How to install a new bathroom floor

If you are looking for the easiest bathroom flooring to install, you should consider vinyl tile, water resistant laminate flooring and the rigid core engineered wood as they are of high quality and relatively easy to install.

Install Bathroom Flooring: national average cost

The national average materials cost to install bathroom flooring is $2.10 per square foot, with a range between $1.82 to $2.39. The total price for labor and materials per square foot is $14.45, coming in between $11.36 to $17.54.

If you decide not to remove the vanity, you must cut the backerboard and tiles to fit around the base of the vanity. Make sure you follow your manufacturer’s instructions when cutting to install around objects. Some tile makers require a gap to allow for expansion due to temperature and humidity changes.

Plywood as a Subfloor Material

Traditionally, exterior grade plywood has been the subfloor material of choice for many bathroom flooring projects. Plywood is made by gluing alternating layers of wood veneer. CDX plywood (¾”) in particular is used often because it has a high level of resistance to moisture and humidity.

Rigid Underlayments

Most floor coverings are best installed over a rigid underlayment applied over the subfloor: Plywood: Sheets of 4-by-8-foot A/C grade plywood cut to size are an excellent underlayment. Underlayment panels: Underlayment panels are interlocking and come in 2-by-2-foot tiles.

Bathrooms are, by nature, wet spaces. But you want to be sure that water doesn’t leak through walls and cause mold or other damage. To avoid leaks and excess moisture build-up, take care to waterproof your bathroom wall, floor and ceiling.

Redgard is recommended by the manufacturer as both a decoupling membrane (for tile) to prevent breaking and for water proofing for such things as shower stalls. You need a good substrate and it will take at least two coats (I would recommend 3) to get enough thickness.

Waterproof wall panels from Multipanel are a great alternative to ceramic wall tiles. Not only do they provide a 100% waterproof finish, they are much faster to install and are much easier to clean and maintain than traditional tiles.

The most popular choice for bathrooms is tile. Specifically, ceramic and porcelain tiles are great options for bathrooms. Tile flooring is resilient, waterproof, available in a variety of colors and designs, and generally less expensive than other hard surface options.

Ceramic tile is a classic choice for bathroom walls. With tile, as long as it is properly applied, moisture will never be a problem. Since the days of the ancient Romans, tile has been used even for standing-water surfaces such as the insides of bathtubs and pools.

The national average to remodel a small bathroom is typically $6,500, but it can range anywhere from $1,500 up to $15,000 or more. For a complete remodel, you will likely pay $70 per square foot for low-end fixtures with DIY labor, and up to $250 per square foot for high-end fixtures installed by a licensed contractor.

Unless your bathroom is unusually large, you can DIY most of the smaller tasks within this overall project. For core-level bath remodels, many DIYers still hire out electricians and plumbers but do the rest of the work themselves.

A typical 5×7 bathroom remodel costs $4,200 to $9,600. Small bathroom renovations cost $2,000 to $5,000 and one-day bath or shower remodels from Rebath or Bath Planet run $4,000 to $10,000. Get free estimates from bathroom remodelers near you or view our cost guide below. How much will your bathroom remodel cost?

On average, a small complete bathroom remodel can be done in about 23 days under ideal circumstances. Assuming no work is done on weekends, this translates to about 4 1/2 weeks—slightly more than one month—if the work proceeds uniformly with no breaks.

A small remodel can typically range between $5,000 and $15,000. Projects that might be included in a redesign are: New faucets, sink, shower and toilet.

Overall Rating: 4.7 / 5 (Excellent)

Though the company does not itself install or remodel bathrooms, it does have a network of local contractors, who are vetted by THE HOME DEPOT®. Reviews tend towards the uniformly positive, though there are some exceptions.

The most expensive part of a bathroom remodel is typically tile work and plumbing. Both of which are found in the most expensive area in the bathroom remodel, which is the shower.

The bathroom fitters are unanimous—if you‘re looking for a high quality finish, with a better seal against water damage, then always tile the floor first.