The Bathroom Remodel Playbook: Scope, Waterproofing and Timeline

Bathrooms are the smallest rooms in the house and the easiest to get wrong — because everything that decides whether they last is buried behind tile. Here's the playbook we run on every J Hammer bathroom in LA.

Scope tiers, honestly priced

• Refresh — $15,000–$28,000: new vanity, toilet, fixtures, tile floor, paint and lighting. Layout untouched, tub/shower stays.
• Full remodel — $28,000–$55,000: down to the studs. New shower or tub with proper waterproofing, wall and floor tile, vanity, and the plumbing and electrical brought to code.
• Primary suite — $55,000–$90,000+: expanded footprint, curbless shower, freestanding tub, custom stone and cabinetry.

Waterproofing: the part you're really paying for

Tile is not waterproof. Grout is not waterproof. The membrane system behind them is — and it's where cheap bathroom remodels fail. A correct shower build in 2026 means a bonded waterproofing membrane over the pan and walls, flood-tested before a single tile goes on, with sloped pre-pans and sealed niches. It adds a day and a modest cost; skipping it eventually costs a subfloor, a ceiling below, or both.

The moisture details that age a bathroom

• Ventilation sized to the room — an undersized fan is why paint peels and mirrors stay fogged.
• Cement board, not drywall, behind wet-area tile.
• Silicone at every plane change — grout cracks where walls meet; silicone flexes.

A realistic timeline

A full bathroom remodel typically runs 3–5 weeks: demo and rough-in the first week, inspection, waterproofing and tile through the middle weeks (tile is slow because it's done right), then fixtures, glass and finish. The shower glass is usually the long-lead item — we measure after tile and order immediately.

One bathroom or the whole hall?

If two bathrooms share a wall or a plumbing stack, remodeling them together saves real money — one mobilization, one drywall/tile crew run, one inspection sequence. It's the most common "while we're at it" that actually pays off.

Send us a photo of your bathroom and what bugs you about it — we'll tell you which tier fixes it and what it runs on your home.