A cottage that was raised, and spliced services
The services feeding the bathroom were joined up when the house went up in the air, often across three eras and materials. Tracing them before quoting is the most useful hour we spend here.
Avondale
Bathroom Remodeling in Avondale, Chicago
Most Avondale cottages have one bathroom and a basement nobody has finished. Those two facts together are usually the project.
Licensed, Bonded & Insured · Serving Avondale and the surrounding area
In Short
A full bathroom remodel in Avondale typically runs $23,000 to $36,000 and a second bathroom or suite $38,000 to $66,000, taking four to six weeks on site. Permits come from the Chicago Department of Buildings. A second bathroom in the basement is the highest-value move in this housing, and because a great many of these cottages were raised over a new basement, the headroom to do it is usually there.
Main bathroom
$23k – $36k
Second bath or suite
$38k – $66k+
Time on site
4 – 6 weeks
Permits issued by
Chicago Dept. of Buildings
Bathroom Remodeling
What an Avondale bathroom remodel actually involves
An Avondale cottage was built with one bathroom, and it is small: a tub in an alcove, a pedestal basin, tile in a mortar bed and a single window. For a family that is the constraint, not the finish.
The houses that were raised over a new basement have something the flats nearby do not — headroom below the main floor, and a drain route that can be reached.
So two projects are worth pricing together. Replanning the existing room gains a real vanity and a walk-in shower. Adding a second bathroom in the basement changes how the whole house works, and it usually needs an ejector pump because the drain sits below the sewer line.
Your House
Find your building, and you will find your project
Avondale is small houses with one bathroom, and the second one is where the value is.
| Era and building type | What we find on site | What the project becomes | Typical range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1890–1915 — frame cottages raised over a basement | One bathroom, services spliced across eras, floor levels that step, and headroom below the main floor. | Gut with the services replaced and the floor levelled, plus a second bathroom in the basement where the height allows. | $28k – $36k |
| 1900–1925 — brick workers’ cottages | A 5×7 bath off a tight hall, tile in a mortar bed, galvanised supply, no storage at all. | Gut with a real vanity and a walk-in shower won back inside the same four walls. | $24k – $33k |
| 1900–1930 — two-flats | A bath off a rear hall, a stack shared with one other unit and a basement below with room to work. | Gut with more freedom to move a drain than a flat allows, and a second bathroom where the plan permits. | $24k – $34k |
| Basement and attic additions | Often added without a permit, with a long drain run, minimal insulation and a fan going nowhere. | Rebuild with the fall corrected, an ejector pump where needed and the work brought onto a permit. | $32k – $52k |
On Site
What is specific to remodelling here
These are the conditions that decide the schedule and the contingency on a job in Avondale. We price around them rather than discovering them.
Floor levels that step
A bathroom floor that steps from the hall is built back level before anything is waterproofed, and that build-up eats into the fall available to a new shower drain.
A basement bathroom needs an ejector pump
The highest-value addition in this housing, and the drain almost always sits below the sewer line. Ordinary work, but it belongs in the price from the start.
Basement headroom, honestly measured
Whether a basement bathroom works comes down to the height you actually have once the floor build-up and the ceiling are in. We measure it on the first visit rather than promising a ceiling that will not exist.
Ventilation through a shallow roof
Fans get terminated into the roof space where the moisture stays. We run a proper duct to outside air and check what the existing one really does.
Pre-1978 lead paint rules
These houses are entirely pre-1978, so containment, HEPA filtration, a certified firm and documented cleanup are legal requirements in the schedule.
Budget
What drives the number in Avondale
Ranges, not a single number. Where a project lands depends on the scope, and we say which band we think you are in before you commit to anything.
Refresh, same layout
$13,000 – $21,000
Fixtures, tile, vanity, lighting and paint with every service staying put.
Full remodel, revised layout
$23,000 – $36,000
To the studs and subfloor, services traced and replaced, the floor levelled, a tub-to-shower conversion and a tested membrane.
Second bathroom or suite
$38,000 – $66,000+
A basement bathroom with an ejector pump and proper drainage, or an attic bathroom under a new dormer.
Where It Goes
Where the money actually goes
Most of a bathroom budget is not the things you can see in a showroom. This is how a full remodel here divides up.
- Labour and project management 34%
- Tile, stone and waterproofing 18%
- Plumbing rough-in and fixtures 16%
- Vanity, storage and counters 12%
- Electrical, lighting and ventilation 8%
- Glass, doors and hardware 7%
- Permits, protection and disposal 5%
Based on a $29,000 full remodel, the midpoint of what we actually build here. The plumbing share runs above the figure shown in a raised cottage, because the first job is replacing whatever was spliced together when the house was lifted.
Process
How the job runs
Consultation on site
We walk the room, look at the basement ceiling below it and at the stack, and tell you what we can see and what we cannot.
Scope, drawings and a fixed price
A written scope with allowances you can actually shop against, not a single number.
Permit filed for you
Submitted to the Chicago Department of Buildings. We prepare and lodge it; you will not be at the counter.
Demolition and the rough-in
Plumbing, electrical and framing inspected before anything is closed. This is where surprises surface, and where we come back to you if the price has to move.
Waterproofing and tile
A tested waterproofing membrane before a single tile goes down. This is the step that decides whether the room lasts twenty years or five.
Finish, snag and final inspection
Fixtures, glass, paint and a walk-through list that we close out before the final invoice.
Planning a bathroom remodeling project in Avondale?
Tell us about the property and what you want to change. We will walk the space, look at what is behind the walls, and come back with a written scope, a schedule and a price.
FAQ
Bathroom Remodeling in Avondale: Common Questions
How much does a bathroom remodel cost in Avondale?
A cottage bathroom taken to the studs and rebuilt generally lands between $23,000 and $36,000. A refresh that keeps the services in place runs $13,000 to $21,000. A second bathroom in the basement starts around $38,000.
Can we add a bathroom in the basement?
Usually, and in this housing it is the single most valuable thing you can do. The drain almost always sits below the sewer line, so it needs an ejector pump — ordinary work, but it belongs in the price from the start. What decides it is the headroom you actually have once the floor build-up and the ceiling are in.
Our house was raised over a basement. Does that matter?
Yes, in two ways. The services were joined up afterwards, often across three eras, so what feeds the bathroom can be three different materials. And the floors are rarely in one plane. Both are sorted before anything is tiled.
The bathroom is tiny. Worth remodelling rather than extending?
Almost always. These rooms are badly planned rather than genuinely too small — the pedestal basin wastes the only usable wall and the tub alcove eats a third of the floor. Replanning inside the same walls typically gains a full vanity, a walk-in shower and storage.
Is my bathroom fan vented outside?
Frequently not. The shallow roof makes a duct run awkward, so fans get terminated into the roof space where the moisture stays in the house. We check on the first visit and duct it properly.
Do you handle lead-safe work?
Yes, and here it is required. These houses are entirely pre-1978, so containment, HEPA filtration, a certified firm and documented cleanup are priced and scheduled in.
Do I need a permit?
Yes. The Chicago Department of Buildings issues it. A new basement bathroom needs a full permit with drawings rather than the Easy Permit Process. We prepare and file it.
Which other neighbourhoods do you cover?
Avondale sits between Logan Square and Irving Park, and those two along with North Center and Albany Park are regular ground for the same crews.
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