Bathroom Remodeling in Durham, NC
Licensed and insured, about 30 minutes from our base, with a fixed written price before any work starts.
Durham is bungalow country. Trinity Park and Old West Durham are full of 1910s to 1930s mill houses with original heart pine, wet plaster and rooms that were never sized for a modern bathroom. South Durham toward Southpoint is thirty years newer and built on slab.
That is the ground every bathroom remodeling project in Durham starts from. Full bathroom renovations built on a waterproofing system that holds up, with tile work that still looks right in twenty years.
What the price covers
- Structural and subfloor correction. Rot from an old leak, bouncy joist bays and out of level floors get fixed before anything new is installed rather than tiled over.
- Plumbing and electrical rough in. Valve and drain relocation, new supply lines, GFCI protection, vanity and mirror circuits, and a bath fan actually ducted to the outside.
- Bonded waterproofing system. A sloped pan, bonded membrane up the walls, sealed corners and pipe collars, then a 24 hour flood test before tile.
Bathroom Remodeling in Durham, in practice
The failure we find most often in Durham bathrooms is a shower pan that was built as a stack of unrelated parts. A plastic liner, cement board sitting in it, and a bead of caulk doing the job a membrane should have done. Water gets past tile and grout by design, which is why the layer underneath has to be continuous. We build the pan sloped to the drain at a quarter inch per foot, bond the membrane to the pan and up the walls, seal every inside corner and pipe penetration with the matching preformed pieces, and then fill the pan and let it sit overnight before anyone opens a box of tile.
Floors get checked before tile, not after it cracks. Ceramic and porcelain need a subfloor that deflects no more than the span divided by 360 under load, and natural stone needs twice that stiffness. In older Durham homes with true two by eight joists at 16 inches, that often means sistering members or adding a layer of plywood, which also solves the bounce you feel walking past the vanity. Over the corrected deck we set an uncoupling membrane so seasonal movement in the wood does not telegraph into the grout lines and open them up a year later.
Free Estimate
Durham homeowners: tell us about the project and we will put a number in writing.
What Durham homes need
Durham is bungalow country. Trinity Park and Old West Durham are full of 1910s to 1930s mill houses with original heart pine, wet plaster and rooms that were never sized for a modern bathroom. South Durham toward Southpoint is thirty years newer and built on slab.
Permits for structural, plumbing and electrical changes go through Durham City County Inspections. We file them, schedule the inspections and meet the inspector, so the work is on the record when you eventually sell.
We work across Trinity Park, Watts Hillandale, Old West Durham, Forest Hills and the rest of Durham, and we are about 30 minutes from our base.
Everything we do in Durham
How a Durham project runs
Four stages, each finished before the next begins. Typical duration is 2 to 4 weeks.
Measure and scope
We walk the room, check the floor for deflection, look at what is under the vanity, and write down the layout you actually want.
Selections locked
Tile, fixtures and vanity are chosen and on site before demo, which is what keeps a bathroom from stalling for three weeks mid project.
Demo and rough in
Strip to studs, correct the structure, move plumbing and wiring, then call the inspection before anything gets closed up.
Waterproof, tile, finish
Pan and membrane, flood test, tile, grout, then fixtures and paint. You get a photo of every stage that ends up hidden.
Questions from Durham homeowners
Do you pull the bathroom permit in Durham?
Yes. When the job moves plumbing or alters circuits we file with the local inspections office, schedule the rough in inspection, and meet the inspector ourselves. You never have to take a day off to let anyone in.
How quickly can you start a bathroom in Durham?
We usually estimate within a few days of your call and start within two to four weeks, depending on how quickly selections are locked. Tile and vanity lead times drive the start date far more than our calendar does.
Do you work in Durham on older homes with cast iron drains?
Regularly. Older stock in Durham County still has cast iron waste lines and sometimes galvanized supply. We open the floor, look at the actual condition, and quote the replacement as a known line item rather than discovering it as a change order.
How long does a bathroom remodel take?
A hall bath with the same layout usually runs two to three weeks on site. A primary suite with moved plumbing, a curbless shower and custom glass runs three to four weeks, plus the glass shop lead time, which is measured after the tile is set.
What it usually costs
Bathroom Remodeling in Durham generally runs between $9,500 and $34,000, depending on size and finish level. The estimate is free and the number we write down is the number you pay.
Call (919) 335-7730What homeowners say
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Bathroom Remodeling in Durham
Free estimates across Durham and the wider Triangle, with a fixed written price before any work starts.