Bathrooms · Cost
What does a bathroom remodel cost in San Jose?
The part that decides whether a bathroom lasts fifteen years or leaks in three is the part you never see — and it's the part cheap bids remove.
A typical full bathroom runs $22,000 to $30,000, and $20,000 is our floor. We don't bid the $10,000 version, and that is a deliberate decision rather than a pricing accident.
Why there's a floor
Every failed bathroom we have opened up failed the same way: water got behind the tile because the substrate and the waterproofing were wrong. Tile is not waterproof. The membrane behind it is, and that membrane is invisible the day the job is finished.
Which makes it the first thing to disappear from a cheap bid. At $10,000 the money has to come out of somewhere, and it comes out of the layer nobody can inspect after the fact. The bathroom looks identical on handover day. The difference shows up in year three.
"Which waterproofing system are you using, and who inspects it before tile goes on?" A builder doing it properly will answer immediately and by name. Vagueness is the answer.
What our number buys
- Demolition to the studs, so framing, subfloor and any existing water damage can be seen rather than guessed at
- Structural repair — rotted subfloor and framing replaced before anything new goes over it
- Plumbing and electrical brought to current code while the wall is open, with GFCI protection and proper exhaust
- Substrate and waterproofing to spec, which is the actual job
- Tile, fixtures and finishes, then a punch list walked together
What moves the number
| Driver | Effect |
|---|---|
| Keeping the existing layout | The cheapest version of the job. Fixtures stay where the drains are |
| Moving the toilet or shower drain | Real plumbing work, and on a slab it means cutting concrete |
| What's found behind the wall | Rot, prior unpermitted work and failed waterproofing are common on older homes |
| Tile size and pattern | Labour, not material. Large-format and intricate patterns take longer |
| Shower glass and fixtures | Wide range, and entirely your call |
Timeline
A few weeks for a standard bathroom — and it is not continuous work. There are inspection holds between stages, and waterproofing has cure times that cannot be compressed no matter who is asking. A schedule that ignores those is a schedule that will slip.
Common questions
How much does a bathroom remodel cost in San Jose?
Why won't you do a $10,000 bathroom?
What should I ask a cheaper bathroom bid?
How long does a bathroom remodel take?
Where to go next
Written by the team at Elusive Construction, a licensed California general contractor (B #1112902) building in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. General information about how residential construction works — not legal advice. For your specific contract, talk to an attorney.
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