Bathroom remodeling, Greater Seattle Area
How Long Does a 5x8 Bathroom Remodel Take?
A 5x8 bathroom remodel took about 9 weeks on our Seattle job and about 13 weeks in a Kirkland condo, counted on site after design and permits. Both are medium baths in our pricing guide, the size class that lists 5x8. Custom glass and stone add lead time, the guide notes.
Your own schedule depends on what moves in the room, so we write it down with milestones before work starts. To get yours, Book a Consultation.
What size class is a 5x8 bathroom, and what does that change?
A 5x8 room is 40 square feet. Our Cost of a Bathroom Remodel in the Greater Seattle Area guide, updated October 2026, lists 5x8 as a medium bath: a standard full bath with a tub and shower combo, a walk-in shower, or a separate tub and shower.
The guide adds that custom glass and stone add lead time. A 5x7 is listed as small, so a foot of length moves a room into the next size class.
| Size | Typical rooms |
|---|---|
| Small (16 to 40 sq ft) | 4x5, 5x5, 5x6, 5x7 |
| Medium (40 to 70 sq ft) | 5x8, 6x8, 6x9, 7x8, 8x8 |
| Large (70 to 100 sq ft) | 8x9, 8x10, 9x9, 9x10, 10x10 |
| Primary (100 to 150+ sq ft) | 10x12, 12x12, 12x14, 12x16 |
Source: Cost of a Bathroom Remodel in the Greater Seattle Area, October 2026.
How long did our own medium size bathroom remodels take?
Three of our bathrooms are listed as medium on the pricing guide. Two of them have start and finish dates on their project pages.
- Seattle, about 9 weeks. A glass subway tile bathroom, November 18, 2022 to January 17, 2023, about $35,000. The shower was rebuilt and every wall around it redone.
- Kirkland, about 13 weeks. A tub to walk-in shower conversion in a condo, March 15 to June 14, 2023, about $40,000. The plumbing and electrical were reworked under a permit.
The Kirkland job changed the layout: the tub and an old shower stall came out for one walk-in shower. The Seattle job kept its vanity and shower alcove. For all eight of our dated bathrooms, from two weeks to 18, read How long does a remodel take in Seattle?
What does a bathroom remodel timeline look like week by week?
Demolition, rough plumbing and electrical, framing, drywall and paint, tile, cabinetry and trim, then fixtures, clean up and the final inspection, in that order. Two of our jobs show the weeks with real dates: the Kirkland condo bath, and a shower-only rebuild in Renton that took about two weeks.
| Milestone | Kirkland condo bath, March 15 to June 14, 2023 | Renton shower rebuild, April 3 to April 14, 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Demolition | Week 1: work on the primary bath starts March 15, 2023, with demolition in mid March, after the guest bath was started | Week 1: done by April 4, 2023 |
| Permit issued | Week 3 (April 4, 2023); plumbing and electrical roughed in under it | None listed |
| Tile | After the April 4 rough-in: marble-look tile and a pebble floor | Week 2 (by April 10) |
| Glass fitted | After tile: frameless glass | May (weeks 5 to 9) |
| Complete | Week 14 (June 14, 2023) | Week 2 (April 14) |
Source: the Kirkland and Renton project pages (dates from the jobs' invoices). Week numbers counted from each job's start date.
What happens before the first week of a 5x8 bathroom remodel?
Design, choices and ordering. Houzz reported in How Long It Took to Plan and Complete a Remodel in 2019 (July 21, 2020) that planning often takes longer than construction: "Bathrooms, also very popular spaces to renovate, took the shortest amount of time to plan, with master bathrooms averaging 5.4 months and guest bathrooms averaging 4.8."
The pros Houzz quoted in 2020 give the reason. Designer Andrea Schumacher of Andrea Schumacher Interiors in Denver: "You want to have really tight, complete decisions made before demo," and "Right down to your hardware." Debbie Travin of DLT Interiors: "That way everything is ready so your contractor is not waiting for the tiles or the flooring. That's what delays the project."
The start date can also wait on the rest of the house. On our Auburn master bathroom, the contract was signed in August 2022, while other work on the house was under way. The bathroom was scheduled once the roof and drainage work were done, and demolition was under way by March 6, 2023. The build itself took about three weeks.
How does the permit step change a 5x8 bathroom timeline?
It can add a wait before the rough-in, and it adds inspections during the work. In Seattle, the 2021 Seattle Residential Code (PDF page 7, read October 2026), Section R105.2 item 1, exempts work valued at "$6,000 or less in any six month period". A medium bath starts at $35,000+ on our pricing guide. A full 5x8 remodel is past that limit and needs a permit.
In Bellevue, the city's Single-Family Remodel Permit, No Plan Review page (read October 2026) lists "Remodeling a kitchen or bathroom" and says "the permit can be issued the same day." Inspections follow: a pre-construction meeting before any work starts, another before framing or insulation is covered, and a final one after the work is done. If the field inspector finds the job is past that permit's scope, "Plan review may involve a three-week turnaround time".
City by city rules are in Do You Need Permits to Remodel a Bathroom?
How does a 5x8 bathroom compare with the national average remodel time?
Our medium baths ran about 9 and 13 weeks. Houzz reported in How Long It Took to Plan and Complete a Remodel in 2019 (July 21, 2020): "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, with more than 87,000 respondents (Houzz, July 21, 2020).
A 5x8 guest or hall bath is closest to the guest bathroom figure. For a larger primary bath, our open walk-in shower master bathroom in Redmond took about 18 weeks of construction in 2023.
What makes a 5x8 bathroom remodel take longer?
- Moving the layout. Keeping the toilet, tub and sink on their drains is the short end. The Kirkland tub to walk-in shower took about 13 weeks with a permit. The Seattle room kept its vanity and shower alcove and took about 9.
- What demolition finds. In the Seattle bathroom, the walls turned out to have two layers of drywall. They were stripped, new board was hung, taped and textured, and the vanity came out and went back in before the shower could be tiled.
- Custom glass and stone. Our pricing guide notes that both add lead time.
Keeping a tub in a 5x8 room? Read Bathroom Remodels With Soaking Tubs: How to Plan One.
How do we schedule a 5x8 bathroom remodel?
Every client gets a written schedule with milestones at the start of the project. After the contract is signed, the project manager checks that schedule against your own dates. We run every trade in the room under one contract and one project manager.
See Bathroom Remodeling Across the Greater Seattle Area for how we design and build a bathroom. For work in the city, see Home Remodeling Contractors in Seattle, WA.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a 5x8 bathroom remodel cost?
Our pricing guide lists 5x8 as a medium bath, which starts at $35,000+ on Basic, $55,000+ on Mid-Range, $85,000+ on Luxury and $125,000+ on Super-Luxury, each with a standard material allowance. Permit fees, damage found at demolition and moving walls or drains are priced separately in writing.
Why is the shower glass installed after the tile?
Frameless glass is cut to the finished tile, so it is measured once the walls and curb are done. On our Renton shower the tile was finished on April 10, 2023 and the door was ordered and fitted in May.
How long does bathroom demolition take?
On our Renton shower rebuild, work started April 3, 2023 and demolition was done by April 4. Demolition can also find work that adds days: in our Seattle bathroom it found two layers of drywall that had to be stripped and replaced.
