A Bathroom Remodel Schedule Should Start With the Decisions Behind the Walls
A bathroom remodel looks like tile and a new vanity. The schedule is actually valve height, drain location, waterproofing, exhaust, and the niche you decided after the board was already up. Lock those behind-the-wall choices first so North Atlanta crews are not opening finished walls to move a shower valve two inches.
CRM Construction & Renovation sequences every bathroom remodel this way. The same order shows up in a primary suite bath or when the bath is one room inside a whole-home remodel.
Write the wet decisions before demolition day
Shower versus tub, drain location, curb or linear drain, and valve height all drive framing and plumbing. A rain head that needs a ceiling drop, a handheld on a slide bar, and a niche that clears the valve all fight for the same stud bay. Pick those items while the old tile is still on the wall so we can measure the real cavity, not a magazine photo.
Photograph the existing layout with a tape on the valve and the drain. Note which wall is plumbing, which wall is exterior, and whether a window sits in the shower. Homes in Sandy Springs and Dunwoody often have a window in the wet zone that changes both waterproofing and glass. Capture that in the first packet, not after the glass company templates.
Waterproofing is a schedule item, not a product footnote
Board, membrane, flood test, and inspector sign-off each take calendar time. Tile cannot start because someone liked a sample on Tuesday. Write the waterproofing system on the same sheet as the tile selection. If the tile is a large-format stone that needs a flatter substrate, say so before the mason prices a standard thinset job.
Heated floors, niche blocking, and bench framing belong on that sheet too. Those are not punch-list add-ons. They are blocking and electrical that disappear once board goes up. Related bathroom construction notes should list who supplies the valve trim, who supplies the glass, and who is on site for the flood test.
Exhaust, lighting, and the fan that actually vents outside
A new bath that still dumps moisture into an attic will peel paint and swell trim. Confirm the exhaust route, termination, and makeup air before the ceiling closes. Recessed lights need depth. A surface fixture over a tub needs clearance. Decide those while joists are visible.
If the bath sits next to a family room or under a bedroom, sound and stack location matter. Moving a toilet after the slab or the joist bay is closed is a different project than moving it on paper. Our post on which decisions must be final before demolition is the companion checklist for the rest of the house.
Allowances versus the tile already in a warehouse
A tile allowance is not a selected tile. Lead times, crate sizes, and trim pieces change the install week. If you have already purchased tile, send the carton labels. If you have not, keep the allowance visible as an allowance so the construction calendar is not pretending a long-lead stone is on site.
Vanity, mirror, and lighting packages should be named or left as allowances. A floating vanity needs blocking. A medicine cabinet needs a cavity. Those are wall decisions. Browse the gallery for finished baths, then match the blocking to the actual product, not to a generic "nice vanity" line.
What the first scope should separate
Plumbing relocation, waterproofing, tile, glass, paint, and accessories should not hide inside one lump sum if some of them are still undecided. Keep glass, heated floors, and fixture upgrades as separate lines until they are confirmed. Unknowns stay listed as unknowns. Guessed valve heights only create a second demolition.
Owners in Roswell, East Cobb, and nearby service areas usually call once they have a fixture list and a photo of the existing bath. You can read about our team and how we run trade order under general contracting. Reach out through contact when the behind-the-wall list is ready to lock.
Build the calendar from inspections and dry time, not crew days only
A bathroom can look idle while waterproofing cures or an inspector is scheduled. A calendar built only from carpenter days will show a finished bath that is not ready for tile. Put owner selections, long-lead orders, plumbing and electrical rough, inspections, waterproofing, tile, glass, and punch in one sequence.
If the household must keep one working bath, write that constraint on day one. Phased baths in an occupied house change access, dust walls, and which room gets demolished first. That is a schedule decision, not a courtesy.
What to send before we price the bath
Photos of every wall, the ceiling, and under the vanity. A list of keep versus replace. Tile and fixture links or carton photos. Notes on a window in the shower, a heated floor wish, and whether the toilet can move. Mention upstairs versus slab so we know what the drain move actually costs.
Lock the wall decisions, then demolition has a job. Skip them, and the crew is guessing in a room that will be wet for the next decade.
Ready to lock the bathroom decisions that sit in the walls?
Send photos of the existing bath, a fixture list, and which tile is actually ordered. We will sequence waterproofing, rough-in, and finishes before demolition starts.