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2026 Cost Guide — North Atlanta

How Much Does a Bathroom Remodel Cost in Alpharetta, GA? (2026)

Last updated: July 6, 2026 · By Alpharetta Kitchen & Bath

A full primary bathroom remodel in Alpharetta and North Atlanta typically costs $45,000 to $65,000 in 2026. Hall and guest bathrooms run meaningfully less — most land between $18,000 and $35,000 — and powder rooms are the least expensive room in the house to redo, usually $6,000 to $15,000 for a mid-range refresh. Labor in North Atlanta runs 10–15% above the national average, and labor is 40–60% of a bathroom budget. The three variables that move your number most: the shower (a custom tiled walk-in with frameless glass can pass $10,000 on its own), whether any plumbing moves ($500–$3,500 per relocated fixture), and what the walls are hiding in 1990s–2000s builder-grade bathrooms across Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, Roswell, and Cumming. The itemized breakdown below — tile, waterproofing, vanities, permits, labor — lets you sanity-check any bid, including ours.

Bathroom remodel costs in Alpharetta at a glance

These are 2026 ranges for the North Atlanta market — Alpharetta, Milton, Johns Creek, Roswell, Cumming, and the surrounding suburbs. Each tier assumes the full scope for that bathroom type, installed, with permits. Your bathroom may cross tiers: a hall bath with a custom tiled shower prices like a primary, and a primary with stock finishes prices like a hall bath.

2026 bathroom remodel cost by type and tier (North Atlanta)
Bathroom type Budget Mid-range High-end
Powder room (15–25 sq ft) $2,500–$6,000 $6,000–$12,000 $12,000–$18,000
Hall / guest bath (35–60 sq ft) $12,000–$18,000 $18,000–$30,000 $30,000–$45,000
Primary / master suite (80–150+ sq ft) $29,000–$39,000 $39,000–$50,000 $50,000–$65,000+

Budget = same layout, stock fixtures, prefab shower components. Mid-range = tiled shower with proper waterproofing, semi-custom vanity, quartz counters. High-end = layout changes, freestanding tub, heated floors, custom glass and cabinetry. Sources in the methodology note.

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Where the money goes: itemized 2026 costs

A bathroom is the most trade-dense room in a house. Twelve line items below cover a full remodel; every range is drawn from current 2026 published data for Atlanta or national averages, adjusted where North Atlanta labor runs higher.

Demolition & site protection

$1,000–$3,000

Gutting a bathroom to the studs, hauling debris, and protecting the floors between the front door and the work zone. The number climbs when a cast-iron tub has to come out in pieces, or when demo reveals subfloor rot that has to be cut back further than planned — common around 20-year-old tub surrounds.

Tile & waterproofing

$7–$25 per sq ft installed; shower tile $16–$20 per sq ft; membrane $4.50–$5.50 per sq ft

Standard floor and wall tile installs for $7–$25 per square foot depending on material and pattern; wet-area shower tile runs $16–$20 per square foot because of the substrate work behind it. A bonded waterproofing system (Schluter Kerdi or similar) adds roughly $4.50–$5.50 per square foot installed — $600–$1,500 in materials for a typical shower. This is the line item never to cut: tile is decoration, the membrane is the actual shower.

Shower

$3,500–$6,000 mid-range; $10,000+ custom

A mid-range tiled walk-in shower with frameless glass runs $3,500–$6,000 in the Atlanta market. Large-format porcelain, a bench, multiple niches, body sprays, and a linear drain push a custom shower past $10,000 before the plumbing trim goes on. Glass alone is a swing: frameless enclosures typically cost $1,500–$3,500 more than framed doors.

Tub — and the tub-to-shower conversion

Tubs $1,000–$12,000; conversions $1,500–$8,000 prefab, $5,000–$18,000 custom tiled

A freestanding acrylic tub costs $1,000–$3,000, with stone, copper, or cast iron reaching $7,000–$12,000, plus $500–$2,000 to set and plumb. The more common 2026 project here is the reverse: removing the never-used garden tub. Atlanta tub-to-shower conversions run $1,500–$8,000 with prefab surrounds and $5,000–$18,000 for a custom tiled walk-in with new waterproofing and glass.

Vanity & countertop

$400–$1,700 stock installed; $1,000–$4,000+ custom

A premade vanity installed runs $400–$1,700; custom cabinetry with a stone top runs $1,000–$4,000 and beyond for a double 72-inch primary-bath vanity. What moves the number: solid wood versus MDF boxes, quartz or quartzite tops versus cultured marble, and whether the new vanity footprint forces the plumber to move supply lines.

Plumbing fixtures & relocation

$500–$3,500 per relocated fixture; slab work adds $1,000–$2,500

Faucets, shower valves, and toilets span a few hundred dollars to several thousand in fixture cost alone. The real budget lever is relocation: moving any drain or supply line runs $500–$3,500 per fixture, toilets being the most expensive to move. If your bathroom sits on a slab — common in ranch plans around Roswell and Cumming — cutting concrete adds $1,000–$2,500 on top.

Electrical & lighting

$150–$600 per fixture, plus wiring

Layered lighting — sconces at eye level, an LED-backlit mirror, a ceiling fixture on a dimmer — runs $150–$600 per fixture plus installation. Older North Atlanta bathrooms frequently need new GFCI protection, a dedicated circuit for heated floors, and sometimes panel work, which is where four-figure electrical surprises come from in 1990s homes.

Ventilation

$150–$550 replacement; $250–$950 new vented run

Replacing an existing exhaust fan costs $150–$550; installing a new fan that actually vents outside through the wall or roof runs $250–$950. Many builder-grade bathrooms from the 2000s vent into the attic, which is how mildew ends up in the insulation. A properly sized, properly ducted fan is cheap insurance for every dollar of tile below it.

Flooring — including heated floors

Tile flooring $7–$25 per sq ft; electric radiant heat adds $6–$12 per sq ft

Porcelain floor tile follows the same $7–$25 per square foot install range as walls. Electric radiant heat underneath adds $6–$12 per square foot for the system, plus an electrician to wire the thermostat — typically $500–$2,800 all-in for a bathroom-sized floor. In a primary bath it is the upgrade owners mention most in year two, and it costs far less added during a remodel than after one.

Labor

40–60% of the total budget

Labor is the largest slice of an Atlanta bathroom remodel — 40–60% of the total. A single bathroom cycles through a plumber, electrician, tile setter, carpenter, glass installer, and painter, and North Atlanta trade rates run 10–15% above the national average. This is also why two identical-looking bids can differ by thousands: one of them is pricing licensed trades and one is not.

Permits — Fulton & Forsyth counties

$150–$800 typical

Metro Atlanta permit costs typically run $150–$800 depending on jurisdiction and project value. Fulton County issues separate trade permits for plumbing, electrical, and mechanical work (or folds them into a combination building permit); Forsyth County — where Cumming homeowners apply — publishes its own fee schedule. Permits mean inspections, and inspections are the only third party who will ever look at your waterproofing before the tile hides it.

Design fees & contingency

Design varies by firm; contingency should be ~20% of budget

Some firms bill design separately, others fold it into the project — ask which, because it changes how bids compare. Then hold back a contingency of roughly 20%. The Reddit renovation forums repeat one line more than any other: take your top-end budget and knock off 20%, because you will almost certainly need that buffer. In 20-to-30-year-old bathrooms the buffer usually goes to what demo uncovers, not to upgrades.

Why bathroom remodels cost more in North Atlanta

Three local forces push North Atlanta above the national averages you see in generic cost guides.

Labor runs 10–15% above the national average

Atlanta’s remodeling trades are stretched across one of the fastest-growing metros in the country, and the northern suburbs compete for the best of them. The tile setter who can execute a bookmatched porcelain wall in a Milton estate home or a curbless shower in a Windward primary bath is booked, and priced accordingly. Labor is 40–60% of a bathroom budget, so a 10–15% labor premium alone explains most of the gap between Alpharetta pricing and a national calculator.

Permits and inspections are real here

Alpharetta, Milton, Johns Creek, and Roswell homeowners permit through their cities within Fulton County’s trade-permit framework; Cumming and south Forsyth homeowners go through Forsyth County. Plumbing, electrical, and structural changes each trigger inspection. That adds modest cost ($150–$800) and scheduling time — and it is worth both, for the reasons above.

The housing stock is aging out on schedule

Most of the area’s homes went up in one long boom from the early 1990s through the mid-2000s — Windward, Glen Abbey, and Medlock Bridge, the swim-tennis neighborhoods off Kimball Bridge and Webb Bridge, St Ives Country Club and the Sugar Mill side of Johns Creek, Horseshoe Bend in Roswell, Vickery and the Highway 9 corridor in Cumming, White Columns and Crooked Creek in Milton. Those builder-grade bathrooms — original tubs, vanities, mirrors, and mud-set shower pans — are now 20 to 35 years old, with finishes and fixtures reaching the end of their working life. Behind them, remodelers routinely find original polybutylene or early PEX supply lines, shower pans at end of life, fans venting into attics, and soft subfloors at the tub. That is why the 20% contingency is not a formality here, and why homes in Downtown Alpharetta and Historic Roswell — older still — deserve an even wider buffer. It is also why the same remodel can price differently in a 2019 townhome near Avalon than in a 1994 colonial two miles away in Ocee: the newer home hides fewer surprises. The pattern holds across the broader arc from Sandy Springs and Dunwoody up through Suwanee and Duluth — and it applies equally to kitchens, which we cover in our 2026 Alpharetta kitchen remodel cost guide.

Full gut vs. pull-and-replace vs. cosmetic refresh

Most budget confusion comes from comparing bids that describe different animals. There are three distinct scopes, and a bid only makes sense once you know which one it prices.

Three bathroom remodel scopes compared (North Atlanta, 2026)
Scope What it includes Typical cost Timeline Who it suits
Cosmetic refresh Paint, mirror, lighting, faucets, hardware, re-caulk; toilet or stock vanity swap $2,500–$10,000 1–2 weeks Sound bathrooms that look dated; pre-sale prep
Pull-and-replace New fixtures, vanity, tile, and flooring in the existing layout; no plumbing moves $12,000–$30,000 2–4 weeks Hall baths; owners happy with the layout
Full gut renovation Down to studs: new layout, waterproofing, custom shower, plumbing/electrical to current code $29,000–$65,000+ 4–8 weeks Primary suites; 20+ year-old bathrooms; layout problems

One warning from the field: a pull-and-replace price with full-gut ambitions is the most common way bathrooms go over budget. If you want the tub gone, the shower moved, or heated floors added, you are in gut territory — budget for it from the start rather than discovering it through change orders.

What a bathroom remodel returns at resale

A mid-range bathroom remodel recoups roughly 74% of its cost at resale, according to the 2025 Cost vs. Value data — while an upscale bathroom remodel returns only about 45%. That inversion is worth sitting with: the $25,000 hall-bath project out-returns the $80,000 spa bath, percentage-wise, by a wide margin. Buyers pay for a clean, current, leak-free bathroom; they do not pay dollar-for-dollar for the steam generator.

Two honest caveats. First, ROI percentages are national averages; in strong North Atlanta school districts, a dated primary bath drags harder on sale price than the averages suggest, because buyers here expect the finish level of the neighborhood. Second, most Alpharetta homeowners remodeling in 2026 are not selling — roughly two-thirds of renovating homeowners nationally are improving instead of moving, many locked into low mortgage rates. If you are staying ten years, the daily-use value dwarfs the resale math. If you are selling within three, stay mid-range, keep the layout, and put the money into the shower and the vanity — the two things buyers photograph.

How to budget a bathroom remodel without overruns

Set your real number first, then work backward. Four rules keep North Atlanta bathroom projects on budget:

1. Build the 20% buffer in before you start. Take the most you are willing to spend and plan the project at 80% of it. In 1990s–2000s housing stock, water finds a way: the most common surprises are rotted subfloor at the tub, failed shower pans, and supply lines that should not be reused. Behind-the-wall water damage is the classic mid-demo discovery, and it does not negotiate.

2. Treat the cheapest bid as information, not savings. When one bid comes in dramatically under the others, the difference is usually hiding in waterproofing, permits, or unlicensed labor — the three cuts you cannot see on day one and cannot ignore in year three. Quality work costs money; corner-cutting costs more.

3. Demand line items. A bid that reads “bathroom remodel — $38,000” cannot be compared, verified, or enforced. Every element of this guide exists so you can ask any contractor: which line is your number missing?

4. Lock selections before demolition. Tile, vanity, fixtures, and glass decisions made weeks ahead — on paper, with a designer — cost nothing. The same decisions made at 8 a.m. on demo day cost change-order money and schedule. Materials on site before demo also protects you from living with a torn-out bathroom while something sits on a boat.

Bathroom remodel cost questions, answered

How long does a bathroom remodel take in Alpharetta?

A full primary bathroom remodel in North Atlanta typically takes 4 to 8 weeks of construction, after a design-and-ordering phase that adds several weeks up front. The sequence rarely changes: demolition in week one, plumbing and electrical rough-in with county inspections in weeks one and two, waterproofing and tile through week four, then cabinetry, counters, fixtures, and glass. Hall baths and powder rooms move faster — often 2 to 4 weeks — because there is less tile and less plumbing. The variable that stretches timelines is rarely labor. It is materials: custom shower glass commonly takes two to three weeks to fabricate after final measurement, and imported tile can sit in transit for a month. The smart move is refusing to start demolition until tile, vanity, and fixtures are on hand, so your only working bathroom is never torn out while something sits on a boat.

How much does it cost to convert a tub to a walk-in shower?

In the Atlanta market, a tub-to-shower conversion runs about $1,500 to $8,000 for a prefabricated acrylic surround, and $5,000 to $18,000 for a custom tiled walk-in shower with a bonded waterproofing membrane and frameless glass. The wide spread comes down to three things. First, materials: an acrylic kit costs a fraction of floor-to-ceiling porcelain over a proper membrane. Second, plumbing: reusing the existing drain location keeps costs down, while moving the drain or valve adds $500 to $3,500. Third, glass: a frameless enclosure typically adds $1,500 to $3,500 over a simple framed door. In 1990s and 2000s homes around Alpharetta, Johns Creek, and Roswell, this is the single most requested bathroom project — the garden tub nobody has used in a decade becomes a shower the household uses every day.

Can you remodel a bathroom for under $15,000 in Alpharetta?

Yes — but only a hall bath or powder room, and only if the layout stays put. At $15,000 in this market you can replace the vanity, toilet, lighting, mirror, flooring, and paint, and re-tile a tub surround, provided nothing moves and nothing rotten turns up behind the walls. What you cannot do for $15,000 is a full primary bathroom: once a project involves a custom tiled shower, new waterproofing, stone counters, and any plumbing changes, North Atlanta pricing starts around $29,000 even for a small primary bath. Be careful with bids that promise a full remodel far below that. The gap usually comes out of waterproofing, permits, or licensed trades — the three places you least want savings. An honest $15,000 project has a short scope on paper, not a long scope at an impossible price.

What is the most expensive part of a bathroom remodel?

Labor is the biggest line, at roughly 40 to 60 percent of an Atlanta bathroom budget — a bathroom packs more trades per square foot than any other room: plumber, electrician, tile setter, carpenter, glass installer, painter. Among the things you can point at, the shower is usually the most expensive single element. A mid-range tiled walk-in with frameless glass runs $3,500 to $6,000, and a large custom shower with a bench, niches, body sprays, and heavy glass can pass $10,000 before the valve trim goes on. Tile and waterproofing together commonly claim 15 to 25 percent of the total. The cheapest way to control cost is not cheaper tile — it is leaving fixtures where they are, since every relocated drain or supply line adds $500 to $3,500.

Do you need a permit to remodel a bathroom in Fulton or Forsyth County?

Yes, for most real remodels. In both Fulton and Forsyth counties, permits are required whenever plumbing is moved or added, wiring is changed, or anything structural is touched — which describes nearly every full bathroom remodel. Swapping a faucet or painting does not need one; relocating a drain, adding a circuit for heated floors, or converting a tub to a shower does. Permit costs in the metro area typically run $150 to $800 depending on the jurisdiction and project value, and Fulton County issues separate trade permits for plumbing, electrical, and mechanical work. Your contractor should pull the permits, not you. A contractor who suggests skipping them to save a few hundred dollars is telling you something important about how the rest of the job will go — inspections exist to catch exactly the waterproofing and wiring shortcuts you cannot see.

How much does a small bathroom remodel cost in Alpharetta?

A small full bathroom — around 40 square feet, tub or shower included — typically costs $12,000 to $20,000 for a straightforward pull-and-replace remodel in North Atlanta, and $18,000 to $30,000 once you add custom tile work or move any plumbing. A powder room costs less: $2,000 to $6,000 for a mid-range refresh, since there is no wet area to waterproof. Small does not mean proportionally cheap. A 40-square-foot bathroom still needs the same plumber, electrician, permit, and fan as a large one; you save mostly on tile quantity and vanity size. Per square foot, small bathrooms are often the most expensive rooms in the house — $150 to $300 per square foot is normal here. The honest budgeting move is to price the scope, not the square footage.

Get a real range for your bathroom — before you commit to anything

Published ranges get you oriented; they cannot see your subfloor. Sit down with the owner for a design consultation and walk through your bathroom’s actual scope — what stays, what moves, what your home’s age likely hides — and leave with a realistic range and a plan for living through the work. It is a conversation, not a quote, and you should bring your hardest questions. One company runs every trade above — plumbing, electrical, waterproofing, frameless glass, paint — so the sequence never stalls waiting on a sub you had to hire separately.

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Serving Alpharetta, Milton, Johns Creek, Roswell, Cumming & North Atlanta · 404-640-2361 · [email protected]

Sources & methodology

Ranges in this guide reflect 2026 published cost data for the Atlanta market and national averages, cross-checked against North Atlanta guides. Where local and national figures differ, we use the local figure. Key sources:

Every range is a market figure, not a quote. Your bathroom’s condition, scope, and selections set your actual number — which is exactly why we publish the ranges.