Guide · Seattle, 2026
What a bathroom remodel costs in Seattle.
A bathroom is a small room with every trade in it, which is why it costs more per square foot than anything else in the house.
Plumbing, electrical, waterproofing, tile, glass, stone and cabinetmaking, all inside forty square feet. Almost all of the variation between one quote and another comes down to the same question as a kitchen: are you moving anything.
2026 ranges by scope
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01
$15,000 to $30,000
A refresh. Same layout, same plumbing. New vanity, tile, fittings, lighting and paint, with the tub or shower staying where it is.
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02
$35,000 to $65,000
A full renovation with the layout kept. Everything out to the studs, new waterproofing, custom vanity, stone, tile to the ceiling and a glass screen.
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03
$65,000 to $120,000
The layout changes, or the room does. Moving the drain, taking space from a bedroom, adding a bath where there was not one. This is where the permit, the framing and sometimes the engineer come in.
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04
Above $120,000
A primary suite in specified stone with bespoke cabinetmaking, heated floors and a wet room. It moves quickly once slab and custom glass are involved.
Then there is the part that is not in anybody's quote.
Seattle's sales tax on construction work, the permit fee if anything moves, the design hours, and a contingency of ten to fifteen percent for what is behind the wall. On a $50,000 bathroom that is real money, and a quote that does not mention it is not a cheaper quote, it is a less complete one.
Where the money actually goes in a bathroom.
Labor is the largest share, and the reason is that most of it is invisible. The waterproofing behind the tile costs a fraction of the tile and decides whether the room is still right in fifteen years. Shopping for a cheaper faucet is not where this budget is won.
The four decisions that move the number most
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01
Whether the drain moves
Fittings can shuffle a few inches on the same waste. Moving a toilet or a shower drain means opening the floor, and in an apartment it may not be possible at all.
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02
Tub, shower, or both
A wet room with a screen is often cheaper than a tub plus a separate enclosure, and usually better in a small room. Custom glass is the line people underestimate.
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03
Tile size and pattern
The tile price is the small half. Small format, herringbone and anything hand-made is labor, and labor is most of the tiling bill.
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04
Heated floor and layered light
Both are cheap at first fix and expensive to add afterwards. They are also most of the difference between a room that feels finished and one that does not.
Two bathrooms at once cost less than two bathrooms twice.
One tile order that matches, one permit, one review, one visit from every trade and one period of living around the dust. It is why the Mercer Island pair and the Redmond pair each went in together rather than a year apart.
What to check in any bathroom quote, ours included
What waterproofing system is specified?
By name. It is the most important thing in the room and the easiest place to save money invisibly. In an apartment it is also the difference between a leak and a lawsuit.
Is the glass custom or off the shelf?
Custom glass is measured after the tiling is done and it is a real line. An estimate made before then can move.
Is the vanity made or bought?
A stock vanity comes in fixed widths with a filler strip taking the rest. Milling to the opening gives back inches you are already paying for, and it is priced differently.
Is the stone templated or estimated?
Templated after the vanity is installed, always. Before that it is an estimate from a drawing, and drawings move.
Is the sales tax included?
It is a five-figure line on a large bathroom and the most common reason a final invoice surprises people. Ask before you compare quotes.
Who pulls the permit if the plumbing moves?
The contractor, in their name. If a builder asks you to pull it, they are moving the liability to you.
The honest way to find out which band you are in is twenty minutes at the studio.
Bring the floor plan if you have one, photographs if you do not, and a rough idea of whether you want to move anything. That is enough to place you in one of the four bands above with reasonable confidence, and it costs nothing.