Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
Fast, Reliable Bathroom Remodeling Across Pacific Palisades
A full bathroom remodel in Pacific Palisades typically runs $9,000 to $28,000, with tub-to-shower conversions starting around $3,500 and walk-in shower installations landing between $4,500 and $12,000. We’re Sawyer Remodeling, led by Luca Romano, and we’ve been running bathroom projects under the Relay Standard since 2005. Our crews know the Palisades hillsides, the older slab foundations, and the exact permit path through the city. If you’re thinking about a remodel, call (254) 272-5876 and we’ll put a written price in your hands before any tool gets picked up.
What makes us different is simple: the number we write down is the number you approve. No vague allowances, no mid-job surprises. We send photo updates before and after each phase, give you a live arrival time for every visit, and every invoice comes as a link you can pay from your phone. That’s the Relay Visibility Guarantee, and it’s standard on every Pacific Palisades project we run.
Key Takeaways for Pacific Palisades Homeowners
- Bathroom remodels in Pacific Palisades run $9,000 – $28,000 for a full gut-and-replace; small baths start at $5,000.
- Hillside lots and older slab foundations often mean non-standard drain lines that have to be re-routed before the shower pan goes in.
- Permits are required when you move fixtures or add electrical in a wet area, and we pull them ourselves and schedule the inspections.
- Our 365-Day Done Right Promise means if something isn’t right after the job closes, we come back and make it right, in writing.
- Every project gets a written line-item price before work starts, with named brands like Cambria, Kohler, and KraftMaid factored in.
Styles & brands we work with
Why Sawyer Remodeling Is Pacific Palisades’s Preferred Bathroom Remodeling Company
Pacific Palisades homeowners don’t have time for a contractor who ghosts between visits. The people calling us off Sunset Boulevard, up in The Highlands, and around Palisades Village want to know who’s coming, when they’ll arrive, and what the job costs before they commit. We do exactly that. Every technician is background-checked and uniformed, you get a live arrival time, and the written price we quote is the price you sign.
Our Bathroom Remodeling team has handled enough Palisades projects to know what hides behind the walls here: cast-iron drain lines from the 1950s and 60s, galvanized supply pipes, and layout quirks from hillside construction that flat-grid suburbs never see. That local knowledge lets us bid accurately the first time. Luca Romano has built our process around one principle: scope it on paper, build it on schedule, and close it with a punch list and a final inspection sign-off.
We’re not going to win a charm contest with vague promises. We win because the bid holds, the door schedule is real, and there’s a one-year written guarantee on every bathroom we do. If a pipe leaks or a grout line fails within 365 days, we’re back, no argument, no invoice.
Shower Remodel in Pacific Palisades
A Shower Remodel in Pacific Palisades usually means replacing an existing alcove or stall shower while keeping the bathroom’s overall footprint roughly the same. The scope covers demo, moving the valve if needed, waterproofing with a Schluter edge trim system (the metal strip that seals where tile meets the floor), setting a new pan, tiling the walls, and installing glass. Depending on whether we re-route the drain or open up walls for new plumbing, you’re looking at $3,000 to $8,500 for a shower replacement, or $4,500 to $12,000 if it’s a full walk-in shower built from scratch.
Here’s the thing about Pacific Palisades specifically: because much of the housing stock sits on hillside lots with raised foundations, we frequently find the existing shower drain doesn’t align with where the new pan needs to go. That means opening the subfloor and re-routing before tile goes down. We write that into the bid when we see it, not after the demo crew has already cut everything out.
Walk-in showers for older homes
Most 1950s and 60s ranch homes in the Palisades have a cramped tub-shower combo with a 5-foot footprint. We convert those into curbless or low-curb walk-in showers with a linear drain and frameless glass, which reads more open and works better as mobility changes over the years.
Steam shower upgrades
If your home sits up in the Highlands or off Bienveneda and you want a steam unit, the waterproofing spec changes. We slope the ceiling, use a vapor-tight membrane, and spec a steam-rated door. The price shifts accordingly, but we give you the line-item breakdown before you sign.
Tub to Shower Conversion in Pacific Palisades
A Tub to Shower Conversion in Pacific Palisades replaces the old bathtub with a walk-in shower, opening up a small bathroom without changing the footprint. The job involves removing the tub, re-setting the drain to the shower’s new location, installing waterproofing and tile, and finishing with a glass enclosure. In this market, a straight tub-to-shower conversion runs $3,500 to $10,000 depending on tile selection, glass style, and whether the existing drain needs re-routing.
That last point matters more here than in most neighborhoods I’ve seen. We were called to a 1960s ranch house off Via de la Paz where the original tub drained to a cast-iron line that had partially corroded, so before any tile went down we opened the subfloor, re-routed the drain, and set a new Kohler shower pan tied into a proper rough-in. The homeowner had picked a Wellborn vanity and Caesarstone top, and because we’d written the scope and allowances in advance, the added drain re-route went through as one signed change order instead of a stalled job. We closed it out with a punch list walk and a final inspection sign-off from the city.
When the layout works in your favor
If your tub already sits along the wet wall with proper access from below or behind, the conversion is clean: 4 to 6 working days, no structural surprises. We still pull the plumbing permit when the drain moves, because the city inspects rough-in before the walls close.
When the drain needs re-routing
On raised foundations, re-routing a drain means opening up the floor or ceiling below, plus extending the vent line. That’s where the price moves from the low end toward $10,000. We show you exactly what we found before we touch it, and the signed change order reflects the scope.
Trusted Brands We Service in Pacific Palisades
We install fixtures and finishes from brands that actually back their products, so you’re not stuck with a mystery supplier’s off-brand valve or a tile that delaminates in two years. On Pacific Palisades projects, we regularly spec Kohler, Moen, and Grohe fixtures, KraftMaid and Wellborn vanities, and countertops from Cambria, Silestone, and Caesarstone. We also work with California-specific ADU and prefab partners like Dvele when a bathroom is part of a larger addition. Because our crews serve Pacific Palisades locally, we keep common parts and trim on the trucks, which means fewer supply-house runs and fewer days lost waiting on a faucet escutcheon that got backordered.
See the difference
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AfterCommon Bathroom Remodeling Problems We See in Pacific Palisades Homes
- Hillside plumbing surprises: a contractor bids the visible tear-out without opening the subfloor first, then finds an undersized or corroded drain line, and the homeowner is stuck absorbing an unbudgeted re-route. We open the floor as part of our pre-bid walk when access is available, and we write contingency lines into the scope so the surprise is planned for, not sprung on you.
- Permit avoidance on a cosmetic-only pitch: skipping the permit for relocated fixtures or new electrical in a wet area means no third-party inspection before the walls close. Unseen rough-in problems go unchecked, and when you sell the house, the unpermitted work shows up on the disclosure. We pull permits whenever the city requires them, and we meet the inspector on site.
- Allowance drift on tile, stone, and fixtures: a vague allowance line lets a homeowner pick Cambria or Silestone and designer tile after the contract is signed, then the change order arrives mid-job and the calendar slips. We itemize every allowance at the front end so the price on your signed contract already reflects the actual materials.
- Cast-iron and galvanized supply lines: 1950s and 60s homes across the Palisades, especially near the bluffs and in the alphabet streets, still have original piping that’s near end of life. When we open a wall and find galvanized supply lines, we recommend replacing the accessible runs while the wall is open rather than closing it back up over a future leak.
Pricing for Bathroom Remodeling in Pacific Palisades, CA
Here’s the honest picture on pricing in this market. A full bathroom remodel in Pacific Palisades runs $9,000 to $28,000. Small bathrooms start at $5,000 and cap around $12,000. Walk-in shower installations sit between $4,500 and $12,000, tub-to-shower conversions between $3,500 and $10,000, and shower replacements between $3,000 and $8,500. Bathroom vanity installation alone runs $800 to $3,000, depending on whether it’s a stock unit or a custom Wellborn or KraftMaid cabinet.
| Service | Typical Pacific Palisades Cost |
|---|---|
| Bathroom Remodel (full) | $9,000 – $28,000 |
| Small Bathroom Remodel | $5,000 – $12,000 |
| Walk-In Shower Installation | $4,500 – $12,000 |
| Tub-to-Shower Conversion | $3,500 – $10,000 |
| Shower Replacement | $3,000 – $8,500 |
| Bathroom Vanity Installation | $800 – $3,000 |
What moves the number is what’s behind the walls. If the drain has to be re-routed, the subfloor opened, or the electrical upgraded for a wet-area circuit, that adds line items. If you’re picking Cambria tops and a Kohler thermostatic valve, the materials allowance goes up. We give you a written, line-item price for every scenario we can see before demo, and we explain what changes if we find something once the wall is open. Free estimates in Pacific Palisades, and the numbers above aren’t theory; they’re what we’ve been bidding on projects here over the last several years.
We Also Serve Cities Near Pacific Palisades
Along with Bathroom Remodeling in Pacific Palisades, our crews take on projects in Santa Monica, Venice, Topanga, and Marina del Rey. The permit path and plumbing stock vary between those areas, but the written-price rule doesn’t change. Wherever the job is, the number on the invoice is the number you approved.
Serving Pacific Palisades, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Pacific Palisades area and know this community well, working as a General Contractor in Pacific Palisades. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About Bathroom Remodeling in Pacific Palisades
Yes, if you’re moving fixtures like a toilet, tub, or shower drain, or adding electrical in a wet area. The city requires a plumbing and electrical permit for that work, and a third-party inspector signs off at rough-in before the walls close. Cosmetic-only work like swapping a vanity or replacing tile in the same footprint typically doesn’t require a permit, but we’ll tell you exactly what applies to your scope before we start. Call (254) 272-5876 and we can tell you what your specific project triggers.
Usually because the house is a hillside property with a raised foundation or older slab, and the original bid didn’t account for what’s under the floor: a corroded cast-iron drain, a galvanized line that needs replacing, or a vent that was never run to code. We itemize contingencies and walk you through the subfloor before we commit to a number, so when a change order comes, it’s a signed line item, not a surprise. If you’re comparing bids, ask each contractor whether they looked under the house or into the crawl space before pricing.
Most tub-to-shower conversions in Pacific Palisades take 4 to 7 working days after demo starts, assuming the drain lines don’t need significant re-routing. If the shower drain has to move more than a foot or the vent needs extending behind a wall, add a day or two and we’ll tell you before we start. We schedule the rough-in inspection mid-project so the walls get closed with a sign-off, not a hope.
A shower remodel replaces or upgrades the shower itself, including the pan, valve, tile, and glass, without touching the rest of the bathroom. A full bathroom remodel includes the shower plus the vanity, flooring, lighting, and often moving the layout. In Pacific Palisades, a shower replacement runs $3,000 to $8,500, while a full remodel typically starts at $9,000 and goes up from there. If your bathroom is under 40 square feet, you’re in the small-bath range of $5,000 to $12,000, which often makes sense for guest baths off the primary.
They can be, and that’s the point. We write named allowances into the contract, so your line-item price reflects the actual vanity, countertop, and fixtures you chose, not a generic “builder-grade” placeholder. If you pick a Cambria quartz top at $80 a square foot and a Kohler Purist shower trim, the allowance line shows it. If you’re still deciding at contract time, we set the allowance at a specific number and tell you exactly what happens if you go over or under, before any change order is written.
Ready to get a written number for your Pacific Palisades bathroom? Call Sawyer Remodeling at (254) 272-5876 and ask for a free estimate. Luca Romano runs every bid personally, and the written price you get is the price you approve. No ghosting, no vague allowances, no last-page surprises.
Written by Luca Romano, Owner at Sawyer Remodeling, serving Pacific Palisades since 2005.
