I was speaking with a bath designer yesterday and for my little 6' x 8' bath, she said to expect labor alone to cost $15,000. I'm planning simply to replace all existing fixtures and tiles. No major moving around of pipes or walls, etc. The labor cost seems high to me. Any ideas out there on what I should expect?

Thanks for your help!

In the Bay Area, the multiplier I use to begin discussing kitchen and bath remodels is $450 per square foot. That makes materials and labor for your space around $22,000. Using your bath designer's estimate of $15,000 for labor you are left with $7,000 for materials. That could be a fairly high end bathroom if you made judicious choices.

I am a designer and I am currently working on my own guest bathroom which is slightly smaller than yours. It has a sink, toilet, and tiled shower stall. The plan is to completely re-tile the floor and shower, replace plumbing fixtures and lighting, and paint. I expect the project to cost around $9,000 to $10,000 dollars total.

Keeping in mind that as an industry professional I have resources that the average person would not, I still think you could accomplish a modest remodel of your space for less that $15,000 total. If you are interested, I would be happy to discuss this with you.

Best of luck!

Do it yourself!  Anyone could teach themselves the skills needed to do a bathroom remodel.  Tear it down to the studs and get started!

If you have trouble along the way you can always hire someone to come in to set the new bathtub or topcoat your drywall.  The majority of the stuff is a piece of cake.  With the money you'll save buy a marble bath tub or a custom wenge floating vanity.

Back in the day I even went without a toilet for four days while I tiled the only bath in my tiny Chicago condo.  With enough guts you can accomplish whatever you set your mind to!

Quit surfing the web and start swinging your hammer!