Service 02

Bathroom renovations

A bathroom is the smallest room in the house and the least forgiving. Everything happens in eight square metres, and every one of those metres has to stay dry for thirty years.

3–5weeks on site

$22,000+Typical investment

5 yrWorkmanship warranty

Get a fixed-price quote Call 778.700.5618

Before After

Fernwood main bath — fibreglass tub surround replaced with a curbless tiled shower and heated floor.

The short version

Why this project is worth doing properly

We open a lot of island bathrooms and find the same thing: a tiled shower over green board with no membrane behind it, and a joist below that has been quietly wicking water since the Clinton administration. That failure is not a tile problem, it is a system problem — and the fix is a proper bonded waterproofing system installed by someone who has done a hundred of them.

Beyond the waterproofing, bathrooms are about clearances. Sixty centimetres in front of the toilet, ninety in front of the vanity, a shower you can turn around in without touching the glass. We draw the room to scale before we quote it, so you know exactly what will fit.

Fixed-price contract after design — not an hourly estimate that drifts
One project manager, weekly written updates with photographs
Licensed, insured, WorkSafeBC covered, permits filed by us
Written five-year workmanship warranty on everything we build

Bathroom renovations by Island Home Renovations on Vancouver Island

James Bay — teal wall tile, floating oak vanity, brushed brass trim

Scope

What's included

Every item below is in the base quote unless we tell you otherwise in writing.

Strip-out to studs

Everything comes out — fixtures, tile, substrate, and the subfloor if it has been wet. We do not tile over old tile, ever.

Waterproofing system

Schluter-KERDI or a liquid-applied membrane over the entire wet area, with pre-formed corners, banded seams and a bonded flange drain. Flood-tested before tile goes on.

Shower construction

Curbless where the floor structure allows, with a sloped mud bed or a pre-sloped tray, linear or point drain, and niche framing set into the wall rather than surface-mounted.

Plumbing

New supply in PEX, ABS drainage, pressure-balanced or thermostatic valves, and a shutoff you can actually reach. Fixture relocation where the layout calls for it.

Electrical and ventilation

GFCI protection, dedicated circuits for heated floors and mirror lighting, and a properly sized exhaust fan ducted to the outside — never into the attic.

Heated floors

Electric mat or cable under the tile on its own thermostat. On the island's damp shoulder seasons it does more for comfort than any fixture in the room.

Tile and stone

Large-format porcelain, mosaic, or natural stone laid to a set-out plan with a levelling system so lippage stays under 0.5 mm.

Vanities and glass

Custom or supplied vanity, quartz top, undermount sinks, and frameless tempered glass measured after tile so the panel actually fits the opening.

Sequence

How the project runs

Six stages, in this order, every time. Weeks shown are typical for a project of this size on Vancouver Island.

On-site assessment

Week 0

We look at the existing layout, check the joist direction and span, find the vent stack, and tell you what is realistically possible in the footprint.

Design and selections

Weeks 1–2

Scale drawing, fixture schedule, tile set-out and a fixed quote. Tile and fixtures are ordered at approval — special-order stone can take six weeks.

Demolition

Week 3, days 1–3

Full strip to studs and subfloor. Dust containment and a protected path from the door to the truck.

Rough-in and inspection

Week 3–4

Plumbing and electrical rough, blocking for grab bars and glass, fan ducting, then inspection before anything is covered.

Waterproofing and flood test

Week 4

Membrane installed, seams banded, drain bonded, then the pan is filled and held for 24 hours. We photograph every stage for your file.

Tile, fixtures, glass

Weeks 4–6

Tile, grout, vanity, toilet, trim, and finally the glass, which is templated once the tile is grouted and cured.

Investment

Three levels, honestly priced

These are real ranges from completed island projects, including labour, materials, management and tax.

Powder room

$12k – $22k

Half bath: new floor, vanity, toilet, lighting, paint and trim. Usually two weeks.

Main bathroom

$28k – $48k

Full strip-out, waterproofed tub-shower or walk-in, tiled floor and walls, new vanity, fan and lighting.

Primary ensuite

$55k – $95k+

Curbless shower with two valves, freestanding tub, double vanity, heated floor, frameless glass, and often a footprint change into a closet.

Specifications we build to

Element	Our standard	Why it matters
Waterproofing	Schluter-KERDI or ARDEX liquid membrane, full wet area	Bonded system, warranted by the manufacturer
Shower slope	2% (1/4" per foot) to drain	Code minimum; anything flatter ponds
Backer board	Cement board or foam board, never green board	Paper-faced gypsum fails in a wet wall
Exhaust fan	Sized to room volume, 8 air changes/hour, ducted outside	Insulated duct to stop condensation in the attic
Floor heat	120 V mat, 12 W/sq ft, GFCI thermostat	Runs about $3–5 a month in a main bathroom
Glass	10 mm tempered, low-iron optional	Templated after tile so the fit is exact

Recent work

Bathroom Renovations on the island

Questions

Bathroom Renovations, answered

It depends on your floor structure. With open joists below and a joist direction that lets us drop or sister the framing, yes. On a concrete slab we can core and recess for a linear drain. Where neither is possible we build a low 50 mm curb with a bevelled edge, which reads almost flush.

If you have small children or only one bathroom in the house, keep one tub — it matters at resale on the island, where family buyers dominate. In an ensuite with a second full bath elsewhere, most clients are happier with a larger shower.

Three things: a fan that is sized correctly and ducted outside, a continuous waterproofing membrane so nothing gets into the wall cavity, and mould-resistant board with a proper primer. Most recurring mould we see is a ventilation failure, not a tile failure.

Yes — blocking for grab bars in every wall we open, curbless entries, comfort-height toilets, lever handles, wider door swings and slip-rated tile. Adding blocking during a renovation costs almost nothing; adding it afterwards means opening the wall again.

We source as close as we can from salvage and reproduction suppliers, and where an exact match is not available we suggest a deliberate contrast that reads as intentional rather than a failed match. We'll show you both options with samples in the room.

Also consider

Kitchen Remodeling

Layout redesign, custom cabinetry, islands, lighting and appliance integration — planned in 3D before a single wall comes down.

Basements & Legal Suites

Family space or a legal, permitted, revenue-earning suite — with the egress, fire separation and sound control done to code.

Next step

Let's price your bathroom renovations properly

Tell us about the room, the roofline or the whole house. We reply within one business day and site visits across Greater Victoria are free.

Book a free site visit Call 778.700.5618