Combining rooms for a suite
The most requested project in the neighbourhood. Whether the wall between a bathroom and the room next door is carrying the floor above decides whether it is a day of framing or a sized beam with an engineer’s letter.
Irving Park
Bathroom Remodeling in Irving Park, Chicago
Irving Park houses are big enough that a proper primary suite usually fits inside the existing walls. That is rare on the North Side, and it is the project most people here should be considering.
Licensed, Bonded & Insured · Serving Irving Park and the surrounding area
In Short
A full bathroom remodel in Irving Park typically runs $27,000 to $42,000 and a primary suite $48,000 to $84,000, taking five to eight weeks on site. Permits come from the Chicago Department of Buildings, with Commission review for exterior work in the landmark districts. Generous plans mean combining a small bathroom with an adjoining bedroom or a large hall is genuinely achievable, which is what separates this neighbourhood from the flats to the east.
Main bathroom
$27k – $42k
Primary suite
$48k – $84k+
Time on site
5 – 8 weeks
Permits issued by
Chicago Dept. of Buildings
Bathroom Remodeling
What an Irving Park bathroom remodel actually involves
A Victorian or Foursquare in Irving Park was built with one substantial bathroom and, in the larger houses, a second small one. Both are original in size: the fixtures have changed, the footprint has not.
Behind the plaster is the full pre-war set — galvanised supply, a cast-iron stack, wiring from several eras, and floors that have moved over a century.
What these houses have that their neighbours do not is room. A bathroom and an adjoining bedroom, or a bathroom and an oversized landing, combine into a proper suite without extending. That is the most requested project here and it is usually a structural question rather than a plumbing one.
Your House
Find your house, and you will find your project
Irving Park has the space for the suite most North Side houses cannot fit.
| Era and building type | What we find on site | What the project becomes | Typical range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880–1900 — frame Victorians and Queen Annes | One substantial bathroom and sometimes a small second, galvanised supply, a cast-iron stack, plaster on lath and floors that have moved. | Full gut, floor levelled, services replaced, and usually combined with an adjoining room for a proper suite. | $34k – $42k |
| 1907–1922 — Villa District Craftsman and Foursquares | A well-built original bathroom with tile in a mortar bed and joinery worth keeping. | Gut inside the existing walls with the detailing retained and the waterproofing done properly. | $30k – $40k |
| 1910–1930 — brick bungalows | The 5×7 bungalow bath: tub in an alcove, pedestal basin, one side window, no storage. | Gut with twelve inches won back for a real vanity and the tub converted to a walk-in shower. | $26k – $36k |
| 1950–present — infill and rebuilds | Copper supply, a roomier bathroom, and finishes that have dated. | Layout usually stays; a double vanity and a level-access shower fit without structural work. | $24k – $38k |
On Site
What is specific to remodelling here
These are the conditions that decide the schedule and the contingency on a job in Irving Park. We price around them rather than discovering them.
Galvanised supply and a cast-iron stack
Standard in houses never overhauled. The supply closes from the inside so pressure fails first; the stack is usually sound and stays, and where it is not the replacement runs through a finished wall below.
Victorian framing and floors that have moved
True dimensional lumber running one way, and a floor that is rarely level after a century. Both are dealt with before waterproofing, and the build-up eats into the fall available to a shower drain.
Knob-and-tube and mixed-era wiring
Anything we open comes to current code, and the bathroom gets a dedicated GFCI-protected circuit.
Landmark districts
Interior work is unaffected. A new window, a rooflight or an exterior vent on a house in the Villa District or Old Irving Park needs Commission review, started well before the build.
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 programme from day one.
Budget
What drives the number in Irving Park
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
$16,000 – $25,000
Fixtures, tile, vanity, lighting and paint with every service staying put.
Full remodel, revised layout
$27,000 – $42,000
To the studs and subfloor, new supply and waste, the floor levelled and rebuilt, a tub-to-shower conversion and a tested membrane.
Primary suite
$48,000 – $84,000+
Combining the bathroom with an adjoining room, a double vanity, a separate tub and glassed shower, heated floor and a structural opening.
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 $34,000 full remodel, the midpoint of what we actually build here. The labour share is higher than the city average, because a Victorian floor has to be levelled and the supply chased back through plaster before anything visible happens.
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 Irving Park?
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 Irving Park: Common Questions
How much does a bathroom remodel cost in Irving Park?
A main bathroom rebuilt to the studs generally lands between $27,000 and $42,000, and a primary suite starts around $48,000. A refresh that keeps the services in place runs $16,000 to $25,000.
Can we get a primary suite without extending?
In most Irving Park houses, yes, and it is the most requested project here. The plans are generous enough that combining a bathroom with an adjoining bedroom or a large landing gives a proper suite inside the existing walls. Whether that wall is carrying is answered with the ceiling open.
My house is in a landmark district. Does that affect the bathroom?
Not for interior work. The district concerns the exterior, so a bathroom rebuilt within its existing walls is unaffected. It engages only for a new window, a rooflight or an exterior vent, and that review should be started early.
Our floors are not level. Does that matter?
Yes, and it is normal in a house of this age. The floor is built back level before anything is waterproofed, and that build-up has to be allowed for in the fall to a new shower drain. It is better found on the first visit than with the tile on order.
We still have knob-and-tube wiring.
Common in houses never fully rewired. It is not an emergency, but anything we open comes to current code and the bathroom gets its own GFCI-protected circuit as part of the work.
Why is water pressure poor upstairs?
Almost always galvanised steel supply, which corrodes from the inside so the bore closes while the pipe looks fine. We price replacement back to the nearest accessible branch as standard rather than treating it as a variation.
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 in the programme and the price from the start.
Which other neighbourhoods do you cover?
Irving Park sits beside Albany Park, North Center and Avondale, all regular ground for the same crews.
Keep Reading