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Today I am sharing our small bathroom remodel and how you can redo your own bathroom and save money. A bathroom remodel is one of the best investments you can do to add value to your home.
A small bathroom remodel cost will be determined on things like size, bathroom layout, materials and whether or not new plumbing needs to be installed.
Let’s take a look at the 5×8 bathroom remodel at the split level house making this budget bathroom remodel one of the best makeovers and money well spent!
Small Bathroom Remodel Ideas
There are several 5×8 small bathroom remodel ideas on Google and Pinterest and I’m sure you are wondering, how much does it cost to remodel a 5×8 bathroom?
If you are planning a small bathroom remodel and are curious about costs, a general idea would be $150-$220 a square foot depending on the materials you choose.
Updating a bathroom of any size is a home improvement project that almost always adds value to your home.
According to Home Advisor, the national average cost of a small bathroom remodel is about $6500 total cost. Depending on what part of the country you live in, this may seem low. For example, in Massachusetts, this is total cost is low.
Labor rates and the type of materials used will dictate the overall cost of the renovation.
This of course depends on materials you pick, where you live (certain parts of the country are more expensive than others) and your space and existing bathroom layout.
I am going to share our 5×8 bathroom remodel ideas that will not only save you time but money too!
Here is the small bathroom before.
A 5×8 bathroom is small and honestly, you are limited with the layout design as the narrow space doesn’t leave a lot of room for shower and vanity options.
The overall square footage of a 5×8 bathroom is 40 square feet which is a very small space! It is the only full bath on the main floor so we wanted to pack it with storage and modern style!
Small Bathroom Remodel Cost – Things to consider:
- To save money, we kept all the existing bath plumbing and electrical where it was. The toilet and vanity plumbing stayed on the left side and the tub/shower unit remained on the right side of the bathroom. Moving the plumbing is costly so if you can work within the existing layout, you will save thousands!
- Vanities can cost thousands of dollars. For this small bathroom remodel, we opted for a pedestal sink to keep things modern and less cluttered. The problem with a pedestal sink is there is no storage. By removing the existing bulky vanity, we gained space to add a floor to ceiling linen closet which solved our storage issue.
- Eliminating a tub and adding a full tiled shower is more expensive than adding a fiberglass shower/tub unit. We opted to create a custom shower/tub space by tiling the walls around the existing cast iron tub. This allowed us to get modern custom look for less.
- Plumbing and lighting fixtures can also vary in price depending on what you want to install. For this bathroom remodel we picked economical yet stylish lighting and shower fixtures. We opted for a brushed nickel finish which tied in nicely with the Calcutta gold tile.
- What type of bathroom flooring will you install? If you need to replace your existing flooring, a non slip tile that coordinates (or is the same) with the shower tile will help keep a cohesive look.
We decided to use white floor tiles with faint brown lines to keep the small bathroom light and airy. The light blue wall color, (Platinum by Behr) coordinates nicely with the floor and shower tile.
The existing bathroom at the split level house was original from when the house was built in the 1970’s and needless to say, it needed to be gutted down to the studs.
5×8 Bathroom Layout and Design
After searching google for updated small 5×8 bathroom layout ideas we decided to work within the same layout allowing us to keep costs down.
Overall, a typical 5×8 bathroom layout (especially from the 70’s) doesn’t leave you with a lot of options to move things around so it made sense to leave the layout as is.
We removed everything from the bathroom including the flooring, doors, sheetrock, toilet, vanity and tub walls. The labor cost to demo a bathroom depends on the size and what is involved. Jim had this bathroom completely gutted in roughly 1/2 a day.
To stay on budget, we decided to leave the existing cast iron tub and have it reglazed making it look new again. We removed all the old tile which exposed the lack of insulation.
Yes, the tinfoil looking stuff on the walls below was the insulation! Which basically meant, there was little to no insulation in the house. Apparently this was the type of insulation they used back in the 1970’s.
The tub was in great shape (we added an old door on top of it to protect it during demo) and if you know anything about cast iron tubs, they are very durable.
During the bath demolition process we covered the tub with a piece of plywood in order to prevent any damage.
Note: A full shower remodel would have cost an additional $1500 due to the labor and materials needed to create a walk in custom shower. We decided to stay on budget and keep the tub while adding fresh new tile to give a custom look.
Keeping the existing cast iron tub saved us money as the labor to remove and replace with a full tiled shower would have been expensive. The cost to reglaze the tub was approximately $600.
5×8 Bathroom Layout with Shower
Once the bathroom was completely demoed, we added new sheetrock, plaster and tile around the tub area. Having a tub in one of the bathrooms is very important especially for a family with children.
Kids being able to take a bath is important!
The picture above shows the new window (click here to see the new black exterior windows) and the Calcutta Gold tile bathroom flooring.
If you have been following our blog for a while, you know that Jim purchased this split level home last year as a flip and was recently sold. You can get caught up on all of the remodeling projects at that house here.
How much does it cost to remodel a small bathroom?
- By keeping the existing tub and reglazing it, we only needed to tile around the tub and floor. We found the Calcutta Gold tile in 12×24 on sale for $1 a square foot so we bought as much of it as we could! You can find it here.
- We spent about $200 for the tile plus the cost of labor. This bathroom took about 2-3 days for Jim to finish. If you can tile yourself, you will save thousands! A 5×8 bathroom remodel labor cost will vary depending on what part of the country you are in but labor costs can be upwards of $3000-$5000 a day.
- Overall the 5×8 bathroom remodel was a huge success and the before and after is amazing! A small bathroom remodel cost like this one would be on average $10,000-13,000 depending on the finishes you pick, location and a handful of variables relating to your specific needs.
Remodeling bathroom on a budget means choosing flooring and wall tile at a reasonable cost. You can absolutely get a high end look without spending thousands of dollars on tile.
What I love about this tile is the affordable price and it provides a fresh modern clean look to any bathroom.
This 5×8 bathroom remodel was quick and fairly straight forward. Doesn’t it look amazing?
The 2 panel solid core doors (see that post here with a full tour of house and all the doors) are by Masonite from Horner Millwork with black door knobs and black hinges (you can shop the knobs here and hinges here). The new bathroom door looks so good!
These round knobs with square backer plate are gorgeous and look great with white craftsman style interior doors. You can see more door options here.
What Size Vanity for a 5×8 Bathroom
You can see above how we gained space to the left of the sink once we removed the old wood bathroom vanity. The white pedestal sink (buy here) takes up less space and allows the space to breath vs a large wooden bathroom vanity.
The new linen closet provides more storage than a vanity plus it looks great! If adding a pedestal sink isn’t your think and you prefer a wood vanity (wood vanity will provide more room for makeup ect. beside the sink) a 30-36″ will most likely fit depending on your layout.
The rain style shower head and wand are metal brushed nickel. They look beautiful with the gold/white tone tile providing a modern fresh look.
We also have this similar shower fixture in a different bathroom with more options (and they are a great price!). Buying home items on Amazon will save you a ton of money. Often times, products are the same exact ones that you would buy in a specialty store.
It can be a little time consuming on Amazon trying to find what you need – I agree it’s difficult. You just need to know where to look and Jim is very good at find home products at a great price!
Looking to see all of the home remodeling projects we did in this split level home? See them in order below.
Split Level Home Renovation Series
- Split level home remodeling project – how it all started and the home before we tore it apart
- Small 5×8 bathroom remodel with cost and how we saved money by keeping the same layout
- Kitchen demo + adding a load bearing beam between the living room, dining room and kitchen
- Split level kitchen renovation before and after (you will not even recognize it!)
- Kitchen cabinet review at the split level home and how we packed storage features into the new space
- Installing shiplap on the new vaulted ceiling in the kitchen and living room at the split level
- Opening up a load bearing wall in the kitchen
- Split level entry way foyer makeover (before and after)
- How to increase front door width and height – front door makeover
- Installing solid core interior doors for a modern look
- Split-level house exterior makeover before and after
- Why we picked black windows with white interior
- How to modernize a split level home exterior
- Finished basem*nt vinyl floor plank installation
- Split level front door ideas
- BONUS – See another split level home that sold 80K over asking price
More Small Bathroom Remodeling Ideas
- 1950s bathroom remodel before and after
- Small Bathroom Remodel Before and After
- Shower Tile Installation: Step by Step Guide in a small bathroom
- How to Build a Custom Tile Shower Niche in a shower
- Why a Barn Door To Bathroom Entrance Was a Smart Idea : Small bathroom remodel idea
- How to Hang Glass Shelves Easily with Glass Shelf Brackets in a bathroom makeover
- How to Paint Stripes on a Wall Perfectly Straight in a small bathroom before and after
Budget Friendly Remodel Tip:
A small bathroom renovation cost can quickly get out of hand if you start changing the plumbing and electrical layout. If you are starting a small bathroom remodel on a budget, consider keeping the existing layout.
Looking to see all of the home remodeling projects we did in this split level home? See them in order below.
Split Level Home Renovation Series
- Split level home remodeling project – how it all started and the home before we tore it apart
- Small 5×8 bathroom remodel with cost and how we saved money by keeping the same layout
- Kitchen demo + adding a load bearing beam between the living room, dining room and kitchen
- Split level kitchen renovation before and after (you will not even recognize it!)
- Kitchen cabinet review at the split level home and how we packed storage features into the new space
- Installing shiplap on the new vaulted ceiling in the kitchen and living room at the split level
- Opening up a load bearing wall in the kitchen
- Split level entry way foyer makeover (before and after)
- How to increase front door width and height – front door makeover
- Installing solid core interior doors for a modern look
- Split-level house exterior makeover before and after
- Why we picked black windows with white interior
- How to modernize a split level home exterior
- Finished basem*nt vinyl floor plank installation
- Split level front door ideas
- BONUS – See another split level home that sold 80K over asking price
We saved money by keeping the tub and leaving the existing plumbing layout as is. Once you start moving pipes and heat sources, you will increase the cost.
The bathroom is 5×8 in size which is 40 square feet so you really are limited as to where the tub/shower will go and that is one of the biggest expenses of a bathroom remodel in my opinion. If you keep your material costs reasonable and can do some of the work (demo or tiling) yourself, you will save yourself a lot of money.
Meet Jessica
What started as a hobby, Jessica’s blog now has millions of people visit yearly and while many of the projects and posts look and sound perfect, life hasn’t always been easy. Read Jessica’s story and how overcoming death, divorce and dementia was one of her biggest life lessons to date.
