Bathroom Remodel Cost Calculator
Add up your bathroom remodel line item by line item, layer on a labor rate and a contingency buffer, and turn a pile of quotes into one planning number you can actually work with.
Calculator
Your bathroom line items add up to $6,600.00; with a 15% contingency that is about $7,590.00. These are your numbers — get itemized written quotes before you commit.
A bathroom remodel is really a stack of smaller jobs — demolition, plumbing, electrical, tile, fixtures, a vanity and the labor to tie it all together. The fastest way to a believable budget is to add up what each of those lines actually costs on your quotes, then set aside a contingency for the things nobody can see until the walls are open.
This calculator does exactly that. Enter the dollar figures from your own itemized quotes and your contractor’s hourly rate, pick a contingency band, and it returns a subtotal and a buffered planning total. It carries no price list of its own, so it never goes stale: the answer only reflects the numbers you type in today.
Formula
The math is a plain sum with a percentage buffer on top:
subtotal = demo + tile + fixtures + vanity + plumbing + electrical + (labor_hours × labor_rate)\ntotal = subtotal × (1 + contingency%)
Labor is computed from hours × rate so you can flex either lever; the contingency is a labeled planning band (10–20%), not a fee.
Worked example
Say your line items are demolition $500, tile $900, fixtures $1,200, vanity $800, plumbing $400 and electrical $200 — that is $4,000 of materials. Add 40 hours of labor at $65/hour ($2,600) and the subtotal is $6,600.
Apply a standard 15% contingency and the planning total becomes 6,600 × 1.15 = $7,590. That extra $990 is what absorbs the rotten subfloor or the vent stack nobody priced.
Where the money goes
Where does the money go? In most full bathroom remodels labor and the “wet” trades (plumbing and tile) dominate, while the finishes you actually see — the vanity, the faucet, the mirror — are a smaller slice than people expect. If your subtotal looks low, the usual culprits are an underestimated labor line or forgotten demolition, disposal and waterproofing.
Why a contingency? Bathrooms hide problems behind tile and inside walls: soft subfloor, old galvanized supply lines, no vent fan, a leaking flange. A 15% buffer is a sensible default for a straightforward remodel; move it toward 20% for an older home, a full gut, or any layout change that moves plumbing.
This is a planning estimate, not a bid. It is at its most useful as a cross-check: build your own number here, then compare it against the itemized written quotes you collect from licensed contractors. Big gaps between the two usually point to a scope difference — one quote includes the shower glass or the electrical, another does not.
Need to break a line down further? Price the tile with the bathroom tile area & cost tool, the vanity with the vanity cost tool, and a new shower with the walk-in shower cost tool, then bring the totals back here.
Reference table
Contingency is a planning buffer for the surprises found once the walls are open — not a line item you pay to anyone. Typical bands:
Labeled planning bands — lean higher for older homes and full guts. See the contingency planner.