Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterFast, Reliable Bathroom Remodeling Across Alameda
A full bathroom remodel in Alameda typically runs $9,000 – $28,000 depending on the age of your home, the condition of the framing and subfloor behind your walls, and the finishes you choose. Most Alameda homeowners call us because something behind the tile has finally given out, a shower pan leaked into the floor system, or a 1920s bathroom simply doesn’t work for how a family lives now. We’re Penhallow Remodeling, and we’ve spent enough time in Alameda’s East End, West End, and Gold Coast homes to know exactly what’s behind those lath-and-plaster walls before we open them. Trevor Nash leads our team, and every job starts with a written price and a written 365-Day Done Right Promise before we pull a single screw. Call us at (936) 259-2607 to schedule a free estimate.
Why Penhallow Remodeling Is Alameda’s Preferred Bathroom Remodeling Company
Alameda homeowners don’t want a mainland contractor who treats the island like a bridge toll away. We know the Posey and Webster Tubes ban oversize loads, which means dumpsters, lumber drops, and prefab shower panels all have to be scheduled differently here than in Oakland or Berkeley. That constraint shapes how we bid, stage, and sequence every Bathroom Remodeling project we take on in Alameda.
Our crews show up in uniform, background-checked, with a real arrival window. We answer the phone with a live person, any hour. And the number we put in front of you before demo day is the number on the final invoice, because every change we make gets priced and approved in writing before we touch it. That’s The Kingswell Way, and it’s been our operating standard since 2004.
Small Bathroom Remodel in Alameda
A small bathroom remodel in Alameda runs $5,000 – $12,000 and usually comes down to making a 5-by-8-foot space work harder without moving plumbing. In Alameda’s older homes, that means confronting whatever’s behind the walls, which is often galvanized supply lines, an undersized vent stack, and a subfloor that’s seen better decades. We open those walls expecting to find surprises, and we price the known work plus a written allowance for what we can’t see yet.
What the Job Involves
We replace the wet-area substrate (the moisture-resistant cement board layer behind your tile), install a new shower pan or bathtub, set the vanity and toilet, and tile to your spec. If your home is in a historic district, we match trim profiles and millwork details to the original where visible.
When It’s the Right Scope
Guest bathrooms, hall baths, and kids’ baths on the second floor of a Victorian or Craftsman are classic small-remodel candidates. You keep the existing footprint, upgrade the fixtures, and avoid the cost of moving sanitary lines through a balloon-framed wall system.
Shower Remodel in Alameda
A shower remodel in Alameda typically runs $3,000 – $12,000 depending on whether you’re replacing a failing pan and tile or converting a tub to a walk-in shower. The older the home, the more we watch for the failure modes that show up again and again on this island: rotted subfloors under a pan that leaked at the drain connection, and rusted fasteners from decades of salt-laden bay air.
Tub-to-Shower Conversion
This runs $3,500 – $10,000 and is one of the most common requests we get from Alameda homeowners who want a curbless entry and easier access. We pull the tub, rework the drain line to a 2-inch shower slope requirement, and rebuild the wet area with waterproofing that passes a flood test before tile goes up.
Walk-In Shower Installation
A new walk-in shower runs $4,500 – $12,000. We frame and waterproof to current code, which matters because pulling a permit on an older island home often triggers GFCI outlet upgrades, ventilation requirements, and framing corrections the original quote never allowed for. We build those into the written price up front.
Trusted Brands We Service in Alameda
We install Kohler and Moen fixtures, and we fabricate countertops in Cambria, Silestone, and Caesarstone quartz. Our bathroom vanities and cabinetry come from KraftMaid and Wellborn, and we keep common Alameda-specific replacement parts in local stock: 1920s-style chrome escutcheons, period-appropriate hex tile, and the bronze floor registers older island homes are full of. That means fewer week-long waits when a detail needs matching. We also handle prefabricated ADU-adjacent bathroom rough-ins from systems like Abodu and Dvele, which have become part of island infill work around Alameda Point.
Common Bathroom Remodeling Problems We See in Alameda Homes
- Rotted subfloors from old shower pan leaks. We see this in homes from the 1910s through the 1960s, especially where a cast-iron pan sat over a wood-framed floor for 60-plus years. The damage usually extends farther than the wet area, which is why we write a subfloor allowance into every island remodel contract.
- Knob-and-tube wiring behind vanity walls. Opening a bathroom wall in an East End Craftsman often reveals original wiring that can’t legally be extended. A permit triggers the correction, so we price the GFCI and branch-circuit work before the rough-in inspection, not after.
- Salt-air corrosion on fasteners and cabinet hardware. Bay air eats metal faster here than a mile inland. We spec stainless and marine-grade fasteners in wet areas so the new work doesn’t start rusting in year three.
- Balloon-framed walls with no fire blocking. Victorian and early Craftsman homes in Alameda were built with open wall cavities running from basement to attic. When we open a bathroom wall, code requires fire blocking at the floor and ceiling, and we add it as a written change order rather than springing it later.
Pricing for Bathroom Remodeling in Alameda, CA
Here’s what you can expect to pay in the current Alameda market, line by line:
| Scope | Alameda Price Range |
|---|---|
| Bathroom Remodel | $9,000 – $28,000 |
| Small Bathroom Remodel | $5,000 – $12,000 |
| Walk-In Shower Installation | $4,500 – $12,000 |
| Shower Replacement | $3,000 – $8,500 |
| Bathroom Vanity Installation | $800 – $3,000 |
What moves the number most is what we find once walls are open: framing condition, subfloor rot, wiring age, and whether the home sits in a historic district with millwork-match requirements. We write allowances for those unknowns into the contract, and any surprise gets priced and approved in writing before we proceed. You’ll never see a change order that wasn’t signed off first. Call (936) 259-2607 for a free written estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near Alameda
We work throughout the East Bay, including Oakland, Piedmont, Emeryville, and Berkeley. If you’re just across the Park Street Bridge or up on Bay Farm Island, we’re already priced for the tube restrictions and bridge staging that mainland crews miss.
Serving Alameda, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Alameda area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About Bathroom Remodeling in Alameda
Because opening a wall in a 100-year-old island home regularly turns up knob-and-tube wiring, rotted subfloor, or balloon framing that no visual inspection could catch. We price those as written allowances with a clear unit cost, and nothing gets spent against an allowance without your written sign-off. If we don’t find the problem, the allowance money stays in your pocket. Call (936) 259-2607 and we’ll walk you through how we structure the contract.
Yes. Any remodel that moves plumbing, alters framing, or changes the electrical rough-in requires a City of Alameda permit. Pulling that permit triggers current code requirements, which in older island homes often means adding GFCI protection, upgrading the vent fan, fire blocking open wall cavities, and sometimes sistering undersized joists. We pull the permits, schedule the inspections, and price the code-triggered work into the written number before we start, not after the inspector shows up.
The Posey and Webster Tubes ban oversize loads, so large dumpsters, wide prefab shower panels, and full lumber packs have to be staged around tube restrictions and bridge traffic or brought in on smaller loads. It adds a sequencing layer that Oakland and Berkeley contractors never price, and it’s one reason our island schedules account for a little more lead time on material delivery. We plan those logistics before demo day, because an open bathroom and a dumpster that can’t get through the tube is a problem nobody needs.
We can. Alameda’s historic districts require replacement trim, casing, and paneling to match the original profiles when visible, and we have a millwork shop relationship that reproduces period-specific moldings for Victorians and Craftsman bungalows. If you’re in the East End or Gold Coast and the Historical Advisory Board has notes on your property, we coordinate with the review process and build compliant millwork into the written estimate.
A full remodel runs $9,000 – $28,000, a small bathroom $5,000 – $12,000, and a shower replacement $3,000 – $8,500. We tie draw payments to completed, inspectable milestones: rough-in passed, waterproofing and flood test done, tile set, final inspection signed. You pay for work that’s actually done, and the written price you approved before demo is the price you pay unless you approve a change in writing. Call (936) 259-2607 for a free estimate on your Alameda bathroom.
Written by Trevor Nash, Owner at Penhallow Remodeling, serving Alameda under the Kingswell guarantee since 2004.