Full Bathroom Remodels in Allentown
Full Bathroom Remodels in Allentown, PA
Measured in your home, scheduled around the single bathroom you have, and carried start to finish by one crew instead of six subcontractors.
What a full remodel means for your one bathroom
You end up with a bathroom rebuilt from the subfloor up, on a schedule naming the day it goes out of use and comes back.
A full bathroom remodel here means every surface and fixture in the room replaced together, floor, walls, tub or shower, vanity, toilet and lighting, on one schedule and one permit. If only the tub is becoming a shower and the rest of the room is staying as it is, that is a tub-to-shower conversion, priced and scheduled as its own smaller job. A full remodel is the whole room start to finish; a conversion is one fixture inside it.
Full remodels are the most frequent job on the schedule, run in rowhouses, twins and newer builds across the Lehigh Valley in every season of the year.
The most common call is a full gut to the studs and subfloor, new waterproofing, tile, a tub or shower, vanity and lighting, all on one permit. Some rooms only need the layout kept and every surface refreshed in place. A few need the floor plan changed, the toilet, tub and vanity repositioned.
Every one is waterproofed with a Kerdi or equivalent membrane behind tile and under the floor before tile is set, keeping a slow leak from ever reaching the joists below.
Homeowners in a rowhouse with the original bathroom call first, worn out by a room untouched for decades. Buyers of a newer house call next, planning the update a builder-grade bathroom never got.
Ask for a free in-home visit at (610) 555-0133 and get a start date that works around your one bathroom. You will go from dreading that room to being glad it is the one everyone sees first!
Everything covered in a full bathroom remodel
One crew handles every trade in the room, so nothing waits on a second company's schedule.
- Full gut down to the studs and subfloor
- Layout changes that move the toilet, tub or vanity
- New tile floor and shower or tub surround
- Vanity, sink and countertop replacement
- New lighting, ventilation fan and switches
- Waterproofing behind every tiled surface
- Permit and inspection for the finished room
A refresh in place, or a full gut to the studs
Most bathrooms do not need to be gutted to be transformed.
When the layout already works and the subfloor and framing behind the old surface are sound, a refresh keeps the toilet, tub and vanity in place, replaces every surface and fixture around them, and finishes in about half the time a full gut takes.
When the layout does not work, the plumbing has to move to fit a bigger shower or a repositioned vanity, or what is behind the old surface has failed, going down to the studs is the only way the new room actually solves the problem instead of covering it up again.
Which one applies gets decided on the free in-home visit, once the old surface has been opened up enough to see what is actually behind it, including on jobs that turn out to need less than first assumed.
The specification behind every full remodel
Kerdi membrane behind every tiled wall, an uncoupling mat under every tiled floor, not paint-on waterproofing.
Every wall getting tile is sheathed in a waterproofing membrane rather than painted on, and every tiled floor sits over an uncoupling mat rather than directly on the subfloor. Both stop a slow leak or a cracked tile from reaching the joists underneath, which matter more in the Valley's rowhouses and twins, framed for a plank finish and not for tile.
Fixtures are set on blocking screwed into the studs, not toggle bolts into drywall, and every shutoff is a quarter-turn valve rather than the multi-turn stop most of these houses still have. Grout is sealed, not left bare, and the toilet flange is reset level even where the old one had settled.
- Kerdi waterproofing membrane behind every tiled wall
- Uncoupling mat under every tiled floor
- Quarter-turn shutoff valves at every fixture
- Fixture blocking screwed into wall studs
- Floor joists checked for tile-load deflection
- New PEX supply lines, no old galvanized pipe
Ask for a free in-home visit and get the specification written down before a single wall comes out.
(610) 555-0133Why does one full remodel cost more than another?
You have seen the process. Here is what actually moves the number once a full remodel has been measured and the old surfaces are off.
- How much of the layout changes
- A remodel that keeps every fixture where it already sits costs less time and money than one that repositions the toilet, tub or vanity, since moving any of them means opening the floor to move its lines.
- Structural work behind the walls
- Rowhouses and pre-war twins across the Valley often need a joist sistered or a wall opened once it is behind the old surface, and what turns up there changes the number more than anything chosen at selections.
- Number of fixtures replaced
- A full remodel replacing the toilet, tub, vanity and lighting together is more labor than one that keeps a sound tub and replaces everything around it, and the count is set once the room is measured.
- Tile coverage and pattern
- A floor-only tile job costs less than tile carried up every wall in a shower or tub surround, and a herringbone or mosaic pattern adds labor a straight lay does not need.
- Permit and inspection requirements
- Moving plumbing or electrical triggers a permit and an inspection that a surface-only refresh does not need, and that step is built into the schedule and the number from the start.
- Finish level chosen
- A builder-grade vanity and ceramic tile cost less than a custom vanity and porcelain slab, and the choice gets made at the selections meeting before anything is ordered.
Every one of these gets confirmed once the room is opened up, so the number from the visit is the number you are billed. Get a free quote
From your first call to a finished bathroom
Two to three weeks door to door, and the noisy work is over well before the halfway point.
Call for a free in-home visit and a start date that works around your one bathroom.
Get a free quoteHow a full remodel holds up at resale
A finished bathroom is one of the few rooms a buyer inspects room by room.
The 2024 Cost vs. Value report, published by Zonda for Remodeling magazine, put a midrange bathroom remodel in the Middle Atlantic region, which includes Pennsylvania, at recouping about 70 percent of its cost at resale.
That figure covers an average remodel done to an average standard. It does not say which of your own decisions hold that value. Keeping the layout close to what a buyer expects, choosing tile and a vanity that will still look current in ten years rather than the boldest option in the showroom, and getting the waterproofing right the first time all protect the number more than any single fixture choice does.
What the Valley's older houses add to a full remodel
A full remodel in Allentown's rowhouse and twin stock meets joists framed for a plank floor, one bathroom with no backup, and a cast iron stack older than the fixtures replaced.
- Joists framed for a plank floor, not tile
- Rowhouses and pre-war twins across the Lehigh Valley were framed for a plank floor, not the weight of a mortar bed and tile. A full remodel adding tile floor gets the joists checked for deflection, and sistered where the span calls for it.
- Only one bathroom in the house
- Most of Allentown's older rowhouses and twins have a single bathroom, with nowhere else in the house to wash up while a full remodel is underway. That fact sets the schedule, materials are ordered and confirmed before any wall comes down.
- Cast iron stacks older than the fixtures going in
- A full remodel that repositions the toilet or moves the tub runs into a cast iron waste stack older than the fixtures being replaced. Re-routing that stack is its own plumbing work, decided once the walls are open.
Full bathroom remodels finished around the Lehigh Valley
Six full remodels finished across the towns Allentown Bathroom Pros works in most, from a 1940s rowhouse to a newer build further out.
-
Rowhouse full remodel
Allentown
A single bathroom in a 1940s rowhouse gutted to the studs, replumbed and finished with a curbless shower in two and a half weeks.
-
Twin home layout change
Bethlehem
The toilet and vanity swapped walls to fit a walk-in shower where a cramped tub used to be, with the drain rerouted around an old cast iron stack.
-
Pre-war full remodel
Easton
Plaster walls and a joist never sized for tile meant sistering the floor before the full remodel could go ahead as planned.
-
Split-level bathroom rebuild
Emmaus
A dated 1970s bathroom rebuilt top to bottom, new subfloor, tile, vanity and lighting finished in under three weeks.
-
Family bathroom remodel
Whitehall
A family's only bathroom remodeled around school-day mornings, with the water restored each evening during demolition.
-
Accessible full remodel
Macungie
A full remodel widened the doorway and set a curbless shower for a homeowner planning to stay in the house long term.
What homeowners said after a full remodel
-
Rated 5 out of 5
Old tile came off and the subfloor under it was rotten. Cost a day and they showed me the wood before it went in the truck. Floor is solid now.
Rich M. Coplay Tiling and Waterproofing -
Rated 5 out of 5
One bathroom in the whole house and two kids. They told me at the measure it would be out nine days and it was out nine days. I planned my week around that number and never had to change it.
Denise K. Allentown Full Bathroom Remodels -
Rated 5 out of 5
My father moved in with us last spring and I called about grab bars. The guy who came out talked me into a curbless pan while the floor was open instead. He was right. Dad gets in on his own now.
Anthony P. Bethlehem Accessible Bathrooms
Ask about a full bathroom remodel finished near you before you book your own free visit.
Get a free quoteFAQs
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about a full bathroom remodel
Can you remodel the only bathroom in the house?
Yes, and it is the most common situation on the schedule. Materials are ordered and confirmed before demolition starts, so the room is not opened up and left waiting on a delivery, and the noisy, disruptive stage is finished well before the two-to-three-week job is done.
What actually counts as a full bathroom remodel?
Every surface and fixture in the room replaced together on one schedule and one permit, floor, walls, tub or shower, vanity, toilet and lighting. If only the tub is changing to a shower and the rest of the room stays as it is, that is a smaller job priced and scheduled on its own.
How long is the bathroom actually unusable?
Demo and rough-in run one to two days, and waterproofing and tile take another one to two weeks depending on coverage. The whole job runs two to three weeks door to door, and the disruptive, dusty stage is over well before the halfway point.
Do I need to gut the room down to the studs?
Not always. If the layout already works and the framing behind the old surface is sound, every surface and fixture gets replaced without moving plumbing, which finishes faster. If the layout has to change, going to the studs is the only way to actually fix it rather than cover it up again.
What changes the price of a full remodel most?
How much of the layout changes moves the number more than anything else, since repositioning the toilet, tub or vanity means opening the floor to move their lines. What turns up once the old surface is off, in a rowhouse or a pre-war twin, is the other main driver.
What is living with the work actually like?
The dusty, noisy demolition stage runs one to two days, with the water shut off to the room during that time. Waterproofing and tile follow, which is quieter, and the house has running water again as soon as the new fixtures are set, days before the finish work is done.
What waterproofing goes behind the tile?
A membrane goes on every tiled wall and an uncoupling mat under every tiled floor, before a single tile is set. Both are there to stop a slow leak or a cracked tile from reaching the joists underneath, which matter more in this area's older floor framing than almost anywhere else.
Do you need anyone home during the work?
Someone needs to be reachable for decisions if something turns up behind the old surface, but not present for every stage. Access to the house and to the water shutoff is what actually matters, and that gets worked out on the free visit before a start date is set.
What happens if something moves after the remodel is finished?
A grout line that hairlines or a fixture that needs a small adjustment gets addressed as a callback, not a new invoice, in the months right after the work is done. That is part of why the room is walked with you before the job is called finished, not just handed over.
Can the toilet, tub or vanity move to a different wall?
Yes, and it is the main reason to gut a room to the studs rather than refresh it in place. Moving any fixture means opening the floor or wall to move its supply and drain lines, which is priced and scheduled as part of a full layout change rather than a surface refresh.
Can the remodel be finished around a specific date?
Materials are ordered and confirmed before demolition starts specifically so the schedule holds, and a date can be worked toward on the free in-home visit. What cannot be promised is a date that assumes nothing is found once the old surface comes off.
Does a bigger bathroom always cost proportionally more?
Not always. Size sets the baseline for tile and waterproofing, but a small bathroom with a moved toilet and a mosaic floor can cost more than a larger one refreshed in place with everything left where it sits. The layout decision usually matters more than the square footage.
Allentown Bathroom Pros
Allentown Bathroom Pros has remodeled bathrooms across the Lehigh Valley since 2010.
Allentown Bathroom Pros handles full bathroom remodels, tub to shower conversions, tiling and waterproofing, vanities and accessible bathrooms for homeowners across Allentown and the surrounding Lehigh Valley, from older rowhouse baths to newer houses further out. One crew sees the job through, start to finish.
Why call Allentown Bathroom Pros for a bathroom remodel?
- Trading in the Lehigh Valley since 2010
- Same-day callback on every call
- Carries general liability and workers compensation insurance
- A free in-home visit before anything is priced
- One bathroom scheduled around, not left unusable for weeks
A house with one bathroom cannot lose it for longer than the job needs, and Allentown Bathroom Pros orders the materials and schedules the trades around that before demolition starts. For a full remodel, a shower conversion or a tiling job anywhere in Allentown and the Lehigh Valley, call (610) 555-0133 for a free in-home visit and a start date.
Give us a call
office@allentownbathroompros.com
Send us a message
1275 Glenlivet Dr, Ste 100, Allentown, PA, 18106
Where to find us