This is the final update and compendium of the “How to finish a Basement Bathroom” project series for the Do-It-Yourself handyman or homeowner. Links to each construction phase of the project are summarized below, starting from the bare walls to the finished bathroom.
Basement Bathroom - Vanity, Toilet and Shower
Total Cost of the Basement Bathroom
I did all of the labor working mostly weekends with occasional help from my teenage son. Total labor for this project was about 8 to 10 man-days; I emphasize quality and neatness when working so I may be a little slower than others. Setting the tile is by far the most labor intensive part of the project.
The material costs were ~$5,600 consisting of:
- $1700 porcelain tile, grout and thinset mortar
- $500 shower stall bedding cement, metal lathe, shower pan liner, cement backer board, screws, glue, etc.
- $1000 vanity cabinet, sink, faucet, vanity mirror
- $600 for copper- and PVC pipe and fittings
- $100 shower valve
- $550 sewage pump (eBay bargain item) and high water alarm
- $150 exhaust fan
- $200 electrical wiring, junction boxes and misc.
- $30 building permit
- $100 2×4 boards and plywood sheeting
- $350 toilet and fittings
- $150 towel racks, toilet paper holder
- $75 paint
- $100 tile wet saw rental
I already had all the tools necessary for the project, except for the tile saw which I rented from Home Depot.
Project Phases
- Part 1 – Project overview, rough-in plumbing connections, painting the walls.
- Part 2 – Floor plan and fixture layout, relocating the shower drain.
- Part 3 – Building the shower stall and shower pan.
- Part 4 – Tile measurements and layout.
- Part 5 – Tiling the shower stall walls and floor.
- Part 6 – Soldering shut-off valves on the sink and toilet water lines.
- Part 7 – Installing the shower head and valve. SharkBite solderless fittings.
- Part 8 – Hot and cold water copper plumbing connections to the main water lines.
- Part 9 – Sewage ejector pump installation and splicing into the main sewer line.
- Part 10 – PVC sewer and outside air vent plumbing.
- Part 11 – High water alarm wiring and installation.
- Part 12 – Installing the toilet flange, setting the toilet, hooking up the water line.
- Part 13 – Bathroom vanity, sink, faucet, drain and water supply plumbing; sewage pump operation video.
- Part 14 – Vanity light and switch electrical wiring and installation. Wiring diagram of the “before” and “after” branch circuits.
- Part 15 - Wiring the light switch. Overview of the GFCI, exhaust fan and vanity light switches.
- Part 16 – Wiring and mounting the vanity light.
- Part 17 – Bathroom exhaust fan installation overview.
- Part 18 – Sewage basin closure and testing for odors; overview of the finished water and sewer plumbing.
Before and After Photos
Before - In the beginning, there were only bare walls and floor with roughed-in plumbing stubs:
Bare Walls and Floor
After – The bare walls and floor were transformed into an attractive bathroom:
Basement Bathroom - Toilet and Shower
Before – Plumbing rough-in for the toilet and vanity:
Plumbing Rough-In for Vanity and Toilet
After -Toilet and vanity:
Basement Bathroom - Toilet and Vanity
Vanity and light:
Basement Bathroom Vanity
Vanity, door and tile:
Bathroom Vanity
I hope you find this bathroom project series informative and saves you money by:
- Helping you plan your Do-It-Yourself project.
- Understand the scope of work if hiring a contractor and knowing if your getting quality results.
Thanks for reading,
Bob Jackson
March 10th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Thank you. Top quality work which is hard to find.
Excellent documentation which helped me learn a lot.
October 26th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
Great series. I noticed you didn’t vent the bath sink. Is that not required?
October 26th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
It’s a lengthy project and you missed this item.
A plumbing vent is absolutely required for the bathroom sink. It’s required by my local building codes and the Building Inspector specifically checked it was installed before signing off on my permit. On a practical note, you need the vent to prevent the sink trap from getting siphoned dry and allowing sewer gases to enter the room.
The Studor Vent installation is covered in Part 13 – see about midway down the page.
Here’s the photos of the Studor Vent from Part 13:
Studor Valve and PVC Drain Fittings
and
Fitting up the PVC Drain Plumbing
Thanks,
Bob Jackson
February 21st, 2010 at 8:35 pm
TonyA sent this e-mail update on his basement bathroom project:
“Thanks again for your series on finishing a basement bath. You inspired me to take on a similar project on basically a framed and stubbed basement bath in the house we bought in 2007. I’m almost done. Funny thing happened today when I tapped into the vent rough in to the roof. As I lay in bed last night thinking through my plan to cut the stub and connect the vent up, it occurred to me that it probably had been collecting water since 2003 when the house was built. Surely the builder would not disappoint and ran a straight pipe pointing to the clear blue sky. So, I decided to drill a small hole right above the end cap on the stub. Although I had my bucket ready, I still got a nice little shower and had to yell for my wife to bring me a bigger bucket as the 5qt I was holding filled pretty fast.
Anyway, thanks again for your series. It has been very helpful and I’ve referred to it often throughout my project.
-Tony”
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My e-mail reply to TonyA:
“Hi Tony,
I’m very pleased my web site was helpful to you!
> it occurred to me that it probably had been collecting water
> since 2003 when the house was built.
Your builder did you a favor by capping the bottom of the vent pipe. My builder left the bottom end of the vent pipe open to the basement and the rain water would drip onto the 2×4 wall frame. I put a plastic bucket below the vent pipe and it would have maybe 1/4 inch of water whenever I checked.
Thanks for the feedback,
Bob Jackson
http://www.handymanhowto.com
May 16th, 2010 at 10:28 am
part 13 is hosed. missing much information, not complete. the page is not finished, only 1st page loads. no such before and after photos of the studor valve shown in the opening page of the series
May 16th, 2010 at 11:36 am
Try the Part 13 link again, it’s working fine now. I was running a database backup and it might have interfered with the web page availability.
Let me know if it’s working for you.