Full Bathroom Remodel Material & Cost Estimator
Calculate all major materials for a complete bathroom remodel. Enter your room dimensions once to automatically size floor tiles, shower/wall tiles, mold-resistant paint, greenboard drywall, and grout.
Step 1: Enter Project Dimensions
Shared across all toolsEstimated Total Material Cost (STANDARD)
Covers 80 sq ft (7.4 m²) project footprint
12"x12" Floor Tiles
80 sq ft with 10% waste
Subway Wall Tile
~77 sq ft shower enclosure
Polymer-Modified Grout
11.7 lbs total
Thinset Mortar
For cement board and tile bonding
Mold & Moisture Paint
Bath & spa antimicrobial finish
1/2" Cement Backer Board
Waterproof substrate for shower walls
Material estimates only — does not include demolition, permits, contractor labor, or specialty tools. Local building code and freight delivery charges vary.
Planning a bathroom remodel: what to know before you buy
A bathroom is the most expensive room per square foot in a house, and the reason is density. A 40 sq ft floor carries plumbing supply and waste, electrical, ventilation, waterproofing, tile, glass and cabinetry — trades that in a bedroom would be spread across ten times the area. Doubling the room size does not double the cost, and halving it does not halve it.
That density is also why bathroom budgets overrun more often than any other room. The fixed costs — moving a waste pipe, upgrading a circuit, forming a shower fall — barely move with room size, so a small bathroom carries them on a small area. Expect the per-square-foot figure for a compact bathroom to look alarming next to a kitchen, and judge the job on total cost instead.
The estimate below covers materials: floor and wall tile, mortar and grout, moisture-resistant board, and paint. It deliberately excludes demolition, plumbing and electrical labour, fixtures and glass, which vary far too much by specification and region to estimate from dimensions alone.
What actually drives the cost
Whether plumbing moves
Keeping the toilet, basin and shower in their existing positions is the single largest saving available. Relocating a soil stack or moving a toilet more than a few feet can add several thousand on its own, because it means opening the floor and often the ceiling below.
Tile format and layout
Large-format tile needs a flatter substrate and more skilled setting; mosaic needs far more labour per square foot. A herringbone or diagonal lay adds 15-20% waste and a meaningful labour premium over a straight grid.
Shower construction
A prefabricated acrylic base is a fraction of the cost of a tiled, sloped, waterproofed tray. The waterproofing system beneath a tiled shower is not the place to economise.
Ventilation
An extractor ducted to outside air is not optional in a room generating this much moisture. Venting into a loft void causes condensation damage that costs far more than the fan.
Correct order of work
- 1. Strip out and make safeIsolate water and power before demolition. Cap pipework rather than leaving it open.
- 2. First-fix plumbing and electricalAll pipe and cable runs completed while walls and floor are open. This is the last moment changing the layout is cheap.
- 3. Substrate and waterproofingBacker board or moisture-resistant board, then the tanking system across the wet zone. Allow full cure before tiling.
- 4. TilingFloor first if you can work backwards out of the room, walls first if the floor tile needs to tuck under. Dry-lay the first two rows either way.
- 5. Grouting and sealingGrout after the adhesive has fully cured, not the same day. Silicone every internal corner rather than grouting it.
- 6. Second fix and decorationFixtures, glass, paint, trim. Paint before fitting the vanity and you will thank yourself.
Mistakes that cost the most to undo
Tiling over an unsuitable floor
Suspended timber floors deflect. Tile does not. Without a decoupling membrane or a sufficiently stiffened floor, the grout cracks within a season and the tile follows.
Buying tile from mixed batches
Shade varies noticeably between production batches. Order the full quantity plus waste in one go and check the batch numbers on every box before the delivery driver leaves.
Skipping the fall on a wet-room floor
Water finds level. A shower floor without a consistent fall to the drain leaves standing water, which fails the grout and eventually the waterproofing.
Grouting internal corners
Corners move. Rigid grout in a corner cracks and lets water behind the tile. Every wall-to-wall and wall-to-floor junction takes flexible sealant.