Luxury Bathroom Remodeling in Boston, MA
Bathroom remodeling in Boston and nearby towns
We design and build primary baths, hall baths and powder rooms in Boston condos and suburban houses. One team draws the plan, pulls the permit and does the work.
- Licensed and insured in Massachusetts
- Design, permits and construction by one team
- Itemized written estimate
Three kinds of bathrooms we build
The primary bathroom
The room you use twice a day. Most owners want a bigger shower, a double vanity and real storage. We often borrow a closet to get there.
The hall bath
Shared by kids and guests, so durability wins. A tub with a tile surround, a solid-surface counter and a fan that moves air. The layout usually stays.
The powder room
Small and often windowless, sometimes tucked under the stairs. With two fixtures, the money goes to a good faucet, a compact vanity and a big mirror.
Showers, tubs and warm floors
A curbless shower needs the floor to slope to the drain. We recess the subfloor between the joists or run a linear drain along one wall. In an older house the joists may need sistering first.
Freestanding tubs weigh a lot once full. We confirm the floor can carry one, and we place the filler and drain early. Both are hard to move later.
Electric heated floors go under the tile on a programmable thermostat. Cheap to add now, expensive to add later.
Tile, waterproofing and air
Porcelain tile is dense, shrugs off water and comes in large formats with fewer grout lines. Natural stone, marble in particular, needs sealing and reacts to acid cleaners. We say so before you pick a sample.
Tile does not keep water out of the wall. The membrane behind it does. We use a sheet or liquid membrane on shower walls and floors and flood-test the pan before tiling.
Winter keeps Boston windows shut. A fan sized for the room, ducted outside and on a timer keeps mold off the ceiling. Venting into the attic is not venting.
Keep the plumbing or move it
Keeping the toilet, sink and tub where they are saves money and trouble. Moving the toilet means a new drain line and a new vent.
Moving things pays off when the layout wastes space or the door hits the vanity. We draw both versions in 3D before anything is torn out.
Vanities, storage and light
Drawers beat doors in a vanity. A wall-hung cabinet frees the floor and makes a narrow room read wider. A recessed medicine cabinet adds storage without crowding the sink.
Light should come from both sides of the mirror, not only from above, so your face is lit evenly. The shower gets a wet-rated fixture and the room gets a dimmer.
Accessibility without the hospital look
A curbless shower, a handheld sprayer and a wider door help anyone at any age. Grab bars are the part people get wrong. We put solid blocking in the wall during framing, so a bar can go anywhere later and hold real weight.
If you plan to grow old in the house, say so at the design stage. A shower bench and a comfort-height toilet are easy to plan in and hard to retrofit.
What is different about Boston bathrooms
South End and Back Bay condos often have narrow bathrooms carved out of a former bedroom. A pocket door and a fixed glass panel earn their keep there.
Older buildings drain into cast-iron stacks. Cutting into one to move a toilet is a bigger job than it looks. The association will want to approve it first.
Fans need a path outside. In a brick row house that is the roof or a side wall. In a landmark district the vent cap may need commission approval, and we settle that first.
What the price depends on
We quote a bathroom after a site visit, because the surprises live inside the walls. These choices move the number most.
| Choice | Costs less | Costs more |
|---|---|---|
| Plumbing layout | Fixtures stay where they are | Toilet or shower moves, new drain and vent |
| Shower | Prefab base with tiled walls | Curbless, tiled floor, linear drain, glass panel |
| Tile | Porcelain in standard sizes | Natural stone, mosaics, large-format slabs |
| Vanity | Stock cabinet, solid-surface top | Custom cabinet, stone top, wall-hung |
| Hidden conditions | Sound subfloor, copper supply lines | Rot, knob-and-tube wiring, galvanized pipe to replace |
| Building | Single-family house | Condo with elevator rules, limited hours, street permit for the dumpster |
A bathroom typically takes four to eight weeks of construction once materials are on site. Custom shower glass is measured after the tile is set, so it goes in last.
How a bathroom project runs
Site visit and measurements
We look at the room, the plumbing below it and the electrical panel. You tell us what bothers you now.
3D design and selections
You see the layout, tile and fixtures on screen before anything is ordered. We change it until it is right.
Itemized written estimate
Every line is written down, from demolition to the last bead of caulk. You sign off on a number, not a guess.
Permits and ordering
We file with Boston’s Inspectional Services Department (ISD) or your town’s building department. Tile and fixtures are ordered so they arrive before demolition starts.
Construction and walkthrough
One project manager runs the job and sends you a weekly update. At the end we walk the room together and close out the punch list.
Questions homeowners ask us
Can I stay in the house during the work?
Most people do. If it is your only bathroom, we keep the toilet working each night and warn you about the days it will not.
Do I need a permit for a bathroom remodel in Boston?
If plumbing or wiring changes, yes. Boston permits go through ISD and we file them. Replacing a vanity cabinet without touching the pipes usually does not need one.
Our walls are plaster. Does that matter?
Plaster comes down in the wet areas and goes back as cement board behind the tile. Where plaster stays, we patch and skim it so the seam does not show.
What about lead paint?
Many Boston homes built before 1978 have it. Work that disturbs painted surfaces follows Massachusetts lead-safe rules, and we price that in.
How do you handle the water shut-off in a condo?
We check early if your unit has its own valves. If the whole riser has to be shut, we book it with the management company and notify the neighbors.
Is there a warranty?
Yes. You get a written workmanship warranty from us, on top of the manufacturers’ warranties on fixtures and tile.
Where we work
Our office is in the South End. We remodel bathrooms in brownstones, Somerville triple-deckers and Newton Victorians, up to about 30 miles out. The full list is on the service area page.
Get a free estimate
Tell us about the bathroom and we will call to set up a site visit. If you would rather talk first, call (857) 228-5854 between 7 AM and 10 PM.
