Your biggest cost will be labor, i.e. the physical demolition and re-assembling of the space, as well as any changes to the electrical, e.g. recessed lighting, changing placement of vanity fixtures. And since labor costs vary so widely from region to region, your best bet is to get several bids from general contractors to help you budget. The good news is, you're not moving plumbing lines so that will help.

Materials will cost you somewhere between $15K to $30K, depending on how fancy you want to go with finishes. Some great "value engineering" things to do without sacrificing style are:

1. Use porcelain tile instead of natural stone
2. You **might** be able to get away with a half-slab of engineered quartz for the vanity. Some manufacturers produce half-slabs in popular colors. I know Caesarstone does this; there may be others.
3. Stick to brands like Kohler or Brizo for faucets/shower valves/trim, but make sure you buy them at a reputable plumbing supply showroom. Slightly more costly, but the service is better if you have a problem with missing pieces or broken parts.
4. Buy standard cabinets vs. custom.

Good luck!

Well at least $10k.

Sabrina, thanks so much for the info and suggestions- Extremely helpful!!!

Wondering what is in that small closet between the toilet and vanity? I would remove that if at all possible to open up the space. Maybe a tower on the vanity if you need some storage.

I agree with the suggestions above but please make sure your contractor will properly waterproof the new shower. Ask for details on what materials he plans to use to construct the shower. Also ask who will be doing the tile work. Will the contractor be using a tile pro or will his "crew" be doing the work. Ask to see samples of the tile work. You don't want to spend twice if things go off the rails and a tear out is necessary. I've seen too many horror stories here.

Thank you! I hadn't thought about removing the linen closet. Sounds like a good idea!

The tiled shower will be most of your budget, but it's worth it. We did our large master bath and it cost us about $24K, but I live in Georgia and things, including labor, are less expensive here. We did use marble look porcelain, which is very affordable and looks great. We replaced our vanities and bought ready made ones in Lowes and we love them. Also, besides switching the shower and tub locations, we did not change the vanity plumbing or add any electrical, so that helped. Our contractor was great, he used to live in our neighborhood and came highly recommended. Word of mouth is best.

Having a comparison like this is really helpful. I'm sure I'll end up getting quotes that are higher than I'd like, but it's encouraging to hear that it's worth it! Could you give me an idea of how long the whole project took from start to finish?

So make a list and make the decision to purchase some of the items in advance so that you don't pay the mark up rom the contractor. Contractors will often mark up items they have to purchase and haul to the job site another 30$ This total will give you the cost for materials.

It's likely that you can get most of these items delivered. They should be all on site before you begin Demo so the project can advance without any hiccups. I'm assuming you know how to take measurements to determine the number of square feet of tile or counters required for your project.

• Toilet (Get Elongated)
• Wax Ring
• 2 Sinks (Undercounter)
• 2 Faucets
• Decorative Light fixtures
• Hardware for Vanity
• Vanity Cabinet & Fillers if necessary
• Linen Cabinet
• Counter Top
• Mirrors
• Tile for Floor (10% extra or breakage )
• Tile for Shower Walls (10% extra or matching or breakage)
• Glass Door Enclosure
• Shower Valve & Faucet
• Shower Base
• Paint

Ask us any questions now and NOT LATER.

If you're looking for small grout lines and perfection, that that requires selecting precise square edged tiles.

Seems like you have already changed the scope of work. If you remove the little linen closet (which I don't recommend) the cost and time required will go up considerably. If that's your decision you may as well replace everything. Also, aside from cosmetics, I'm not sure what you'd gain and you will lose a tub, so not a great return on investment if resale is a consideration. Maybe just freshen it up with new vanity top and tile and fixtures.

Yes, buy almost everything your self. I bought the vanities, linen and toilet cabinet, Toilet. bath tub, all faucets and a few other things myself. At lowes, they do a quote process and I saved 9% on the cost of these items. And they delivered. Our project did not take long maybe 3 weeks. The only delays were waiting for items. The shower doors and the mirrors I wanted. My contractor bought the tile, I picked them out.

I'm just curious...wouldn't the contractor just charge more because he's not making extra on the materials?

Good question!

I did an 8x5 bathroom redo for my neighbors. everything taken down to the studs. new tile shower, drywall, two new lights, new window, flooring, vanity, countertop, and all faucets, etc. 10K. and that was a really good deal. I found some great deals on some of the materials. (Amazon for the Kohler Purist shower faucets/sink faucet,,,buy everything separately. great deal. of course you have to know what you need. valves, parts, etc)

countertop was a remnant piece of quartz. used one for the shower curb too.

expect to spend between 10-15k. Do the demo yourself and save a thousand.

It's been my experience that you take what ever you think it is going to cost and how ever you long you think it will take - and double it. Then make compromises. But the time factor will still be doubled. :)

I don’t agree that losing a tub will necessarily affect resale value. If the condos are primarily sold to families without children or seniors -like me- who no longer prefer a tub, it shouldnt make any difference, in my area, condos are primarily purchased by seniors, those who are downsizing and those without children.

I'm in a very small condo community (only 6 units) and each is owned by a single, over age 40 person. Also, there is a shower/tub condo in both of the remaining 2 bathrooms if a tub is ever still needed. Thanks so much for all the great ideas/info/comments!!!

What Helen said.

No, I have 2 other full baths, both with shower/tub combos.

Wow, what a beautiful job! It looks fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing and especially for the cost info. I hope mine looks half as good when finished.

That looks fantastic, thinkdesignlive! Especially love the floor. Would you share what you used?

Jules, I had prepared budgets for our ensuite and the labour costs were more than half my estimates. It's what made a remodel unaffordable for us. I made sure to include an estimate for design costs because even though it's a small place, there are a lot of decisions that go into it and I wanted it to look cohesive.

Beautiful light fixture! Timeless simplicity. Really like the warm look of your floor. Added the info to my remodel notebook. Thanks!

Having just moved from the Nashville market, let me first forewarn you that getting a quality contractor for a small job is going to be a waitlist of MONTHS and will cost you a premium. Second, I'd estimate $12-15K for the bathroom considering what we spent on ours. Our tiled shower was about $6K (tile, waterproofing materials, glass door, and labor). Make sure the contractor uses a highly rated waterproofing system like Schluter which really isn't cheap. ProSource on Sidco is a good place to look at tile as my SIL picked all hers out from there. If you have a contractor, Ferguson's contractor pricing is really good compared to retail.

Make sure you've seen a job that the tile guy has done BEFORE hiring him. BTDT = lesson learned.

As for counters and sink, depending on the size, you might can order stock from Home Depot or Lowe's or you may have to go custom. If custom, again, expect a wait. For tops, there are several fabricators in the area. I know of one to stay away, though, as both my MIL and I had terrible experiences with them :/

Lewis Glass in Franklin did our shower door and mirror and we had a great experience with them. I'd recommend them to anyone.

Since you were in Nashville, this info is especially helpful!! Thank you so much!

I also suggest grab bars and regret that we didn’t include those in our remodel, instead of focusing on how they’d be “ ugly” .. I didn't realize how slippery our floor would be and it’s downright dangerous when I use hair conditioner , which only adds to the slipperiness. I’ve partially solved the problem by using rubber shower slippers but I’d much prefer grab bars. The rubber slippers don’t totally prevent a fall and if I go down there’s nothing to grab.

ThinkDesign. I tried to message you but couldn’t find a way. . Could you share the name of your GC? We’re in the area. Maybe via message? or here if it’s allowed.

Going forward the first thing you will want to do is find someone who will be qualified to do the job right the first time. Seek out a local NTCA member, you are basically guaranteed to find someone who will give you the best quality work and save you many headaches. Let the pros handle the dirty work, remember "good work ain't cheap and cheap work ain't good!

Thank you!