How long a 5x8 bathroom remodel takes, like any bathroom remodel, depends on what changes in the room. Swapping finishes in the same layout is the short end of the range. Moving the toilet, the drain or the shower, or opening the walls, is the long end. Below is what we can show you as fact: the bathrooms on our project pages that show a start and a finish date, the national averages Houzz published, and where the permit step fits.
How long our own bathroom remodels took
These are the eight bathroom and shower remodels on our project pages that show a start and a finish date. None of them is recorded as exactly 5 by 8 feet, so read them as the range for bathrooms we have built, not as a quote for yours.
- Walk-in shower in Renton: about two weeks of work, April 3 to April 14, 2023, with the glass door fitted in May.
- Master bathroom in Auburn: about three weeks, from demolition in early March to completion on March 27, 2023.
- Glass subway tile bathroom in Seattle: about 9 weeks, November 18, 2022 to January 17, 2023.
- Basement bathroom in Redmond: about 12 weeks, February 26 to May 16, 2024.
- A master bathroom with a wood slat wall in Redmond: about 13 weeks, May 20 to August 15, 2024.
- Tub to walk-in shower bathroom in Kirkland: about 13 weeks, March 15 to June 14, 2023.
- Open walk-in shower master bathroom in Redmond: about 18 weeks of construction, August 8 to December 14, 2023.
- A skylight wet room master bathroom in Seattle: demolition in March 2022 to the glass enclosure in late December 2022.
On our own work, then, a bathroom has taken from about two weeks to about 18 weeks of construction, and one master bath ran from March to December.
What Houzz found nationally
Houzz reported on remodels finished in 2019: “Master bathrooms’ construction phase took an average of 3.2 months, while guest bathrooms took an average of 2.9.” The figures come from the 2020 U.S. Houzz & Home survey, fielded January 2 to March 5, 2020, which collected information from more than 87,000 respondents (Houzz, July 21, 2020).
If your 5x8 room is a guest or hall bath, the 2.9 month guest bathroom average is the closer national comparison.
The phases of a bathroom remodel
Every bathroom remodel, 5x8 or larger, runs through the same steps. How long each one takes depends on your scope, so we put dates on them in your written schedule rather than here.
- Planning and design. Layout, fixtures, tile and a written price, decided before anything is ordered.
- Permits. Filed when the work moves plumbing, electrical or mechanical systems.
- Demolition. Old fixtures, tile and wall surfaces come out, and anything hidden behind them is repaired.
- Rough-in and inspection. New plumbing and wiring go in and are inspected before the walls are closed.
- Walls, waterproofing and tile. The shower and floor are waterproofed and tiled.
- Fixtures and finish. Vanity, toilet, glass, lighting and trim, then the final inspection.
How the permit step fits in a 5x8 remodel
Under the 2021 Seattle Residential Code (R105.2), no building permit is needed for minor repairs or alterations worth $6,000 or less in any six month period, as long as no loadbearing support is removed, altered or moved, or for surface finishes over existing wall and ceiling systems that make no change to the building envelope. Plumbing, electrical and mechanical work can each still need a separate permit (R105.3). A refresh that keeps every fixture where it is can start once the materials are on hand. Moving a toilet, a drain, a shower valve or a circuit adds the permit review first, and your city sets that review time based on the scope of the work, so we plan the start date around it. More in Do you need a permit to remodel in Seattle?
What moves a 5x8 bathroom along the range
- Scope. Keeping the layout is the short end. Moving plumbing, changing the tub to a walk-in shower or reframing walls is the long end.
- Permits and inspections. Plumbing, electrical and mechanical work is reviewed and inspected, and a correction means a re-inspection.
- Materials. Special order tile, a custom vanity or a glass door can set the pace. Glass is usually measured after the tile is in: on the Renton shower above, the door was fitted the month after the tile work ended.
- What demolition finds. Water damage, rot or old wiring behind the walls is repaired before anything new goes in.
- Changes after the start. A change is easier to absorb the earlier it is made, and a change after the tile is set means undoing finished work.
Get a schedule for your bathroom
Every project we take on starts with a written schedule with milestones for your scope. For every dated project on our site, kitchens and whole homes included, see How long does a remodel take in Seattle? For how we plan and build a bathroom, see Bathroom Remodeling Across the Greater Seattle Area. For what moves the price, read Cost of a Bathroom Remodel in the Greater Seattle Area, and for finished rooms, browse the Bathroom Remodeling Portfolio Across the Greater Seattle Area.
Ready to plan yours? Book a consultation below. By appointment. Limited start dates.
