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About Bath Project Notes
About Bath Project Notes
Bath Project Notes is an independent planning resource for U.S. homeowners. It explains what sits behind a bathroom's finishes, what each scope costs according to published sources, how to plan for the people using the room, and how to compare proposals. When you request an estimate, your details go to independent local professionals who respond with a free written proposal. No fee, no obligation.
The site exists because bathrooms are priced on what you can see and fail on what you cannot. A homeowner compares tile samples while the difference between a shower that lasts twenty years and one that leaks in three is a membrane, a slope and a drain that nobody photographs. Every service page here starts with that assembly, names the options, and tells you what a proposal should say about it. The site also runs its own analysis of federal data: by our count of the EIA's 2024 household survey, 38.6% of occupied homes have exactly one full bathroom.
Every number carries its source. Cost benchmarks come from Angi, HomeAdvisor, HomeGuide and This Old House; homeowner behavior from Houzz; designer trends from NKBA; resale from the Cost vs. Value report and NAR; buyer preferences from NAHB; aging-in-place attitudes from AARP; water and energy from EPA WaterSense; bathroom counts from EIA's Residential Energy Consumption Survey; injury data from the CDC. Where a figure is a platform sample rather than a national statistic, the stat card says so.
What this site is, and what it is not
It is a planning guide and a matching service. It is not a contractor, employs no installers, and sells no fixtures. It does not rate pros with stars or publish testimonials, because both are easy to manufacture and impossible to verify from here. The reviews guide instead explains how to read feedback wherever you find it and what to ask for directly: references from similar jobs, a proposal that names the waterproofing system, and proof of license and insurance where your state requires them.
When you submit a request through the contact page, the details go to independent professionals who serve your area and handle the scope described. They contact you directly. You decide whether to meet, whether to collect more proposals, and whether to hire anyone at all. The site takes no part in the contract or the payment.
How the numbers are chosen and presented
Each statistic is stored with its publisher, year, URL and the population it describes. A Houzz percentage describes surveyed Houzz users who renovated; an EIA figure describes bathroom counts in occupied homes, not remodels; a Cost vs. Value figure is an appraiser-estimated resale value for a defined project in a report year. The distinctions are written into each stat's detail. Houzz found 84% of bathroom renovators hired a professional and 45% a general contractor; that is useful, but it is not a statement about all homeowners.
Cost ranges in tables are planning ranges anchored to the benchmarks and to typical 2025–2026 line-item pricing. HomeAdvisor's $12,151 average blends half baths with primary suites, and a proposal for your room can land outside any range here for good reasons, most often a moved drain or damage under an old tub. The calculator lists its assumptions under the result.
Why the assembly and the user come before the finishes
Labor is 40% to 65% of a bathroom bill by HomeAdvisor's estimate, and most of it goes into the wet area. The membrane, drain, slope and fan decide whether that labor is spent once or twice. The user's dimensions decide whether the room works for the people in it. Houzz found 68% of bathroom renovators considered current or future special needs, and NKBA says 80% of designers now treat aging-in-place design as mainstream or emerging.
Finishes matter, but they come last, and Houzz's finding that 37% of renovators overspent in 2025 is largely a finishes story: tile upgraded after the contract, a steam unit added mid-project. Settling the assembly and the plan first, and selections before demolition, is the discipline that keeps a bathroom on the number.
How to use the site in order
Read the home page and pick a scope. Read the matching service page for the assembly, the cost table and the proposal checklist. Run the calculator with your dimensions. Use the comparisons to settle tub-versus-shower, curbless-versus-curb and tile-versus-panels. Vote in the polls to see what others planning the same project are choosing. Then send one brief to several independent pros and compare written proposals line by line.
It takes an evening. It is the difference between choosing a pro on tile and choosing one on how the shower is built. Most of the homeowners who regret a bathroom chose the tile first and found out about the pan later; most of the ones who are happy with what they paid asked about the membrane before they asked about the grout color. The order matters more than the effort.
Services we match
Service guideComplete Bathroom RenovationA complete bathroom renovation rebuilds the bathing area, vanity, toilet, floor, wall finishes, lighting and ventilation together, and may move drains, walls or the door.
Service guideWalk-In Shower InstallationA walk-in shower installation rebuilds the bathing area from the subfloor up: a sloped base, a drain bonded to a waterproofing membrane, wall board and membrane, a valve, tile or panels, and an enclosure with a defined entry.
Service guideTub & Shower ConversionsA tub-to-shower conversion removes the bathtub and builds a shower in its alcove, usually with a new drain, a rebuilt substrate, a waterproofing membrane, new walls and an enclosure.
Service guideAccessible Bathroom RemodelingAccessible bathroom remodeling plans the room around a specific person's transfers, reach, mobility aid and likely future needs: turning space, a curbless shower, blocking and grab bars, a comfort-height toilet, a reachable vanity, nonslip surfaces and a wider door.
Homeowner polls
What other planners are choosing
Which bathroom scope are you leaning toward?
Houzz found 75% of bathroom renovators upgraded the shower and 27% the tub.
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About Bath Project Notes: common questions
Is Bath Project Notes a contractor?
No. It is a planning resource and a matching service. It performs no work, employs no installers and sells no products. Estimate requests are forwarded to independent local professionals, who contact you directly and are responsible for their own licensing, insurance, pricing and workmanship.
Does it cost anything to request an estimate?
No. Requesting an estimate is free and carries no obligation. Responding professionals provide a free written proposal. Whether you meet them, collect more proposals or hire anyone is your decision. Some pros charge for detailed design drawings or an accessibility assessment; they should say so before that work begins.
Where do the cost figures come from?
From published sources linked beside each number: HomeAdvisor's and HomeGuide's cost guides, This Old House's pricing, Angi's cost guide, Houzz's bathroom and renovation studies, the Cost vs. Value report, NAR's Remodeling Impact Report, NAHB's buyer survey, EPA WaterSense, AARP and EIA's Residential Energy Consumption Survey. Table ranges are planning ranges anchored to them.
Why are there no ratings or testimonials for pros?
Because ratings are easy to fabricate and hard to verify, and a resource that publishes them ends up vouching for work it never saw. The reviews guide explains how to evaluate feedback you find elsewhere and what to request from a pro directly, including references from similar jobs and a proposal that names the waterproofing system.
How are professionals selected?
Pros receive requests based on service area and the scope described. They are independent businesses, not employees, and the site does not certify or supervise their work. Verify license and insurance where your state requires them, call references, and compare written proposals before hiring anyone.
What happens to my information?
Your project details are shared with independent professionals who serve your area for the purpose of providing an estimate. The contact page explains what to include. Keep medical records, loan documents and similar sensitive material out of the request; a pro needs a description of needs and the room, not the paperwork behind them.
How often are statistics updated?
Each stat carries a publication year, and the research inputs behind the site are reviewed in periodic passes. Houzz's bathroom study, NKBA's bath trends report and Cost vs. Value publish annually, and newer editions replace older ones as they are reviewed. Preliminary figures, such as EIA's 2024 microdata, are labeled as such.
Keep exploring
LocationsRegional planning notesHow climate, codes and prices change a project across U.S. regions.
ArticlesPlanning articlesCost guides, checklists and mistakes to avoid before you sign.
ReviewsHow to read reviewsWhat genuine contractor reviews look like and what they leave out.
Ready to price your bathroom remodeling?
Tell us the size, the condition of what is there now, and what you want to change. Bath Project Notes passes your request to independent local professionals, who reply with written, no-obligation estimates. The service is free to use.