How to Get Your House Ready for a Bathroom Remodel

Settle on a budget range

Work out what you want to spend before you fall for a tile. It decides most of the room, and it's the most useful thing to give an estimator. A number goes further than one cut back to it later. See the cost guide.

Decide what goes behind the wall

Some choices can wait; the ones inside the wall can't. Settle these first:

• Whether the toilet, sink or shower drain moves
• The waterproofing system behind the tile (waterproofing guide)
• Where the shower valve goes, and whether you want a rain head, a handheld, or both
• Any niche or bench, framed in early (niches and benches)
• Wood blocking for anything that hangs on a wall later: a floating vanity, grab bars, a fold-down seat

Pick your materials early

Tile, vanity, faucet and trim should be picked before the start date, or the room sits torn apart waiting on an order.

Buying yourself? Ask when they're needed on site.

Changing your mind after work starts is another delay: swapping tile once the backer's up sends things backward.

Plan for life without the bathroom

The bathroom's out of use until it's done. If it's your only bath, line up somewhere else to shower first.

A second bathroom carries the house for a while: stock it with what you'd keep in the one being remodeled.

Clear the room and the path to it

Empty the vanity, medicine cabinet and linen closet, and take down anything on the walls worth keeping.

Clear the path to the bathroom too: roll up rugs, move breakables off nearby shelves. Tearing out tile shakes the walls more than people expect.

Dust, pets and access

Demo dust gets everywhere. Close doors to nearby rooms and cover what matters. Swap the furnace filter after, a cheap fix most people forget.

Plan access in and out, and where pets and kids will be. Sort out whether someone needs to be home and how questions get answered.

When you reach out

Have a rough budget and a few photos of the room. That's plenty to get started.