How to bid a bathroom remodel: a worked example

Let's bid a bathroom, line by line. The point isn't the exact numbers — yours will differ — it's the structure: cost everything honestly, burden the labor, add a contingency, and price the total on margin. Follow this and the bathroom you bid at a profit is the bathroom you build at a profit.

Step 1 — Take off the work

List everything the job needs before pricing anything: demo and disposal, framing tweaks, plumbing rough-in and fixtures, electrical, tile and waterproofing, drywall and paint, vanity, flooring, and finish hardware. A takeoff you can see is a takeoff you won't forget half of at bid time.

Step 2 — Price each category

A midrange full bathroom — cost build-up

Category	Cost
Materials (tile, vanity, fixtures, drywall, paint, flooring)	$8,000
Labor — 120 hrs × $45, burdened 35%	$7,290
Subcontractors (plumbing, electrical, tile)	$7,500
Equipment & dumpster	$650
Permits	$750
Direct cost	$24,190

Two things people get wrong here. First, labor has to be burdened — a $45 base rate really costs about $60.75 an hour once taxes, comp, insurance, and benefits are added (more on burden). Bid it at the base wage and you're low before you start. Second, don't skip the small lines — dumpster and permits are easy to forget and come straight out of your margin.

Step 3 — Add a contingency

Bathrooms hide surprises behind the tile — old plumbing, rot, wiring that isn't to code. Add a contingency of about 8% of cost:

Step 4 — Price it on margin

Now price the cost basis up to your target margin — not a flat markup, which would underprice the job. At a 30% margin:

That price covers the full cost, recovers your overhead, and leaves a real profit. Mark the same cost up by 30% instead and you'd bid only $33,963 — roughly $3,400 less for the identical work, most of it off your bottom line.

Frequently asked

How do you bid a bathroom remodel?

Take off the work, price materials, price labor at a burdened rate, add subs, equipment, and permits, add a contingency, then price the total on margin.

How much to charge?

Your full cost priced up to your margin. In the example, ~$26,000 cost prices to about $37,000 at a 30% margin.

What goes in the bid?

Materials, burdened labor, subs, equipment, permits, and contingency — then margin. Forgetting burden, permits, or contingency is the usual shortfall.