What does a bathroom renovation cost in Brooklyn?
The smallest room and the most technical. Here's the range, and why waterproofing is the line item that matters most.
What actually moves your number
Any calculator that gives you one figure is guessing. These are the things that decide where you land in the range — or outside it.
- Does the toilet or shower drain move? Keeping every fixture where it sits is the single biggest lever on your budget — moving one typically adds $3,000 to $8,000, and more if it goes far.
- Is it a co-op or condo? Board review, the $5 million insurance your plumber has to carry, six-hour work days and elevator protection add both weeks and thousands before any tile is set.
- How old is the building? In prewar Brooklyn what's behind the tile is the question — soft walls and notched joists are common enough that you should budget for them rather than hope.
- How deep does the work go? Keeping sound tile and working over it costs a fraction of going to the studs, even when the finished room looks similar.
- What tile did you fall in love with? Handmade and zellige runs 10–30× the material cost of standard subway, and you buy roughly 30% extra on purpose because it breaks.
- How big is it? Least important of the six — a bathroom's cost tracks its fixture count far more than its square footage.
What this doesn’t include: Excludes co-op or condo board fees and deposits, DOB filing and expediter costs, architect or design fees, and contingency. Budget 15% contingency on a replacement and 20% on a prewar gut, and add board and filing costs separately.
The costs nobody budgets for
These aren’t construction. They’re what the city and your building charge you for permission, and on a permitted job they add up to real money.
- DOB filing fees — 1–3 family house
- $130 base + $2.60 per $1,000 of workA $900,000 rowhouse gut lands around $3,100 all in.
- DOB filing fees — co-op or condo apartment
- $225 base + $10.30 per $1,000 of workFour times the rate of a house. A $300,000 apartment gut lands around $4,500 — more than the rowhouse job three times its size.
- Landmarks (LPC) permit, if you're in a historic district
- $95 for the first $25,000 + $5 per $1,000 aboveRequired whenever the work needs a DOB permit, even if nothing is visible from the street. Usually issued inside ten business days.
- Co-op or condo board — deposit
- Typically 2.5% of the job, refundableScales with the job rather than being a flat fee. Held by the managing agent until sign-off.
- Co-op or condo board — alteration and processing fees
- Around 1% of the job, plus $500–$1,000 in flat feesNot refundable.
- Monthly alteration fee, some buildings
- Up to $1,000 per month work is happeningBilled as additional rent. The line item nobody warns you about — a six-month job is $6,000.
- Architect and expediter
- 8–20% of construction costHigher percentage on smaller jobs. Required for anything structural or plumbing-related in a co-op.
- Asbestos inspection (ACP-5)
- $500–$1,000Required before most permits in older buildings. Abatement, if triggered, is separate and much larger.
The one that surprises everyone: the city charges a house $2.60 per $1,000 of work and an apartment $10.30. So a $900,000 brownstone gut pays lessin DOB filing fees than a $300,000 co-op kitchen three times smaller. It’s in the Administrative Code if you want to check.
Where these numbers come from
Published NYC renovation cost data, federal construction cost indices, city fee schedules read from the Administrative Code, and real co-op alteration agreements. We’d rather show our working than ask you to take our word for it.
- Sweeten — NYC renovation cost guides
- Gordian / RSMeans — Quarterly Construction Cost Insights
- NAHB Eye on Housing — building material price index
These are Brooklyn market ranges, not a Handygrandson price list — what work like this generally costs here, so you know roughly what you’re dealing with before you call anyone. Your number depends on your building, and we can’t know that until we’ve seen it.
How we do bathroom renovation
Bathroom Renovation
Full bathroom gut and rebuild — waterproofed properly, tiled square, and finished in a room that's usually five feet wide.
Kitchen Remodel cost
A real range for a Brooklyn kitchen, from a cosmetic refresh to a full gut — and the things that actually move the number.
Backyard Renovation cost
Row-house yards turned into usable rooms — decking, pavers, fencing, drainage. The range, and why access drives it.
A range is a start. A quote is a number.
Send a few photos and we’ll come back with a real figure — usually within 90 minutes. Free, and no trip fee.
(929) 500-4434