Bathroom Remodeling in Nottingham, MD

Does a Nottingham bathroom need a full remodel or a refresh?

That usually depends on which decade the house is from. Census estimates for the 21236 ZIP area, the closest data for Nottingham, show about two-thirds of homes were built between 1970 and 1999, and bathrooms from the start and the end of that span tend to be in very different shape.

• 1970s bathrooms belong to about a quarter of local homes and are roughly 50 years old. Tub surrounds have usually failed somewhere, and the subfloor around the toilet and tub deserves a close look. These are full gut-and-rebuild candidates.
• 1980s bathrooms sit in the middle. Some need a full tear-out, while others have a sound tub and tile and need only a new vanity, fixtures and floor.
• 1990s bathrooms are often structurally fine but dated. A refresh goes a long way, unless you want to change the layout or convert the tub to a shower.

What our full bathroom rebuild includes

When a room needs it, we strip it to studs and subfloor and repair the framing. Then we rebuild in sequence. Blocking goes in for grab bars or a niche, followed by cement backer board and a liquid waterproofing membrane on the wet walls. Tile comes next, then the vanity and top, toilet, glass, lighting, paint and trim.

The membrane is what keeps water out of the wall cavity. It is hidden once the tile is up, so it goes on carefully, with every seam and pipe opening sealed.

Townhouse and condo bathrooms in 21236

Townhouses make up 30.8% of homes in the 21236 area, and apartments and condos about another 27%. Bathrooms in attached homes take more planning:

• Shared walls carry demolition noise, so we keep the loud work to reasonable hours. A heads-up to the neighbors helps.
• Stacked plumbing in condos means a leak can reach the unit below. We confirm shutoff locations and the association’s rules before opening anything.
• Narrow stairs and hallways limit what tub or vanity can get in, so we measure the path before ordering.
• Association rules may cover work hours, parking and debris removal. Share them with us at the estimate.

Finishes for a 1970s to ’90s bathroom

A tub alcove can stay a tub, with a tiled surround and glass doors, or become a walk-in shower with a glass enclosure and a recessed niche. For vanities, we’ve installed navy cabinets with marble tops and gold fixtures, as in our navy vanity bathroom, long single-wall vanities with stone-look floors, and compact wood vanities for half baths. Wood-look porcelain plank floors pair well with any of them and stand up to water better than real wood.

Bathroom permits in Nottingham

A Nottingham bathroom usually needs trade permits but no building permit, unless the work is structural or adds a bedroom. Baltimore County lets only County-licensed plumbers and electricians apply for those trade permits, and they file before their work begins. Our guide to bathroom remodel permits in Baltimore covers the rest of the county’s rules.

For more in the same area, see Nottingham kitchen remodeling, deck replacement in Nottingham, and our flooring installation work for the rooms next door.