Bathroom Tear-Out
Bathroom tear-out is the full gut before the remodel — vanity pulled, toilet out, tub or shower surround torn out, tile floor lifted, mirror and accessories off, drywall removed to the studs where the new layout demands — handed over as bare framing ready for the next trade, from $1,200 for a standard 5x8 powder to $3,500 for a larger primary bath with tile-around-the-tub. Water shut off at the supply stops, P-trap capped, supply lines capped, exhaust fan disconnected at the electrical before we pull it. Pre-1980 bathrooms get the popcorn ceiling, the vinyl tile, and the joint compound tested for asbestos before any in-wall or ceiling work starts; confirmed asbestos routes to a Washington State certified abatement contractor before we work in the same room. Active mold or rot stops the demo and routes to the right remediation trade.
Service
What Does a Bathroom Tear-Out Include?
A Handis bathroom tear-out is the full gut that hands over bare framing for the remodel — vanity, toilet, tub or shower, tile floor, mirror, accessories, drywall to studs where the new layout demands — from $1,200 for a standard 5x8 powder bath to $3,500 for a larger primary with tile around the tub. Water shut off at the supply stops, P-trap capped, supply lines capped, exhaust fan disconnected at the electrical, anything load-bearing left alone. Pre-1980 bathrooms get tested for asbestos and lead before in-wall, ceiling, or vinyl-tile flooring tear-out; positive results stop the demo and route to certified abatement.
Vanity, Mirror, Accessories Out First
Supply lines disconnected at the angle stops, the P-trap unscrewed and the drain capped, vanity unscrewed from the wall studs and pulled. Mirror, medicine cabinet, towel bars, toilet paper holder, robe hooks, and any wall-mounted shelving down. Salvageable vanities and mirrors staged for donation or curb-pickup at your direction; everything else into the dump trailer.
Toilet Pulled and Drain Capped
Water shut off at the supply stop behind the toilet, the supply line disconnected, the tank emptied, the bowl unbolted from the floor flange and removed. Wax ring scraped off the closet flange. Drain capped against sewer gas backflow during the rest of the demo. Toilet to the dump unless you want to keep it for donation.
Tub or Shower Surround Tear-Out
Tub surround tile (or one-piece fiberglass or acrylic) cut into removable sections with a reciprocating saw and demo blade. Tub unbolted from the studs and lifted out — a standard cast-iron tub may need to be cut into pieces for safe carry-out and that adds time. Shower surround (tile, fiberglass, glass door, threshold) pulled in sections. Drain line capped at the trap. The new tub or shower goes in clean with no demo debris under it.
Tile Floor Lifted to Subfloor
Ceramic or porcelain tile lifted with a long-handled scraper and a small electric chipper. Thinset scraped from the subfloor; major thinset residue knocked down so the new mortar bed reads true. Subfloor inspected for rot under the tub, around the toilet flange, and at the threshold transition; soft subfloor documented for the next trade. Pre-1980 vinyl tile is treated as asbestos-containing until tested — we test before tear-up if no documentation exists; positive results route to abatement before we touch it.
Drywall to Studs Where the New Layout Demands
Walls and ceiling drywall scored along the studs and pulled in panel sections where the new layout needs the studs exposed (relocated plumbing, new electrical, vapor barrier replacement, a new tile substrate). Insulation pulled where the new layout demands; left where it stays. Vapor barrier integrity noted for the next trade.
How a Bathroom Tear-Out Works
Six sequential steps from water shut-off through the cleaned framing handoff — the actual sequence we follow on every Handis bathroom tear-out.
Water Shut Off and Drain Capped
Hot and cold supply lines shut off at the angle stops behind the toilet and under the vanity. Tub or shower diverter valve isolated at the supply if the bath has its own shut-off; otherwise the home main is shut. P-trap capped after the toilet pull to block sewer gas during the demo.
Pre-1980 Asbestos and Lead Test
Bathrooms in homes built before 1980 get a popcorn-ceiling test (sprayed-on texture), a vinyl floor tile test (especially 9x9), and a drywall joint compound test where the demo touches drywall. Older ceramic wall tile gets a lead glaze test. Confirmed asbestos or lead routes to a Washington State certified abatement or RRP contractor before we work in the same room.
Vanity, Mirror, Toilet, Accessories Pulled
Vanity supply lines disconnected, P-trap removed, vanity unscrewed and pulled. Toilet unbolted from the flange and lifted out — wax ring scraped, drain capped. Mirror, medicine cabinet, towel bars, hooks, and accessories down. Salvageable items staged for donation; everything else to the dump trailer.
Tub or Shower Surround Cut and Removed
Tub surround tile (or one-piece fiberglass) cut into removable sections with a reciprocating saw and demo blade. Tub unbolted and lifted; cast-iron tubs cut into pieces for safe carry-out. Shower surround, glass door, threshold pulled in sections. Drain line capped at the trap.
Tile Floor Lifted, Subfloor Inspected
Ceramic or porcelain tile lifted with a long-handled scraper and a small electric chipper. Thinset scraped down. Subfloor inspected for rot under the tub, around the toilet flange, and at the threshold transition; soft or wet subfloor photographed and documented for the next trade. Vinyl tile on pre-1980 homes treated as asbestos-containing until tested.
Drywall to Studs and Final HEPA Vacuum
Drywall scored and pulled in panel sections where the new layout demands the studs exposed. Insulation pulled where the layout demands. HEPA shop vac on the framing, the subfloor, the doorway, and the adjacent hallway. Debris sorted at the dump trailer and hauled to a licensed transfer station with a weight receipt.
Bathroom Tear-Out Pricing
Final pricing depends on bath size, fixture count, tile area, drywall scope, and any pre-1980 abatement handoff. Active mold or rot found mid-demo stops the work and is documented at no charge — remediation routes to the right licensed trade. Cast-iron tubs and large primary baths price higher.
Send the bath layout, the home year, and the new design's plumbing plan — we will sequence the trades and quote the tear-out.
Why Handis for Bathroom Tear-Out
Most bathroom tear-outs fail one of three ways — the water did not get shut off properly and a supply line sprayed the demo crew, the popcorn ceiling that nobody tested turned out to be asbestos and the demo had to halt mid-job, or the subfloor under the tub was rotted out and the new tub had nowhere to land. After hundreds of bathroom tear-outs across Seattle, Bellevue, Edmonds, and Renton, every one of those failures has a checklist item on our booking call — and the answers go on the work order before a tool comes off the truck.
Water shut off and drain capped before anything is pulled
Hot and cold supply lines shut at the angle stops behind the toilet and under the vanity, tub/shower diverter isolated at its shut-off where one exists or at the home main where it does not, P-trap capped after the toilet pull. We do not pull a fixture with a live supply line behind it; we do not leave an open drain spreading sewer gas through the rest of the home.
Subfloor inspected, not just covered
Most bathroom remodels reveal rot under the tub, around the toilet flange, or at the threshold transition where moisture has been wicking for years. We pull tile and inspect the subfloor before the next trade lands material on it. Soft, spongy, or visibly wet subfloor gets photographed and documented; structural rot routes to a licensed Washington L&I contractor for repair before the new bath goes in.
Pre-1980 surfaces tested before in-wall work
Popcorn ceilings sprayed before about 1978, 9x9 vinyl floor tile with black mastic underneath, drywall joint compound on some vintages, and lead-paint glaze on older ceramic tile are all real possibilities on a pre-1980 bath. We test before the demo touches those surfaces; positive results stop the demo and route to a Washington State certified abatement or EPA RRP contractor before we work in the same room.
Dust isolated in the bathroom, not spread through the house
Plastic sheeting taped across the bathroom doorway, drop cloths in the hallway, HEPA shop vacs running through the tile-floor lift and the drywall pull. Drywall and tile demo are the dustiest part of the job; we contain it in the bath rather than aerosolizing it into the rest of the home. Final HEPA vacuum on the framing, the subfloor, and the doorway before we leave.
Insured, background-checked, 30-day workmanship guarantee
Every Handis demolition tech carries liability insurance and has cleared a background screening. The 30-day workmanship guarantee covers what we did to the site — a hallway floor scuff from a vanity pull-out, a doorframe scrape, a debris-pile dent in the adjacent room's drywall, a poorly capped drain that let sewer gas into the house. Demolition damage to the items being removed (the vanity, the tile, the drywall) is by design — those are the demo target.
Estimate
Tell us the bath size, the fixtures coming out (vanity, toilet, tub, shower stall, tile floor), the home year (pre-1980 triggers asbestos and lead testing), and the new layout's plumbing plan. We will sequence the trades and quote the tear-out.
Customer Reviews
Bathroom tear-out reviews from real Handis customers.
1962 Wallingford bath. Tech tested the popcorn ceiling on day one — positive for asbestos. He stopped, gave me a name for abatement, came back the next week after the ceiling was cleared. Then tore out the vanity, toilet, cast-iron tub (cut it into three pieces for the doorway carry), tile floor down to subfloor. Three days total. Subfloor was solid; my tile setter walked into a clean job.
Standard hall bath, 5x8, 1990 construction. Tech walked it, shut off both angle stops, capped the supply, pulled the vanity and toilet, lifted the tile, took the surround off the tub (we kept the tub — re-used in the remodel), pulled drywall on the wet wall. One day. The bath was bare framing when I came home and the dust was contained behind the plastic sheeting at the doorway.
Master bath in a 1978 split-level — about 110 sq ft, tub plus separate shower, double vanity. Two-day demo. Cast-iron tub cut into three sections, glass shower door pulled in one piece, both tile areas down to subfloor. They found rot under the shower threshold and documented it — my contractor patched the subfloor before the new pan went in. Caught it because they actually looked.
Powder bath that was somehow harder than it should have been. The toilet had been re-installed with too much wax and the flange was buried; took them an hour to clean it down to the cast iron. Vanity came out clean, tile lifted in a couple of hours, drywall on the wet wall stayed because the new layout matched the old. Half-day job done well.
Mid-size bath in a 1958 Ravenna home. Lead test on the original ceramic wall tile came back positive on the glaze. Handis stopped and routed me to an RRP contractor for the tile removal, then came back for the vanity, toilet, fiberglass tub surround, and floor tile. Sequenced cleanly across two weeks. Subfloor and framing handed over to the tile setter exactly when they said.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about bathroom tear-outs — pricing, scope, asbestos and lead, water shut-off, and what stops the demo.