A full bathroom remodel in a typical Inland Empire home runs three to five weeks. Here is what happens in each stretch, and where the waiting actually is.
Week one: demolition and rough work
Everything comes out. Tile, tub, vanity, toilet, and usually the drywall, because reaching the plumbing means opening the walls anyway.
This is the week the job looks most dramatic and moves fastest. It is also when surprises appear. Water damage behind a shower surround is common in houses of a certain age, and if the subfloor or framing has rot, that gets repaired before anything else continues. It is not an upsell. It is the reason the new work will last.
Week two: plumbing, electrical and inspection
New supply and drain lines, new circuits, exhaust fan, and any relocation you asked for. Then the rough inspection, which has to pass before the walls close.
From the hallway this week looks like nothing is happening. The room sits open and quiet. It is the week homeowners most often ask whether the crew moved on to another job. The work here is the part you will never see, and the part that determines whether the room gives you trouble in five years.
Week three: waterproofing and tile
Backer board, waterproofing, then tile. This is the slowest visible stretch, because tile cannot be rushed. Mortar has to set before grout goes in. Grout has to cure before the shower gets used.
If someone tells you they can tile and grout a full shower in a day and have you using it the next morning, they are telling you something important about how they work.
Waterproofing separates a bathroom that lasts twenty years from one that fails in five, and it is completely invisible once tile covers it. Ask to see it before it gets covered. Anyone doing it properly will be glad you asked.
Week four: fixtures and finish
Vanity, toilet, shower glass, mirror, lighting, hardware, paint and trim. Fast, visible, satisfying. The room becomes a room again.
Planning around it
If this is your only bathroom, plan for the full duration rather than the optimistic version, and ask your contractor which specific days the water will be off.
Choose tile, vanity and fixtures before demolition starts. A tile that turns out to be on backorder in week three stops everything.
What makes it take longer
- Moving the toilet or shower drain. On a slab, that means cutting concrete.
- Custom shower glass. Measured after tile is set, then fabricated. Often two to three weeks on its own.
- Mid-project changes. Changing tile after the order is placed resets that part of the schedule.
Thinking about a project like this?
We are a family-owned general contractor in Fontana, serving the Inland Empire for over twenty years. Free estimates, and no charge for the visit.
Call (909) 232-4669CSLB #1087664, Class B · Bonded and insured · BBB A+ rated · Se habla español