NYC bathroom renovation cost

[Benny]

What are some estimates for a bathroom upgrade cost in NYC? How much to remodel a shower? I know everything is expensive in Manhattan, but how much does it cost to remodel a small bathroom in New York City?

How much would it cost to redo a bathroom in NYC?

[aslan]

You're right in that everything is over priced in Manhattan. Be very careful in dealing with a General Contractor if you've never done a renovation before or don't have experience in building / renovations. You can very easily be ripped off, even if you think the initial proposal is very detailed and you've covered all of your bases.

There's a reason why everyone says that renovations always end up taking twice as long as proposed and costing twice as much, or three times even? Your GC is bound to ask you down the road, oh why don't you pay more for this upgrade that you didn't know about? All to take advantage of your lack of expertise and not knowing in advance what constitutes as quality or not.

I had a GC charge me $60k initially, but then increase the bill ultimately to $120k for all these upgrades that I needed but didn't know to negotiate for upfront. These guys are pranksters, be very careful!

But to answer your question, a good renovation for your typical bathroom in NYC I wouldn't be surprised to see $30k to $60k. Depends on how high quality you want.

[lower_nyc]

You're right in that everything is over priced in Manhattan. Be very careful in dealing with a General Contractor if you've never done a renovation before or don't have experience in building / renovations. You can very easily be ripped off, even if you think the initial proposal is very detailed and you've covered all of your bases.

There's a reason why everyone says that renovations always end up taking twice as long as proposed and costing twice as much, or three times even? Your GC is bound to ask you down the road, oh why don't you pay more for this upgrade that you didn't know about? All to take advantage of your lack of expertise and not knowing in advance what constitutes as quality or not.

I had a GC charge me $60k initially, but then increase the bill ultimately to $120k for all these upgrades that I needed but didn't know to negotiate for upfront. These guys are pranksters, be very careful!

But to answer your question, a good renovation for your typical bathroom in NYC I wouldn't be surprised to see $30k to $60k. Depends on how high quality you want.

Thank you for sharing this story! Was the initial proposal broken down into parts and labor for each part of the job? Floors, electric, tile, etc.? I'm thinking of requesting 2-3 quotes from general contractors and then making them compete on price for each specific part of the job. Then I will select which ever GC offers the most attractive combined proposal.

Even if I do that, how can I prevent a general contractor from deliberately underquoting me with the intention of asking for more money later?