What a Full Bathroom Remodeling in Gateway Actually Costs and How Long It Takes
A full bathroom remodeling in Gateway typically runs between $9,000 and $28,000, with most projects finishing in 3 to 5 weeks once we start swinging hammers. That price covers tearing everything down to the studs and subfloor, then rebuilding with new plumbing fixtures, a tub or shower, flooring, vanity, lighting, and exhaust fan - all permitted through Lee County and cleared with your community’s architectural review committee. Call (844) 638-7249 to schedule a free on-site estimate with a real person, any time of day or night.
The Step-by-Step Sequence for a Full Bathroom Remodel
Most homeowners haven’t lived through a gut renovation before, and the unknowns can feel like the stressful part. The reality is straightforward when the process is laid out plainly. Here’s how a full bathroom remodeling in Gateway unfolds with our crew:
Stage 1: Demolition and Rough Inspection (Days 1-3)
We protect the walk path with floor covering, seal off the work area with zip walls to contain dust, then remove every finish surface - tile, drywall, tub or shower pan, vanity, toilet, flooring - straight back to the framing. The rough plumbing and electrical get exposed, and we mark any surprises (like a vent stack where the new niche should go) before the rough inspection. You won’t make any material decisions during demo, but we’ll text photos of what’s behind the walls so you know exactly what we’re working with.
Stage 2: Rough-In Trades (Days 3-7)
This is where the new layout takes physical shape. Our plumber moves supply lines and the drain if the layout is shifting; the electrician pulls new circuits for the exhaust fan, vanity lighting, and any heated floor or towel warmer you’ve chosen. If the shower valve or tub filler needs to relocate even a few inches, day 4 is the deadline for that decision. The rough inspection happens at the end of this stage - Lee County requires it before any drywall goes back up. We pull all permits and coordinate the inspection so you don’t chase anyone.
Stage 3: Drywall, Waterproofing, and Tile Prep (Days 7-12)
Green board and cement board go up in wet areas, then the shower or tub surround gets a full waterproofing system - we use a liquid-applied membrane or sheet membrane depending on the substrate, and every seam and screw head gets sealed. The floor gets leveled with self-leveler if it’s out of plane (common in Gateway homes from the 1990s with concrete slabs that have settled). Your tile selection gets locked by day 10 so we can begin setting tile on day 12.
Stage 4: Tile, Trim, and Fixtures (Days 12-25)
Tile work is the longest single stretch for a full bathroom remodeling. Wall tile goes first, then the floor, then grout and caulk cure for 24-48 hours. After that, the vanity, mirror, light fixtures, toilet, and plumbing trim install in sequence. The shower glass gets measured on day 18 and fabricated off-site - that typically adds 5 to 7 business days, so the enclosure goes in near the end of week 3 or early week 4.
Stage 5: Finish Work and Final Inspection (Days 25-30)
Paint, switch plates, door hardware, and any remaining caulk lines are wrapped up. We walk the room with you to build a short punch list of adjustments - a drawer face that needs a half-turn, a grout haze touch-up - and we don’t consider the job complete until every line item is signed off. Lee County performs the final inspection, and we hand you a closed permit and the 730-Day Done Right Promise in writing.
The Options You’ll Choose Between
A full bathroom remodeling puts every material decision in your hands. The choices break into a few practical categories, and each one moves the budget up or down:
- Tub-and-shower combo vs. walk-in shower. Keeping a tub where the tub already lives is the budget-friendly path. Removing it and building a walk-in shower with a curb, bench, and frameless glass enclosure adds $2,500 to $5,000 once tile, glass, and plumbing adjustments are in the number.
- Flooring material. Porcelain tile is the standard for Florida bathrooms - it handles humidity and cleans easily. Luxury vinyl plank costs less and installs faster, but it won’t outlast tile. Natural stone (marble, travertine) looks beautiful and demands sealing every year. Expect $4-$9 per square foot for porcelain, $3-$6 for LVP, and $10-$18 for stone, installed.
- Vanity and countertop. A stock vanity with a cultured-marble top keeps the budget low. A semi-custom vanity in a specific size and finish, paired with a quartz or Cambria top, runs higher but fits the room exactly and lasts decades. Sizes for a standard full bath are usually 30 to 60 inches wide; going over 48 inches with two sinks changes plumbing rough-in requirements.
- Shower wall and floor tile. Subway tile at $2-$4 per square foot is the workhorse choice. Large-format porcelain (12×24 or larger) reduces grout lines and looks cleaner, though it takes more labor to set correctly. Accent bands, niches, and hex-floor mosaics are small touches that add a few hundred dollars each.
- Exhaust fan and lighting. A builder-grade fan simply meets code. A Panasonic Whisper series or similar quiet, high-CFM fan clears steam fast and runs quietly enough that people actually use it, which matters in Florida humidity. Adding a dedicated light over the shower, a heated floor mat, or dimmable vanity sconces all affect the electrical rough-in load.
Every option here shows up as a line item in our written estimate, with the exact brand, model, or material grade spelled out. There are no allowances that get exceeded later - the number you approve is the number you pay.
What Full Bathroom Remodeling Costs in Gateway, FL
A full bathroom remodeling in Gateway falls between $9,000 on the efficient end and $28,000 for a larger bathroom with high-end finishes, a walk-in shower, and some plumbing relocation. The midpoint for a typical 5×8-foot hall bath with mid-grade tile, a new tub-and-shower unit, a 48-inch vanity, and no wall movement sits around $14,000 to $17,000.
Four variables push a project toward the high or low end:
- Square footage. A compact 40-square-foot bathroom costs less to tile, light, and ventilate than an 80-square-foot primary bath. Material quantities and labor hours track the footprint.
- Plumbing stack and drain location. Leaving the toilet, tub, and sink where they are avoids cutting into the slab. Moving a drain line in a concrete-slab home (which describes most Gateway houses built 1990-2010) requires saw-cutting, re-piping, and patching - typically $1,500 to $3,000 depending on distance.
- Finish tier. Porcelain tile at $3 per square foot installed versus marble mosaic at $16. A stock mirror versus a custom-framed LED anti-fog mirror. Stock vanity versus dovetailed solid-wood construction. The spread between entry-level and premium finishes on the same floor plan can be $8,000.
- Permit scope and CDD review. A like-for-like fixture swap with no structural changes is a straightforward permit. Adding or relocating electrical circuits, moving a wall, or changing the roofline for a skylight adds plan-review time and cost. Gateway’s CDD architectural review adds a step that takes 1 to 3 weeks before Lee County even touches the permit application.
Our written estimate separates materials, labor, and permit fees on individual lines. What’s included: demolition and debris removal, rough and finish plumbing, rough and finish electrical, drywall and cement board, waterproofing, tile and grout, vanity and countertop installation, fixture trim-out, paint, and final permit close-out. What’s typically not included unless we scope it: wall relocation, window replacement, asbestos abatement (rare in post-1990 homes), and any remediation of mold or termite damage found during demo.
A full bathroom remodeling often pairs with a broader Bathroom Remodeling in Gateway scope if you’re updating a second bath or tackling the primary suite. Call (844) 638-7249 for a free, line-by-line estimate - you’ll get a real person, not a voicemail.
What Gateway Homes Specifically Do to This Job
Gateway sits within a Lee County Community Development District, which means a full bathroom remodeling here starts with a step most Fort Myers contractors never deal with: architectural review committee approval before the county permit gets pulled. Your community’s ARC wants to see that the work doesn’t alter exterior-facing elements - no new window openings visible from the street, no exhaust fan vent caps that clash with the approved exterior finish palette. Our team has navigated this CDD-first workflow on hundreds of jobs across Gateway’s neighborhoods, from the single-family concrete-block homes near The Plantation to the villa-style units clustered around Gateway Boulevard. We prep the ARC submission as part of the pre-construction file, and it typically adds 1 to 3 weeks to the upfront timeline. Skipping this step causes a stop-work order that takes longer to resolve than getting approval right the first time.
The housing stock itself shapes the work. Gateway homes built between 1990 and 2010 are almost all concrete-block on slab, which means bathroom drains are cast into the floor. Moving a toilet or shower drain involves saw-cutting concrete - noisy, dusty, and expensive - so most full bathroom remodeling projects in Gateway keep the wet wall where it is and redesign around the existing drain locations. The upside: concrete slabs don’t rot, so subfloor replacement is rarely an issue the way it is in wood-framed homes elsewhere. Hurricane Ian’s wind damage in 2022 also pushed a wave of insurance claims across Lee County, and many Gateway homeowners used that window to roll bathroom updates into a larger reconstruction scope. The result is that newer bathrooms in the community tend to have upgraded exhaust ventilation and impact-rated windows or skylights, which any full bathroom remodeling we take on today should factor in - if the bathroom window is still single-pane and pre-2001, replacing it with impact glass during the remodel adds cost but closes a vulnerability.
For homeowners who are also dealing with post-storm exterior repairs, we frequently coordinate a full bathroom remodeling alongside Roof Repair in Gateway or a complete Roof Replacement & Installation in Gateway so the interior and exterior work sequence logically and the job site isn’t opened up twice. Our Bathroom Remodeling crew has deep experience handling the specific permitting demands of Gateway and its CDD framework.
Serving Gateway, FL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Gateway 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 Questions About Full Bathroom Remodeling in Gateway
Most full bathroom remodeling projects in Gateway finish in 3 to 5 weeks from demolition to final inspection. The architectural review committee submission adds 1 to 3 weeks on the front end before work begins. Tile work and shower glass fabrication are the in-progress stages that stretch the timeline, not the rough trades.
Yes. Lee County requires a building permit for any bathroom remodel that moves plumbing, alters electrical circuits, or changes the wall layout. Additionally, Gateway’s CDD rules mean your community’s architectural review committee must approve the scope before the county permit is issued. We pull both and manage the inspections so you don’t touch the paperwork. Call (844) 638-7249 for a free estimate that spells out every permit fee.
Yes, and that’s the single largest variable you can lock down to keep a full bathroom remodeling in the $9,000 to $14,000 range. Leaving the plumbing where it is avoids cutting into the concrete slab and re-piping waste lines - a process that typically adds $1,500 to $3,000. You can still replace every fixture with new ones in the same footprint.
Every line item: demolition, debris disposal, rough and finish plumbing, rough and finish electrical, drywall and cement board, waterproofing, tile and grout, vanity and countertop, fixtures, paint, permit fees, and final clean-up. There are no “allowances” that run over. The number on the estimate is the number on the final invoice. Upfront pricing with no surprises is how we’ve operated for over 42 years across every service line.
Every full bathroom remodeling we complete in Gateway is backed by the 730-Day Done Right Promise - if it’s not done right, we make it right. That covers workmanship on every surface and system we touch. Product warranties from manufacturers like Kohler run separately and range from limited lifetime on fixtures to 15-year on certain finishes. Both are documented in your close-out packet.
Get a Free Estimate for Full Bathroom Remodeling in Gateway
A full bathroom remodeling is a significant investment, and the numbers need to be real from the start. Call (844) 638-7249 and you’ll speak with a live person - 24/7, no answering service, no callback roulette. We’ll schedule a free on-site walkthrough in Gateway, take measurements, talk through your material picks, and deliver a written, line-item estimate that holds. You’ll also hear about 0% financing for 18 months and the $1,000 discount on projects over $10,000, if your scope qualifies. From foundation to finish line, we’re the contractor who puts it in writing.
Written by Derek Hollenbeck, Owner at Groundwork Construction Co., serving Gateway and Lee County communities with full-scope home construction since 2014.