Bathroom Remodeling by Home Era in Vancouver, WA

A bathroom's age tells you a lot about what is behind the tile. Floors, framing, pipes, wiring and ventilation all changed over the decades, and each era leaves its own set of surprises. This page looks at Vancouver's housing by era and at what bathrooms from each period commonly need. These are patterns remodelers see, not rules: your house and whatever earlier owners did to it decide the real scope.

How old is Vancouver's housing?

The Census Bureau's American Community Survey (2020-2024 five-year estimates) counts 85,421 housing units in the city of Vancouver. Grouped by era:

The shares come from the Census table; the right-hand column is our general description, not data. Taken together, about 40 percent of units were built before 1980 and about 48 percent in 1990 or later. The table counts apartments too, and only about half of all units are detached single-family houses.

Pre-war houses: 1940s and earlier

These houses cluster in the older neighborhoods near downtown. The City describes Hough as "one of the City's oldest neighborhoods" with early 20th-century bungalows, four squares and Victorians, and Hudson's Bay as having two-story frame houses and 1930s bungalows. Clark County dates the Hough historic district's buildings to roughly 1890 to 1945.

Bathrooms here were often small to begin with and have usually been remodeled more than once. What we tend to plan for:

• Mortar-bed tile. Older tile was often set in a thick bed of mortar on the floor and sometimes the walls. It is solid but heavy to remove, and it hides the condition of the framing until it comes out.
• Floor framing that has moved. Decades of small leaks around the toilet and tub can leave soft or sagging subfloor. Expect some repair once the floor is open. Our page on hidden water damage explains what to look for.
• Old supply and drain piping. Plumbing in these houses has often been patched across several eras. Opening the walls is the time to replace it rather than connect new fixtures to old pipe.
• No real fan. Many older bathrooms were ventilated by a window. Washington now requires a mechanical exhaust fan ducted outdoors for any bathroom, and a window does not count, so a fan and duct route are part of the plan.

If the house is on a historic register, read remodeling in a historic Vancouver home before you design anything visible from outside, such as a window change.

Mid-century: 1950s and 1960s

About one in eight units dates from these two decades, and the City notes that Central Park's "newer" homes were built in the 1940s and 1950s. Bathrooms of this period are often a compact hall bath with a steel or cast iron tub, colored ceramic tile and a small vanity. Some have a half bath off the primary bedroom.

The original tile work can be well built, and some owners keep it. When it goes, expect the same mortar-bed removal and framing checks as older houses. Undersized or missing fans are common, and older fans were sometimes ducted into the attic instead of outdoors, which Washington's code does not allow for a new installation.

The 1970s and 1980s

Almost three in ten Vancouver units were built in these years, with the 1970s alone at 18.1 percent; the City describes Fircrest as having "classic 1970s homes". Bathrooms of this period often have a one-piece fiberglass or acrylic tub and shower unit, sheet vinyl or vinyl tile floors, a laminate or cultured marble vanity top and a light box or a bar of bulbs over the mirror.

Typical work includes replacing the tub unit with a tiled or panel shower over a proper waterproofing system, upgrading the fan and its duct, and dealing with layered flooring. The vinyl floor is where the asbestos caution below matters most, and houses built before 1978 also fall under the lead paint rules.

The 1990s and 2000s

This is the largest group, 33.9 percent of units. Houses from these years usually have two or more bathrooms, including a primary bath with a garden tub, a separate stall shower and a double vanity. Plumbing and wiring are comparatively modern and the layouts usually work.

What wears out is the finish level and the details: builder-grade vanities, tile or cultured marble surrounds, a large tub that nobody uses, a shower that is smaller than it could be, and fans that are noisy or underpowered. Many of these projects keep the fixture locations and change the use of space, for example replacing the garden tub and small stall with one larger walk-in shower. See whether to keep a tub before you decide.

2010 and newer

About 14 percent of units are this new. Bathrooms seldom need remodeling for condition. Projects are usually about personal taste or function: a curbless shower, better storage, a larger vanity. Check what is left of any builder warranty before altering original work.

Lead paint: homes built before 1978

Washington runs its own lead-safe renovation program through the Department of Commerce. For paid renovations in housing built before 1978:

• The work must be done by a certified firm using certified renovators.
• You should receive the EPA pamphlet "The Lead-Safe Certified Guide to Renovate Right" no more than 60 days before work starts.
• Disturbing six square feet or less of painted surface per room counts as minor repair, but demolition of painted surfaces does not, regardless of size. Tearing out painted bathroom walls is demolition.

Details are on lead paint rules for bathroom remodels.

Planning around your home's era

Tell every remodeler the year your house was built and what you know about earlier work, and ask how they handle lead-safe work, the asbestos survey and damage found when the floor comes up. A firm written quote should say how hidden damage is priced. At JDI Construction, our planning ranges cover the full scope of a remodel but not structural repair found inside walls, which we handle by written change order. You can see bathrooms in houses of many ages in our bathroom projects, or start with bathroom remodeling in Vancouver, WA.