A full bathroom remodel in Birmingham, AL typically costs $8,800 to $25,000 for a 35 to 50 square foot hall bath and $20,000 to $50,000 for an 80 to 100 square foot primary bath, based on HomeGuide's 2026 figure of $250 to $500 per square foot. Those national numbers fit here: Birmingham area trade wages sit within 4 percent of the national average in Bureau of Labor Statistics data. A partial remodel that keeps the layout runs $5,300 to $15,000. Little Cahaba Remodeling self performs the demolition, carpentry, tile and paint with in house crews and prices the job in one visit.
If you are weighing bathroom remodeling work in Birmingham, AL, the right number depends on the scope, the materials you choose, and the condition of what is there now. Below is what most local homeowners pay, what moves the price, and how we handle the job from inspection through cleanup.
Birmingham is the largest and one of the oldest markets we serve, with about 109,349 housing units and a median year built of 1965 in the Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 American Community Survey, and roughly 18 percent of those homes date to 1939 or earlier. Another 53 percent went up between 1940 and 1979, so most of the houses we walk into were built long before modern bathroom ventilation, today's electrical loads or plastic drain lines. The city's historic district map covers neighborhoods such as Forest Park, Glen Iris Park, Rhodes Park, Avondale, Woodlawn and the Red Mountain Suburbs, and the Department of Planning, Engineering and Permits administers 44 historic districts in all. That matters for exterior work. In a local historic district, changes to the outside of a house, such as a new window opening or an exterior door into a basement, need a Certificate of Appropriateness from the city's Design Review Committee before a permit can be issued, and the committee generally meets on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month, so a basement plan that adds an outside entrance should build in that time. Interior bathroom and basement work goes through the regular permit process. The Permitting Division sits in room 210 of City Hall at 710 20th Street North, reachable at 205 254 2904. Minor repair permits can usually be processed over the counter, trade permits for plumbing and electrical can also be handled online, and permits with plans are routed to Planning, Fire and Building reviewers before they are issued. Inspection requests go to 205 254 2211, and the city takes them between 7:30 and 8:30 in the morning, which is worth knowing when a closing date is close. The ownership picture here is different from the suburbs around it. Only about 46 percent of occupied homes in the city are owner occupied, and about 19 percent of all housing units were vacant at the time of the survey, which means repair and remodeling decisions in Birmingham often sit with a landlord, an estate or an investor getting a house ready to rent or sell rather than with a family living in it. The median value of about $158,800 keeps most sellers focused on the items an inspector will write up rather than on a full remodel, and for that reason a targeted bathroom update or a well organized punch list usually returns more here than a gut renovation. About 58 percent of the city's housing is single family detached and the rest runs from duplexes to large apartment buildings, so one street can mix an early twentieth century house, a postwar ranch and a newer infill home, each with different problems behind the walls. On the older houses those problems follow a pattern: galvanized supply lines, cast iron drains, subfloors softened by old leaks, and crawlspaces or partial basements with no real moisture barrier. We look for the signs at the first walkthrough and price them up front, so the number you get the same day already accounts for the age of the house. Size is the other local constant. The same survey counts about 198,173 residents and puts the median Birmingham home at 5.2 rooms, so the typical house is compact, the hall bath is often the only full bath, and a basement or a finished lower level is one of the few ways to add space without an addition. When the work is permitted, the paperwork is worth keeping: after every trade passes final inspection, the city's process ends with a signed inspection card returned to Planning, Engineering and Permits for a Certificate of Occupancy or a Certificate of Completion, and that document answers the first question a buyer's agent asks about a remodeled bathroom or a finished basement.
The typical Birmingham home dates to around 1965 per Census data, roughly 61 years of Alabama weather and daily use. The market covers about 109,349 homes, and the median value sits near $158,800. Most of Birmingham went up in the postwar decades. The framing on these homes is usually sound, but original supply lines, drains, wiring, and subfloors are old enough to be worth checking while the bathroom remodeling work already has the room open. A large share of occupied homes here are rented, so scheduling and approvals often run through an owner or a property manager rather than the person who answers the door. We are used to that, and we keep both parties on the same email so nothing stalls. Values in Birmingham sit toward the lower end of the markets we serve, so the question is usually which option returns the most service life per dollar, and we will show you the point where spending more stops paying for itself. By housing count Birmingham is one of the larger markets we cover, with enough variation street to street that two homes a mile apart can need genuinely different work, which is why we measure rather than quote from a map. Those numbers are the starting point for how we plan bathroom remodeling projects in Birmingham. Figures are U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey estimates.
These are typical installed ranges from HomeGuide's 2026 bathroom remodel cost data, sized for the hall baths and primary baths we see around Birmingham, AL. The Bureau of Labor Statistics put 2024 pay for specialty trade contractors in the Birmingham metro at $1,396 a week against $1,447 nationally, less than 4 percent apart, so the national ranges hold locally. Your exact price depends on the size of the room, whether plumbing moves, and the tile and fixtures you choose, and comes from a free consultation.
| Bathroom project | Typical installed range |
|---|---|
| Minor refresh, 35 to 50 sq ft (flooring, vanity, paint, fixtures) | $3,500 to $7,500 |
| Partial remodel, 35 to 50 sq ft (tub or shower, toilet, vanity, tile) | $5,300 to $15,000 |
| Full remodel, 5 by 7 hall bath (35 sq ft) | $8,800 to $17,500 |
| Full remodel, 5 by 10 bath (50 sq ft) | $12,500 to $25,000 |
| Full remodel, 8 by 10 primary bath (80 sq ft) | $20,000 to $40,000 |
| Full remodel, 10 by 10 primary bath (100 sq ft) | $25,000 to $50,000 |
| Tub to shower conversion | $1,000 to $15,000 |
Figures are typical ranges and vary by project. Your free estimate is exact.
Little Cahaba Remodeling measures your project and gives you a clear written estimate at no cost.
We are a local remodeling contractor and we stand behind every job. You are not handed off to a subcontractor. Every job follows the same disciplined process:
A bathroom in Birmingham, AL has to handle a lot of moisture. NOAA climate normals for the Birmingham airport put annual rainfall at 56.62 inches, with 81 days a year bringing a tenth of an inch or more, and the normal July dew point is 69.7 degrees. Add daily hot showers and any weak spot shows up fast: mildew on the ceiling, bubbling paint over the tub, grout that stays dark. The fix is built into the remodel. A properly sized exhaust fan vented outside, which HomeGuide lists at $150 to $550, a waterproofed shower wall behind the tile, and a moisture resistant finish paint cost little next to redoing tile in five years. Little Cahaba Remodeling handles all three with the same in house crew that sets the tile.
Little Cahaba Remodeling works across the Birmingham area, including:
A tub to shower conversion typically costs $1,000 to $15,000 installed per HomeGuide's 2026 data. The range is wide because the low end is a prefab pan and surround set where the tub was, and the high end is a tiled walk in shower with a frameless glass door. The pieces add up predictably: a new shower pan runs $500 to $3,500, bathroom tiling $400 to $8,000, and a new exhaust fan $150 to $550. It makes the most sense where the only tub in the house is rarely used, and it can also make a hall bath easier to use for someone who has trouble stepping over a tub wall. If the drain stays in the same spot the job stays toward the lower half of the range. Little Cahaba Remodeling handles the demolition, framing, waterproofing and tile with our own crews.
You need a permit when the remodel moves plumbing, adds or changes electrical circuits, or alters walls, while cosmetic work on the same layout often does not, per HomeGuide's 2026 guidance. In the City of Birmingham, the Permitting Division in room 210 of City Hall at 710 20th Street North handles building and trade permits, and minor repair permits can usually be processed over the counter. In Mountain Brook, the Building Inspections division at City Hall, 56 Church Street, issues permits, and the city states it is the responsibility of every contractor, plumber and electrician "to obtain a permit before they begin work." Mountain Brook assigns separate inspectors for electrical and for plumbing and gas, so a bathroom with new lines may see two or three inspection visits. Little Cahaba Remodeling pulls the permits the job needs and coordinates the inspections.
Yes, once the job is big enough. The Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board defines a residential home builder as anyone who does construction, remodeling or repair of a home "where the cost of the undertaking including labor and materials exceeds $10,000." Most full bathroom remodels cross that line, since a full remodel of a 50 square foot bathroom runs $12,500 to $25,000 on HomeGuide's 2026 figures, while a $3,500 to $7,500 refresh may not. Cities add their own layer: Mountain Brook's building department says it assists contractors in obtaining city licenses and permits, and it requires the permit before work begins. Before you sign with anyone, ask for the state license number and the city business license, and make sure the permit is issued before demolition. It protects you at resale, when a buyer's inspector asks about the work.
A primary bathroom of 80 to 100 square feet typically costs $20,000 to $50,000 for a full remodel, using HomeGuide's 2026 range of $250 to $500 per square foot, and a partial remodel of the same room runs about $12,000 to $30,000. Primary baths cost more than hall baths mostly because of size and fixture count: two sinks, a separate shower and tub, more tile and more lighting. In the same data a vanity alone runs $400 to $4,000 and tiling $400 to $8,000. A walk in shower with a bench or a low curb adds framing and waterproofing time. When the existing primary bath is small, the bigger decision is sometimes borrowing space from a closet, which moves the job into the full remodel tier and usually needs a permit. We price both options at the consultation.
It is worth fixing a dated bathroom before a sale when the fix is targeted. HomeGuide's 2026 data puts the return on a midrange bathroom remodel at 60 to 74 percent of cost and an upscale remodel at about 45 to 49 percent, so a full gut rarely pays for itself at closing. What usually pays is removing objections a buyer's inspector will write up: failed caulk and grout, a soft floor around the toilet, a stained ceiling under a shower, a vanity with water damage. Those repairs cost far less; HomeGuide lists regrouting at $250 to $1,000 and toilet repair at $130 to $310. With Birmingham area homes averaging 38 days on market in July 2026, per the University of Alabama's Alabama Center for Real Estate, a listing that clears inspection cleanly keeps its momentum. Little Cahaba Remodeling does this kind of pre listing work for sellers and their agents.
Because of what sits behind the walls and under the floor. The median home in the City of Birmingham was built around 1965 and in Mountain Brook around 1964, per the Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 American Community Survey, and about 72 percent of Birmingham's homes and 76 percent of Mountain Brook's went up before 1980. A bathroom that age may still have galvanized supply lines or cast iron drains, a subfloor softened by decades of small leaks, and wiring that was never sized for a heated floor or a modern fan. None of that is visible until demolition. That is why we look at the floor around the toilet, the ceiling below the bathroom and any access panel at the walkthrough, and price the likely fixes up front instead of surprising you with them halfway through. Homes built before 1978 also bring federal lead safe work rules into any job that disturbs old paint.
Book a free consultation and Little Cahaba Remodeling walks the bathroom, talks through what is not working, and prices it in that same visit. There is no second appointment and no waiting days for a quote, and the written scope shows what is included, from demolition and tile to fixtures and trim. For planning, HomeGuide's 2026 figures put a minor refresh at $3,500 to $7,500, a partial remodel at $5,300 to $15,000 and a full remodel at $8,800 to $25,000 for a typical 35 to 50 square foot bathroom. We serve homes within about 15 miles of downtown Birmingham, including Mountain Brook, Homewood, Vestavia Hills and Hoover. Once work starts, you hear from us every day the job is open, and the job ends with a walkthrough of the finished room.
A full bathroom remodel in Birmingham, AL typically runs $8,800 to $25,000 for a 35 to 50 square foot hall bath and $20,000 to $50,000 for an 80 to 100 square foot primary bath, based on HomeGuide's 2026 national data of $250 to $500 per square foot for a full remodel. A partial remodel that replaces the tub or shower, toilet, vanity and tile without moving anything runs $5,300 to $15,000, and a minor refresh of flooring, vanity, paint and fixtures runs $3,500 to $7,500. Those national figures hold up locally: the Bureau of Labor Statistics put 2024 pay for specialty trade contractors in the Birmingham metro at $1,396 a week against $1,447 nationally, less than 4 percent apart. Moving plumbing, custom tile and the size of the room move you between tiers. Little Cahaba Remodeling walks the bathroom and gives you a written price in the same visit.
Most bathroom remodels take 3 to 8 weeks from demolition to final walkthrough, according to HomeGuide's 2026 remodeling data, with simple cosmetic jobs finishing in 3 to 4 weeks and layout changes stretching to 6 to 12 weeks. Three things set the schedule: whether plumbing or wiring moves, how long special order tile or a custom vanity takes to arrive, and how many inspections the permit calls for. In the City of Birmingham, the Permitting Division says trade permits are typically processed over the counter or online, while a building permit with plans is routed to staff reviewers, which adds days before work starts. Ordering long lead items before demolition is the best way to keep a bathroom out of service for the shortest time. Little Cahaba Remodeling sets the schedule at the first visit and sends an update every day the job is open.
The median Birmingham home was built around 1965 per Census American Community Survey data, so a large share of the housing stock is 61 or more years old. That is the age where bathroom remodeling and the other big updates come due, and it is the work Little Cahaba Remodeling does every week.
Birmingham is the largest and one of the oldest markets we serve, with about 109,349 housing units and a median year built of 1965 in the Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 American Community Survey, and roughly 18 percent of those homes date to 1939 or earlier. Little Cahaba Remodeling plans around those specifics from the first visit.
A bathroom remodel in Birmingham, AL typically runs $3,500 to $7,500 for a minor refresh and $8,800 to $17,500 for a full remodel of a 5 by 7 hall bath, according to the typical cost table on this page. A full 8 by 10 primary bath runs $20,000 to $40,000 on the same table. The biggest jumps come from moving plumbing, changing the layout, and choosing custom tile or glass over stock materials. House age matters too: the median Birmingham home was built about 1965, according to the Census Bureau, so opening walls often exposes old supply lines or subfloor rot that must be fixed first. Most bathroom remodels take 3 to 8 weeks from demolition to final walkthrough, according to HomeGuide's 2026 remodeling data, and layout changes can stretch to 6 to 12 weeks. Little Cahaba Remodeling prices those conditions at the first walkthrough, gives written, itemized pricing the same day, and does the work with its own crews.
Little Cahaba Remodeling serves downtown Birmingham and a 15 mile radius around it, including Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills, Homewood, and Hoover, with its own crews doing the work. According to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, the median Birmingham city home was built about 1965, so many bathroom jobs involve older plumbing, framing, and ventilation that get priced into the scope. The typical cost table on this page shows a minor refresh at $3,500 to $7,500, a full remodel of a 5 by 10 bath at $12,500 to $25,000, and a 10 by 10 primary bath at $25,000 to $50,000. Layout changes, moving plumbing, tile choices, and water damage found behind walls are what push a project toward the top of a range. Most bathroom remodels take 3 to 8 weeks from demolition to final walkthrough, according to HomeGuide's 2026 remodeling data, and layout changes can stretch to 6 to 12 weeks. Itemized written pricing is available the same day.
Little Cahaba Remodeling is a Birmingham remodeling contractor that performs bathroom, basement, painting and water damage rebuild work with its own crews. The right choice depends on the age of your house. The Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 American Community Survey puts the median Birmingham home at about 1965, with roughly 18 percent built in 1939 or earlier, so hidden plumbing, wiring and ventilation problems are common once walls are opened. Scope moves the price most. According to the typical cost table on this page, a minor bathroom refresh runs $3,500 to $7,500, a full remodel of a 5 by 10 bath runs $12,500 to $25,000, and a 10 by 10 primary bath runs $25,000 to $50,000. Layout changes, tile selections and relocated plumbing push a job toward the top of each range. Most bathroom remodels take 3 to 8 weeks, according to HomeGuide's 2026 remodeling data, and layout changes can stretch that to 6 to 12 weeks. Whoever you hire, get itemized written pricing before work starts.
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