How expensive to redo bathroom tiles (labor cost)?

Even I as a no real contractor/building experience can tell you, one never knows what will be found behind bathroom tiles.

It's almost as mysterious as shepherd's pie

edit - "as a no" to "with no"

Look: it isn't likely to be a nightmare of discovery if just redoing tiles and nothing else. But you will have to replace drywall and paint. Be realistic, too. Are you going to want new lighting, new mirror, tub reglazed? New faucets? Might as well get it all done. Is this tile on the floor? If so, you need to remove the toilet and sink/vanity during retiling which will need a plumber.

I'd say the cost of materials is the least of it. Even really nice tiles aren't the bulk of costs. It is the labor. Can you be more specific about what type of tile you want, pattern you intend, and where in bathroom tile will cover? maybe we can give you better guess with that info.

It gets messy if the existing tiling was done old-style, with a thick bed of mortar underneath, instead of more recent where the tile is just sort of stuck on the drywall. You can tell by checking the plane of the tile against the plane of the untiled wall above. If the difference is more than the thickness of the tile, you'll have a big demo/disposal job.

The bathroom was probably done in 2004. Yes, given the recessed lighting directly above the mirror, I would like to take away the recessed lighting and install new vanity lighting and new recessed medicine cabinet, no tub reglazed though. Yes, new faucets, shower heads and toilet too. The current electric outlet is 56 inches from the ground, which is WAY too high (I believe the standard is 43-44 inches), so I would like to relocate that as well. There are other recessed lighting throughout the bathroom, but it's not a huge room so I believe the vanity lighting should take care of it.

The other problem is the 2 recessed lighting above the whirlpool. There are currently 2 recessed lighting and I think it's great if there are 2 people sitting down to enjoy the whirlpool. However, when I stand there to take a shower, one of the lights kind of blinds my eyes since it's located exactly at the top of my head. I am thinking of taking the 2 recessed lighting down and replace with 1 light. It might not be recessed lighting again since the ceiling is only 8 feet high (I think it might be 7' 11" but well...).

One more thing is the location of the shower head. In addition to the above problems, my husband's head nearly bumped into the shower head, because of the raised height (reason: whirlpool) and the lowered ceiling (reason: recessed lighting). And he is of average American's height.

Frankly, I don't understand why people design the bathroom this way. This is a typical example of things looking nice on the surface, but totally not practical. I wasn't knowledgeable about renovations at all when I placed my bid on the apartment and I thought there was minimal work needed. Now after I learn more about renovations, it looks like gutting it is a better option. Gutting one is fine, but if I don't gut the other bathroom and leave it in its original condition, the apartment will look very weird as a whole.

I am still at a crossroad in deciding what to do...

my advice: it's better to do one bathroom well and leave the other than to do both of them in a half-assed way. doing it well doesn't mean overpaying for waterworks fixtures (may of which are simply manufactured by other, familiar brands and then slapped with a waterworks brand). but it does mean that if you are going through the expense of retiling you should use quality materials, and you should do the bathroom right. i wouldn't worry about the two bathrooms not matching, that's not a big deal. redo the master bath now, and maybe the second bath in a few years.

my quote to retile one small bathroom in the city was something like $5,000 for the labor.

Ah...I had a feeling we were talking about more than retiling. You essentially describe a gut. You'll need electrician and plumber and trades are what adds to the cost. A highend, small bathroom with stone, Robern cabinet, Duravit or similar fixtures, tempered glass shower barrier, hardware, and the plumbing/electrical you describe will be between $15K-$30K. I know that's quite a range, but I don't quite understand the bathing fixtures/arrangement/layout in the room. Agree heartily with happyrenter: do one thing right versus two things just so-so.

Kyle,

I am surprised you would say 15-30K. 15k for a gut with licensed contractor, plumber and electrician along with shower glass enclosure? I think not.

A bathroom gut in Manhattan will cost anywhere from 25-30k

Yeah, Primer, I thought I might be a little low. I was thinking if the tub and shower weren't being changed and she minimized electrical changes in ceiling, maybe costs could be more contained. But you're right. And frankly, I know a jewel-box like bathroom--even a very small one--could easily cost $40,000 for a full gut. You're more on the money here.

kylewest - do you know who does really good bathroom designs? Is it worth it to have a seperate design and them hire GC? Thanks!

I can't say. I basically did my own and had my architect tweak it and do the drawings. I'd say an architect with apartment experience should be perfectly qualified to do a bathroom too.

maybe the above is why renting is better in the long run...

Grunty

There are many ways to design a bathroom. Most buildings do not allow you to move the fixture locations. So it is more about Your taste. I would look at magazines and websites as well as looking at tile showrooms.

Kylewest,

I need to buy a new faucet to go with my traditional pedestal sink. Any suggestions? I want something well-designed and high quality, but not overly designed--i want it to blend in with the prewar bathroom, not scream out that it is brand new.

Thanks,
Happyrenter

Happy, California faucet has some nice designs of the type you describe. Also, go by Simon's Hardware and take a look at their bathroom showroom. You may find something you like or that inspires you.

I happen to like Simons as well but for any plumbing fixtures I would go to Af supply.

Primer, I don't know "Af." Where are they?

22 West 21st. It is not a store front. It is on the 5th floor, should call first and set up a meeting. I work with Rona. Af supplies Simons with there plumbing.

http://afsupply.com/ny/

FYI, I bought a very high-end kitchen faucet from AF a few years ago. At the point of installation, it was not working correctly and determined to be defective. I took it back - wasn't asking for a refund or exchange for a different faucet, just a replacement. They refused to do anything about it, and I was out several hundred dollars.

Gabolly, who did you deal with over there? I have used them for eight years and have never heard of anything like that happening. There have been some instances where something didn't work correctly and I usually ad a replacement the very next day. Perhaps your plumber did something wrong?

I'm giving a quote on a two family, new home owners, a total of three 5 by 7 bath's and make a half bath out of a 2 by 5 closet. This house is medium old, in queens new york. how much should i charge for labor. That is to gut three and build one in that 2 by 5 closet sink and toilet only ?