yep. unfortunately I think that is the right ball park. Your contractor is estimating how much all the subs will be and then adding on a percentage for his fee and unforseen expenses he probably adds fees onto whatever the fixutres are too. If you can take on any work that a sub would do, or have the contractor do a part of the job and you do the rest ( like installing faucets, etc.) you will save a ton.

We are redoing the kids bath and gutting the laundry room. And those two projects are running us about 14k. My husband did all electrical and plumbing saving us about 4k. We were very lucky to find a contractor that did not sub and could do everything except elctircal and plumbing otherwise I know going through a high end contractor it would have been 25k+.

Keep getting bids and make sure you are showing the exact same plan to all the contractors who are doing bids.

good luck!

Where are you? I took one bathroom to the studs to completely remodel it and created a whole new bathroom out of an empty room (with no plumbing) and it was in the $50-60k range for both.

Also, look for a contractor who is willing to let you buy the materials, or who will pass on his discount to you. We are working with a contractor who let me work directly with his electrician, and either gives me his discount (tile shop) or is happy with me supplying the big-ticket materials (tub, faucets, etc). He buys the building materials (hardie, mud, framing, etc). I've found great buys on tub, faucets, etc., at a variety of places online and locally. It's a lot of work, but saves a ton of money. We're also able to use the kids' bath during the remodel, so we are letting him work us into his schedule as necessary. Taking longer, but again, saving money.

Sign up for Angies List if it's available in your area, or check some other local consumer review site.