Short answer: Most bathroom add-ons fall into three groups. Some go inside the walls and ceiling, like a niche or recessed lights, and are easiest to settle before the walls are closed. Some go onto finished surfaces, like a glass door or a mirror. And some change a door or opening in the wall. The way to avoid surprises is to ask what is in the base scope, which items are optional, and by when each decision has to be made.
What five of our bathroom jobs listed as optional
On each of these jobs, the job ledger lists some items as optional jobs. These are the entries, as the ledgers name them:
- Dedham: shower niches in both bathrooms, a bench in the second bathroom’s shower, recessed lights in both bathrooms, moisture protection for the second bathroom’s shower wall, grout sealer for both, a pocket door for the first bathroom, a new entrance door for the second bathroom, three grab bars, and an LED mirror, which came with removing the old light fixture and fixing the drywall.
- Walpole: a niche inside the shower, moisture protection for the shower wall, and a glass door for the walk-in shower.
- Newton: an outlet for a smart toilet, moisture protection for the shower wall, a niche above the bathtub, recessed lights in the bathroom ceiling, a handheld shower with a new elbow in the primary bath, floating vanities, glass blocks, a grab bar, two replaced interior doors, a glass door for the walk-in shower, an LED mirror, and extra towel bars and floating shelves.
- Lexington: moisture protection for the shower wall.
- Lincoln (first-floor bathroom): a mirror with a power outlet, and moving a water supply pipe and redoing the vanity drain rough-in.
The ledger shows what was listed, not how it was done, so treat this as a list of things people ask for once a remodel is under way.
Group 1: inside the walls and ceiling
Niches, recessed lights, outlets, a bench in the shower and any plumbing that moves all live in or behind the wall. In the ledgers above that includes:
- Niches. Dedham (both showers), Walpole and Newton. How a niche fits with the rest of the storage is in bathroom storage in a remodel.
- Moisture protection for the shower wall. It appears under that name in Dedham, Lexington, Walpole and Newton. What it covers depends on the contract, so ask for it spelled out. The layers behind the tile are in what’s behind shower tile.
- Lights and outlets. Recessed lights in Dedham and Newton, a smart-toilet outlet in Newton, and a mirror with an outlet in Lincoln.
- Moving pipes. In Lincoln, moving a water supply pipe and redoing the vanity drain rough-in.
These are the items that are simplest to decide while the studs are open. Once the walls are closed, adding one usually means opening them again.
Group 2: onto the finished surface
- Glass door. Walpole and Newton listed one for the walk-in shower.
- Grout sealer. Dedham listed it for both bathrooms.
- Mirrors and shelves. An LED mirror in Dedham and Newton, towel bars and floating shelves in Newton.
- Grab bars. Dedham and Newton.
- Floating vanity. Newton.
These can often wait until the finishes go in, but some still need planning earlier. A grab bar, a heavy mirror, a shelf or a floating vanity needs something solid behind the wall to hold it, and that is easiest to arrange while the wall is open. A floating vanity also changes where the drain and supply lines come out, so choose it before the rough-in.
Group 3: doors and openings
- Pocket door. Dedham, for the first bathroom. We wrote about when it makes sense in pocket doors in a bathroom remodel.
- Replaced doors. Dedham listed a new entrance door for the second bathroom; Newton listed two replaced interior doors.
- Glass blocks. Newton.
A door or opening is part of the wall, so a change here can reach the framing around it. Ask early, and ask whether the change needs its own permit.
How to ask your contractor
- What is in the base scope, and what is an option?
- What does each option include? A name like “moisture protection” can mean different things in different contracts.
- By when does each decision have to be made: before framing, before the rough-in or before the walls close?
- Will it be written into the contract or an addendum before the work starts?
- Does it need a permit? Electrical and plumbing changes usually do. More is in what needs a permit when you remodel in Massachusetts. Your town’s building department has the final word.
Checklist before you sign
- List everything you might want, even if you aren’t sure
- Sort it into three piles: in the wall, on the surface, doors and openings
- Decide the in-the-wall pile first
- Ask where grab bars, mirrors, shelves and a floating vanity will be anchored
- Get each option named and written down
- Bring the list to the estimate visit; what to prepare is in what happens at an in-home bathroom remodel estimate
FAQ
Can I add something after the bathroom is finished? Often yes for things that go on a finished surface, such as a mirror or towel bar. For anything inside the wall, it usually means opening the wall again.
Will an add-on slow the job down? It can. A change to a wall or one that brings another trade back adds a step, so ask how it affects the schedule before you say yes.
Are optional jobs listed separately? In our ledgers each one is its own line. Whatever the option is, get it named and written down before the work starts.
What if I’m not sure I want something? Say so at the estimate visit. A contractor can tell you which items are hard to add later and which can wait.
Liang Yu works in marketing at Sun Shore Construction and has been with the team for three years.
Planning a bathroom remodel? Get a free in-home estimate: call us or fill out the form on sunshoreconstruction.com.
