San Anselmo is one of Marin's older towns, and a lot of its homes date from the early 1900s through the 1940s: bungalows near the Hub, shingled houses climbing the hills, and small cottages along the creek. Those houses have charm, but their bathrooms were built for a different era. Many started with one bathroom, and a second was added later wherever it could fit, often on a lower floor or in a basement. San Anselmo Creek runs right through town, and the flood that hit Ross Valley on New Year's Eve 2005 is still a reference point for homeowners near the water. That history shapes bathroom projects here, from what's behind the walls to where a new bathroom can safely go.
Our San Anselmo work runs from bungalows around the Hub to hillside streets off Red Hill and near the Seminary. Common projects include swapping an original tub for a shower and a full primary bathroom remodel in a house that's grown over the years. Plenty of San Anselmo homes are on their second or third owner since the bathroom was last touched, so we often find work from several eras in one room. Reach out for a visit, and the written estimate you get will be based on what we actually see, not a template.
Bathrooms in San Anselmo's Older Houses
Older San Anselmo homes tend to hold the same surprises behind their bathroom walls. Lath-and-plaster walls, water lines that barely dribble from decades of rust inside them, drains choked with old buildup and wiring from before grounded outlets were standard are all common. Earlier remodels sometimes covered problems rather than fixing them, like new tile set right over old tile or a shower pan laid over rotted subfloor. We open things up carefully and look over the structure before planning the new room. Many owners want to keep the character of the house, so we often pair classic finishes, like small hexagon floor tile, subway walls and a console sink, with modern waterproofing, plumbing and ventilation underneath. Walls in these homes are rarely straight, so we plan tile layouts and glass with that in mind. Doors and trim matter in these houses too, and we can match or save original casings where possible. Shingled homes with similar histories in nearby Fairfax often need the same approach.
Bathrooms on Lower Floors and in Basements
A downstairs bathroom ranks near the top of what San Anselmo homeowners ask us for, since many hillside homes have a lower level or basement that's underused. The main question is drainage. If the new bathroom sits below the sewer line that leaves the house, the waste has to be pumped up to it with a sewage ejector pump, which adds cost and needs a vented, sealed basin. If it sits above the sewer line, gravity does the work and the job is simpler. Lower floors also tend to be damper, so ventilation and waterproofing get extra attention, and we check for any history of water coming in during heavy rain. For homes near the creek, it's worth knowing whether the property is in a mapped flood zone before putting a finished bathroom on the lowest level. A compact walk-in shower is usually the best fit for these spaces. Ceiling height matters too, since a lower level needs enough headroom to meet code for a habitable bathroom. San Anselmo's building department handles the permit, and we take it from application through final inspection.