and partly because I never wanted to actually total up everything 😂😂🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

A $20,000 bathroom in Los Angeles would essentially be a builder grade type of bathroom with relatively cheap finishes and not much tile. Maybe in Podunkville, it gets you something nicer but not in Los Angeles

Have you specified finishes because once you start actually buying things, it can really add up. Frameless showers with treated glass, mirrors, nice sink amd bathroom fixtures, good toilets, electrical work, plumbing, knobs amd pulls.

And you don’t want to nickel and dime your GC. After reading horror stories on poor workmanship, a good GC who hires skilled labor is worth a premium. I doubt any good contractor is going to be less expensive in six months especially since the good ones are booked months in advance.

It is not just the cost of wood that has escalated although that is what is in the news. I had my GC back to tile my balcony and he was discussing how much more expensive EVERYTHING was including the materials needed to actually lay the tile. My tile was purchased pre-COVID ironically so I don't know what impact COVID has on tiles. He said that he had gotten a bid for glass in a bathroom he was working on and the price of the glass had gone up $4000 in the past year - it was a lot of glass as the original bid was $8000 but the same glass for the project had now increased by $4000. Everything on the supply chain has increased because of the price of raw materials and just the cost of shipping items.

I doubt prices are going to decline in the future unless there is a catastrophic meltdown eqiuvalent to 2008 when there was no construction for quite a while. But if that happens paying a bit more for a bathroom you are enjoying now would be the least of your problems.

A good contractor is hard to find. If you have the funds, and he has a good reputation, lock it in. Do your due diligence on anyone though. Check to be sure of license, insurance, and a couple of references.

If you don’t have the funds, then do one bathroom now, and one later.

I'm up in the SF Bay Area, so probably equivalent to your area. Our landlord redid our master bathroom 2 years ago, pre-COVID. This is a *tiny* bathroom: maybe 5"x8". They had to rip it down to the studs and repair the floor and a few joists b/c of a leak. In the process, they moved the shower head from one wall to the other; but toilet and sink plumbing remained the same. Home Depot vanity, re-used the solid surface top from the original bathroom; builder-grade lights; good quality shower system; mid-grade towel racks; on-sale tile for the shower; and a $15 roll of vinyl for the floor (I was pretty proud of myself for snagging that one) (I managed the project for my landlord). It cost $25K, and it was unpermitted. Your bathrooms sound like they're bigger, nicer, and have more things going on, so... ;)

Very very doubtful things will be cheaper this fall.

I just did a Master BR remodel in Los Angeles area, sounds like a fair price to me.......(unfortunately)!

"My question is- is there a way to respectfully ask the contractor if his estimate will be less come the fall?"

Sure, go for it. Contractors need a good laugh now and again too.

As you stated in your question, contractors are very busy. They are able to pick and choose who they want to work with, I believe you will end up not being one of the choosen ! You could ask him if there are any products or design choices you have asked forthat could be done in a less expensive manner..?

We DIY’d a shower remodel in one of our apartments about 5 years ago. Our cost was materials, some minor electrical, and plumbing. If I recall correctly, when I added it up at tax time it was close to $5K. Manufactured shower pan, tile, mortar, cement board, red guard, grout, tile saw rental, trowels, spacers, etc. All HD materials. White 6x8 tiles. I was very surprised at the total cost. Went from a 32” shower to a 42”x42”.

I my experience prices never go down only up So lock it in and get it done . As for the actul price I have no experience with US pricing but in Canada I have done many bathroom renos for 20K but hoestly not super high end anything and certainly not moving plumbing and really estimates are just a guess not written in stone so if you can nail down an actual quote you should but b e preapred even quaotes can change depending on what is hiding that no one can foresee.

Some more LA pricing for comparison. My to the studs master bath remodel 9 years ago was $40K for LABOR only. The last small 3-piece bathroom I did about 4 years ago was $26K for LABOR only ... GC did give me a better price on that bathroom because he was also going to do my kitchen a few months later. Lots of tile work with good quality tile and some quite expensive tile, so I wasn't going to skimp on the labor. The kitchen was $50K+ in LABOR only.

Thank you all for the continued feedback!! Very helpful to get a good reality check!

We are in the PNW. We are getting 80 to 90 all in as initial ballpark figures interviewing contractors to redo 2 bathrooms with mid range finishes.

If you are having LOTS of tile installed and getting the bathrooms stripped down to studs.... especially if this isn't a newer home. Make sure you get in there in the walls should be plumb. I learned earlier this year that making sure the walls are plumb and straight prior to tilework isn't automatically part of doing the job.

I agree these prices do not seem out of line.

On a side note - you spoke of custom vanities - not sure who you are ordering from, but many of the cabinet companies I deal with are 15 - 16 week lead times! Thats Oct... so an august/sept install may not even be possible.

We are currently booking jobs in November and Dec.

Good luck!

To answer your question, a respectful way to ask is to ask him if he's heard any rumors about when material prices will go back down? You could also ask him if he ever has a slow season or if he's busy year round.

I just wanted to offer sympathy for the poster and everyone else who is struggling to find a good quality professional contractor for their projects. It is overwhelming as a consumer to try to find a contractor and even more overwhelming trying to determine if they do quality work. Lumber prices have skyrocketed, but so have other building materials too. And with so many people investing in remodels now (due to more time at home with the pandemic and more people remodeling instead of moving due to housing market insanity), contractors and other trades people are in even higher demand. When you can't receive multiple bids from reputable contractors it's very difficult to determine if you are being given a fair price. I wish you the best luck in your projects.

I’m in the Bay Area, and that price seems about right compared to my bathroom that we priced in January and they’re starting on now.

Also heads up windows (If you need a new one for the bathroom) are 4- 5 months out. Some shower heads too! Crazy times

CTEC spot on as

I agree with mainenail above. I'm shocked at those quotes, however we don't live in your area. There is no way on gods green earth I'd pay that amount of money....especially knowing I can go the DIY route and do it myself. I don't mind hiring certain contractors, but anything I am capable of doing I'll do myself. In saying that, I watch a guy (contractor) on youtube who teaches you how to do it yourself. He even says that if you have a relationship w/a contractor that is a good thing, because if you don't, it will be very hard to get one. He also recommends that this year is not a good year to start projects due to the increasing cost of lumber and lack of contractors. He says prices will be going up again in July. He said to hold off if you can.

@Tina S When i read mainenail‘s post, I had a completely opposite interpretation. I thought they were saying that their completely low end shower with no labor costs was $5000 five years ago and so the costs for doing a bathroom with nice finishes and hiring good labor would be in line with OP’s bid.

And all of the posts by people who have had bathrooms remodeled support the bid as not being excessive.

I think remodeling a bathroom and doing it properly is beyond the scope of almost any DIY. Tiling, electrical, plumbing are highiy skilled trades. That you wouldn’t pay that amount really is not germane as most homeowners don’t have the skills to do it or the time to do it. I would no more remodel my bathroom DIY than I would leap off my balcony without a magic cape.

My father was extremely handy as he had apprenticed as a pipefitter as a young man but he accepted his limitations and hired someone to remodel the bathroom. Installing a toilet or a faucet okay but a total soup to nuts bathroom remodel - especially since he would be doing this at night and on the weekends so how many man hours would it reasonably take to do this on the side/ Also many people have full time jobs and wouldn’t have the time to do this kind of major project especially a bathroom which is something one wants available within a reasonable time frame. A finished basement might be done in spare time over a long period since it is not critical unlike a bathroom or kitchen

There are certainly ways to economize but remodeling a bathroom is expensive. If one can only afford a cosmetic touchup, a lot can be done to rejuvenate or one could forego tile but the bathroom described by OP would cost at least that amount.

lfblair768

FWIW, I gave our contractor our Discover card to make all material purchases, at that time Discover was having a 5% cashback on "home improvement."

I had to call and argue with Discover for a while as they considered home improvement to be the Big Orange store and so forth but finally agreed with me that our lumber/material costs from the wholesaler should absolutely qualify as home improvement.

We were able to purchase a nice toilet, bathtub, faucets, and other accessories via the cashback "for free."

Tina- I understand your reaction to the seemingly astronomical quote. Like Helen said, we are planning very extensive remodels that will require several skilled people. I’d love to do some of these things ourselves, but we have three very young children and it’s just not feasible.

We're paying $21k+ for a new master bath, the "+" is the cost to fix bad plumbing, haven't seen that bill yet. It's gut reno & we picked middle-of-the-road tiles, fixtures, vanity, etc., but we didn't move anything. We're in a HCOL area, maybe not as expensive as CA?? I don't see costs going down, if you're on your GC's schedule & want the work done, do it. We scheduled this in Jan. & they started May 10 - he's now booked through may 2022. I'm glad we did it when we did, otherwise we'd be waiting another year. Good luck :-)

Any GC that is booked until May 2022 isn't charging enough. I shudder to think the money he's losing.