Are you moving things around? Changing plumbing? Electrical? Where's the rest of the 32K coming from in that 40K quote? Vanity? Shower tower? Curbless? There's something in the scope of work that isn't budget.

We are not moving anything around. Scope of work includes:

1. Replacing cabinets (60" vanities; one with 2 sinks; one with 1 sink)
2. New countertops /sinks/faucets
3. Replacing tile on floors
4. Replacing tile on tub/shower surround in one bath
5. Replace tile in walk in 4' x 3' shower - new shower pan in the other bath
   * Removing part of wall in this shower to install pony wall with glass
6. Refacing linen closet in one bath to match new cabinetry
7. Building toilet topper cabinet to match new cabinetry
8. Changing swing direction of one entry door and replacing door (6 panel interior)
9. Removing popcorn ceilings and removing wallpaper and retexturing both in Mediterranean knockdown.
   Labor is about 21K; materials 19K...
10. Replacing mirror and frames
11. Removing fluorescent light boxes and replace with wall lighting (2 fixtures above vanities in each bath)

I've been looking at faucets that run 200-250 a piece; sinks around 100; lighting around 200 a piece.

In my mind labor should be 16-18K and materials shouldn't be more than 6K. I'm not talking high end anything here - but want decent quality with longevity.

One thing I'm not comfortable with the contractor buying the materials. I feel better buying the materials myself and storing them here for when the contractor needs them. I get them buying the cabinetry, granite and tile; but sinks, fixtures, mirrors, etc. I think I can locate what I need and ensure I'm getting a good price.

Before talking to the contractor I got estimates for:Custom cabinetry and refacing - $4600 (including installation)
Granite - $2000 installed
Fixtures (online order) - $3300 includes sinks, faucets, towel racks, robe hooks, toilet paper holders, etc. - does not include installation
But these are all different vendors and we'd have to coordinate everything. This might be the best option or getting more estimates from other contractors.

One 60" vanity can be 1K in a cheap line or 6K in my semi-custom line. Same with tops. $900 for a group A granite to 2.8K for a Quartz. Just the tile and glass is probably 10k with a modern waterproofing system and competent install. Plumbing costs are high, moving plumbing drains and upsizing to the required larger drain for a shower is even higher. Glass is insane. Lots of variability in ranges for most of your product Though.

Location is the biggest determinate of price. Get more quotes would be the best thing you could do at this point.

1) Since you are looking for standard-size vanities, look at ready-made ones that come with glass/porcelain/stone tops and sinks already included. You will save a packet over buying those things separately, plus the labor to install them.

For example, this is $1400:
http://www.amazon.com/Amelia-60-inch-Single-Bathroom-Carrara/dp/B00CDUFDKW#productDetails

Solid wood with marble. That sounds good enough for what you're describing.

Your labor cost for the vanities is then just hooking up the plumbing (which it sounds as if you are capable of doing yourself if you want to save money).

2) Remove this item from your list of work:

1. Building toilet topper cabinet to match new cabinetry

This is not a standard thing in bathrooms, so buyers won't miss it. And you don't really use these bathrooms, so you won't miss it.

3) Reconsider your tile choice. You can get tile MUCH cheaper than that. Get one of the classic designs (like hex tile for the floor) in a standard color, and that'll be much cheaper than what you have in mind currently.

Why spend so much on high end finishes for something you will rarely use? Not to be critical, just curious.

Choosing Chinese isn't the real way to save money. The real way to save money is to reduce the scope of work for the project. Labor intensive choices like moving drains and tiled showers with glass are what is driving the costs. Leave the tubs. Put in a Swanstone tub surround or an acrylic. Much easier to clean and cheaper on the labor for sure. Do a shower curtain. Paint the existing vanities. Cultured marble tops. Now you are at your budget.

My Swanstone tub surround cost me $700 before labor, and it required a lot of labor from me (DIY) to make the walls totally plumb as the manufacturer required.

I was willing to pay more and to do more labor to avoid cleaning grout. But for a little-used shower? There are MUCH cheaper tile options.

Thanks everyone for your responses. One question I have is what constitutes high end? What price point is that? One correction I have is one of our vanities must be 66 inches and the other one is 60 inches. So not exactly standard. The style we want is like this: http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Direct-Vanity-60-inch-Mission-Spa-Dark-Brown-Double-Vanity-Sink-Cabinet/8935817/product.html?refccid=TL7QWA3HYR5Y6GCKMKJLW7RUSI&searchidx=0. Therefore, we thought we have to go custom.

We are not moving the placement of anything.

We currently have marble counters in our baths and they have not held up well.

I'm actually ok with the costs for the pony wall as that bath is very small and the glass will help open it up and provide much needed light.

There are toilet toppers in all of our baths and we are removing the one in the bath with the linen closet. I'm concerned about removing in the other bath since the vanity would be the only storage. While we don't use these bathrooms much; we do want to keep in mind future owners who would likely be a family vs. DINKs.

I want nice looking and good quality but believe. It should be achievable for 20-25k.

I welcome all thoughts and ideas. I've just been picking things I like but it sounds like I need to know where the better options are.

If you see it on Houzz, it's upper end. If you see it in a mobile home showroom, it's lower end. Middle of the road is in between.

To turn a tub into shower requires relocating the drain and upsizing it. If you're going to do this correctly, to code, and with inspections, as you should. That's not cheap, especially if you are on slab. Glass partitions of any kind will run you 1K+.

Tile labor will be higher than the tile itself IF you have someone who knows what they are doing and they build an actual waterproof shower. Cheap hacks who use greenboard and mastic are still plentiful out there in the real world though. $700 for a solid surface surround would be a bargain compared to what a real modern waterproof shower with a Kerdi, or Redguard,or Hydroban, or similar system, costs. Yes, those systems are worth it. Yes, they take the project out of a lower end costs.

Remember that Average Costs for a midrange bath redo is 17K. You can select your region and city to see what the specific numbers are for your location.

Sophie,

Thank you for your response. We are not turning a tub into a shower. We have existing shower in a very small bath off a bedroom where we want to remove 1/2 of one wall to create a pony wall with glass. We believe this will open up the space and make it feel bigger.

The last time we remodeled was in 2000 in a entry level home. We used green board; is that not used anymore?

So based on your response it is likely to be $34k to do midrange on 2 baths? Oh boy, DH will scrap the project... He refuses to pay more than $25K as he is unsure we would recoup enough of the cost whenever we sell (about 7 years from now)

To give you a perspective: Four years ago I remodeled our down stairs bath - all top of the line: toto / grohe / Italian porcelain tile/ 55" vanity (came with sink / counter top - about $1100) / 3 x 6 shower / glass shower door / heated floor. I did not tile the walls up to the ceiling. The cost of the materials was about $9,000

Last year I did our 9 x 11 master bath with Italian porcelain tile / 60" vanity (with counter top & sink) / Kohler tub / Grohe fixtures / quality lighting (not Home Depot carp) / Toto wall hung toilet / new Low-E privacy glass window / heated floor / tiled floor to ceiling / new 6 panel door. The cost of the materials was about $15,000.

geoffrey_b, Thank you for that information. I'm working up our material list (which sounds comparable to yours) and I think our final number for our TWO baths will come in around $11K vs. the nearly 19K they quoted. Their labor quote was 21K. Personally I think we are paying for the brand name of the company and I think we should be able to come in more like 14-16K for labor.

What were your labor costs? Where did you purchase materials? Showrooms or online? Did your contractor purchase or did you?

We have decided we can handle the removal of the existing cabinets and fixtures and will ask for that to be removed from scope.

I'm trying to finalize the materials list and look for other contractors for quotes. I still maintain we should be able to get this done for $25K.

You're doing "comparable" baths to geoffrey's, but have double his material costs for 2 baths, which would be 30K, with DIY labor. And you still think that you could do both for 25K, with labor? For "comparable". I'm lost.

Let me doublecheck my numbers but it's not fully double the costs. Also I'm looking to get as much online to save on price. I'm just trying to understand what's reasonable. Because 40K is not going to get my bathrooms done unless I pay for it all myself, which I can't right now. Plus I do think 40K is high. I'm trying to get down to 25K so that my husband will agree to this project so I can get the bathrooms done. I'm looking for help on approaches, websites, information to be able to hit the target. One bathroom is very small - about 50 sq feet. The other is larger; around 80 sq feet. But the main things changing are: cabinets, countertops, sinks, tile and fixtures. The small bath is getting a pony wall. We are keeping the tub in the larger bath and adding frames to the existing mirrors.

We have decided to do some demo ourselves. I can't go too low end because that will affect resale down the road. I have to stay mid range as much as possible.

I appreciate everyone's input. We've always done our own remodeling work in the past so why I have to truly understand these costs. Is my target unreasonable? Do I have to give up this project and put the funds I have towards a master redo down the road?

@geoffrey_b Thank you again and again. I completed our detailed materials list (in which I included countertops - $ based on contractor estimates, tile (~$5.50/sq ft), fixtures, accessories, shower rods, knobs, shower enclosure, glass for pony wall, frames for mirrors, lighting) and came to $12K. That is buying most of the items online. We are looking at Toto fixtures/accessories - we already have Toto toilets and LOVE them.

We are having the vanities, shaker style, custom made due to the odd size needed in the one bath (66"). Along with having one toilet topper cabinet made. We are reframing the existing built-in linen closet and having new doors made.

So even if I went with 16K for labor (still believe we can come a bit off of that) we should be closer to $25K than to $40K.

Thank you again all for your help. We have made some changes to manage the scope of our remodel and get the budget in the 20-22K range. We decided to keep the existing tiles on the walls and floors. We also are going with chrome vs. brushed nickel fixtures. I had gotten the cost down to about 27-28K with our original material choices but DH wanted to bring the cost down further. We will put the difference towards our planned master bath remodel. We will have updated mirrors, cabinets, countertops, paint which I think will help freshen up the baths a great deal. Work will begin in about 3-4 weeks - will provide pictures when done. This process has been quite educational.

You may also want to post in the Bathrooms forum where there are several people interested in bath remodels and who may not look at the remodeling forum.

You could also peruse Craig's List etc. for well-made dressers to top with granite. You'd have to find them with dimensions to fill your space, but if you don't mind DIY, you could retrofit them for plumbing and sinks or do a vessel sink and still have storage space.

How to remodel on a moderate budget: (note: there is no remodeling on a small budget)

1. budget friendly product (functional not glamorous)

2. used product

3. DIY (biggest money saver)

Well, the truism is, to remodel with a moderate budget, you start with a miniscule budget and let reality beat you into increasing it Upwards.