Build the spreadsheet before you shop tile
A single “average bathroom remodel” number hides plumbing moves. Split wet-area (pan, membrane, tile labor), dry-area (vanity, lighting), mechanicals (fan, plumbing, electrical), finishes, and a 15% hidden-condition line. Freeze the layout, then shop.
- If the toilet and shower stay put, mechanicals stay smaller
- Glass and tile labor usually move more than the vanity photo you saved
- Write “allowance” next to any fixture you have not actually purchased
How to read three bids without averaging them
Averaging a $12k bid and a $28k bid is not a budget. Line them up by bucket. The cheap bid is often missing membrane, dump fees, or a working fan. The high bid may include a layout change you did not ask for.
- Give every bidder the same drawing and fixture list
- Flag any line that says “as needed” or “allowance TBD”
- Do not release demolition until glass lead times and tile quantities are known
When to stop adding niches
Each extra niche is a change order in a 35-square-foot room. Freeze when waterproofing is named, the layout is signed, and contingency is still intact. If contingency is gone before tile, stop adding fixtures.
- Photograph existing plumbing before demo for the plumber
- Keep a dated change-order log even for “small” extras
- Waterproofing is not the line to cut when the quote runs high
What contingency is for (and what it is not)
Contingency pays for rot, out-of-plumb walls, and a drain that is not where the drawing said. It is not a slush fund for a more expensive vanity you spotted after demo. If you want a better fixture, that is a change order funded from a separate “upgrades” line.
- Hidden conditions: wet drywall, bad subfloor, knob-and-tube in the bath wall
- Taste upgrades: a different faucet, extra niche, heated floor you did not spec
- Move leftover contingency to landscaping or a later powder room — do not invent work
Payment timing that keeps you solvent
A large deposit before materials exist is how homeowners lose leverage. Tie draws to named milestones: waterproofing flood-test passed, tile on site, glass measured. Special-order tubs can require a deposit to the supplier, not a blank check to a GC.
- Ask who holds fixture deposits and whether they are refundable if lead times slip
- Do not pay for tile labor before the flood test if the setter uses a membrane system
- Keep a 10% retainage until punch list items (caulk, fan, GFCI) are done