Complete bathroom renovation services in New Jersey — from tile work and vanities to freestanding tubs and glass shower enclosures.
Start the Conversation 📞 732-633-0916A beautifully renovated bathroom adds significant value to your NJ home and transforms your daily routine into a spa-like experience.
Bathrooms are smaller spaces than kitchens, but they pack more trades into less square footage — plumbing, tile, electrical, waterproofing, ventilation, and finish carpentry all converging in a 40-square-foot room. That's why bathroom renovations go wrong more often than any other home improvement project in New Jersey. Over 20+ years renovating bathrooms across Central and Northern NJ, CPR has built a process specifically to keep the trades coordinated and the water where it belongs.
Step 1 — The walkthrough. Frank Serrano comes out personally to see the bathroom, ask how your household uses it, check the existing plumbing chase, and look behind access panels where they exist. He'll listen more than he talks. Older NJ bathrooms often have hidden problems behind tile — failed waterproofing, cast-iron drain stacks at the end of their life, subfloor rot — that affect what's really achievable inside any given budget.
Step 2 — Written scope and selections. Tile, vanity, fixtures, shower glass, lighting, exhaust, and finish details all get itemized before work starts. You'll know what's coming, where it's coming from, and what it costs. Bathroom renovations have more surprise potential than any other room, and a written scope is how we eliminate it.
Step 3 — Demo and discovery. Once tile and drywall come down, we can see what's actually behind the walls. If there's hidden damage — soft subfloor, mold, ungrounded wiring — we document it, photograph it, and walk you through options before doing additional work. No surprise change orders mid-job.
Step 4 — Waterproofing and the build. This is where most cheap bathroom renovations fail. We use proper waterproofing membrane systems (Schluter Kerdi, RedGard, or similar) on every shower and wet zone — not just water-resistant board. Tile goes onto a substrate that will outlast the finishes. Plumbing rough-in is pressure-tested before walls close.
Step 5 — Punch list and walk-through. Every CPR bathroom finishes with a walk-through. We test every fixture, run the shower, check the slope to the drain, and confirm the exhaust fan moves air. Anything that needs adjusting gets adjusted before we leave.
The single most important decision in any bathroom is what goes behind the tile. Cement board alone is not waterproof. Schluter Kerdi membrane, RedGard, or equivalent liquid-applied systems are the standard for any CPR shower. We tile floor-to-ceiling on showers when budget allows because partial-tile installations are where most leaks eventually start. Tile selection runs from porcelain large-format slabs to handmade zellige, classic subway, and natural stone — we work with NJ tile showrooms across Middlesex and Monmouth counties.
Wall-hung vanities, freestanding vanities, custom-built vanities, double sinks, single sinks, integrated tops, undermount sinks — we install all of it. For older NJ bathrooms with limited storage, we add medicine cabinets recessed into the wall, niche shelves inside showers, and behind-the-toilet shelving without losing floor space.
Freestanding tubs, alcove tubs, walk-in showers, curbless showers (zero-entry), steam showers, body sprays, rain heads, hand-held wands, frameless glass enclosures, and shower benches. If you're converting a tub to a walk-in shower — common in primary bathroom renovations — we handle the plumbing relocation, framing changes, and floor preparation needed to make the slope work.
NJ code requires GFCI protection on every bathroom outlet and a properly-vented exhaust fan that moves air outside the home (not just into the attic). We work with licensed NJ electricians to install vanity lighting, sconces, recessed cans over showers, dimmer switches, heated towel bars, and heated floor systems. Older NJ homes — particularly anything pre-1980 — often have inadequate bathroom electrical, and that gets corrected as part of the work.
Faucets, shower valves, toilet selection (one-piece, two-piece, wall-hung, smart toilets), drain selection (linear drains, traditional center drains), towel hardware, and accessories. We work with NJ plumbing supply houses for fixture selection where you can see and feel real samples.
Bathrooms pack more trade complexity per square foot than any other room. The cost-per-square-foot feels higher than other renovations because of it. Here's a realistic 2026 NJ breakdown by project tier.
New vanity, toilet, lighting, flooring, mirror, and paint. No tub or shower work. Right for a powder room update where the layout works.
Full demo, new tile floor and shower walls, new vanity, new toilet, new tub or shower (replacing existing), new lighting and ventilation. Most common CPR bathroom project tier.
Layout changes, freestanding tub plus separate walk-in shower, frameless glass, heated floors, double vanity, custom storage, premium tile. Right for primary bathrooms and forever-home upgrades.
Every CPR bathroom estimate is itemized in writing before any work starts. For more on small-bathroom design specifically, see Small Bathroom Remodel Ideas. To recognize whether your bathroom is overdue, see 5 Signs Your NJ Bathroom Needs a Renovation.
Bathroom renovations in New Jersey almost always require plumbing and electrical permits, even when the layout stays the same. If the layout changes — moving the toilet, relocating a shower, adding a second sink — additional plumbing permitting is required. CPR pulls all permits in our name as the licensed contractor (NJ Lic #13VH04304400).
NJ ventilation code: Every bathroom requires either a window that opens or a mechanical exhaust fan vented to the exterior (not just into the attic, which is the #1 cause of attic mold problems in NJ homes). We size exhaust fans based on bathroom volume and route ducts properly to the soffit, gable, or roof.
NJ GFCI requirements: Every outlet within 6 feet of a sink, tub, or shower must be GFCI-protected. Older NJ homes are often non-compliant — that gets fixed as part of the work, not as a surprise.
Older-NJ-home realities: Cast-iron drain stacks are common in homes built before 1980. Galvanized supply lines are common in homes built before 1970. Knob-and-tube wiring still exists in pockets of older Morris, Somerset, and Union County homes. Plaster walls add complexity to any wall change. None of these are deal-breakers — but they're exactly what an experienced NJ contractor checks for before quoting your bathroom.
A powder-room update typically takes 1–2 weeks. A full bathroom renovation with new tile, vanity, and fixtures usually runs 2–4 weeks on site. A primary bathroom renovation with layout changes can take 4–6 weeks. Tile lead times and shower glass measurements (typically 7–10 business days after framing is final) are the most common factors stretching timelines.
If it's your only bathroom, we plan the work in stages so you always have at least a working toilet. The shower is the longer disruption — usually 7–14 days unusable. Many of our NJ clients arrange a hotel stay or visits with family for those days, or use a nearby gym for showers. We coordinate carefully if it's your only bathroom.
For most NJ households the answer is yes — walk-in showers are more accessible, easier to clean, and used more frequently than tubs. The exception: if it's your only tub in the house and you have young children, or you're planning to sell within 1–2 years (some buyers expect at least one tub in the home). The decision depends on your stage of life and how the bathroom will be used over the next 5–10 years.
Almost always, yes. Plumbing changes require a plumbing permit. Electrical changes require an electrical permit. Moving walls requires a building permit. Even a cosmetic "vanity swap" can require permits depending on the township. CPR pulls all necessary permits as the licensed contractor. Unpermitted renovations create real problems at resale.
Build a 10–15% contingency into your bathroom budget. In older NJ homes, common discoveries include soft subfloor from old water damage, failed waterproofing on the previous shower, cast-iron drain stacks that need replacement, or old wiring that needs to be brought to code. We photograph and document everything we find before doing additional work, and walk you through options before changing the scope.
Schluter Kerdi membrane is our default for most CPR shower installations — it's a sheet membrane that creates a fully waterproof envelope behind the tile. For specific applications we use liquid-applied systems like RedGard or Hydro Ban. The system matters less than the installation: every penetration sealed, every corner reinforced, every transition flashed. Done right, a properly waterproofed shower outlasts the tile finish itself.
Bathroom remodels typically recoup 55–70% of their cost at resale in NJ — slightly less than kitchens but still strong ROI. The bigger value is functional: a well-designed primary bathroom is one of the few spaces in a home you genuinely use every single day. Most CPR bathroom clients tell us they wish they'd renovated sooner.
CPR Home Improvements serves homeowners across Central and Northern New Jersey — from the Princeton corridor to Morristown, the Jersey Shore to Westfield. 20+ years building deep relationships with the towns, the inspectors, and the suppliers.
East Brunswick · Cranbury · Plainsboro · Edison · Metuchen · South Brunswick
Holmdel · Colts Neck · Rumson · Red Bank · Middletown · Fair Haven
Westfield · Summit · Cranford · Berkeley Heights · Springfield · New Providence
Point Pleasant · Brick · Manasquan · Spring Lake · Bay Head · Sea Girt
Bridgewater · Basking Ridge · Bernardsville · Warren · Far Hills · Watchung
Princeton · Hopewell · Pennington · West Windsor · Lawrenceville · Ewing
Morristown · Chatham · Madison · Mendham · Harding · Long Valley
Tell us about your project and we'll get back to you within 24 hours with a no-obligation estimate.