Wet-bulb hours at Denver/Stapleton
NOAA's nearest engineering weather station to Boulder is Denver/Stapleton, about 25 miles southeast of Boulder. In an average year there, NOAA counts about 0 hours with the wet-bulb temperature above 73°F and about 6 hours above 67°F.
What this guide offers instead of prices
You will find no dollar amounts on this page. A bathroom is priced from the room you have, the products you choose and what the crew finds once the old surfaces come off. A printed figure would anchor your expectations to a room that is not yours. What follows explains how a bathroom quote is put together, which choices push it up or down, and how to keep control of the money once the job begins.
Three scope tiers
Before calling anyone, decide roughly which kind of project you have in mind. Each tier is priced in its own way.
Refresh. New paint, a new faucet, a new light, maybe a new toilet or vanity. The walls and the shower stay as they are.
Replace. Fixtures and finishes are replaced in their current spots. The tub or shower may be torn out and rebuilt, with new waterproofing, but the drains stay put.
Rebuild. The room goes back to the studs and the subfloor. Fixtures may move, walls may shift, and wiring and plumbing may be redone throughout.
If you are torn between two tiers, ask each bidder to price both. The gap between them tells you what the extra scope is worth to you.
Where labor hours go
Materials are only part of a quote. The rest is labor, and labor hours pile up in a few places:
- Demolition and protection. Tearing out tile and a mortar bed can take longer than pulling up sheet flooring, and the rest of the house needs floor and doorway protection while it happens.
- Plumbing changes. Each moved fixture brings new supply and drain work, plus patching wherever access was opened.
- Waterproofing and tile. Small mosaic tile, patterns, niches, benches and tile carried to the ceiling all add setting hours.
- Trade handoffs. A plumber, an electrician, a tile setter, a glass installer and a painter each need their own visit, and the job waits between them.
Ask each bidder which of these hold the bulk of the hours in your job.
Product picks and how they appear on a bid
A vanity, a faucet, a toilet, a shower valve and a light can each range widely in price. On a quote, they appear in one of two ways: as a named product with a model number, or as an allowance. Named products let you compare bids directly. If two bidders price the same faucet by model, any difference in that line is labor or markup, not product.
Choose as many products as you can before you sign. That turns guesses into fixed lines.
Reading several bids side by side
Lay the proposals next to each other and walk through them line by line. For each bid, ask:
- Does it include tear-out, disposal and protection of the house?
- Does it name the waterproofing product, and does it mention a flood test of the shower floor?
- Are fixtures listed by model, or only described?
- Are permits, inspections and final cleanup in the price?
- What does it say it excludes?
A low total that leaves out a line the others include is not cheaper; it is incomplete.
Allowances that hide the real number
An allowance is a placeholder for something not yet chosen. A bid with thin allowances can look lower than one with realistic ones. For each allowance, ask what product the amount assumes, whether installation is included, and how you will be billed if your final choice costs more or less.
Money set aside for unknowns
Opening a bathroom can reveal a soft subfloor near the toilet, a cracked drain fitting, a joist notched too deeply by a past plumber or a fan duct that ends in the attic. Keep a reserve in your own budget for findings like these, separate from the contract total. Ask that the contract describe the process: photos of the problem, a written price, and your signature before the repair goes ahead.
The cost of a room out of service
If this is the only bathroom in the house, the length of the job matters as much as the price. Ask each bidder how many working days the room will be unusable, whether the toilet can be kept working overnight during demolition and rough-in, and which ordered items, such as a custom vanity, a stone top or shower glass, could hold up the schedule. Shower glass is often measured after tile is set, so ask how that wait is planned.
A payment schedule
Tie each payment to a stage of finished work. One pattern is a deposit at signing, a payment after rough plumbing and wiring are in and any rough inspection has passed, another after waterproofing is tested and tile is set, and the balance once every fixture works and the punch list is closed. Keep the final payment large enough to matter. Any change after signing should be written, priced and signed before the extra work begins.
Questions to ask before signing
- What state license or registration, if any, covers this work, and what is the number?
- Which permits does this scope need, who files them, and are their fees in the price?
- Can you provide proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation?
- Which trades are your own staff, and which are subcontracted?
- What does the written warranty cover, and for how long?
What to collect at the end
Before the last payment, gather the signed contract, every change order, permit papers and inspection results, model numbers for each fixture, tile and grout names and colors, warranty documents and photos of the walls taken before they were closed. Keep them in one folder. Whoever works on the room next will be glad to have them.