Full Bathroom Remodeling in Alva, FL Usually Takes 3 to 5 Weeks and Runs $9,000 to $28,000
A full bathroom remodel in Alva means gutting the room down to the studs and subfloor, then rebuilding everything: new tub or shower, new vanity, new toilet, new flooring, new lighting, new ventilation, and usually new drywall. Most jobs take three to five weeks from demo day to final walkthrough, depending on how far you move the plumbing and whether the inspector’s schedule backs up. Call (844) 638-7249 for a free on-site estimate with line-item pricing, not a ballpark guess.
What makes a project “full” rather than partial is the scope. If you’re replacing fixtures but leaving the walls and floor alone, that’s a refresh. If we’re stripping everything and sometimes reframing a wall or rerouting a drain line, that’s a full remodel, and it’s the only way to fix underlying water damage, failed waterproofing, or a layout that never worked. In Alva, where homes range from 1970s ranch houses to post-Ian elevated rebuilds, the starting condition of the subfloor and framing dictates a big chunk of the final cost.
How a full bathroom remodel happens, stage by stage
Every crew has its own rhythm, but the sequence for a full bathroom remodel is largely fixed by building code and the order materials go in. Here is how our team runs it in Alva, with realistic durations for each stage.
Stage 1: Demolition and rough assessment (days 1-2). We pull the vanity, toilet, tub or shower, flooring, and drywall. The homeowner makes zero decisions during demo except one: whether to stop and pivot if we uncover rot or termite damage that was not visible before. This is when we inspect the subfloor and studs. In Alva, where pre-Ian homes sat near grade and took river flooding, we sometimes find subfloor plywood that looks intact from above but is delaminating underneath. If that happens, we show you photos, give you a fixed price for the repair, and get approval before moving on. No change orders without your sign-off.
Stage 2: Rough plumbing, electrical, and framing (days 3-7). This is where the homeowner’s biggest decisions are already made: did you keep the toilet and shower in their original spots or move them? Relocating a drain or supply line adds at least two days and typically $1,500 to $3,500 depending on joist direction and access. Our plumber runs new supply lines and drain pipes, our electrician wires new circuits for the vent fan, sconces, and any heated-floor thermostat, and the carpenter reframes any walls that changed shape. The rough inspection happens here. Lee County requires a permit on any full bathroom remodel that opens walls and touches plumbing or electrical, and the inspector checks the rough-in before we close anything up.
Stage 3: Dry-in and waterproofing (days 8-14). New drywall goes up, seams are taped and mudded, and the shower or tub surround gets its waterproofing membrane. This step is non-negotiable and code-required. For a tiled shower, we apply a liquid-applied membrane or cement board with sealed seams. For a fiberglass or acrylic surround, the manufacturer’s flange and sealant system does the job. The homeowner picks tile, grout color, and fixture trim here if they have not already. Drywall finishing and waterproofing cure time together eat about a week. You cannot rush it, and any contractor who tells you otherwise is cutting corners that will cost you a gut job in five years.
Stage 4: Tile, flooring, and millwork (days 15-25). Tile goes in first, starting with the shower walls and floor, then the bathroom floor. After tile cures, the vanity and countertop are set, the toilet mounted, the mirror and lighting hung, and the baseboards installed. This is where the room starts looking like a bathroom again. The homeowner’s only job during this stage is to be available for a 10-minute walkthrough when the vanity is set: we want to confirm the height and placement feel right while we can still adjust. Our 730-Day Done Right Promise covers every inch of this work, from the tile layout to the cabinet door alignment.
Stage 5: Final trim, fixtures, and inspection (days 26-30, or longer if the inspector is booked). We install the showerhead, faucet, towel bars, and any glass enclosure. The final inspection is scheduled. Lee County inspectors check that the GFCI outlets, vent fan, and plumbing all meet current code. Once the permit is signed off, we do a final walkthrough with you and hand over a written closeout packet with the permit card, fixture warranty cards, and a care sheet for the tile and grout. The whole thing typically wraps in four to five weeks. A simple job where nothing moves can finish in three weeks. A job moving plumbing across a concrete slab in a post-Ian elevated Alva home can push six.
The choices that define your full bathroom remodel
You’ll pick every surface and fixture, and those choices move the cost more than any other single variable. No right or wrong answers here, just trade-offs that fit different households.
- Tub-and-shower combo vs. walk-in shower vs. freestanding tub with separate shower. A standard 60-inch tub with tiled surround is the budget-friendly default. A walk-in shower with a curb and glass door costs more in tile and glass but is accessible and easy to clean. A freestanding soaker tub with a separate shower is the premium option, and it needs the floor space and plumbing for both fixtures.
- Flooring: porcelain tile vs. luxury vinyl plank. Porcelain tile is the Alva standard: it handles humidity, cleans easily, and lasts decades. LVP is softer underfoot and faster to install but can swell if floodwater sits on it. For homes in the Caloosahatchee floodplain, we usually recommend tile with a waterproof crack-isolation membrane underneath.
- Vanity: stock, semi-custom, or custom-built. A stock vanity from a brand like KraftMaid arrives in two weeks and fits a standard footprint. Semi-custom lets you choose door style, finish, and drawer configuration. Custom-built cabinetry matches the exact dimensions of an odd-shaped Alva bathroom, which matters in older ranch homes where nothing is square.
- Countertop: cultured marble vs. quartz vs. natural stone. Cultured marble is an integrated sink-and-top unit that is affordable and seamless. Quartz resists staining and never needs sealing. Natural stone like marble or granite is beautiful but requires annual sealing and costs more to fabricate.
- Fixtures and lighting. The spread between a contractor-grade faucet and a high-end Kohler or Delta fixture is a few hundred dollars per piece. Vent fan choice matters in Florida humidity: a Panasonic unit that moves 110 CFM costs more than a builder-grade 50 CFM fan, but it actually clears steam from the room.
What Full Bathroom Remodeling costs in Alva, FL
Full bathroom remodeling prices in Alva land between $9,000 and $28,000, with most projects settling around $14,000 to $18,000 for a standard 5×8-foot bathroom with mid-grade finishes and no plumbing relocation. The low end gets you a straightforward replacement in the same footprint with stock materials. The high end is a larger master bath with custom cabinetry, a tiled walk-in shower, heated floors, and plumbing moved to a new wall.
The variables that move the number are concrete and predictable:
Square footage and layout complexity. A 40-square-foot guest bath costs less than a 100-square-foot master bath with a water closet and two vanities. Every extra foot of tile, drywall, and trim adds labor and material.
Plumbing relocation. Keeping the toilet, sink, and shower where they are is the single biggest cost-saver. Moving any fixture across the room means breaking concrete or cutting joists, running new drain lines, and often upsizing the vent stack. This alone can add $2,000 to $5,000.
Existing condition. Alva homes that took river water during Ian sometimes have subfloor rot, corroded copper supply lines, or cast-iron drain pipes that have reached end of life. Replacing a rotted subfloor or a section of drain line is a repair, not an upgrade, but it has to be done before we build on top of it. We write a separate line item for any repair work uncovered during demo, with a fixed price, so you approve it before we proceed.
Material grade. The difference between a $400 stock vanity and a $2,800 custom double vanity is obvious. Less obvious: porcelain tile ranges from $3 per square foot to $15 per square foot, and installation labor is the same either way. Your material choices drive the budget up or down faster than any other factor you control.
Permit and inspection scope. A full bathroom remodel in unincorporated Lee County requires a building permit and a plumbing permit at minimum. Electrical and mechanical permits join the list if we add circuits or move a vent. Permit fees in Lee County typically run $200 to $600 on a single-bathroom job, and the inspections add coordination time to the schedule. We pull all permits, schedule all inspections, and hand you the signed permit card at closeout.
Every estimate we write in Alva includes line-item pricing with materials, labor, and permit fees broken out separately. You see exactly what costs what, and we guarantee the price will not change unless you change the scope. Call (844) 638-7249 to schedule a free estimate. It takes about 45 minutes at your home, and you’ll have a written quote within 48 hours.
What Alva homes specifically force us to account for
Alva sits directly in the Caloosahatchee River floodplain, and the housing stock here tells the story of Ian. We work on 1970s and 80s ranch homes on large lots that were built near grade and took river flooding in 2022, as well as post-Ian rebuilt homes elevated on stem walls and piers that are two to four feet above the original slab. Those two conditions could not be more different for a bathroom remodel.
In an older, at-grade Alva home, our first concern during demo is what the subfloor looks like. If the home took standing water during Ian and the floor was not fully replaced, we often find plywood that passes a visual check but fails a moisture-meter test. We also see copper supply lines with pinhole corrosion from years of mineral-heavy well water, which is common in the rural parts of east Lee County outside the municipal water grid. In a newly elevated home, the bathroom is effectively in brand-new condition structurally, but the flooring and drain rough-ins are sometimes set at slightly different elevations than the original plan called for, which means custom subfloor build-up or a step-up shower pan. Neither scenario is rare here. Both are specific to Alva in a way that does not apply to the Gulf-facing communities further west, where wind-rated construction dominates the conversation.
FEMA’s post-Ian flood map revisions have reclassified parcels along the river corridor, and Lee County now enforces elevation requirements on substantial improvements. If a full bathroom remodel triggers the county’s “substantial improvement” threshold (costing 50% or more of the structure’s pre-damage value), the entire home must be brought into current flood-elevation compliance. We flag this early in the estimate process so there are no surprises at the permit counter. Most single-bathroom remodels stay well under that threshold, but it is a conversation we have up front with every Alva homeowner.
For homeowners considering a full bathroom remodel as part of a broader renovation, this work frequently overlaps with a full Bathroom Remodeling in Alva plan that might also address a kitchen or addition. Our Bathroom Remodeling crew handles the tile, waterproofing, and fixture install, and we coordinate with the same plumber and electrician who work every job on this side of Lee County. Because Alva properties sit on large lots, homeowners sometimes pair interior work with exterior improvements. We have seen clients schedule Roof Repair in Alva alongside a bathroom gut job, particularly on older homes where a roof leak contributed to the bathroom ceiling damage. Others, especially on elevated rebuilds, use the project window to tackle a full Roof Replacement & Installation in Alva so the entire envelope is finished in one season. We cover Alva from North River Road to the Hendry County line and know the inspector’s rhythms and the soil conditions that affect foundation work here.
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Frequently asked questions about Full Bathroom Remodeling in Alva
Three to five weeks is the real range. A straightforward remodel where nothing moves and the subfloor is solid finishes in three weeks. A job that relocates the toilet or shower and needs subfloor repair pushes to five weeks. The one variable outside our control is the Lee County inspection schedule, which sometimes adds three to five business days between rough-in and drywall stages. We book inspections the moment the work is ready and track them daily so no day is wasted. Call (844) 638-7249 to talk through a timeline for your specific bathroom.
Yes. Any bathroom remodel that opens walls and alters plumbing, electrical, or structural framing requires a permit in unincorporated Lee County. We pull all permits: building, plumbing, electrical, and mechanical as the scope dictates. The final inspection gives you a signed permit card that documents code-compliant work, which matters for insurance and resale. An unpermitted bathroom remodel in a flood zone can cause real problems with a home sale or an insurance claim.
Yes, and that is the most common full bathroom remodel we do in Alva. The toilet, sink, and tub or shower stay in their original locations. We replace every fixture, every surface, and every valve, but the pipes themselves do not move. This keeps the project faster and less expensive, and it avoids cutting into a concrete slab or reframing floor joists. If you want to move the shower to a different wall or add a second sink where there was none, we can do it, but the cost increases measurably and the schedule stretches by a week.
It includes demolition and debris removal, new plumbing fixtures and supply lines, new electrical wiring and GFCI outlets, new vent fan and ducting, new drywall with moisture-resistant board, waterproofing of the tub or shower surround, new tile or LVP flooring, a new vanity with countertop and sink, a new toilet, paint, and trim. It also includes the permit fees and the final inspection. It does not include structural repairs we cannot see until demo, like a rotted subfloor or a cracked drain line. If we find those, we show you photos and a fixed price before we touch them. For an exact quote on your bathroom, schedule a free estimate at (844) 638-7249.
Every full bathroom remodel we complete is covered by our 730-Day Done Right Promise. If something is not done right within two full years of the completion date, we come back and fix it at no charge. This covers workmanship: tile that cracks or loosens, grout that fails, a vanity door that won’t stay aligned, a shower valve that leaks. Fixture manufacturers carry their own warranties (Kohler, Delta, and others typically warranty their products for a limited lifetime), and we register those warranties for you at closeout. No fine print, no prorated nonsense. We put it in writing.
For a free on-site estimate on a full bathroom remodel in Alva, call (844) 638-7249. A live person answers, day or night, and we’ll set a time to walk your bathroom, take measurements, and write a quote with fixed line-item pricing. No pressure, no vague numbers, no change orders unless you change the scope. Built to last, backed in writing.
Written by Derek Hollenbeck, Owner at Groundwork Construction Co., serving Alva and Lee County since 2014.