Are you working from specific plans so that you can send the plans out to other GC's for bids. In order to get an accurate bid, the plans have to be very specific so that the bids are apples to apples. When I solicited bids, the plans that were submitted were the same plans that were sent to the City for permits - everything was specified and those items which would be supplied by me were specified - e.g. I supplied actual tiles but installation and all materials for installation were part of the bid. The design of the tiles was specified since that impacts the actual cost of installation - and so on.

That said, the skilled labor for a bathroom is extremely expensive - it involves licensed plumbers, electricians and skilled tile setters. Moving a shower involves changing the drain for example - when I swapped my bath/shower combo for a walk-in shower, the drain needed to be changed as shower drains are different than tub drains and I would assume different than sink drains.

Also there are materials that are used in construction that have costs - which can add up . For example all of the rough plumbing is generally covered by the GC and isn't supplied by the homeowner. In my remodel, I supplied all of the fixtures - e.g. shower trim, toilet, tiles, floor tiles, vanities, sconces but the *boring* stuff was supplied by the GC.

Don't forget that you are not just paying for labor in the sense that you hire a plumber to install a toilet. You are paying the GC (or at least a good one) to coordinate everything - hire the skilled trades - supervise them - deal with the inspectors and getting permits. A good GC has a relationship with the inspectors - not in terms of bribing them - but knowing what is needed to pass inspection. My shower was inspected three times and the GC had to be there and wait for the inspector who generally wasn't prompt and would cancel a few times. In my jurisdiction they can cancel up to two times if they run out of time. So you pay the 18% GC fee for their expertise, supervision and also taking ownership of all of the snafus.

Personally I am not surprised at the cost based on what my relatively recent remodel cost me (gut remodel of a condo including two bathrooms and a kitchen) but you should bid it out. Baltimore/DC is a high cost of living area so it can't be compared to costs in other places so people from LA, NY, Boston will probably feel your bid was not out of line whereas someone in Plano or Bismark would be able to have it done less expensively,.

As a complete non-professional who picked up a LOT of useful information by haunting these forums and relying on the kindness and expertise of houzzers, I can say that hiring a GC who is competent and reliable is worth a premium. This forum is filled with tales of woe - especially for bathrooms - in which people were either unlucky or tried to economize by hiring cheaply instead of wisely and then wound up dealing with additional costs; additional time wasted and additional headaches. My GC and designer were probably not the cheapest but in the end they delivered a beautiful bathroom with no worries about leaks; lippage, gaps or other types of horrors that appear on these pages.

Jennifer:

It's not "just labor". There is overhead and profit. Unlike the employed who risk little more than a paper cut at work, this guy is betting that he can do this job and make money at it. When he is successful, he is to be rewarded because he sure as hell is getting a spanking if the doesn't.

How about opportunity costs? What opportunities is he passing up when taking the time to do your job? He's got to be paid for this too.

And the spankings are brutal

If you're willing to spend $15,000 on cabinets for a bathroom and tens of thousands more for all of the other finish materials, I don't understand why you would blink an eye at $43,000 for all of the labor. It seems in line to me.

Yes these costs sound quite reasonable, especially if the contractor says it can be completed in 4 weeks. 3 years ago, we gutted our full bathroom (shower tub combo, moved toilet and sink locations). That cost us $35k, was completed in 4 weeks time because we had gathered all the materials in advance. Our bathroom is only 60 sf and we are located outside Boston, another expensive area to build/ remodel. My husband is an architect and did the drawings, so we “saved” on the design by not needing to hire that out. We used an IKEA vanity/ sink combo that was under $1000. And we used inexpensive tiles.

It actually sounds a little low to me for the DC area and the size of your bathroom. I’d be concerned that the GC won’t hire an experienced, certified tile professional who will properly waterproof your shower. My bathroom is 150 square feet and the labor was 45K plus tile, glass, fixtures, tub, mirrors, toilet, cabinets, etc. We ended up at about 85K because there were closet changes (more cabinetry), paint, and woodfloor repairs and refinishing in 3 large rooms which increased the scope somewhat. I’m in a Houston suburb which does not require any permits, inspections, nothing. It’s like the Wild West. Here Homeowners have to read and research every single part of the project and all the trade association codes and best practices just to not get screwed by GCs who charge a lot but then turn around and hire cheap hacks in order to increase their margin. If your area requires permits, inspections, flood test, etc, that will help in terms of getting quality work. If my area required those things, I think I’d breath easier.

Damn, I'm glad were handy and can self-contract out the things we don't do ourselves.