A bathroom remodel involves a lot of planning, calculations, and choices to get to the layout, color palette, fixtures, and finishes of your dreams. There’s a lot to keep track of and many small details to think through. Plus, there’s the question of how much a remodel will cost—and how long it will take. You’ll also want to decide whether you’re DIYing any elements of the bathroom or if the project might be best left entirely to the pros.
If this sounds like a lot to process, well, you’re right. That’s why designers and architects do what they do! But even if you’re hiring your bathroom remodel out completely, you’d benefit greatly from a bathroom remodel checklist. This document can serve as a roadmap for visualizing each of the steps of your bathroom redo to make sure you’re not forgetting anything.
It’s always good to have a starting place when you take on a home project, and that’s what a bathroom remodeling checklist will do for you. Here you’ll find everything you need to set one up so your reno will go as smoothly as possible.
Our Official Checklist for Remodeling a Bathroom
The team at DesignShop specializes in materials for home design, so we know a thing or two about how to create a bathroom remodel checklist for a project. Each of the sections in the checklist will address a specific phase of the project. Work your way through each task, and you’ll be well on your way to your best bathroom ever.
Planning Your Bathroom Remodel [budget, goals, style]
The planning phase of any project is often the most important one—it’s where you set yourself up for success long before any hammers are swung or pieces are installed. Now’s the time to get your ducks in a row on the following items:
Layout: Is the flow or your current bathroom just fine, or does it feel off—and would you benefit from changing up the layout? Does that mean moving plumbing or reconfiguring where fixtures are? Can you steal space from another area to enlarge the footprint? Is it possible to add more windows or a skylight for more natural light? Where will you place the essential fixtures in a bathroom (shower, vanity and sink, toilet, tub, etc.)? If you’re struggling to make sense of these questions, you might consider hiring a designer or architect to work through the layout with you. A contractor might be able to help, too, but typically, they’re coming into a job much later, once the major decisions have been made, and all product has been ordered and delivered.
Style/Design: It’s always a good idea to browse inspiration to get a sense of what you want your space to look like. Pull inspiration photos, and look for commonalities between your picks (Does zellige tile pop up in many of the images, are marble floors a common denominator?). Now’s the time to mood board to see if your potential choices hang together visually, and don’t forget to make a list of must-haves and nice-to-haves. This will help you prioritize where to splurge and save in the project.
Budget: Don’t wait too long to start crunching numbers. Put together a list of everything you’ll need for the bathroom with rough estimates of what you think you can spend on them. Google the going rate for certain things in your area, and then pad that number a bit to come up with an estimate for each component. You’ll want to be realistic about your budget and understand where you might be able to cut corners or want to invest a little more. For example, you might be able to choose an inexpensive wall tile but might want a fancier showerhead. It all comes down to personal preferences.
At this stage, you should start speaking to contractors, electricians, plumbers, and/or other craftspeople to start getting quotes. This can help you finetune your bottom line.
When putting together a budget, you’ll want to consider:
Building Materials/Construction
Demo and permitting fees, if applicable
Any electrical or plumbing changes (and any new wiring or pipes)
Framing and Drywall
Paint
Tile installation and caulking
Flooring (and subfloor, if needed)
Shower and/or bathtub water-proofing
Electrical
Lights (overhead and wall-mount)
Bathroom exhaust fan
Radiant heating (in colder climates, if desired)
Switch plates and outlets
Fixtures and Features
Bathtub and related items deepening on your selected style (tub drain, tub spout, tub filler, and/or tub rough-in)
Shower pan/base and related items (shower drain, shower head, shower valves, shower valve rough-in, tile for a shower surround if desired, any additional sprayers or hand-showers, shower door or shower rod/shower curtain, etc.)
Toilet
Vanity and vanity hardware
Vanity sink, faucet, and drain
Countertop
Mirror(s) or medicine cabinet(s)
A door (or doors) and door hardware
Flooring (tile or otherwise)
Wall treatment (tile, wainscoting, wallpaper, if desired)
Moldings (if desired)
Decor/Finishing Touches
Window coverings
Decor
Towel bars, racks, hooks, and a toilet paper holder
It’s always a good idea to hold an extra 10 to 20 percent of your total budget as a contingency fund. You never know what might happen—or what you might find in need of repair—when you start opening up walls.
Essential Preparations [measuring, plumbing/electrical, timeline]
Once you have a rough layout, design plan, budget, and renovation team in place, you can start the prep phase. That includes:
Measuring: Whether you’re taking on a bathroom remodel yourself or outsourcing to pros, you’ll need to have accurate measurements of your space’s length, width, wall/ceiling height, and square footage. You’ll also need to know the dimensions of any bump-outs or portions of walls. These figures will help you create a CAD drawing or floor plan for the new bathroom, and that’ll become one of the most important documents for you or any contractors or subcontractors executing the work. These measurements will also help you determine what will actually fit in the room and how you can best arrange things for optimal flow and use of space.
Contractor/Plumbing/Electrical: You’ve probably already thought through what’s possible with design, plumbing, and electrical at this point, so you can officially on-board your dream team soon. Ideally, these pros can tell you what their piece of the full scope of work will cost more accurately. They can also give you an estimate on their availability for the project and how long their part of the job will take.
Timeline: This brings us to the timeline, which details the order in which the project will unfold and how many weeks or months its completion will take. It’s a good idea to order all of the products for the entire project before starting—and waiting until they arrive to break ground. Pros don’t like to start and stop jobs, and it’s more efficient to have everything ready and waiting (with the exception of little things), even if you’re taking the work on yourself.
Choosing Features [flooring, countertops, vanity, storage, etc]
The mood boarding and budgeting exercise got you acquainted with the typical bathroom features, but now it’s time to hone your decisions. You’ll want to choose:
Flooring: Tile is a wonderful choice for bathrooms because they’re moisture-resistant, easy to clean, and can be non-slip when small in size and grouted. You can also consider wood floors or wood-look floors, cork, or natural stone.
Countertops: If you choose a vanity, you’ll need to select a countertop material (note that sometimes the two do come together as a readymade piece). Calacatta marble creates a classic luxe look, while soapstone can add a little bit of edge to your design. Anything you could use for a countertop in a kitchen could, in theory, be used in a bathroom, but most people go with stone. Tile countertops can be great for a budget solution.
Vanity Storage: Smaller spaces might fare best with pedestal sinks, but if you can fit a vanity in your bathroom, you’ll want to add it to your bathroom remodel checklist. It’ll be great for storing toiletries and the like, especially if it features cabinets and drawers where you can keep things out of sight.
Enhancing Functionality & Comfort [fixtures, ventilation, technology]
Once you have the pretty part of your bathroom remodel checklist sorted, you’ll want to turn your attention to the more functional aspects of the room. Your fixtures, home tech, and more can enhance the bathing experience. You’ll want to think through these categories:
Fixtures: If a spa-like retreat is what you have in mind, you might want to consider a large, freestanding soaking tub if your bathroom footprint and budget allow for it. Tricked out with jets, it’ll feel more like an outdoor hot tub.
Not enough space to go with a big tub? To get your spa fix, consider a showerhead with massage settings, or select specialty sprayers for your stall. Some of these items can require extra plumbing, but they’re easier to sneak into a small space.
Ventilation: Bathrooms are humid places, so having proper ventilation is key. Typically, an exhaust fan is enough to keep mold at bay. Some light fixtures actually have exhaust fans built into them. You’ll want to choose a style that works with the rest of the bathroom’s fixtures and finishes. And add a window if it’s not already in your plan; these are great for ventilation, too.
Technology: Smart tech has infiltrated the bath for the better, making everything from toilets and bidets to showers and mirrors more intuitive. For starters, think of showers that can heat themselves up to your ideal temperature from an app or a medicine cabinet mirror that can tell you the weather. This is just the start, but keep in mind that cutting edge technology will cost you, even in a bathroom.
How DesignShop Perfects Your Checklist for a Bathroom Remodel
You can cross off many items on your bathroom remodeling checklist with the help of DesignShop. That’s because DesignShop is stocked with samples that run the remodel gamut, from paint and tile to wallpaper, hardware, and flooring. When you’re in your mood boarding phase, order from DesignShop, and you’ll get samples overnight. Making decisions will be easier than ever you ever imagined when you can see materials in person.