We Remodeled a 6×9 Bathroom for $9,185 — Here's the Full Before/After Budget
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Olivia Reed - 24 Jul, 2026
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Quick answer: A 6×9 (54 sq. ft.) bathroom remodel that keeps the existing tub and plumbing layout, uses DIY demo paired with a hired tile installer, and sources fixtures from Home Depot can land around $9,000–$9,500 total — even in a high-cost-of-living area. Our final number: $9,185.
Quick takeaways
- Total cost: $9,185 for a 54-square-foot bathroom, in a very-high-cost-of-living (VHCOL) market
- Biggest line item: tile-setting labor at $3,600 — not materials
- Biggest cost-saver: keeping the existing tub and not moving any plumbing or electrical
- Our approach: DIY demo + DIY fixture install, but tile setting was hired out
- Good news, with a caveat: no mold or subfloor rot turned up during demo, but that’s never guaranteed — always check
1. The Bathroom We Inherited
We bought a house with a bathroom that time forgot. Tan tile, a shower curtain doing its best to hide a tub surround that had clearly seen better decades, and a toilet seat made of bamboo that somehow felt both trendy and completely wrong for the space.
It wasn’t broken, exactly. Everything worked. The tub drained, the toilet flushed, the lights turned on. But it had that specific kind of tired that no amount of cleaning fixes — grout that had gone from white to gray to “please don’t look too closely,” and a layout that hadn’t been touched since whoever built the house picked out the tile.
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The “before” — tan tile throughout, dated fixtures, and a bamboo toilet seat that had to go.
At 6 feet by 9 feet, this was never going to be a spa. But it’s the only full bath serving the bedrooms on that side of the house, so it needed to work hard and look like it belonged in the rest of the home.
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2. What Was Actually Wrong With the Old Bathroom
The tile itself was the tell. Whoever installed the original diamond-accent border did it without much attention to substrate prep — no consistent waterproofing plane behind the tile, an uneven setting bed, and grout lines that were already crumbling in spots.
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“DIY crap tile job” — our own label for it once we got up close. The grout was disintegrating and the tile lippage was noticeable even before we started demo.
This matters more than it looks like it does. Grout isn’t just cosmetic — it’s part of the water-management system in a shower or tub surround. When it cracks and falls out, water gets behind the tile instead of running down it. Over years, that’s how you end up with soft drywall, rotted studs, or worse. We got lucky. Not everyone does.
Common mistake to watch for: if your grout lines are crumbling, discolored, or missing in chunks, that’s not just an aesthetic problem — it’s a sign water has likely been getting past the tile for a while.
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3. The Full Budget Breakdown
Most “before/after” posts give you one lump number and call it a day. That’s not especially useful if you’re trying to plan your own project. Here’s every line item, exactly as we tracked it.
| Item | Cost | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Wall tile (shower surround) | $1,570 | Local tile supply store |
| Floor tile | $350 | Home Depot |
| Toilet | $275 | Home Depot |
| Vanity | $1,300 | Home Depot |
| Shower door (frameless sliding glass) | $1,070 | Home Depot |
| Tile-setting labor | $3,600 | Licensed tile installer |
| Rotary hammer (tool purchase) | $100 | Harbor Freight |
| Ceiling/exhaust fan | $100 | Home Depot |
| Shower & sink hardware | $360 | Home Depot |
| Mirror | $50 | — |
| Misc. plumbing materials | $100 | — |
| Caulk / drywall repair materials | $100 | — |
| Schluter edge trim | $210 | Local tile supply store |
| Total | $9,185 |
A few things worth calling out:
- Labor was the single biggest expense, and it wasn’t close. Tile-setting labor alone ($3,600) cost more than the tile itself ($1,570 + $350 = $1,920). That surprises a lot of first-time renovators who budget heavily for materials and underestimate labor.
- We didn’t buy a new tub. There’s no tub line item on this spreadsheet because we kept the original one. In a VHCOL market, that single decision probably saved more than any other choice we made.
- We didn’t touch plumbing or electrical rough-in. No relocated drain lines, no moved supply lines, no rewired circuits — just swaps and reconnections at the existing locations. Moving plumbing is one of the fastest ways to blow a bathroom budget, and we avoided it entirely.
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4. What We DIY’d vs. What We Hired Out (and Why)
“We did it ourselves” is a popular claim in remodel posts, but it rarely says which parts. Here’s the actual breakdown, task by task.
| Task | Who did it | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Demo (tile, tub surround, flooring) | DIY | Labor-intensive but low-skill; rotary hammer, angle grinder, and a wet/dry vac got it done over a weekend |
| Plumbing rough-in | Left as-is | No relocation needed since the layout stayed the same |
| Wall & floor tile setting | Hired out | Waterproofing membrane, consistent thinset coverage, and avoiding lippage on a hex floor pattern is a skill — this is the one place we didn’t want to learn on the job |
| Vanity, toilet, and faucet install | DIY | Straightforward with basic tools once tile and paint are done |
| Shower door install | DIY (manufacturer hardware kit) | Followed the included template; tempered glass panels were pre-cut to size |
| Light fixture & GFCI outlet swap | DIY (like-for-like swap only) | Existing circuit and box location reused — no new wiring run |
| Drywall patch & paint | DIY | Standard patch-and-prime work behind the vanity and around the window |
The pattern here is simple: anything involving water intrusion risk (the tile envelope) got hired out. Everything else, we did ourselves. That’s the split we’d recommend to most people trying to keep costs down without cutting corners in the one place that actually matters.
A rough rule of thumb, if you’re deciding for your own project:
- DIY-friendly: demo, fixture swaps, painting, vanity/toilet installation, basic hardware
- Hire it out: anything requiring a waterproofing membrane, tile setting in wet areas, and any plumbing or electrical work that goes beyond a direct swap
5. Demo Surprises: What We Found Behind the Walls
Demo is where a “cosmetic refresh” can turn into a much bigger project, so we went in expecting the worst.
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Before you demo, check for:
- Soft or discolored spots on the subfloor around the tub and toilet flange
- Musty odor or visible mold on the back side of removed tile or drywall
- Whether the tub is a standard drop-in on a wood frame, or wet-set in mortar/concrete — a wet-set tub is far more labor-intensive to remove and can limit your layout options if you ever want to change the footprint later
- Condition of the existing subfloor plumbing connections before you assume they can just be reused
In our case, the subfloor came up clean — plywood in good condition, no soft spots, no mold behind the old tile. The original tub turned out to be a standard framed installation, not wet-set, which meant we had the option to replace it if we’d wanted to (we didn’t; it was in good shape and swapping it would have added real cost for no functional benefit).
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This isn’t a guarantee for every house. We got a clean result, but plenty of remodels uncover rot, mold, or outdated plumbing that needs real remediation before anything else can happen. Budget some contingency — even 10-15% — for this possibility, and don’t assume a bathroom that looks fine on the surface is automatically fine underneath.
6. Sourcing: Home Depot vs. the Local Tile Shop
Where you buy each item matters almost as much as what you buy. Here’s how we split it, and why.
| Category | Where we bought it | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Wall tile (visible, shower surround) | Local tile supply store | Better selection of glaze colors and finishes; being able to see and hold the actual tile mattered for a feature surface |
| Floor tile | Home Depot | A hexagon terrazzo-look porcelain in stock at a lower price point than the specialty shop carried |
| Trim (Schluter edge profile) | Local tile supply store | Matched the exact finish and profile of the wall tile — big-box selection was more limited here |
| Vanity, toilet, shower door, hardware | Home Depot | Standardized products, competitive pricing, and no need for a specialty match |
The general pattern: big-box stores are hard to beat on standardized fixtures and floor tile, but a specialty tile shop earns its markup on feature tile where color, glaze, and finish actually show. If your wall tile is the visual centerpiece of the room, it’s worth the trip.
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7. Kid-Proofing a Shared Family Bathroom
This bathroom gets used by kids, which shaped one decision more than any other: the shower door.
We went with a frameless sliding glass door with a soft-close track instead of a shower curtain or a hinged swing door. It was one of the pricier single items on the list at $1,070, but for a household with kids, it was worth it.
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What to check before choosing a heavy glass sliding door for a family bathroom:
- Confirm the glass is tempered safety glass (standard on quality shower door kits, but always verify before purchase)
- Look for a soft-close track mechanism — it prevents the door from slamming shut on small fingers
- Keep the bottom track clear of bath toys and debris; buildup there is both a trip hazard and a maintenance headache
- Consider handle height and placement if young kids will be opening and closing it unsupervised
- Pair it with a non-slip mat or textured tile inside the tub — glass doors do a great job keeping water in, but they don’t do anything about slip risk
The tradeoff worth knowing: sliding glass doors need periodic track cleaning. Mineral buildup from hard water and soap scum will eventually make the door stick or roll unevenly if the track isn’t wiped down every few weeks.
8. The Reveal: After Photos
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Same 6×9 footprint. Same tub. Same plumbing locations. Completely different room.
9. Would We Do Anything Differently?
Honestly, not much — but a couple of things are worth flagging for anyone doing this themselves.
We underestimated how long thinset cure time and grout sequencing would stretch the tile phase. Tile setting isn’t just a day of labor; it’s install, cure, grout, seal, and door installation in sequence, and rushing any of those steps is how you end up with problems later.
We’d also plan the electrical decisions earlier. Swapping a light fixture sounds simple until you’re standing in front of the wall trying to decide on a style while the rest of the room is already finished — which is exactly what happened to us.
10. Still Deciding: Choosing a Light Fixture
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We reused the existing three-light vanity fixture for now rather than buying new, mostly because everything else in the budget got prioritized first. It works, but it doesn’t quite match the black hardware and matte black shower fixtures we landed on elsewhere in the room. This is the one “still open” decision in an otherwise finished bathroom — if you’ve got strong opinions on matching a fixture to black hardware and a warm wood vanity, we’re all ears in the comments.
FAQ
How much does a 6×9 bathroom remodel typically cost? In this project, a 54-square-foot bathroom remodel cost $9,185 total, including materials and hired tile-setting labor. Costs vary widely by region and finish level, but keeping the existing tub and plumbing layout is one of the most reliable ways to stay near this range.
What’s a realistic bathroom remodel budget in a high-cost-of-living area? Expect labor to take up a larger share of the budget than materials in a VHCOL market. In this case, tile-setting labor alone was $3,600 — nearly 40% of the total spend — even though DIY demo and fixture installation kept overall costs down.
Should you keep or replace an existing bathtub during a remodel? If the tub is structurally sound and the style still works, keeping it is one of the biggest cost-saving decisions you can make. A new tub adds material cost, installation labor, and potential plumbing changes — all avoidable if the original is in good shape.
What does it mean if a tub is “wet-set” in concrete? A wet-set tub is installed directly into a mortar or concrete bed rather than sitting on a wood frame. It’s more labor-intensive to remove or replace and can limit future layout flexibility. Check for this during demo before assuming a tub swap will be simple.
Is it cheaper to hire a tile installer or do tile work yourself? Materials are usually cheaper than labor, but tile setting has a real skill component — waterproofing, thinset coverage, and lippage control. In this project, labor ($3,600) cost more than all the tile combined ($1,920), but the quality and durability tradeoff was worth it.
What should you check for before demoing a bathroom? Look for soft or discolored subfloor, musty odors or visible mold behind tile and drywall, whether the tub is wet-set, and the condition of existing plumbing connections. Budgeting a 10-15% contingency for surprises behind the walls is a reasonable safety margin.
Are heavy sliding glass shower doors safe in a bathroom used by kids? Yes, when the glass is tempered and the door has a soft-close track mechanism to prevent slamming. Keep the bottom track clear of debris, and pair the door with a non-slip surface inside the tub to address slip risk separately from the door itself.
What’s the difference between a standard and a comfort-height toilet? Comfort-height (also called “right height”) toilets sit a few inches taller than standard models, closer to standard chair height, which many adults find easier to use. Standard-height toilets sit lower and can feel cramped for taller users or those with mobility concerns.
Should bathroom fixtures come from a big-box store or a specialty tile shop? Standardized items like vanities, toilets, and shower doors are usually priced competitively at big-box stores. Feature wall tile, where color and glaze finish matter most, is often worth sourcing from a specialty tile shop even at a higher per-square-foot cost.
How do you choose a vanity light fixture for a small bathroom? Match the fixture finish to your other hardware (faucet, cabinet pulls, shower trim) for a cohesive look, and choose a width proportional to your mirror or vanity. In a small bathroom, a three-light bar fixture centered over the mirror is a reliable, flattering default.
Does keeping the same plumbing and electrical layout actually save money? Yes — significantly. Relocating supply lines, drain lines, or electrical circuits requires opening walls beyond the immediate work area and often triggers additional permitting. Reusing existing locations was one of the largest cost-control decisions in this remodel.
How long does a small bathroom remodel usually take? For a DIY-demo, hired-tile approach like this one, expect several weeks rather than several days once you account for demo, tile installation, thinset cure time, grouting, sealing, and fixture installation done in sequence rather than all at once.
Why does grout crack and fall out in older tile installations? Grout fails when it wasn’t mixed or applied correctly, when there’s inadequate waterproofing behind the tile, or simply from age and lack of sealing. Once grout starts crumbling, water can get behind the tile — it’s a functional problem, not just a cosmetic one.
Is a full-DIY remodel realistic, or is hiring out tile work worth it? A full-DIY approach can work for confident, experienced DIYers, but hiring out tile setting specifically buys you waterproofing expertise and a warrantied installation in an area where mistakes are expensive to fix later. A hybrid approach — DIY demo and fixtures, hired tile — is a reasonable middle ground for most homeowners.
How do you prevent water damage in a bathroom shared by multiple kids? Beyond a properly waterproofed and tiled shower enclosure, a soft-close sliding glass door helps contain splashing, a humidity-sensing exhaust fan helps manage moisture after every use, and periodic checks of grout and caulk lines catch small failures before they become bigger ones.
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