Most people call about a bathroom remodel because of something they can see. A cracked tile. A vanity door that's swollen and won't close. Grout that never looks clean no matter how hard you scrub it. What they can't see is usually the bigger story. In a lot of Marin homes, the bathroom is the oldest room in the house that still gets used every day, and it's carrying decades of shower steam, slow leaks and patch jobs. We've opened walls in San Anselmo where an old shower pan had been leaking into the framing for years, and bathrooms in Corte Madera where the only ventilation was a window painted shut. A full remodel is the chance to fix all of it at once, from the subfloor up, instead of laying new tile over old problems.
Below, we walk through the signs a bathroom needs more than a facelift, the code requirements a remodeled bathroom in Marin has to meet, how our process runs from demolition to final inspection, and how to tell whether you need a full remodel at all. It's the same checklist we run through in your bathroom during the estimate. If the tub is the real problem and the rest of the room is sound, a tub-to-shower conversion may get you most of the way there.
Signs Your Bathroom Needs More Than a Facelift
Some problems are cosmetic. Others mean the room is failing underneath. The floor tells you a lot: if it feels soft or gives a little near the toilet or the tub, water has likely been getting into the subfloor. Tap a few wall tiles in the shower. A hollow sound means the tile has let go of whatever is behind it. Mold that comes back in the ceiling corners a week after you clean it points to a fan that's too weak, or no fan at all. Then there's the plumbing. Low water pressure and a rusty tint first thing in the morning are classic signs of old galvanized supply pipe. Peeling paint on the ceiling above the shower is the same moisture story showing up in a different spot. And if the outlet by the sink has two prongs and no test button, the wiring is overdue too.
The Code a Remodeled Bathroom Has to Meet in Marin
Once a permit is pulled, the whole bathroom gets built to current code, and Marin's inspectors check the details. The exhaust fan has to move at least 50 cubic feet of air per minute and vent outdoors, at least three feet from any window that opens. Every outlet in the room needs GFCI protection, with a dedicated 20-amp circuit. New toilets can use no more than 1.28 gallons per flush, and they need 15 inches of clearance from the center of the bowl to each side and 24 inches open in front. The shower needs at least 1,024 square inches of floor, waterproofing up to 70 inches above the drain, and a pressure-balancing or thermostatic valve so nobody gets scalded. Any glass within 60 inches of the drain has to be tempered.
How a Full Remodel Runs, Start to Finish
First we protect the path from your front door to the bathroom, then take the room down to the studs. That's when the real condition shows up, so we check the framing and subfloor and replace anything that's rotted before going further. Next comes rough plumbing and electrical: new supply and drain lines where needed, the fan, the circuits and the outlets. The building inspector signs off on that rough work before the walls close. Then we hang cement board, apply the waterproofing membrane and flood test the shower pan, filling it with water and leaving it overnight to prove it holds. Tile, the vanity, fixtures and trim follow. Frameless glass gets measured once the tile is done, and the job closes with the final inspection.
Full Remodel or a Smaller Project?
Not every tired bathroom needs to be gutted. If the floor is solid, the plumbing is copper or PEX and in the right place, and the only real complaint is the tub or the vanity, a focused project makes more sense and costs less. Replacing a tub with a walk-in shower, or swapping the vanity and lighting, can change the room without touching the rest. A full remodel is the right call when there's water damage, when you want to move fixtures around, or when the pipes and wiring are original to a house built 50 or 60 years ago. One caution: a partial job done over a shower that's already leaking tends to fail again within a few years, so we won't recommend one when the waterproofing is the problem. During the estimate, we'll tell you which camp your bathroom falls into, and why.
If the room you're thinking about is a hall bath or powder room, our small bathroom remodeling page covers how we make tight spaces work.
Common Questions
For a full remodel, you want someone who runs the whole job: demolition, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing, tile and the permit. That can be a general contractor or a remodeler who focuses on kitchens and baths, as long as they hold a California contractor's license and have done plenty of bathrooms. Hiring separate trades yourself can save a little, but you end up coordinating the schedule and the inspections, and any gap in the waterproofing becomes your problem.
Most people do. The work stays in one room and the path to it, and we keep dust contained with plastic barriers and floor protection. The real question is whether you have a second bathroom. If it's the only one in the house, plan ahead for a few weeks without a shower at home, or talk with us about the order of work so the toilet is out for as short a stretch as possible.
Usually everything from the studs in: demolition, any framing or subfloor repair, new supply and drain lines as needed, electrical and a vented exhaust fan, cement board, waterproofing, tile on the floor and shower walls, the vanity and countertop, toilet, fixtures, lighting, paint and trim, plus the permit and inspections. Shower glass, heated floors and custom cabinetry are common add-ons. Your written estimate spells out exactly what's in and what isn't.