from what I understand, prices vary widely by region. I think it's always good to get 3 quotes in a situation like this. also, sometimes you learn as you get the quotes and ask all the contractors follow-up questions.

Waterproofing and tile installation are the most important things. Order a $40 downloadable version of the TCNA manual. Read the intro and shower chapters (about 60 pages out of 600+). Then ask prospective GCs to bring their tile pro to the meeting and ask this question:

“How do you build a shower?” They should be able to explain what materials and methods they prefer, and walk you through the steps in a way that is easy for you to understand and comports with the TCNA manual you just read. If it seems like the tile pro has memorized the manual, hire them because if they are experienced and professional enough to answer that question, that’s an indication that they are experienced and professional enough to handle your whole project.

Life questions:

What are your plans for the future? What I mean is, are you planning to move in a year, move in 3-5 years, move in 5-10 years?

House questions:

Is this a master bath, hall/guest bath or kid bath? Does it open up into a bedroom or a hallway? Can you post a scale drawing which includes the surrounding rooms? Why did you say in your original post that you want to remove the closet? Are you re-gaining that space for an adjacent room or hall closet?; or are you planning to put the shower there?

Design questions:

What are your favoriate colors? What are your storage needs?

You might want to also get an estimate for "no wall and windows mods" vs. an estimate that includes removing closet walls and adding window(s).

There are many contractors who can replace a vanity, change out flooring, and possibly do a good job with the shower conversion (fewer are good at this). But once you add in the need to remove the closet and add windows it requires an additional set of skills and it increases the cost more than expected. Working within the existing footprint will be quite a bit cheaper. However, you may think its worth it to spend the extra.

Bruce

Whose doing the work? The person you are conversing and getting the quote from or are they contracting it out?

Why a pocket door? It looks like you have the space for a conventional door.

https://www.ceramictilefoundation.org/homeowners-guide-to-hiring-qualified-tile-installer

What does that $20 k include? Is that just labor or labor and materials? What are the materials and quality of them? Where I am - a bathroom like that would be $5k - $8k in materials and $16-$18 k in labor.

Also check reviews and get referals.

I would also chat with everyone you know - there is bound to be someone who has had a bathroom done and may have an excellent contractor for you as well. About half of our work is repeat and referral business.

Good luck!

In lieu of my usual laundry list, I'll make a single recommendation that I consider critically important: You need to align your expectations with both your budget and the capabilities of the remodeler you choose.

When it comes to expectations, don't forget to cover the business expectations as well as the work. Discuss schedules, communication preferences, change orders, payment terms, material deliveries and other factors that are important to a successful project. Many times I have seen homeowners furious with contractors even though the results are fine. The reason is the contractor didn't meet the customer's expectations, often due to overly optimistic time estimates.

Make sure your contractor is licensed. Don't agree to put down over 25% before they begin the work, and don't let them set the timetable for your further payments. Get dates for reasonable beginning and completion of the project. Check their insurance. Check their credit. Do they pay their subs? Do they pay their bills? Are they in financial trouble? Look carefully at their online ratings. Do they claim to be in business for many years and only have several ratings? Search for reviews on more obscure sites.

@sunshine_31 How do you propose the customer finds out all that info about a contractor? While all of that sounds great in theory - is that info readily available? If so, then good.

I do only disagree with you statement about the contractor setting the payment timetable. I have never worked with/for a contractor who does not put a payment schedule into their contract so the customer knows up front. It is only fair that one jobs that take weeks at time there is some sort of payment towards the total each week. Anything other would be very unfair to the contractor and his subs.

No problem with a timetable, but don't let them dictate the terms without your input - never let them get ahead of you, where they've got no incentive to finish the work. Demand certain progress before payments are made. Otherwise, they can not finish the job, and you don't have enough money left to finish it. As for the other things, you can do things like check your state's website to see if they are licensed, check your county website to see if they're being sued and for what - for instance if they've got multiple lawsuits for not paying creditors, you know they're in financial trouble and your payments might be going towards their legal bills or other creditors instead of your own job, opening you up to unfinished work and/or mechanics liens if they don't pay their subs.

Congrats on embarking on fun bathroom remodels. :) that said, decide what is most important to you. Looks like storage might be critical. In the rendering, I assume that isn’t to scale because those sinks are rinky dink and the mirrors are out of scale. I would opt for one large mirror, for example. Chops the room up a lot less. Back to what is a priority— this will help determine your budget and help you spend your budget the way that helps you. Is this the only bathroom? If so, keep the tub. Starter homes generally need tubs. Places to save money include tile choices and major changes like adding window or changing footprint. Sometimes a change like more storage, another sink, etc., will make your bathroom feel so much better or more functional for you and if you are moving in a few years, you don’t have to spend a huge chunk of cash you could save for your new house.