Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
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AfterFast, Reliable Bathroom Remodeling Across Lemon Grove
A full bathroom remodel in Lemon Grove typically runs $9,000 – $28,000, with tub-to-shower conversions landing between $3,500 and $10,000. The price moves based on what the walls reveal once we open them, which in this city is rarely a surprise to us anymore. We’re Penhallow Remodeling, led by Trevor Nash, and we’ve worked inside enough 1940s – 1960s Lemon Grove ranch homes to know exactly what hides behind the original tile. Call (936) 259-2607 and we’ll talk through your bathroom, your lot, your street, and what a realistic number looks like before anyone picks up a pry bar.
Why Penhallow Remodeling Is Lemon Grove’s Preferred Bathroom Remodeling Company
Lemon Grove is small, roughly 3.6 square miles, and fully built out. There’s no new-construction bathroom wing to hide behind. Every job we do here is a retrofit into a post-war ranch, and that changes how a contractor has to bid, schedule, and communicate. We’re not sending a crew from across the county who’s never seen a single-wall wet wall. Scheduling runs through our San Diego office, and crews roll into Lemon Grove with the van stocked for the housing stock they’ll actually meet.
Our Bathroom Remodeling team works the same way on every Lemon Grove job: a written price before demo starts, a defined arrival window, and a 365-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If something fails inside that year, we come back and fix it at no charge. No service call fee, no re-inspection charge. That guarantee matters more in Lemon Grove than almost anywhere else, because these older homes will test the work. Trevor Nash has built the company around saying the price before the work and standing behind it after the dust settles.
Shower Remodel in Lemon Grove
A Shower Remodel in Lemon Grove means refreshing or rebuilding an existing shower footprint, and it runs $3,000 – $8,500 depending on what the demo uncovers. In these homes, the shower is often one of the most water-exposed areas. Original 1960s tile was set on mud beds or drywall that was never waterproofed by today’s standard, and decades of steam and splashing take a toll you won’t see until the tile comes off. When a Lemon Grove homeowner calls us for a shower remodel, we don’t promise a fixed number before we know what’s behind the wall. We give a written price with allowances tied to the conditions we can reasonably expect.
Waterproofing and Subfloor Reality
The most common finding is a soft or stained subfloor at the drain. We plan for that. If the decking is compromised, we write a change order before we touch it, priced in writing and approved by the homeowner first. Then we rebuild the pan, set the waterproofing correctly, and install the tile or base over a surface that drains the way it should.
What Falls Inside the Allowance
On Lemon Grove ranches, the wet wall is often built with undersized or single-wall framing. Our quote includes a framing allowance for exactly that. We also carry fixture, tile, and valve allowances in the contract, so the number you signed on day one is the number you hold us to, even when the framing tells a different story than the tile face suggested.
Tub to Shower Conversion in Lemon Grove
A Tub to Shower Conversion in Lemon Grove costs $3,500 – $10,000 and is the single most requested bathroom project we handle in this city. Older ranch homes were built with one hall bath, and that tub is often in rough shape: chipped, reglazed multiple times, or simply unused by homeowners who want a walk-in shower with a low threshold. The conversion removes the tub, reframes the footprint, and sets a shower base or tile pan in its place. It’s a practical answer for aging in place and for updating a bath that hasn’t been touched since the Eisenhower administration.
Code Upgrades and GFCI Requirements
Once a permit is pulled for a tub-to-shower conversion, the bathroom falls under current California code. That means GFCI protection on the circuit, exhaust ventilation that actually moves air, and Title 24 lighting or fan requirements. We price those upgrades into the allowance rather than discovering them after inspection. A bid that ignores them is a bid that changes later.
From Massachusetts Avenue to Inspection Sign-Off
On a 1950s ranch off Massachusetts Avenue, our crew opened a hall bath wall for a tub-to-shower conversion and found single-wall framing at the wet wall, a subfloor with old termite scarring, and cloth-wrapped wiring feeding a bathroom circuit with no GFCI. We stopped the tear-out, wrote a change order for the framing repair, the subfloor patch, and a rough-in upgrade priced before we touched anything, and the homeowner approved it in writing the same afternoon. After inspection sign-off, we set a Kohler shower base with Moen trim and used a KraftMaid vanity that fit the 30-inch alcove the original framing allowed. That’s how a conversion in Lemon Grove goes when the contract is written for the reality behind the tile.
Trusted Brands We Service in Lemon Grove
We build with materials that carry their own warranties alongside ours: KraftMaid and Wellborn cabinetry, Kohler and Moen fixtures, Cambria and Silestone countertops. In a Lemon Grove retrofit, those brands do the heavy lifting. A Cambria quartz top resists the kind of moisture and humidity swings these inland-mesa bathrooms produce, and a Kohler valve rebuilds cleanly when the water lines are original. We don’t stock every part for every vintage fixture, but we keep the common valve cartridges, P-traps, and shower bases our Lemon Grove customers ask for. That means a shorter wait when the time comes to set the finish trim. The products behind our 365-Day Done Right Promise are as solid as the promise itself.
Common Bathroom Remodeling Problems We See in Lemon Grove Homes
- Cloth-wrapped wiring without GFCI protection. These original wiring runs surface the moment a permit is pulled. Current code requires GFCI on bathroom circuits, and we include the rough-in upgrade in the bid before the first wall opens.
- Single-wall framing on wet walls. Original 1950s ranches often used single-wall construction behind tubs and showers. We frame a proper wet wall with the allowance we wrote into your contract, not with a surprise email after demo.
- Failed waterproofing under original tile. The tile looks fine from the outside. Behind it, the drywall or plaster has been wicking moisture for decades. We treat every original-tile shower as a candidate for full waterproofing replacement.
- Soft subfloor at the drain. A slow leak at the tub shoe or shower drain quietly rots the decking. If we find that, we show you photos, write the change order, and get your written approval before we replace the bad section.
Pricing for Bathroom Remodeling in Lemon Grove, CA
Here’s what we tell Lemon Grove homeowners at the kitchen table, before any contract is signed. A small bathroom remodel runs $5,000 – $12,000. A full bathroom remodel lands between $9,000 and $28,000. A tub-to-shower conversion sits at $3,500 – $10,000, and a walk-in shower installation runs $4,500 – $12,000. Vanity installation alone is $800 – $3,000. The number moves on two things: the material package you choose and the conditions inside the walls. We don’t quote a vague range and then change it after demo. We quote a written price with named allowances, so when the wall opens and the framing is undersized, the allowance covers it. Call (936) 259-2607 for a free estimate.
| Service | Typical Cost in Lemon Grove, CA |
|---|---|
| Bathroom Remodel | $9,000 – $28,000 |
| Small Bathroom Remodel | $5,000 – $12,000 |
| Tub-to-Shower Conversion | $3,500 – $10,000 |
| Walk-In Shower Installation | $4,500 – $12,000 |
| Shower Replacement | $3,000 – $8,500 |
| Bathroom Vanity Installation | $800 – $3,000 |
We Also Serve Cities Near Lemon Grove
Our crews serve Bathroom Remodeling in Lemon Grove and the surrounding East County communities. We run jobs in Spring Valley, La Mesa, Bonita, and National City on the same written-price, written-guarantee standard. If you’re a few blocks over the city line, the same estimate process applies. The housing stock changes slightly, but the retrofit reality doesn’t.
Serving Lemon Grove, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re a General Contractor in Lemon Grove 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 Lemon Grove
Because we write our Lemon Grove quotes for what we already know about these homes. The line-item allowances cover undersized framing, failed waterproofing, and wiring upgrades we expect to find behind original tile. If those conditions exist, the allowance pays for them. If they don’t, you don’t spend that part of the budget. You always approve any change order in writing before we proceed. Call (936) 259-2607 to walk through what an allowance-based quote actually looks like.
Yes, in most cases. Once the scope is permitted, the bathroom must meet current California code: GFCI protection, exhaust ventilation, and Title 24 energy requirements among the usual triggers. We price those upgrades into the bid before you sign, so inspection doesn’t become a surprise line item. That’s the only honest way to handle it in a post-war ranch. Call (936) 259-2607 if you want a straight answer on what your specific bathroom will trigger.
Sometimes, but usually only after we repair or sister the existing framing. Single-wall construction was common in 1950s Lemon Grove homes, and it doesn’t meet modern standards for a tiled wet wall. We write a framing allowance into the contract, explain what we found with photos, and get your written approval before any structural work begins. The original framing isn’t a dealbreaker. It’s just another condition we plan for. Call (936) 259-2607 for a free estimate.
We break the job into milestones: deposit, rough-in, and final. You don’t pay the final draw until the work passes inspection and you’ve walked the bathroom with our lead. The schedule is laid out in the contract before you sign, and any change order gets its own line with its own price. No one touches a wall until that’s clear. Call (936) 259-2607 and we’ll show you exactly what a Lemon Grove draw schedule looks like.
If the waterproofing is intact and the subfloor is solid, patching a fixture here and there can make sense. But in a 1950s or 1960s Lemon Grove ranch, the waterproofing is rarely intact where you can’t see it. If moisture has already reached the framing or the subfloor, a patch job just buys time while the rot spreads. A small remodel at $5,000 – $12,000 costs less than a full rebuild after a hidden leak destroys the framing. We’ll tell you which situation you’re in before we quote anything. Call (936) 259-2607.
Talk to Us Before You Open the Wall
If you’re in Lemon Grove and thinking about a bathroom remodel, start with a conversation. Trevor Nash and the Penhallow Remodeling team will walk your bathroom, explain what we expect to find under the original tile, and give you a written number before any work begins. No pressure, no ballooning invoice after demo day. Call (936) 259-2607 or reach out through the site to schedule your free estimate. The wall will tell its story when we open it. We’re ready for whatever it says.
Written by Trevor Nash, Owner at Penhallow Remodeling, serving Lemon Grove Bathroom Remodeling customers with written prices and a written guarantee on every project.