Bathroom Remodeling in Glen Burnie, MD

Why are Glen Burnie bathrooms their own kind of job?

Because of the age and size of the houses. Census estimates put about a third of Glen Burnie homes in the 1950s and 1960s, and another 10.5% before 1950. Many small post-war houses were built with a single bathroom, and in neighborhoods like Harundale, where the 1947 homes had three or four rooms on a concrete slab, there’s no basement below the bath to work from.

That puts two questions ahead of any tile choice: where the drains can go, and how the household will manage while its only bathroom is torn out.

Working on a concrete slab

In a house with a basement, moving a drain is a matter of new pipe under the floor. On a slab, the drain sits in or below the concrete. Relocating a toilet or turning a tub into a shower with the drain in a new spot means cutting a trench, setting new pipe at the right slope, and patching the slab before the floor goes back down.

It’s routine construction, and sometimes worth it, but it adds days. When we lay out a slab-house bath, we start by marking where the existing drains run, then show you what each change would involve.

What does remodeling an original hall bath include?

An original or much-patched 1950s to 1970s hall bath usually comes out completely. Our typical scope:

• Strip the room to the studs and slab or subfloor, including old tile, tub and any layered flooring
• Have corroded supply lines and old shutoff valves replaced while the walls are open
• Repair or sister framing damaged by past leaks
• Set a new tub or shower base, then cement board and a waterproofing membrane on every wet wall
• Tile the surround and floor, then install a vanity sized to the room, a new toilet and fixtures
• Add an exhaust fan ducted outside where the old bath had none or a weak one

We’ve rebuilt bathrooms from bare cement board to a finished room with a navy vanity and glass shower, like our navy vanity bathroom, and done marble-look tile tub surrounds with matte black trim.

Adding a second bathroom or half bath

For many Glen Burnie owners, the most useful bathroom project is adding a second one. A half bath carved from a hall closet, a laundry corner or the end of a bedroom can change how a one-bath house works. Upstairs in a Cape, the space under the roof slope can sometimes hold a full bath if there’s enough headroom at the tub and the toilet.

Inside the existing walls, it’s still a Residential Alteration. If it takes an addition or a dormer, the permit scope grows.

Applying for the permit

Anne Arundel County moved new permit applications online to the Land Use Navigator on December 1, 2025, and a free account is required to apply. Before applying, the county suggests emailing the Permit Center your address and scope to confirm what’s needed.

Remodeling the kitchen or deck too? See kitchen remodeling in Glen Burnie and Glen Burnie deck replacement, or our full bathroom remodeling page.