What NOAA lists for Fort Knox/Godman
The nearest station in NOAA's engineering weather data is Fort Knox/Godman, about 15 miles north of Elizabethtown, at an elevation of 755 feet. For Fort Knox/Godman, NOAA gives a 1% summer design temperature of 90°F with a mean coincident wet-bulb temperature of 75°F, and a 99% winter design temperature of 12°F. The same data set lists, for that station, a 50-year basic wind speed of 90 mph (3-second gust at 33 feet), a 100-year rainfall rate of 3.3 inches per hour and about 46 freeze-thaw cycles in an average year. All of these are the station's published figures, not readings taken in Elizabethtown.
Elizabethtown in Census counts
According to Census QuickFacts, Elizabethtown's population estimate for July 1, 2025 (V2025) was 35,448. The Census count for April 1, 2020 was 31,394.
Start with a tape measure
The rest of this page is about the bathroom in your own house. Before a remodeler visits, spend an evening measuring it. Write down the length and width of the floor, the ceiling height, the width of the door opening and the size and position of any window. Measure from the wall to the center of the toilet and from the floor to the top of the vanity. Note which way the door swings and whether it clears the fixtures.
Then take photos: one of each wall, one of the floor, one of the ceiling and one looking into the room from the hallway. If you know where the house's main water shutoff is, photograph that too. A remodeler who sees this packet before the visit can spend the walkthrough on questions rather than on a tape measure, and every bidder starts from the same picture.
Who uses the room, and when
A bathroom that one person uses at leisure needs different things from a bathroom three people share before school and work. Think about the busiest half hour of the day in this room. Who is waiting at the door? Who needs the mirror while someone else showers? Is there a guest who visits often, a child learning to bathe alone or a parent who finds the tub edge hard to step over?
Answers like these can shape the plan as much as any finish. A second sink, a separate toilet compartment, a shower with a seat or a door that locks from inside may matter more to your household than the color of the tile. Tell each remodeler how the room is really used, and ask how their design responds to it.
Storage that fits what you own
Before choosing a vanity, gather everything that lives in the bathroom now and spread it on a table. Towels, hair tools, cleaning supplies, medicine, spare paper and bath toys each want a place. Tall bottles fit poorly in shallow drawers; a hair dryer needs a spot near an outlet.
Questions to raise:
- Could a medicine cabinet be recessed into the wall between studs, and is there plumbing or wiring in that bay?
- Would drawers serve you better than a cabinet with doors under the sink?
- Is there room for a narrow linen tower, or for shelves above the toilet?
- Where will wet towels hang so they can dry, and how many hooks or bars does the household need?
- Would a recessed niche in the shower hold the bottles you use, and how will its bottom shed water?
Shower base options
The floor of a walk-in shower can be built in several ways. A molded base made of acrylic or composite is set in one piece. A mortar bed sloped to the drain is built on site and tiled. Foam tray systems sit between the two, with a pre-sloped panel that gets tile on top. Each has trade-offs in cost, look and how easily it fits an odd-shaped space.
Ask each remodeler which kind they propose for your room and why. Ask where the drain will sit, whether a linear drain along one wall is an option, and how the base ties into the waterproofing on the walls. If you want a curbless entry, ask whether the floor framing allows the base to be recessed, and what that would involve.
Grout and caulk
Grout fills the joints between tiles; caulk or sealant goes where two surfaces meet at a corner or a change of material. Ask each bidder which grout they plan to use, whether it is cement-based or epoxy, and whether it needs sealing after it cures. Ask which joints will get sealant instead of grout, such as the inside corners of the shower and the line where tile meets the tub. Ask for the color names in writing, and ask whether a small bag of leftover grout and a spare box of tile can stay with you for repairs.
The hot water question
A larger soaking tub or a shower with several heads can draw more hot water than the old fixtures did. Ask the plumber whether your current water heater can keep up with the new fixtures, and whether any supply lines would need to change size. Ask, too, whether a mixing valve with temperature limits is part of the plan, and where the shutoffs for the bathroom will be after the remodel.
Living around the work
A bathroom remodel can bring dust, noise and a crew into the house for a stretch of days. Talk through the practical side before signing:
- Which entrance will the crew use, and how will floors and stairs between the door and the bathroom be covered?
- Where will debris and tools be kept overnight?
- Can the toilet be reset at the end of the day during demolition and rough-in?
- How will dust be kept out of the rest of the house, and will the crew seal heating and cooling registers in the room?
- Who should you call with a question during the job, and how quickly will they answer?
If pets live in the house, ask how doors will be managed while the crew comes and goes.
What to ask each remodeler
Put these questions to everyone you are considering, and ask for the answers on paper:
- What state license or registration, if any, covers this work, and what is the number?
- Which city permits will the job call for, who applies for them, and who is present for inspections?
- Which parts of the work does your own crew do, and which go to subcontractors?
- Can you provide proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation before work begins?
- What does your written warranty cover, for how long, and how do I make a claim under it?
For questions about your homeowner's policy while the room is torn out, call your insurer.