Go Far®The short answer
Once construction starts, a cosmetic refresh — new vanity, toilet, faucets, lighting, paint, maybe a floor — typically takes one to two weeks on site. A full remodel to the studs with new tile, a rebuilt shower, and new fixtures in roughly the same places usually runs three to five weeks. A layout change that moves walls, drains, or the shower, or turns a hall bath into a primary suite bath, typically runs six to ten weeks. Door to door, a full bathroom project is realistically a two-to-four-month calendar once design, selections, ordering, and permits are counted — which is why we start that clock long before demo day.
Before demo: the part that decides everything
- Design and selections: two to four weeks. Tile, vanity, counters, plumbing fixtures, glass, lighting. This phase moves exactly as fast as decisions do, and every selection made before demolition is a delay avoided during it.
- Lead times: two to eight weeks. Stock vanities and standard tile ship in days; custom vanities, specialty tile, and some plumbing trim take six to eight weeks. We order everything, confirm it has arrived, and only then schedule demolition.
- Permits: one to six weeks. Swapping fixtures in place usually needs no permit; moving plumbing, adding circuits, or altering walls does. Review times vary by city across Snohomish and King County (see our Lynnwood permit guide), and we run the application in parallel with ordering so it costs no extra calendar.
Week by week, once the crew shows up
A typical full remodel in the existing layout runs: demolition and haul-away (one to two days) → plumbing and electrical rough-in, plus any framing repairs, with rough inspections (days three to six) → cement board, waterproofing membrane, and shower pan, then flood-testing the pan before a single tile goes down (week two) → tile for the shower, floor, and any wainscot, which is the most labor-dense stretch of the job (weeks two to three) → drywall, paint, and vanity installation (week three) → countertop template and fabrication, measured off the installed vanity (about one week, during which trim and grout sealing continue) → glass measurement and fabrication, which cannot happen until tile is finished and typically takes one to two weeks → fixture trim-out, glass install, final inspection, and punch list (weeks four to five). The stretch without a working shower is real but bounded: from demo to a usable shower is usually three to four of those weeks in a full remodel.
What blows up a bathroom schedule
Four things, in order of frequency. Late decisions and change orders — swapping tile after the pan is set means tearing out finished work, and this is the one delay fully in the homeowner’s control. Surprises behind the walls — older Puget Sound homes routinely hide rotted subfloor under a tub, galvanized supply lines, undersized drains, or past leak damage, and fixing them properly adds days. Lead-time items ordered late — a backordered faucet or a custom glass panel can idle a finished bathroom for weeks. And inspection queues in busy season, which we manage by booking inspections the day rough-in starts. A contingency of time, like a contingency of budget, is part of an honest plan.
Living through it
If the bathroom under construction is your only one, tell us at the estimate. We sequence the work so the toilet is out for as short a window as possible, keep a temporary shower plan on the table, and stage tools and materials so the rest of the house stays clean. Households with a second bathroom feel almost none of this; households with one bathroom plan around the middle two weeks of a full remodel.
How we keep bathrooms on schedule
Go Far Construction runs bathrooms on a simple discipline: every selection made and every long-lead item on site before demolition; waterproofing and pan flood tests done before tile; inspections booked in advance; and one point of contact who tells you what happens next week, every week. It is how our bathroom remodels across Lynnwood, Seattle, and the Eastside finish when we said they would. For budgeting, see our guide to bathroom remodel costs in the Seattle area, then request a free estimate and we will give you a written schedule with the written price.