# Bathroom Remodeling in Lakeway, TX: 2026 Costs & Process

By the Home Remodel Pro team · published 2026-10-08 · Bathroom Remodeling, Lakeway

A guest bath remodel in Lakeway typically runs $25,000–$40,000, a primary bath $45,000–$75,000, and a down-to-the-studs primary suite with a curbless wet room, custom vanity and slab stone $75,000–$120,000+. Construction takes 3 to 5 weeks once materials are on site, with design and permitting finished before anyone swings a hammer. You get that number as a fixed price in writing before demolition starts.

## What a Lakeway bathroom remodel costs, and what moves the number

Price is driven by three things in this order: whether plumbing moves, how much tile goes on the walls, and what you put on the walls and floor. A guest bath where the toilet, vanity and tub stay put is mostly finishes and labor. A primary bath where you delete a corner garden tub, build a curbless wet room and re-set drains is a different job — the slab gets opened, the shower floor gets sloped, and the waterproofing becomes the main event.

These are the ranges we work in around Lakeway. Every one of them is a complete scope: demolition, rough plumbing and electrical, waterproofing, tile, cabinetry, counters, fixtures, paint, trim and final clean.

- $25,000–$40,000 — Guest or hall bath, existing footprint. New tub/shower surround, vanity, toilet, lighting, exhaust fan, tile floor, paint.
- $45,000–$75,000 — Primary bath, existing footprint or light layout change. Garden tub removed, larger walk-in shower, double vanity, tiled walls, frameless glass, new valves and supply lines.
- $75,000–$120,000+ — Full gut and re-plan. Curbless wet room with linear drain, freestanding tub inside the glass, slab stone counters and shower niche, custom cabinetry, heated floor, relocated fixtures, possibly a closet or wall reconfiguration reviewed by a licensed engineer.
- Moves you up: moving the toilet or shower drain, slab work, tile above 7 feet, full-height stone slab walls, frameless glass over 1/2 inch, heated floors, steam, custom cabinetry, high-end plumbing trim in an unlacquered or living finish.
- Moves you down: keeping drain locations, a prefabricated shower pan instead of a mud-set curbless floor, semi-custom vanities, porcelain that reads like stone instead of a stone slab, standard-height tile with a painted wall above.

## What's specific about bathrooms in Lakeway homes

Much of Lakeway's housing stock went up between the mid-1980s and the mid-2000s, and the primary baths from that period share a predictable layout: a large corner or deck-mounted garden tub under a window, a small framed shower beside it, a long single-level vanity run, and a separate water closet. That tub is the number one thing homeowners ask us to delete. Taking it out frees enough floor area for a 5-foot-by-7-foot walk-in or curbless shower without touching the exterior walls, which keeps the job inside the existing footprint and inside the lower end of the range.

Most of these houses are slab-on-grade on rock. That matters when a drain has to move. Cutting a slab and trenching through fill over limestone is slower and messier than it is in a wood-floor house, and it adds demolition, concrete patching and extra inspection steps. If the budget is tight, designing the new shower over the old drain location is the single biggest lever you have.

Central Texas water is hard. Mineral scale is the reason older glass doors in Lakeway look permanently cloudy and why valve cartridges stick. We specify low-iron glass with a factory-applied protective coating, and we set valves from manufacturers whose cartridges are still available years from now so a repair is a part, not a tile demolition. If the house has a softener, we check that the bath is on the treated side of the manifold before we set fixtures.

Two more local realities. Second-floor baths in these hillside houses often sit above a living room, so we build in extra waterproofing redundancy and pan-test the shower before tile. And if your neighborhood has an architectural review committee, interior work is usually outside its scope — but if anything changes on the exterior, such as a new window in the shower wall or a relocated vent, ask your HOA before you sign anything.

## Permits and inspections in Lakeway

Which office reviews your project depends on your address. Some Lakeway properties fall under the City of Lakeway, others sit in Travis County or in the City of Austin's extraterritorial reach, and a handful of neighborhoods near the lake answer to their own village or MUD. We confirm the reviewing jurisdiction for your specific parcel during design, prepare the drawings and the application, pull the permit, and schedule every inspection. You don't stand in line and you don't chase an inspector.

A bathroom remodel that touches plumbing, electrical or framing normally goes through permit review and a sequence of inspections. Expect rough plumbing and rough electrical inspections after demolition and before anything is covered, then a final inspection after fixtures and trim are set. Permit fees for a single bathroom in this area typically run $300–$900 depending on the jurisdiction and the scope; those fees are carried inside your fixed price so there is no surprise line item later.

On anything involving a wall, a beam, a header or an opening in the slab, a licensed structural engineer evaluates the condition and the permit office decides what is approved. We do not make that call on site and neither should any contractor. If an engineer's letter or a stamped detail is required, we budget for it in the contract before you sign.

Plan for 2 to 4 weeks of review and permitting in a typical cycle. Review queues move at their own pace, so we never promise a specific issue date — we build the schedule around the permit, not the other way around.

## The timeline, week by week

Here is how a Lakeway bathroom runs from the first phone call to the day you use the shower. Design and permitting happen before demolition, which is why the construction calendar we hand you at contract signing is the one we build to.

Total from first visit to finished bathroom: roughly 9 to 14 weeks for a guest bath, 11 to 17 weeks for a full primary suite. The construction window itself is 3 to 5 weeks.

- Week 1 — First visit. We measure, photograph, look at the existing plumbing and the attic or crawl access, and talk about scope and budget range.
- Weeks 2–4 — Design and selections. Floor plan, elevations, tile layout drawings, fixture and cabinet selections. You see where every tile cut lands before anything is ordered.
- Week 4 or 5 — Fixed price in writing. One number, a scope document that lists every fixture and finish by model, and a construction calendar.
- Weeks 5–8 — Permitting and procurement. The permit application goes in; cabinets, tile, glass templates and plumbing trim get ordered. Long-lead cabinetry and stone drive this window more than the permit does.
- Weeks 9–13 (3–5 weeks on site) — Build. Week 1: demolition, rough plumbing and electrical, rough inspection. Week 2: waterproofing, pan test, backer and tile set. Week 3: grout, cabinetry, counter template. Week 4: counters, plumbing trim, glass, paint, final inspection. Week 5 absorbs stone, glass templating and punch list on larger jobs.

## How our fixed-price design-build process works

We design it, we price it, and our own carpenters build it. One contract, one schedule, one phone number. The price is fixed in writing before demolition — it changes only if you change the scope, and then you approve the change in writing before we proceed.

In-house carpenters matter more in a bathroom than almost anywhere else, because the waterproofing, the tile layout and the cabinetry all have to agree with each other. When the same crew does the framing, the shower pan and the trim, nothing gets blamed on the last trade out the door. Every bathroom carries our 5-year workmanship warranty. Financing is available if you would rather not pay from cash reserves.

We also sequence Lakeway jobs so you keep a working bathroom where the house allows it, protect floors along the path from the door to the bath, and run a dust barrier at the hallway. On a single-bath house we will tell you straight that there will be 3 to 5 weeks without that shower, and we plan the schedule accordingly.

## What to ask any contractor before you sign

Bathrooms fail in the places you can't see. These questions sort out who has built one properly.

When you're ready, the next step is simple: book an on-site visit, have your HOA documents and any prior plans handy, and ask for the fixed price and the construction calendar in writing before demolition.

- Is this a fixed price or an estimate? What specifically would change it?
- What waterproofing system goes behind the tile, and will you flood-test the pan before tile goes down?
- Who pulls the permit and who meets the inspectors?
- Are the installers your employees or subcontracted crews?
- Which jurisdiction reviews my address, and what inspections are in the sequence?
- If a wall or opening is involved, who is the licensed engineer and when do they look at it?
- What is the workmanship warranty, in years and in writing?
- Are the plumbing valve cartridges still in production, and how do I service them later?
- What does the payment schedule look like against milestones?
- Show me the tile layout drawing — where do the cuts land at the niche and the ceiling?

## Lakeway homeowners also ask

### How much does a bathroom remodel cost in Lakeway?

Guest baths typically run $25,000–$40,000, primary baths $45,000–$75,000, and a full gut with a curbless wet room, slab stone and custom cabinetry $75,000–$120,000+. Keeping the drains where they are is the biggest single factor holding a project at the lower end of its range. You get a fixed price in writing before demolition.

### Do I need a permit for a bathroom remodel in Lakeway?

That is the permit office's call, not ours, and the reviewing jurisdiction depends on your exact address — City of Lakeway, Travis County, or City of Austin. We confirm it during design, prepare the drawings and application, pull the permit and schedule every inspection. Permit fees for a single bathroom typically run $300–$900 and are carried inside your fixed price.

### How long will I be without my bathroom?

Construction is 3 to 5 weeks on site. From the first visit through design, permitting and material lead times, expect roughly 9 to 14 weeks for a guest bath and 11 to 17 weeks for a full primary suite. Design and permitting are finished before demolition, so the calendar we hand you at signing is the one we build to.

### Can I remove the garden tub and put in a curbless shower?

In most Lakeway primary baths from the 1980s–2000s there is enough floor area to do exactly that inside the existing walls. A curbless floor needs the drain and slope worked out early, and if any wall or slab opening is involved, a licensed engineer evaluates it and the permit office decides what is approved. We budget the engineering into the contract before you sign.

## Check it with Lakeway's own pages

Permit rules and fees change, and the office that issues the permit is the authority on them, not this guide.

- [City of Lakeway — Building & Development Services, applications](https://www.lakeway-tx.gov/1165/Applications-Fees)

What a bathroom remodel in Austin involves: https://www.homeremodelpro.com/austin/bathroom-remodeling

## Get a free estimate

- Call (512) 601-5666 (Monday to Friday 8am–6pm and Saturday 9am–2pm); a project consultant calls back within one business hour.
- Request an estimate online: https://www.homeremodelpro.com/austin#quote
- 5-year workmanship warranty · one fixed price in writing · in-house carpenters · permits and inspections included

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Source: https://www.homeremodelpro.com/austin/blog/bathroom-remodeling-lakeway-guide · Home Remodel Pro Austin, TX