Bathroom Renovation in North Vancouver : Before & After

This bathroom renovation in North Vancouver started the way most do — a house that had been well lived in, bathrooms that hadn’t been touched since the ’90s, and homeowners who were finally ready to do it right.

Here’s what the project looked like, start to finish. The real scope, the real timeline, the real cost.

What the Bathrooms Looked Like Before

The home is in the Upper Lonsdale mountains—a large single-family house, a main bathroom with oddly placed bathroom fixtures, and a large main ensuite with a window to a beautiful city view but no other useful feature: all in need of updating and new layouts. All original to the home, which put it at about 30 years old at the time of renovation.
It worked. It just hadn’t aged well:

• In the main bathroom you can see the purple coloured tiles around the built-in tub.
• On the floor, there were slate tiles, which were extremely popular back when the house was built, and a small neo-angle shower in the corner—despite having lots of room for a large-sized one.
• In their ensuite, you see the setup included bland, undersized ceramic tiles, plus a large soaker tub with body jets that they never used, and again another tiny shower area.
• Both bathrooms had outdated, low-quality vinyl door vanities with a marble top that was stained and worn.
• The exhaust fans were noisy and too small for the space in both bathrooms, and lighting was quite minimal and poor as well in both bathrooms.

One thing we confirmed during the demo: no rot, no mould behind the tile, and plumbing in good shape. That matters. When the structure is clean, your money goes into the renovation — not into fixing problems you didn’t know you had.

What the North Vancouver Homeowners Actually Wanted

The homeowners were a couple in their late 60s planning to stay long-term.

Their priorities in their ensuite were:

1. Remove the tub in the main ensuite and convert the massive area to a walk-in shower
2. Put in a bench seating with a shelf for shampoo and other shower tools
3. Build 2 custom vanities with new mirrors and light bars (common to both bathrooms)
4. Custom fabricated Quartz countertops for both with undermount sinks (common to both bathrooms)
5. Install new modern floor and wall tiles (common to both bathrooms)
6. Build a new storage area
7. Comfort-height toilet (common to both bathrooms)
8. New ceiling exhaust fans (common to both bathrooms)
9. New heated floor (common to both bathrooms)
10. New pot lights (common to both bathrooms)
11. Paint (common to both bathrooms)

Their main bathrooms had a few different and challenging needs:

1. Move the toilet from one location to another
2. Move the previous shower drain to a new location (where the toilet was)
3. Reconfigure plumbing feeds for new toilet and shower location and allow for a freestanding tub.

The only thing we didn’t move in this bathroom was the location of their vanity

How a North Vancouver Bathroom Renovation Actually Unfolds

Day 1 — Demolition of both bathrooms

Demo of tiles, the tub surround, the tub steps, the neo-angle shower, the built in tub in their main bathroom, vanities, and fixtures took about a day.

Day 2-3 – Plumbing and Electrical rough-in for both bathrooms

With the bathrooms stripped back, my plumber ran rough-ins for the freestanding tub and the new shower and toilet locations in the main bathroom, as well as the rough-in for the ensuite’s new shower drain and water supply lines.

The electrician handled new wiring for the upgraded exhaust fan, the new lighting circuits as well as the new heated floor needs.

Days 4-7 – Building 2 New Shower Bases & Waterproofing

This is the step nobody sees or cares about when considering a bathroom renovation — and the one that matters most. Cement, or preferably Kerdi system by Schluter – which is our preferred material & process, shower membrane applied across every seam and corner, linear drain positioned on the floor of both showers, pre-sloped toward it.

Skipping or cutting corners on this step is one of the most common and costly bathroom renovation mistakes we see

Week 2 — Tile

Large-format 24 x 24 matte porcelain on the floor, and glossy on the walls. Same tile into both showers.

We built a short pony wall in the main bathroom to make the toilet area somewhat more private and non visible if you are standing at the door. We installed an opaque glass on top of the pony wall afterwards. It’s a details that read and show well after completion that is not easily imagined by some homeowners and is a big differentiator in a contractor who owns a van and calls himself a contractor and one who has completed more than 120 during the last 18 years.

Week 3-4 — Fixtures and Finishing

The three vanities came in with proper blocking and stud anchoring. Sink drains tied into the existing drain line. The frameless glass enclosures, as well as the mirrors — templated in week 2 and fabricated and installed in week 4.
Comfort-height toilet, new fixtures, new lighting, and accessories. Paint last.

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Total timeline: 4 weeks.

What They Looked Like After

The same square feet in both bathrooms. An amazing and pleasing look and feel.

The homeowners were extremely grateful and, in fact, gave me a raving review about the final look of both bathrooms in addition to the speed and professionalism that all of our crews displayed throughout.

Final outcome:

• Proper use,
• Easy maintenance,
• Good layout & flow,
• More storage. In short,
• Ready for the long haul.

What These Two Bathroom Renovations Cost

Total cost, including all labour, materials, and the frameless glass enclosures: $68,000.

This was a mid-to-upper range renovation for 2 relatively large bathrooms with major changes in plumbing in North Vancouver — walk-in shower, custom-built vanity and quartz countertops, frameless shower glass enclosures, heated floors, freestanding tub, large-format tiles, and the rest of it.

That’s a real number from a real project. We publish it because a wide range like “$15,000–$60,000” tells you nothing useful. If you want to know what your project might cost, see our previous post, Bathroom Renovation Cost Guide for the Lower Mainland.

Thinking About a Bathroom Renovation in North Vancouver?

Every project is different — different house, different scope, different priorities. The best starting point is a conversation: what you have, what you want, and what a realistic budget looks like.

We serve North Vancouver, Vancouver, West Vancouver, Burnaby, Coquitlam, and the surrounding Lower Mainland. Single-family homes and condos are our bread and butter.

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