What a Full Bathroom Remodel in Bonita Springs Actually Takes - Timeline, Scope, and Cost
A full bathroom remodeling in Bonita Springs is a down-to-the-studs rebuild: we strip the room to its framing, reconfigure the footprint if you want, replace every surface and fixture, and bring everything up to current Florida Building Code. On average, that takes 3 to 5 weeks from first cut to final walkthrough, and for the homes we work on across Bonita Springs, the price lands between $9,000 and $28,000, with most jobs settling in the mid-teens. If you’re trying to budget this month, call (844) 638-7249 and we’ll give you a real number, not a ballpark.
The Sequence: How We Remodel a Full Bathroom in Bonita Springs
Every job follows the same logic, but the condition of the house dictates the speed. Here’s the stage-by-stage reality we walk homeowners through before we ever pick up a hammer.
Stage 1 - Demolition and framing inspection (Days 1-3). We remove the tub, shower pan, vanity, toilet, flooring, wallboard, and trim down to the studs and subfloor. This is also the moment of truth: in older Bonita Springs homes, we frequently find rotted bottom plates or termite-damaged framing hiding behind tile that looked fine from the outside. If we spot it, we stop, show you what we found, and give you a written change order before proceeding. Lee County requires a rough-in inspection after demo and before any new material goes in, so your schedule always builds around the inspector’s availability.
Stage 2 - Rough plumbing, electrical, and waterproofing (Days 4-8). This is when we move drain lines, relocate toilet or shower valves, add GFCI circuits, and install new exhaust-fan ducting to the outside. The big homeowner decision point here is whether to keep the existing layout or shift fixtures - keeping everything in the same footprint is faster and cheaper; moving the toilet to the opposite wall means cutting concrete slab, which adds both days and dollars. Before any tile touches the wall, we apply a bonded waterproof membrane across every wet surface, floor to ceiling in the shower zone.
Stage 3 - Tile, tub, and shower base installation (Days 8-16). This is the longest visual stretch and where the room starts to actually look like a bathroom again. Your tile selection determines pace: large-format porcelain goes faster than intricate mosaics. If you chose a one-piece fiberglass shower base, it sets in a day; a custom mud-set tile pan needs several days to cure properly in Bonita Springs’ humidity before we can grout. The next call is when your glass enclosure gets measured - third-party fabricators typically need 7 to 10 business days from measuring to install, and we slot that in at the very end.
Stage 4 - Trim-out: vanity, fixtures, lighting, and finishes (Days 17-21). The Kohler shower trim, Moen valve, vanity with a Cambria quartz top, mirrors, lighting, towel bars, toilet, and baseboards go in. We test every supply line under pressure before we button up the walls. This is also the day the homeowner walks through and points out anything that doesn’t match what was on the order - we’d rather fix a misaligned drawer front now than come back later.
Stage 5 - Final inspection and close-out (Days 22-25). The county inspector signs off on the permit. We do our own punch-list walk with you, hand over care-and-maintenance instructions for every surface, and confirm the 730-Day Done Right Promise is active from this date. You’ve got a finished bathroom, and we’ve got a paper trail that proves it was built to code.
The Choices That Shape a Full Bathroom Remodel
You’re not just picking colors. These are the real decisions that drive the outcome, and we walk every Bonita Springs customer through them before the quote goes final.
- Shower system: fiberglass base vs. custom tile pan. A molded composite base is cost-effective, easy to clean, and installs in a day. A built-in-place tile pan with a linear drain looks seamless and can be sloped exactly how you want it, but it costs more, takes longer to cure, and requires annual sealing to hold up against Florida’s hard, mineral-heavy water.
- Shower glass: framed slider vs. frameless heavy-glass enclosure. Framed bypass doors fit tighter budgets and make sense in a guest bath you’re refreshing for resale. A 3/8-inch frameless enclosure with a swing door gives you that open, hotel look and adds real resale weight in a master bath, but the custom fabrication lead time pushes your finish date out a week or more.
- Vanity: stock cabinet with cultured marble vs. semi-custom with natural stone. A stock vanity from a brand like KraftMaid with a cultured-marble integrated top lands on the lower end of the cost spectrum and can be installed same-day. A semi-custom or custom vanity with a natural-stone slab top means more weeks of lead time and a higher price, but you get the exact drawer configuration and stone veining you picked.
- Flooring: porcelain tile vs. luxury vinyl plank. Porcelain is the standard in Bonita Springs bathrooms - it handles standing water, humidity, and sandy feet without complaint. Luxury vinyl plank is warmer underfoot and softer if someone slips, but edges need tight sealing around the shower and toilet because standing water will eventually find its way under the planks.
- Exhaust ventilation: builder-grade fan vs. humidity-sensing unit. Code requires a vented exhaust fan, but in a windowless interior bath in a Pelican Landing villa, a humidity-sensing model that kicks on automatically is worth every extra dollar - it runs just long enough to clear the moisture that feeds mildew in Florida’s climate.
What Full Bathroom Remodeling Costs in Bonita Springs, FL
Full bathroom remodeling in Bonita Springs runs $9,000 to $28,000. The low end gets you a drywall-to-drywall rebuild in a 5-by-8-foot bath with stock fixtures, a fiberglass tub or shower base, a basic vanity, and tile kept to the wet zone. The high end covers a master-bath footprint over 100 square feet with a custom tile shower, frameless glass, a freestanding tub, a semi-custom double vanity with a stone top, and some slab-cutting to relocate drains.
What actually moves the number:
- Square footage. A compact hall bath costs less to tile and plumb because there is simply less of everything. A sprawling master bath with a separate water closet, tub deck, and dual vanities multiplies the material and labor hours.
- Subfloor and framing condition. In 1970s-era homes in Bonita Shores and Bonita Springs Estates, we regularly uncover water damage, cast-iron drain pipes that need replacement, or termite-compromised sill plates. Those repairs add cost before a single finish goes in.
- Moving versus keeping the plumbing layout. Keeping the toilet, shower, and vanity in the same spots keeps a remodel efficient. Relocating a toilet drain through a concrete slab adds cutting, patching, and inspection time that can push the budget several thousand dollars north.
- Material grade. Builder-grade tile, chrome fixtures, and stock cabinetry sit at one end; large-format porcelain, brushed-nickel or matte-black trim, and semi-custom vanities with Cambria quartz tops sit at the other. We show you the line-item difference so you decide where to spend.
- Permit scope and post-Ian compliance. A straightforward like-for-like replacement permit is a known cost. If the county determines the renovation triggers current flood-elevation requirements - a live issue in the Imperial River basin after Hurricane Ian - the scope changes entirely, and we flag that risk during the estimate walkthrough.
Every written estimate from us includes the full scope: demolition, carpentry, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing, tile, fixtures, glass, painting, and permit fees. It does not include hidden structural repairs we cannot see until the walls are open - those get a separate, signed change order with fixed pricing before we proceed. Call (844) 638-7249 to schedule a free estimate with upfront numbers, not a vague range.
What Bonita Springs Homes Specifically Do to This Job
A full bathroom remodel here is never just a tile swap - it is a project shaped by the age of the house, the water table, and the regulatory aftermath of a hurricane that changed how this entire city gets permitted. In neighborhoods like Bonita Shores, where much of the stock dates to the 1960s and 1970s, we’re almost always dealing with bathrooms that were built before Florida’s post-2004 wind and flood codes existed. The original waterproofing, if there is any, is typically a thin layer of mastic over greenboard, and the cast-iron drain stacks under the slab are often at the end of their service life. Those discoveries turn a planned three-week job into a five-week job with plumbing scope the homeowner didn’t see coming.
The bigger issue, particularly for homes near the Imperial River and its canal network, is the post-Ian substantial-damage determination process. Lee County’s review can flag a property for mandatory elevation to current Base Flood Elevation if the renovation’s value exceeds 50 percent of the structure’s pre-damage market value. That kind of trigger can take a $20,000 bathroom remodel and tether it to a six-figure foundation-lift requirement. We check the property’s FEMA zone and the county’s damage-assessment status before we write the quote, because nobody wants to open walls on a project the county won’t let them finish without a scope they didn’t budget for. That early diligence - combined with knowing which Bonita Springs inspectors will require a pressure test on the new supply lines and which planned-community ARB guidelines apply inside the gates of places like Bonita Bay - is what keeps a bathroom remodel from becoming a regulatory headache.
For homeowners who are already opening up walls and floors, we often coordinate a Roof Repair in Bonita Springs assessment at the same time - a bathroom that had water damage often points to a roof penetration or soffit leak that caused it. If the house is older and the whole envelope needs attention, some customers roll the bathroom work into a broader exterior upgrade with a Roof Replacement & Installation in Bonita Springs, especially when post-Ian insurance credits depend on having a compliant roof-to-wall tie-down system in place. When the scope outgrows a single bathroom, a Bathroom Remodeling in Bonita Springs project can become part of a wider whole-home plan, and our Bathroom Remodeling crew works alongside the other trades so you’re not juggling three different contractors and three different schedules.
Serving Bonita Springs, FL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Bonita Springs area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
Frequently Asked - Full Bathroom Remodeling in Bonita Springs
Count on 3 to 5 weeks from demolition day to the final walkthrough. The spread depends on whether we’re moving plumbing through a concrete slab, how long the custom glass takes to fabricate, and how quickly the county inspection slots open up. We give you a week-by-week schedule in the written estimate.
Yes, and we pull it ourselves. Any job that opens walls, moves electrical, or alters the plumbing rough-in requires a Lee County building permit with rough and final inspections. Skipping the permit might save a few hundred dollars up front, but it can block a home sale later and void your insurance coverage on the work. We carry the permit cost in every quote.
You can, and keeping the existing footprint is the single biggest cost-control lever you have. When we leave the toilet, shower valve, and vanity drains in their current locations, we avoid cutting the slab, which shaves days off the timeline and typically keeps you toward the lower end of the $9,000-to-$28,000 range. The room can still look completely different with new tile, a new vanity, and updated fixtures - the plumbing just stays put.
A full bathroom remodel in Bonita Springs costs $9,000 to $28,000. The wide range is real: a compact hall bath with a fiberglass tub, stock vanity, and basic tile lands near the bottom; a master bath with a custom tile shower, frameless glass enclosure, freestanding tub, and stone countertops lands at the top. The exact number depends on square footage, material grade, and what we find when the walls come open. Call (844) 638-7249 for a line-by-line quote on your specific bathroom - estimates are free.
Every full bathroom remodel we complete in Bonita Springs is backed by our 730-Day Done Right Promise. If something isn’t right, we make it right - it’s one of the longest workmanship guarantees in residential construction, and it’s in writing, not a handshake. Manufacturer warranties on fixtures, tile, and vanities run concurrently and vary by product line; we provide all those warranty docs at close-out so you know exactly what’s covered and for how long.
If you’re ready to stop guessing and get real numbers, call Derek and the team at (844) 638-7249. We’ll schedule an on-site walkthrough of your bathroom, measure everything, talk through your material and layout preferences, and hand you a written, itemized estimate - no hidden markups, no change-order surprises, no voicemail black holes. If you call outside business hours, a live person answers. That’s how we’ve done it since 2014, and that’s how a full bathroom remodeling in Bonita Springs should go.
Written by Derek Hollenbeck, Owner at Groundwork Construction Co., serving Bonita Springs homeowners with upfront pricing and the 730-Day Done Right Promise since 2014.