A five-piece bathroom is a bathroom with five fixtures: two sinks, a toilet, a bathtub and a separate shower. It is usually the primary bathroom, sometimes called a 5 piece ensuite when it opens off the main bedroom, and the two sinks are usually set in one double vanity. This guide explains how the fixtures are counted, how a five-piece bathroom differs from three and four-piece bathrooms, which layouts work, and what real five-piece bathrooms we have remodeled cost.
The five fixtures, counted one by one
Bathrooms are described by counting the plumbing fixtures in them. In a five-piece bathroom, that count is:
- First sink: one of two basins, usually on a double vanity.
- Second sink: the second basin, so two people can use the vanity at the same time.
- Toilet: in the room or in its own small toilet room.
- Bathtub: often a freestanding or soaking tub.
- Shower: a separate shower, not a shower head over the tub.
The tub and the shower being separate is what makes the bathroom five-piece. A tub with a shower head over it counts as one fixture, not two.
Three, four and five-piece bathrooms compared
- Three-piece bathroom: one sink, a toilet and a tub with a shower over it, or a shower alone. This is the typical hall bathroom.
- Four-piece bathroom: one sink, a toilet, a tub and a separate shower. Some listings also call a bathroom with two sinks, a toilet and a combined tub and shower a four-piece.
- Five-piece bathroom: two sinks, a toilet, a tub and a separate shower.
A powder room with only a sink and a toilet is a two-piece bathroom, also called a half bath.
Five-piece bathrooms we have remodeled
These are real primary bathrooms from our portfolio, each with a double vanity, a freestanding tub and a separate shower. The prices are the approximate project prices shown on each project page. Every project is priced in writing, line by line, for its own home.
- Primary Bathroom Remodel in Snohomish, WA: a tiled corner tub and a framed shower became a freestanding tub under the window and a frameless glass shower in blue glass subway tile, with a long teal shaker double vanity. About $50,000.
- Freestanding Tub Bathroom Remodel in Issaquah, WA: the tiled tub deck in the window bay gave way to a freestanding tub, the old corner stall became a glass shower with a bench, and an espresso shaker double vanity runs along the opposite wall. About $55,000.
- Navy Vanity and Soaking Tub Bathroom in Redmond, WA: a navy shaker double vanity faces a walk-in shower with a bench and body sprays, and a white freestanding soaking tub sits beside it against a mosaic wainscot. About $65,000.
- Double Vanity Bathroom Remodel with Freestanding Tub: a large bathroom with a skylight, now with a freestanding tub on a pebble tile inset, a frameless glass shower with a rain head and a bench, a long white double vanity and a separate toilet area. About $65,000.
- Master Bathroom with a Wood Slat Wall in Redmond, WA: a floating wood double vanity with a wide trough sink, a white freestanding tub by the corner windows, a glass walk-in shower with a bench and a toilet room. The build ran about 13 weeks in 2024. About $100,000.
Five-piece bathroom layouts that work
Tub under the window, shower in the corner
The most common layout puts the freestanding tub under the window, where it gets the light and the view, and the shower in a corner with glass on one or two sides. The Snohomish and Issaquah bathrooms above both use this layout.
Double vanity on its own wall
The double vanity usually takes the longest wall, facing the tub or the shower. That keeps the two sinks side by side with room for two people to stand, and it lets the supply and drain lines for both sinks run in one wall.
Tub and shower in one wet room
Where the room is narrower, the tub can go inside the shower area behind one glass enclosure. In a Black Marble-Look Basement Bathroom in Redmond, WA, a black freestanding tub sits in a glass-enclosed wet area with lit niches behind it, facing a wood double vanity.
A separate toilet room
Many five-piece layouts put the toilet in its own small room or behind a half wall. It gives privacy when two people are getting ready at once, as in the Redmond wood slat wall bathroom and the Bothell bathroom with its separate toilet area.
Planning a 5 piece bathroom layout
Three questions shape the plan. First, how the room will be used: a couple getting ready at the same time needs two sinks and a shower they can reach without crossing the tub. Second, where the drains are now: keeping fixtures near the existing drains is simpler than moving them, because every move means new pipe under the floor. Third, where the light comes from: a tub usually wants the window, and the shower needs a fan and waterproofing on every wet wall.
Storage matters too. A double vanity with a matching linen cabinet, like the one in the Redmond navy bathroom, keeps towels and supplies near the shower and tub.
What drives the cost of a five-piece bathroom
A five-piece bathroom has more plumbing, tile and glass than a three-piece bathroom, so it is usually a larger job. Four choices set most of the price:
- Size and layout: keeping the toilet, shower and sinks on their existing drains is simpler than moving them.
- Shower and tub: a curbless shower, a steam shower or a freestanding tub each need different framing, waterproofing and glass, and that is often the biggest line in the estimate.
- Tile and finishes: large format and patterned tile take longer to set, and vanities, counters, faucets, lighting and glass come in grades.
- What is behind the walls: old bathrooms can hide water damage, rotted subfloor or outdated wiring.
For the price of a bathroom remodel in our area, read Cost of a Bathroom Remodel in the Greater Seattle Area.
How we build a five-piece bathroom
We start with a consultation in your bathroom, where we measure the room and check the drains, the venting and the floor. Our designer lays out the five fixtures with you and shows the bathroom in 3D, and you approve an itemized, written price before work starts. One project manager then runs the demolition, plumbing, tile, glass and finishes through to handover.
Planning a five-piece primary bath with steam or a sauna? See our spa primary baths with steam.
See more on Bathroom Remodeling Across the Greater Seattle Area, or browse the Bathroom Remodeling Portfolio Across the Greater Seattle Area for more primary bathrooms. When you are ready, Book a Consultation.
