FloorsPenny round and small hex
Unglazed porcelain mosaic, about an inch across, is the floor you'd expect in a 1910s bathroom. Lots of grout lines give bare feet some grip. We set a border row in black or green so the floor reads as a rug.
Waterbury, CT · Restorations, tile, showers
Bathroom Remodeling in Waterbury, CT
Waterbury Bathroom Remodeling Co. rebuilds bathrooms in the city's older and newer houses. Think clawfoot tubs on new hex floors, marble showers behind clear glass, and cramped triple-decker baths replanned so the door finally clears the vanity. Our own crew sets the tile.
- Period tile, set by hand
- Older and newer homes
- Itemized written price
01 Waterbury homes built before 1940 (ACS)30.8%
02 In 2- to 4-unit buildings (ACS)29.2%
03 Built before 1980 (ACS)76%
04 PhonesMon–Sat
01·The work
Bathrooms for New England houses, old and new
Six rooms of the kind we build around Waterbury. These are design pictures of the finishes and layouts we work in, not photos of a particular client's home.
02·How a job runs
From the tape measure to the last fixture
How long a bathroom lasts is mostly settled before any tile goes up. This is the order we work in, and what you'll see happening at each step.
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01Measure and plan
We measure the room at your house, look under the sink and in the basement below, and sketch layouts. You pick tile and fixtures from samples held up in your own window light.
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02Seal off and open up
Plastic walls with a zip door and covered floors go up before demolition. Then the old room comes out to the studs and joists.
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03Build, waterproof, tile
Plumbing and wiring are roughed in for the new layout. Next comes a waterproof membrane on every wet surface, and then the tile goes on: floor first, then walls, then the niche and trim pieces.
- Week 1Containment and tear-out
- Week 2Rough plumbing and wiring
- Weeks 3–4Membrane, tile, grout
- Week 5Vanity, glass, fixtures, final
Custom glass is measured after tile, so it usually arrives a week or two after the walls are done.
03·Tile and metal
Classic tile that outlasts trends
Older Waterbury houses look right with the materials they were built with, and the same classics sit well in a 1990s Colonial or a new condo. These are the finishes people ask us about most, and what each one asks of you afterwards.
Floors
WallsSubway tile with a liner
Three-by-six glossy white tile in a running bond, capped with a pencil liner at chair-rail height. A beveled edge adds shadow lines. Light gray grout hides wear better than pure white.
ShowersHoned Carrara marble
Real marble is softer than porcelain and reacts to acids, so it etches and needs sealing. A honed finish shows that less than a polished one. If you'd rather not think about upkeep, marble-look porcelain gets close.
04·Brass, nickel, chrome
Metal finishes that belong in the Brass City
Waterbury earned its nickname making brass. Faucets and valve trim are usually the first things in a bathroom to look dated, so it's worth choosing the metal with some care.
Unlacquered brass darkens as it gets usedHow a finish looks in five years matters more than how it looks in the box.
PBS's history of the city for The War notes that by the 1920s more than a third of the brass made in the United States came from the Naugatuck Valley, and that Waterbury came to be known as the Brass City. Brass fixtures here feel at home.
- Unlacquered brass turns darker and warmer within months. Some people love that; others keep the polish handy.
- Lacquered or PVD-coated brass keeps its color, though a scratch in the coating can't be touched up.
- Polished nickel is the period choice for an early-1900s bath. It's warmer than chrome and sits well with white tile and marble.
- Chrome costs the least and is the easiest to match when a part needs replacing years later.
Whichever you pick, we keep one finish for the faucet, valve trim and shower head, and let the light fixtures differ if you like.
05·Before we measure
Choices that shape the room
Most of how a bathroom looks, and most of what it costs, comes down to a few decisions. A rough answer to each one makes the first visit more useful, and you can still change your mind after it.
Five things to decide before your remodel
- Tub, walk-in shower, or both? If it's the only tub in the house and someone still takes baths, think twice before it goes.
- Which tile, and what color grout? Hex and penny round read as period, large porcelain means fewer grout lines, and a mid-gray grout forgives more than bright white.
- How much vanity and storage? Decide between a second sink and more counter and drawer space, and whether a medicine cabinet or a tall linen cabinet fits.
- What lighting and mirrors? Lights on both sides of the mirror at face height are kinder than one fixture overhead. A dimmer helps at night.
- How should the room feel, and where does the money go? Pick one or two things to splurge on, like the shower tile or a heavy glass door, and save on the rest.
06·Rooms we take on
Five kinds of bathroom projects
Restorations and tub-to-shower swaps are most of our calls. Each project has its own page explaining what's involved and what drives the price.
01 Old-House Bath Restoration
Bathrooms in prewar Victorians, Colonials and two-families, rebuilt with period tile and clawfoot tubs over new plumbing.
See the service 02 Tub-to-Shower Swaps
The worn alcove tub comes out and a tiled shower with a low curb or no curb, a bench and a glass door goes in its place.
See the service 03 Small-Bath Layouts
Five-by-seven baths in triple-deckers, capes and ranches, replanned so the door, the toilet and the vanity stop fighting.
See the service 04 Tile Showers & Floors
Marble, hex, penny round and subway tile, set over a waterproofed, sloped shower pan or a flat, stiff floor.
See the service 05 Aging-in-Place Baths
Curbless entries, grab bars on real blocking, a seat and a handheld shower, all chosen to look like a good hotel bath.
See the service07·Waterbury houses
Waterbury houses, old and new
Most Waterbury bathrooms sit inside walls that are decades older than anything in them.
The Census Bureau's American Community Survey (2020–2024 five-year estimates) counts about 49,956 housing units in Waterbury. About 30.8% were built before 1940, and roughly 76% before 1980. About 29% of homes are in buildings with two to four units. Those are the two-families and triple-deckers that PBS describes families packing into during the brass-mill years.
That age shows in the bathroom. We often find a small room cut from a bedroom corner, a tub tucked under a sloped ceiling, a radiator where the vanity should go, and floors that have settled out of level. Older drain and supply lines can be reached from the basement in many of these houses, which makes swapping them out during a remodel practical.
Our plans start from the house's bones: keeping a cast-iron tub that can be reglazed, matching a period door casing, or adding blocking for grab bars while the walls are open.
Then there's the other quarter of the city. By the same Census count, roughly 11,900 homes went up in 1980 or later: Colonials, raised ranches and condos, mostly on the outer streets. Their bathrooms tend to share a look, with a fiberglass tub surround, a 30-inch vanity with a cultured-marble top and a light bar over a flat mirror. The framing is usually sound and the drains are where you'd expect, so more of the budget goes into what you see: a tiled walk-in shower, a wider vanity, better light.
30.8%of Waterbury homes were built before 1940 (ACS 2020–2024)
Waterbury homes by decade built
American Community Survey, 2020–2024 five-year estimates
Pre-1940~15,395
1940s~3,412
1950s~7,109
1960s~4,857
1970s~7,290
1980s~7,075
1990s+~4,818
Built before 1950 Built 1950 or later
08·Winter and moisture
Cold walls, steam and the exhaust fan
A bathroom in a Connecticut winter makes steam that hits cold exterior walls and cold window glass. Where that moisture goes decides whether paint peels and grout grows mildew.
27.2°F
What the code asks of a bathroom fan
Connecticut's 2022 State Building Code adopts the 2021 International Residential Code with state amendments. The base 2021 IRC, Table M1505.4.4, calls for bathroom exhaust of 50 cubic feet per minute intermittent or 20 continuous. We duct every fan outdoors through a damper, never into the attic, and size it for the room rather than the minimum.
NOAA's Connecticut climate summary puts the statewide average at 27.2°F in January. Old windows and thin, uninsulated exterior walls run cold, so warm, wet air condenses there first. When a remodel opens an outside wall, we insulate the cavity and seal it before the membrane and tile go on.
A ceiling exhaust fan near the shower, with snow outside- A humidity-sensing switch or timer keeps the fan running after the shower is off.
- Put the fan near the shower, not over the door.
- In a windowless triple-decker bath, the fan does the whole job, so ducting and makeup air both matter.
- Heated floors under tile take the chill off on January mornings and help the floor dry faster.
09·Small baths
Making a small bath feel bigger
Plenty of Waterbury bathrooms are five by seven feet or smaller, in triple-deckers and newer condos alike. The square footage stays the same, so the work goes into how much of the room you see at once.
The National Kitchen & Bath Association's bath planning guidelines recommend 30 inches of clear floor in front of each fixture and a shower at least 36 by 36 inches inside, roomier than the 30-by-30 code minimum. We start a small-bath plan from those numbers, then work on what you see:
- one floor tile running into the shower, with no curb where the layout allows it,
- clear glass instead of a curtain, so the back wall stays in view,
- a wall-hung vanity that shows floor underneath,
- a pocket door where a swinging door hits the vanity,
- a recessed niche and medicine cabinet in place of shelves that stick out,
- one light color on the walls and ceiling, with the contrast saved for the floor or a vanity.
A wall-hung vanity and a pocket door in a compact bath10·By house age
Finishes for every age of house
A bath reads best when it fits the house around it. The decade counts come from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey for Waterbury.
Before 1940
About 15,400 homes. Victorians, two-families and triple-deckers suit penny-round or hex floors, subway walls with a liner, a pedestal sink or a furniture-style vanity, and polished nickel or unlacquered brass.
1940s to 1960s
About 15,400 homes again, mostly capes and ranches. The original pink or green tile can go, or you can keep its spirit with a colored vanity and a checkerboard floor. Chrome fits these houses well.
1970s and 1980s
About 14,400 homes. Split-levels and raised ranches often have a long, narrow bath. A tiled shower across the end wall, large-format floor tile and a longer vanity make it read as one calm room.
1990s and newer
About 4,800 homes. Colonials and condos from these years usually have the space already. The upgrade is in the materials: tile in place of a fiberglass surround, a quartz or marble top, matched metal finishes and better lighting.
11·Pricing
What bathroom remodels cost here
Every bathroom gets a written price after we measure it and you pick finishes. Until then, these are published ranges, each labeled with its source and scope.
01
Midrange bath remodel
$27,559
New England average, 2025 Cost vs. Value
Zillow summary of JLC data · checked Oct 2026 · regional
02
Bathroom remodel
$6,648to$17,646
Typical professional remodel
Angi · checked Oct 2026 · national
03
Universal-design bath
$43,119
New England average, accessible remodel
Cost vs. Value 2025 · checked Oct 2026 · regional
The regional figures come from the 2025 Cost vs. Value report as summarized by Zillow. The national range comes from Angi's bathroom remodel guide. Neither is a Waterbury quote. In an older house, these push a price up:
- rotted subfloor under an old tub, found once the floor opens,
- plaster-and-lath walls, which take longer to open and patch than drywall,
- moving a drain or toilet flange across joists.
In a newer house, the price mostly follows design choices: tile instead of a shower insert, a longer vanity, heated floors.
- real marble, mosaic floors and decorative trim that take longer to set,
- a cast-iron tub to carry up a narrow triple-decker staircase,
- custom glass measured after the tile is finished.
The price guide covers restorations, tub-to-shower swaps, small baths and accessible baths.
12·Service area
Waterbury and the valley towns
All of Waterbury first. Then Naugatuck down Route 8, Wolcott and Prospect up in the hills, Middlebury and Watertown to the west, and Thomaston, Plymouth and Cheshire a little farther out.
- 00WaterburyWaterbury is Connecticut's fifth-largest city, a former brass-mill town on the Naugatuck River where Route 8 meets I-84.
- 01NaugatuckBorough just south of Waterbury on Route 8 and the Naugatuck River. About one house in five was built before 1940 (ACS).
- 02MiddleburyTown west of Waterbury around Lake Quassapaug. About 82% of homes are single-family houses, with big building waves in the 1950s and 2000s (ACS).
- 03WolcottHill town to the northeast on Route 69. Almost nine in ten homes are single-family houses, most built from the 1950s to the 1990s (ACS).
- 04ProspectSmall hilltop town to the southeast where Routes 68 and 69 cross, where the 1960s were the biggest building decade (ACS).
- 05ThomastonOld clockmaking town up Route 8 along the Naugatuck River. More than a quarter of its homes were built before 1940 (ACS).
- 06PlymouthTown northeast on Route 6 that includes the village of Terryville, where about a third of homes were built before 1950 (ACS).
- 07WatertownNeighbor to the northwest that includes Oakville, along Routes 63 and 73, where most homes went up between the 1940s and 1980s (ACS).
- 08CheshireTown east on I-84 and Route 10 with mostly 1950s to 1990s single-family homes (ACS).
Inside the city, we work in every neighborhood on the city's neighborhood map, from the older streets of Hillside and Overlook to the North End and out toward East Mountain. Measuring, sample visits and the remodel itself all happen at your house.
13·Starting
From first call to a written price
Call (203) 990-1085 or use the form. We'll ask which floor the bathroom is on, its rough size, whether you want a tub, a shower or both, and about when the house was built.
Next we visit to measure. We look at the floor framing from below if we can, check the fan and the window, and bring tile and finish samples. The written price lists demolition, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing, tile, glass, vanity and fixtures as separate lines. You can compare it line by line with anyone else's.
A long navy vanity with a mirror for each sinkFAQ·Good questions
Asked on most first calls
Brief answers. If your house has a twist we haven't covered, call and tell us about it.
01What does a bathroom remodel cost in Waterbury?
Angi's national data puts most professional bathroom remodels at $6,648 to $17,646. The 2025 Cost vs. Value report, as summarized by Zillow, lists a midrange New England bath remodel at $27,559 on average. A restored old-house bath with marble and a cast-iron tub lands above both. We put a written, itemized price in your hands after measuring the room.
02Should we keep the tub or switch to a walk-in shower?
If it's the only tub in the house and you bathe small children or a dog, keep one somewhere. If nobody has used the tub in years, a walk-in shower in the same alcove gives you a bench, a niche and a wider entry without moving the drain far. Some families keep a tub in the hall bath and put the shower in the primary.
03Do you remodel newer homes, or only older ones?
Both. A lot of our work is in Waterbury's prewar houses, but about a quarter of the city's homes were built in 1980 or later, and those bathrooms are often easier to open up. In a 1990s Colonial or a condo the job is mostly design: swapping a fiberglass tub surround for tile, a bigger vanity, better light.
04How long will we be without the bathroom?
For a typical hall bath, plan on about three to five weeks from demolition to the last fixture. Tile work and custom glass set most of that pace. If it's the only bathroom in the house, tell us early so we can plan a working toilet for as many nights as possible.
05How do we choose tile and grout colors?
Start with the floor, since it covers the most area and takes the most wear. Then pick a wall tile that is calmer than the floor, or the other way around. Mid-gray or warm-white grout hides everyday wear better than bright white, and a grout that matches the tile makes a small room read as one surface. We bring samples to look at in your own light.
→·Get started
Tell us about your bathroom
Call or use the form. Tell us which floor the bathroom is on, roughly how big it is, whether you want a tub, a shower or both, and about when the house was built. We book a visit to measure and look at the plumbing, bring tile and fixture samples, and send a written, itemized price.
Call the crew(203) 990-1085- Open Mon–Fri: 8:00 AM–5:30 PM, Sat: 8:00 AM–12:00 PM
- Serving Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley towns around it