These are really good points! He comes to me with great acclaim but I haven’t worked with him. Thanks again.

Everything that chispa has written above is spot on re: whether you should do both bathrooms at the same time - or wait to start the second one until after the first one has been completed.

I had to make that same decision a little while ago. I hired a contractor that had over 300 Google reviews (with a cumulative 4.9 star rating) + we knew someone who had used the company. I had contacted the company regarding my primary bathroom - but I decided to ask for a bid to do the surround of a tub/shower combo in one of my guest bathrooms (I had renovated the rest of the bathroom about six months earlier - but had decided to keep the 4" square white tile surround since it was in PERFECT condition + the white grout had zero staining or issues). I was told that it would cost less if I had it done the same time as when they were installing the cement board + waterproofing the shower in the primary bathroom.

Unfortunately, the owner sent over a new employee (he told me that the guy was his "business partner" in a text). The project began okay - but then the guy stopped showing up during the second week. I decided to do a background search on him - and discovered that he had been recently released from prison after serving a nine year sentence for fraud, theft, and assault. I called the owner of the company when issues began - and that's when I found out that he was not a business partner, but was a new employee that had only started a few weeks earlier. I asked if he did background checks on his employees - he confirmed that he did. HOWEVER, , he told me that he hadn't completed one yet on this particular employee.

I wound up having two torn up bathrooms - and it took awhile to find a new tile professional (that I trusted and was TCNA certified) to come in and work on the bathrooms. Anyone who had availability to work on the bathrooms in a few weeks was someone that I didn't want working in my home. Good contractors are booked out for several months (at least where I live).

There is actually more stuff that happened - but I won't bore you (although, I will add that some of my jewelry was missing). I was at the point that I wished that I had NEVER started the renovations. Both of the bathrooms had been in good shape - they were just "dated" - so, I wanted to update them.

My new tile professional is a great guy + does great work. He told me that he would complete the tub/shower surround first before having me sign a contract for the primary bathroom (the scope of work was much larger for the primary bathroom) - but he would "save" space in his schedule so that he could begin work on the primary bathroom two weeks after the guest bathroom was finished (he knew that he could easily push up the next job if I didn't want him to do the work + I think he was confident that I would be happy with his work).

Thank goodness that I had a third bathroom - or I would have been without a functioning shower for SEVERAL MONTHS!!!!

FYI - he actually gave me a discount for doing both bathrooms even though I didn't officially commit until after he started work on the guest bathroom. I think that it was worth the risk for him because he knew that there were several more projects I had for him to do (kitchen backsplash + four fireplaces + a new bathroom not yet constructed in the basement). He also told me later that he felt comfortable with me after our initial meeting (he typically doesn't take projects where the potential new client had issues with a previous contractor - there are always two sides to every story - and there are "bad" clients - just like there are "bad" contractors).

He told me that he understood why I felt the need to ask so many questions - and that he would need to "earn" my trust after the experiences I had with my previous contractors (there had been another contractor prior to the incident I described above - we had hired a contractor to do work because he had completed work for two of my law partners - which made me comfortable engaging him).

I knew that I was going to have my current tile installer completed the work on the primary bathroom after he finished tiling one of the side walls in my guest bathroom. Based upon that one wall, it was clear that he was a talented tile installer. Plus, he was happy to answer the many questions that I had, and didn't act "irritated" when I would come by to take a look at what was happening in the bathroom. He actually told me that he understood why I felt the need to "check" on him (he told me that I was suffering from "renovation PTSD" due what happened with the two previous contractors).

Sorry for such a long post - but this was such an ordeal - and I don't want anyone else to go through

If you have a place to stay, then have both bathrooms done at the same time.

In my experience, it is pretty disruptive to have work done so even if you are theoretically able to stay at home, it would be very unrestful for a prolonged period of time.

I did a remodel and moved out. I was able to move back in when there was still work to be done but the bathrooms were functional. They lacked mirrors, sconces, wallpaper and needed the last of the three inspections - but they were totally functional and for the most part I could lock myself in the master suite with the door shut as the rest of the construction went on in other rooms.

If you have a good GC and you have made sure that all of the necessary materials are there and not defective or missing parts, then there is an economy of speed and efficiency as the GC will schedule the various workers to come in and finish the segments in each bathroom.

And then the inspectors would come to check each bathroom in terms of Code. For example, a 24 hour test is needed for showers and this is done at the same time. Or the tile work is done at the same time etc. The glass person comes in with all of the glass enclosures at the same time.

It definitely would be less disruptive to renovate both bathrooms at the same time + there will be a cost savings benefit.

Having permits pulled and having inspections done will help to protect you a bit in the process - however, there have been many posts where permits were pulled, but there were still issues.

Having a good GC is important - as long as he/she always uses high quality subs to install the tile. It seems like the combination of (i) more people renovating portions of their homes,, and (ii) less truly talented individuals working in various trades these days = GC's being in a position where they have to take a chance using a sub when they are less familiar with his/her work. It's unfortunate, but it happens.

Make sure that you complete your due diligence on the GC you are considering engaging for your project. For example, ask for references that you are able to speak to - not just pretty photos of finished projects (sometimes people use photos of other contractors' projects and represent them as their own - you can do a Google search using some of the photos to make sure that they aren't included in a collection of projects posted by a different contractor).

You can also pull up court records in counties where the contractor works. This way you can look to see if there are any civil lawsuit that have been filed against the contractor (or criminal ones - as was important to know for the employee working in my home!) A lawsuit doesn't necessarily mean that you should never hire that contractor - it depends upon the disposition of the lawsuit (was it dismissed? was there a settlement? how many suits have been filed?) . What makes a contractor "great" is not whether he/she hasn't ever had any disputes/negative reviews/claims filed against him/her - it's how he/she addresses issues/problems when they arise.

The following is for informational purposes only, and does not constitute legal advice (or create an attorney/client relationship):

Also, try to have a contract that mutually protects the GC and you. It may be difficult to ask for a GC to revise his/her standard contract - but I've done it several times (I am an attorney - so, this part is easier for me than for many people - but it isn't impossible to do). The good news is that most (if not all - I haven't surveyed all jurisdictions in the U.S.) have enacted statutes covering work performed by contractors on residential properties. These statutes contain different provisions depending upon the jurisdiction, but essentially provide some protections for homeowners when having work/services performed on their homes.

FYI - the warranty provided by a GC (or other contractor) is not that important - most lawsuits regarding construction issues are not filed as warranty claims. Also, just because the one year (or however long) warranty period has expired does not = that you have no recourse if issues develop (or are discovered) after such expiration.

Make sure that your GC carries insurance that protects you if there is an issue caused by the GC or any of his/her subs. If a GC doesn't maintain the correct insurance + is insolvent = judgment proof, winning a judgment does not mean that you will be able to collect the amount of the award.

Also, make sure that you have a complete scope of work in the contract + the scope contains specific details related to the work. For example, the scope of work should include how the shower/tub surround will be waterproofed - not just that the contractor will waterproof the area. If you are having a shower pan built, you need to understand how the pan will be constructed (will it be a traditional water-in/water-out pan OR will a surface waterproof membrane be used? If it is a traditional shower pan - make sure that it will be constructed with a pre-slope underneath the pvc liner - that is one of the most common steps skipped by contractors, and will cause water to collect underneath the tile on your shower pan - with nowhere to go). You should definitely add a provision that all work will be completed in a good and workmanlike maner, and in accordance with all applicable laws, codes, ordinances, regulations, etc. + all manufacturers' specifications AND with NTCA's manual.

While inspections are important, it really depends upon the individual inspector. I've heard stories about inspectors that simply show up at a project, and barely look at what he/she is supposed to be inspecting (my legal practice focuses on commercial real estate development). Inspectors have zero liability if they miss something during an inspection. Plus, there are important parts of a project that aren't inspected (for example, was there 90% thinset coverage on the back of each of the tiles? If a liquid surface membrane was used, was it applied correctly + the correct thickness?)

Again, sorry for the long post - just want to share some information re: legal aspects. I feel like it's my way to contribute on this forum. Designers donate so much time + non-professionls on Houzz who have a lot of knowledge - providing some legal information (not advice) is what I am able to donate to help pay those others back for all that they do.

The one contractor I used for 4 bathrooms in our previous house had actually been convicted and served time for drug charges!

My neighbor used him first for a whole house remodel and loved him. He did stupid stuff as a young adult, served his time and changed his life around. All his jobs were through word of mouth and he was booked months/years out.