Bathroom Remodeling in Tampa | Sawgrass Renovations

What a bathroom remodel with Sawgrass covers

The bathrooms we are asked to replace across Tampa Bay were mostly built between the mid eighties and the mid two thousands, and they tend to share the same problems. A garden tub nobody uses takes the best corner of the room. The shower is a small framed box with a fibreglass pan. There is one vanity where two would fit, and the grout has started to fail somewhere it should not have. Patching that is money spent twice, so we take the room back to the studs and build it properly from there.

What happens next is mostly invisible in the finished photos, and it is the part that decides whether the bathroom lasts. Drywall comes out of the wet area and cement board or a foam backer goes in. Seams and corners are banded, a waterproofing membrane covers the enclosure, and the shower pan is sloped to the drain and flood tested before a single tile is set. Plumbing and electrical are brought up to current code while the walls are open, which is the only sensible time to do it.

Then the room gets its layout. Trading a garden tub for a larger walk-in shower is the change we make most often, usually alongside a double vanity and better lighting. On a slab, moving a drain means cutting and repouring concrete, so we settle what is possible during the LiDAR scan and the 3D design rather than discovering it on demolition day.

What is included

LiDAR scan of the existing bathroom and a 3D design in Chief Architect
Demolition back to the studs, disposal and daily cleanup
Cement board, banded seams, waterproofing membrane and a flood-tested pan
Plumbing rework, valve replacement and drain relocation where the design needs it
Electrical, exhaust ventilation and layered lighting
Tile for shower walls, floors, niches, curbs and thresholds
Vanities, counters, mirrors, glass enclosures and fixtures
Permits, inspections and code compliance
A written punch list and a final walkthrough with you

A typical bathroom schedule

Every house is different, but this is the shape of most projects.

Design and selections

Two to four weeks. We scan the room with LiDAR, model the new layout in Chief Architect, and settle tile, vanities, fixtures, glass and lighting before anything is ordered.

Permitting and ordering

Two to four weeks, depending on the city or county. Tile, vanities and glass are ordered against the approved drawings so nothing is waiting on a delivery once demolition starts.

Construction

Three to six weeks for a single bathroom. Rough plumbing and electrical are inspected before the walls close, and the glass enclosure is measured only once the tile is finished.

Bathrooms we have finished

Real Tampa Bay homes, including what the walls looked like first.

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Bathroom Remodeling Questions

How long does a bathroom remodel take?

Design and selections run two to four weeks, permitting another two to four depending on the jurisdiction, and construction three to six weeks for a single bathroom taken back to the studs. Tile is the slowest part and it cannot be rushed: waterproofing has to cure, and large-format or mosaic work takes longer to set than it looks. A second bathroom running at the same time usually adds a week or two rather than doubling the schedule.

Can you replace the garden tub with a bigger shower?

Usually, and it is the most common change we make. A garden tub and its surround take up more floor area than most people want to give a tub they rarely use, and that space converts well into a larger walk-in shower with a bench and a proper glass enclosure. On a slab the drain has to move, which means cutting and repouring concrete, so we confirm what is possible during the LiDAR scan and the design rather than after demolition.

How do you keep water out of the walls?

Everything behind the tile is built for water before any tile goes on. Cement board or a foam backer replaces drywall in the wet area, seams and corners are banded, a waterproofing membrane goes over the whole enclosure, and the pan is sloped correctly to the drain and flood tested before it is covered. It is the part of the job nobody sees, and the part that decides whether the bathroom is still sound in fifteen years.