Demolition and Make Safe
Old fittings out, water and power isolated, and the room protected so dust does not travel through the house.
Bathroom Renovation
Bathroom Renovation
in New Orleans
Full remodels, shower rebuilds and vanity swaps. In an old New Orleans house the tile is the easy part. What sits behind it decides whether the job lasts.
What We Do
Bathrooms Built to Survive the Damp
A bathroom is the wettest room in a house that is already fighting humidity. Get the waterproofing wrong and you will be pulling the same tile off in three years.
We rebuild the substrate before anything decorative goes on. Pan, membrane, backer board, slope to the drain. Then tile, fixtures and glass.
Layout changes are usually possible even in a tight shotgun bathroom, but they depend on where the stack runs. We check that at the walkthrough rather than after demolition.
People search for a bathroom remodeler and a bathroom renovation contractor meaning the same thing. We answer to both, and the work is the same either way.
- Full bathroom remodels, floor to ceiling
- Walk-in and curbless shower builds
- Tub to shower conversions
- Vanity, tapware and lighting replacement
- Tile, waterproofing and drainage
- Layout changes where the plumbing allows
What You Get
What a Bathroom Job Covers
Every bathroom is different. These are the parts that show up on almost all of them.
Waterproofing
Membrane and backer board done properly before tile. This is the part that decides whether the room lasts.
Plumbing and Electrical
Rough in for the new layout, brought up to code. Old cast iron and galvanised gets flagged before it fails.
Tile and Stone
Floors, walls, niches and benches. Set flat and level, which on an old sloping floor takes preparation.
Fixtures and Glass
Vanity, tapware, toilet, shower screen and lighting fitted and sealed.
Snag and Clean
We walk the finished room with you and fix the small things before we call it done.
How It Works
Four Steps From Call to Finished
The same process on every job in the New Orleans metro, whether it is one room or the whole house.
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Free On-Site Walkthrough
We come to the property and look at the actual house. On older New Orleans homes that means checking settling, moisture and what sits behind the plaster before anyone quotes a number.
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Written Scope and Price
You get bathroom renovation written down: what is included, what is not, and what could change it. No charge and no obligation.
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One Crew, One Contact
Materials, trades and scheduling handled in house. You hear about problems the day we find them, not in a bill at the end.
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Walk It and Sign Off
We walk the finished work with you, write down anything you are not happy with, and fix it before the job is called complete.
Gallery
Tile, Surrounds, and What Actually Holds Up in a Humid Bathroom
Tile still beats a one piece shower surround for a New Orleans bathroom, and the reason has nothing to do with looks. Tile lets water get behind it if it’s not installed right, but so does a fiberglass surround with a bad seal. The difference is that tile over a proper waterproofing membrane stays dry no matter how much humidity sits in that room, while a surround depends entirely on caulk staying perfect for years. Caulk doesn’t stay perfect for years, not in this climate.
The waterproofing membrane behind the tile matters more than the tile itself. Skip it, or use plain drywall instead, and you’re setting up the same failure that put you in a renovation in the first place: soft wall, hidden mold, a smell you can’t find the source of. A membrane rated for wet areas costs more up front and adds almost nothing you can see once the tile is up. It’s the one line item worth never cutting.
Grout is the part homeowners regret most after the fact. Light grout looks clean in a showroom and looks gray in six months if the room doesn’t vent well. Ask your contractor about grout color and sealing before you pick tile, not after, and ask what maintenance that grout actually needs once it’s in the ground.
Repair or Gut It: How to Tell What Your Bathroom Actually Needs
A wobbly toilet or a soft spot in the floor near the tub is usually the first sign that a bathroom needs more than new fixtures. Soft subfloor means water has been getting under the finish floor for a while, and painting over it or laying new tile on top doesn’t fix anything. It just hides the problem for another year or two.
Older New Orleans homes often still run cast iron drain lines. Cast iron lasts a long time, but it doesn’t last forever, and a bathroom renovation is the natural point to check it. If the pipe is flaking rust from the inside, or a plumber flags corrosion during the walk-through, replacing that section now is far less disruptive than replacing it later through a finished floor.
If the bathroom backs up to an exterior wall or sits over a crawl space, check for plaster or lath damage before you commit to a full gut. Plaster over lath was built for this climate and holds up well when it’s dry. Once it’s been wet repeatedly, it crumbles, and patching wet plaster is a losing fight. At that point, replacing the wall is the honest answer, even if it wasn’t the plan going in.
Ventilation and Humidity: The Part of a Bathroom Reno People Skip
A bathroom renovation that skips the exhaust fan is a renovation that starts failing the day it’s done. New Orleans humidity doesn’t give a new tile job a break just because it’s new. An exhaust fan sized for the room, vented straight outside and not just dumped into the attic, is one of the biggest factors in how long that bathroom looks good.
Older shotguns and doubles sometimes have bathrooms with no exterior wall to vent through, which means the fan duct has to run through the attic or under the house to get outside air. It’s more work, and it’s worth it. A fan that vents into an attic just moves the moisture problem from your bathroom ceiling to your roof deck, and roof rot is a lot more expensive to fix than a bathroom fan.
If your current bathroom has no fan at all, or one that barely moves air, that’s worth flagging before you finalize a scope of work. It’s a small line item next to tile and plumbing, but it decides whether the rest of the job holds up for years instead of months.
Local Knowledge
Old Bathrooms, Real Problems
Bathrooms in pre-war New Orleans houses were often added later, squeezed into a back gallery or carved out of a bedroom. The floor framing underneath was never designed to carry tile and a full tub.
We check the joists and the subfloor before quoting a stone floor. If it needs sistering or a levelling pour, you hear that up front, not as a change order.
- Sloping floorsPier and beam settling shows up worst in small rooms. Levelled before tile, not tiled over
- Plaster wallsRepaired where sound rather than gutted by default
- Old drain linesCast iron and galvanised inspected and flagged before they are buried behind new tile
- HumidityExtraction and sealing specified for a climate that never really dries out
- Tight footprintsShotgun and double bathrooms planned around where the stack actually runs
Ready For a Straight Number?
Tell us what you want done. We will come look at the house and put it in writing.
They transformed my old kitchen into a modern space quickly and kept everything clean.
Lucas Rivera
They renovated our entire condo and the quality is top-tier. New flooring, fresh paint, and updated lighting throughout.
Sophie Ruby
A full main floor renovation. Honest pricing, high-quality materials, and a very hardworking crew.
Zachary Bailey
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you move the toilet or shower?
Often yes, but it depends where the soil stack runs and what is under the floor. We check that at the walkthrough and tell you what is realistic before you commit to a layout.
Do you handle the tile and the plumbing, or do I hire separately?
We handle the whole job. Demolition, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing, tile, fixtures and clean up. One crew, one point of contact.
Can you save the original tile or fittings?
Sometimes. Original hex floor and cast iron tubs are often worth keeping and we will say so. We would rather restore something original than replace it with something that looks like everyone else’s bathroom.
Do you work in historic districts?
Yes. Interior bathroom work is usually outside the review that applies to exteriors, but where the rules do apply we plan the work to meet them rather than undo it later.
Is there a difference between renovation and remodeling?
In practice, no. People use both words for the same work, and we answer to either. If you want the longer version we wrote about it: renovating vs remodeling.
Should I replace the tile or the whole shower surround?
It depends on the tile’s condition, not just its age. If tile is intact and grout lines are solid, sealing and refinishing gets more life out of it. If grout has failed and water has reached the substrate, tile removal and a new waterproofing membrane is the safer call, since covering damaged substrate just delays the repair.
Do I need a bigger exhaust fan than what’s in there now?
Most older New Orleans bathrooms have fans sized for a much smaller room, or no fan at all. Fan size should match the room’s square footage and vent straight outside, not into the attic. An undersized fan won’t clear humidity fast enough to protect new tile and drywall.
How do I know if my drain lines need replacing during the renovation?
A plumber can scope cast iron lines during the walk-through and check for interior rust and flaking. If the line is original to the house and hasn’t been inspected recently, it’s worth checking before the floor goes back down, since replacing it later means cutting into finished work.
Cities We Serve
Bathroom Renovation Across the New Orleans Metro
Orleans, Jefferson, St. Tammany, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist and Tangipahoa parishes, and out to Baton Rouge.
- New Orleans
- Metairie
- Kenner
- Gretna
- Slidell
- Covington
- Mandeville
- Madisonville
- LaPlace
- Hammond
- St Rose
- Baton Rouge
Not listed? Call 504-470-0455. We cover most of the metro and the Northshore.
Explore Our Services
What Else We Do
One contractor, inside and out, across the New Orleans metro and the Northshore.
Also From Us
Related Services
Kitchen Renovation
Layout, cabinets, counters and lighting. Including the awkward galley kitchens in shotgun houses.
Learn MoreFlooring
Hardwood, tile and vinyl plank. We level and fix the subfloor first, which is most of the job in an old house.
Learn MoreWhole Home Renovation
Top to bottom on shotguns, doubles and raised centre halls, sequenced so you are not living in a site.
Learn MoreWhere We Are
Based on Magazine Street
We work out of 3436 Magazine Street in Uptown New Orleans, which puts most of the metro within a short run and the Northshore inside an easy morning.
- Address3436 Magazine Street #120-D
New Orleans, LA 70115 - Phone504-470-0455
- HoursMonday to Saturday, 8:00am to 5:00pm
Next Step
Let’s Talk About Bathroom Renovation
Tell us what you want done in New Orleans and we will come and look at the house. Free written estimate, no obligation, and a number that holds.
Free Estimate
Let's Look At Your House
Send this over and we will call you back to set up a walkthrough.
- Call504-470-0455
- Visit3436 Magazine Street #120-D
New Orleans, LA 70115 - HoursMonday to Saturday, 8:00am to 5:00pm