What Does It Cost to Demo a Bathroom?

Renovating a bathroom is one of the most popular projects for both homeowner satisfaction and increased home value. However, you will have to remove all the old and outdated bathroom fixtures before you can get to the beautiful finished product. Most contractors include the cost to demo a bathroom in your overall remodel budget. If you want to see how that cost breaks down or are interested in getting a quote just for bathroom demolition, then keep reading. On this page, we will explain the cost to demo a bathroom, the demolition process, and tips for keeping costs down.

How Much Does It Cost to Demo a Bathroom?

Bathroom Demolition

Most homeowners need to demo at least some areas of their existing bathroom prior to starting a remodeling project

• Highly recommendable to use a contractor

• Cost varies by project scope and size

• Allows you to remove damaged items and refresh the space

Average Cost:

$500 - $2,000

Bathroom demolition costs vary depending on your location and the scope of your project. For instance, one homeowner may just want to upgrade their vanity and countertops. Another may want to completely transform their master bathroom and install new custom bathroom cabinets as well.

However, the majority of homeowners wind up paying between $500 and $2,000 to demolish a bathroom.

This cost range includes removal of tile flooring and accounts for everything from a small half-bathroom to a large primary bathroom.

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Average Bathroom Demolition Cost

The above cost range brings us to a midpoint average cost of $1,250 to demo a bathroom. But demo costs are typically broken down by the fixture that needs to be removed. For example, the cost to remove walls during a bathroom demolition runs from about $90 to $120. You can better estimate your own average cost by focusing on which fixtures you want removed.

National average bathroom demolition costs per fixture are around $50 each. You will need to budget for another $30 to $120 in disposal fees.

Here is a rough breakdown of bathroom demo costs by fixture:

• Walls (including drywall): $90-$210
• Floors: $83-$152
  
• Cabinets and vanities: $285-$525
• Showers: $70-$140
• Tubs: $59-$108
  
• Toilets: $47-$86
• Sinks: $30-$100
• Doors: $50

Your contractor may charge more or less depending on size of the space, total time involved, and many other factors.

Demolition Cost by Bathroom Size

In addition to the fixtures and features you’re removing, the overall size of your bathroom will also have a large impact on your demo costs.

Small Bathroom

• Under 40 square feet

Typically, a small bathroom will be a half bath or powder room. The average demolition cost for a bathroom of this size can range from $500 to $1,000.

Medium Bathroom

• 40 to 100 square feet

A medium-sized bathroom usually includes a full bath with a tub or shower. Demolition costs for this size range from $1,000 to $1,500.

Large Bathroom

• Over 100 square feet

Large bathrooms may include a master bath with a separate tub, shower, and double vanity. The average cost to demolish a bathroom of this size can range from $1,500 to $2,000 or more.

Do Contractors Quote by the Hour or by the Project for Bathroom Demolition?

Contractors price their work differently based on a number of factors, such as time, difficulty, and square footage. As a general rule, the more work involved to remove items and ready the space for new fixtures, the higher the cost to demo the bathroom.

Some contractors might simply provide an hourly bid for demolition. Expect to pay between 5 and 15 hours in labor for demolition costs. Your contractor should be able to provide you with an hourly rate that is tied to the demolition work so you can properly budget for remodeling costs.

Factors That Affect Your Bathroom Demolition Cost

During a remodel, bathroom demolition often involves removing:

• Vanities, plus their countertops.
• Shower and/or tub.
• Toilet.
• Flooring.
• Lighting.
• Wall accessories like towel bars.

However, you might have a different demolition list if you are undertaking a bathroom remodel because of:

• A leaky toilet.
• Minor water damage caused by water continually sloshed from the shower stall or tub.
• Mold due to water damage.

These issues can wreak havoc on your flooring and wood subfloor over time. Depending on how much and how long water has been seeping into the flooring in these instances, you might have to demolish the bathroom down to the bare wall studs and floor joists and start completely fresh. Resolving water damage can be an especially costly issue depending on how far a leak has spread in your floors or walls.

The other major factors that will impact your final project cost include:

1. Bathroom size. The larger the bathroom, the more it will cost to demolish it.
2. Wall removal. Taking down existing walls (especially a load-bearing one) will significantly add to your project cost. It cost up to $21 per square foot to remove walls.
3. Tile demo cost. If you have tile floors, backsplashes, or shower walls, it can cost as little as $2 or as much as $14 per square foot to remove it depending on the size, the condition of the tile, and how it was originally installed. Floor tiles tend to cost more to remove than wall tiles do.
4. Where you live. Labor costs vary from city to city. In an area with lower costs of living, bathroom demo costs can be as little as $40 per hour. In higher cost of living areas, it can cost $80 – $100+ per hour.

What’s Involved in the Bathroom Demolition Process?

Here’s what your own bathroom might need demolished and what to expect during the process.

Project Scope

Let’s say your home was built in the 1970s, and the bathroom has all original fixtures and linoleum flooring. Most likely, each aspect of the bathroom reached the end of its useful life long ago. You’ll be looking at completely gutting the space down to bare framing studs and starting over completely, so the cost to redo your bathroom will be higher.

In this instance, your bathroom remodel contractor will have to remove the old light fixtures, vanity, sink and countertop, medicine cabinet, toilet, tub or shower, baseboards, flooring, subfloor, and perhaps even the sheetrock on the walls if it shows signs of water damage.

Bathroom remodels in newer homes may not have to go as deep into the demolition process. The sheetrock and flooring are most likely OK to keep intact, for instance. In this case, the cost to demo the bathroom would be less and the demolition would be completed more quickly.

What to Expect During Demolition

Before work begins, the bathroom demolition team will have to shut off water and power to the space. Plumbing can be shut off specifically in the bathroom. However, turning off lighting typically will darken nearby areas since lighting is wired on circuits rather than to each individual part of your residence.

The good news? Homeowners can stay in their residences during bathroom demolition as long as you don’t mind construction noise and a bit of dust.

However, you won’t be able to use the bathroom once work begins. Relocate all essential toiletries to another bathroom in the house, since this space will be unusable until the remodel is complete. And of course you’ll want to remove any pictures, knick-knacks and decorations.

If dust is a concern, you can have the demolition team hang plastic around the bathroom doorway and in any adjacent hallways to help contain it. 

Cost to Install New Bathroom Features

Demolition is necessary to get to your end-goal: installation of new fixtures and furnishings.

When you are budgeting for your bathroom renovation project, you can calculate general costs to install new features to get a clearer picture of how much the whole job will cost. Modernize has a bathroom remodel cost calculator so homeowners can easily estimate costs based on the features and fixtures they want added to their bathrooms.

Bathroom Remodel Cost Calculator

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Keep in mind that costs for new fixtures will vary greatly by quality. Tile flooring, for instance, is usually much more expensive to install than laminate flooring or linoleum. Installing tile in the shower also can be labor-intensive, and costs for tile can vary greatly depending on what style and type of tile you choose.

Lastly, costs can increase dramatically if you change the layout of cabinetry and bathroom sinks.

5 Ways to Cut Costs on Bathroom Demolition

Hoping to DIY your bathroom demo? Bathrooms are full of plumbing pipes and electrical wiring that must be kept intact or replaced and rerouted, and there could be structural issues with the space. Homeowners without extensive backgrounds in construction are safer to leave the demo process to professional contractors, who will include demolition and removal of debris in their quotes.

However, there are a few ways homeowners can cut costs during the demolition process. Here are five steps homeowners can put into play to save money on the demolition and remodel:

1. Keep Existing Layouts and Configurations

Rerouting plumbing and electrical is a labor-intensive process that will quickly bump up your total job cost. Ask your contractor which configurations in your space are worth keeping unchanged. 

2. Reuse Baseboards, Doors, and Casings

In newer residences, these items likely can be repainted and repurposed rather than removed and totally replaced.

3. Tile Over Existing Flooring

In some instances, you might be able to install new flooring on top of existing flooring rather than paying to have it torn out.

4. Keep Your Old Tub

A new bathtub can be expensive. Is the old one reusable? Consider refinishing your tub to give it new life.

5. Stick to the Original Plan

Any changes you make after you accept a bid will cost you more money. This is all the more reason to be proactive and plan ahead.

Bear in mind that the more you want removed from your bathroom, the more it’s going to cost.

DIY vs Hiring a Pro

There are several areas you may be able to demo yourself to help save money.

1. Removing fixtures. Bathroom fixtures such as toilets, sinks, medicine cabinets, and light fixtures can be removed with basic hand tools you likely already own. But before you start, it’s crucial to turn off your home’s water supply. You don’t want to wind up paying more to correct a DIY error than you would have paid to have a professional tackle the job in the first place.
2. Tearing out vanities and cabinets. Vanities and/or cabinets can usually be removed without too much trouble or without purchasing too many new tools. You’ll want to unscrew the doors and carefully disconnect the unit from the wall. Again, beware plumbing lines here: carefully disconnect any sink plumbing before doing anything else.
3. Removing floor tiles. Removing your own tile flooring can help reduce demo costs, but be aware that it’s a labor-intensive process. You can either do this by hand with a chisel and hammer or rent a tool like a power floor scraper.
4. Taking off wall tiles. This is less time-consuming than removing floor tiles and only requires hand tools. Watch videos or read articles before you start so that you don’t accidentally damage the wall underneath.
5. Removing wallpaper or putting on primer. If your bathroom has wallpaper, you can rent a steamer to help you remove it as quickly and easily as possible. Chances are you’ll be painting your bathroom at the end of your remodel/renovation, so if your walls are in good shape after removing tiles, tearing out the vanity, or whatever other work you’re doing, you can go ahead and apply primer once you’re nearing the project’s end.

As you’re deciding what to demolish yourself and what to hire a professional for, make sure you price out the cost of tool rentals and any other materials you may need. You may find the ultimate difference in cost is less significant than you thought and choose to hire a contractor for the whole project, or you may be pleasantly surprised by how much you can save.

Any other demolishing needs like wall removal, shower and tub removal, or plumbing line changes will need a contractor. A good rule of thumb with DIY projects is to avoid anything that involves water lines, electrical lines, gas lines, or potentially load-bearing walls.

You may be tempted to tackle some of these tasks yourself, but things can quickly go south if you are inexperienced, don’t have the right tools, or simply swing your hammer in just the wrong place. You should also know that your project’s return on investment may actually be higher by using a professional.

How to Find a Bathroom Contractor

Bathrooms are complicated spaces full of electrical wiring and plumbing. It’s important to have a professional handle the demolition and remodel to ensure the work is done correctly. We recommend getting a minimum of three to four quotes and comparing prices – and the details of each bid – before settling on a contractor that best fits your expectation and budget.

You can explore our list of the 10 Best Bathroom Remodelers or use our contractor directory to find professionals in your area. Modernize can also help homeowners connect with reliable bathroom remodel contractors by doing the research for you and matching you with up to four pros for free quotes. Click below to answer a few questions about your project to get started. 

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