Living Through a Bathroom Remodel When It Is Your Only Shower

A bathroom remodel is short compared with a kitchen, but it takes away a room you use every day, several times a day. If it is the only bathroom in the house, the planning matters as much as the design. This page covers how to plan for the weeks without the room, how to sequence two bathrooms, and what to agree with your contractor about dust, noise, water and daily routine.

How long you will be without the room

For JDI Construction's projects, a full bathroom at the Signature tier typically runs 4 to 6 weeks on-site after design and permits, and a primary suite 6 to 10 weeks. JDI does not publish a figure for powder rooms or shower-only jobs. Within those weeks, the room is out of service from demolition until the shower has been waterproofed, tiled and grouted, and the glass may come after that. How long a bathroom remodel takes shows the order of work.

When it is your only bathroom

Decide where everyone will shower and use a toilet before demolition starts. Common arrangements:

• Another bathroom in the house, even a half bath, covers the toilet; showers can be at a gym, a relative's home or a workplace.
• A temporary toilet, such as a rented portable unit, if there is space and your household is comfortable with it. Ask your contractor whether it can be arranged.
• A temporary reset of the old toilet at the end of a work day during the phases when the floor is not open. Ask which days this is possible.
• Short-term lodging or a stay with family for the stretch when the room is fully out of service.

If the house has one bathroom and you have been thinking about a second, consider whether to add it first. A new bathroom built before the old one is remodeled keeps a working room in the house the whole time. See adding a bathroom.

Sequencing two bathrooms

If you are remodeling two bathrooms, the choice is between doing them together or one after the other.

If you do them in sequence, finish the one you use most first, so the remodeled room carries the household while the second is built. Make selections for both rooms at the start, so the second room is not held up by decisions.

Dust and protection

Bathroom demolition produces fine dust from tile, mortar, drywall and plaster. Agree on these before work starts:

• A sealed barrier at the bathroom door, with a zip or flap entry.
• Floor protection along the path from the entry door to the bathroom.
• Covering or closing heating and return vents in the bathroom so dust does not travel through the ducts.
• Daily cleanup of the work path.

In older homes, dust control is also a safety issue. Paint in a house built before 1978 may contain lead, and older flooring, mastics and wall textures may contain asbestos. Both must be handled under specific rules before they are disturbed. See lead paint rules and asbestos in bathrooms.

Noise and working hours

Demolition is the loudest phase: breaking out tile and mortar beds, cutting the floor, and removing a tub. Tile cutting is noisy too, though it is often done outside or in a garage. Ask for the daily start and finish times, and for notice of the loudest days if someone works from home or a baby naps. Neighbors in attached homes appreciate a heads-up too; condo and townhome owners should check their association's rules on work hours. See condos, townhomes and HOAs.

Water shutoffs

Most work can be isolated to the bathroom with shutoff valves, but some steps, such as tying new supply lines into the house system or installing a new shower valve, may need the water off to the whole house for part of a day. Before work starts:

• Know where your main water shutoff is, and make sure it works.
• Ask for advance notice of any whole-house shutoff.
• Keep a few jugs of water on hand for those hours.

If the water heater is being replaced as part of the job, expect a period without hot water, and ask when it will be.

Pets and kids

• Keep pets away from the work area and the open entry door; crews come and go with tools and materials.
• Agree on which doors stay closed and which gates stay shut.
• Explain to children that the bathroom is off limits, and keep tools, adhesives and sharp debris out of reach. A crew should store materials safely at the end of each day; ask how they do it.
• Plan bath time for small children somewhere else for the duration.

What to ask the crew at the start

1. Who is my day-to-day contact, and how do I reach them?
2. What are the working hours, and which days are the loudest?
3. Which days will the toilet and the shower be out of service?
4. When will the water be shut off to the whole house, and for how long?
5. Where will materials and debris be stored, and how will the path be protected?
6. When are the inspections, and do I need to be home for them?
7. What happens if demolition uncovers damage?

Hidden damage is the one surprise to plan for. JDI's planning ranges do not include unexpected structural repair found inside walls; JDI handles it by written change order, so you see the scope and the cost before it is done. Hidden water damage explains what to look for now.

How JDI plans for it

JDI Construction is a family-owned design-build remodeler in Vancouver. Permits and project management are handled for you, and homeowners get updates through a client portal, so the schedule is visible rather than guessed. Read about our remodeling process or see bathroom remodeling in Vancouver when you are ready to plan yours.