In what order do you remodel a bathroom?

Before demolition: finalize the design, order long-lead materials (tile, fixtures, custom glass comes later but the shower base and valve must be on hand), and pull the permit — in the jurisdictions we've researched, replacing or relocating pipes needs one, and rough-in work must be inspected before walls close.

Demolition and removal come first on site: old fixtures, tile, and often the wall board around the wet area. Then plumbing and electrical rough-in, exactly as This Old House sequences it — any supply, drain, valve, or wiring changes happen now, while everything is accessible. The rough-in inspection follows, and it is the hard gate in the schedule: closing walls before passing it means reopening them.

After inspection: wall board and waterproofing in the wet area, then tile and flooring. A tub or one-piece shower typically sets before its wall finish (it's too big to install after); a tiled shower builds pan-then-walls. Fixtures that sit on finished surfaces — toilet, vanity, faucets, lighting — install after tile and paint-adjacent work, which is why the toilet is one of the last things reconnected, not the first. Shower glass is measured off the finished shower and arrives last, with mirrors, hardware, and caulk.

Every step protects the one after it. Rough-in before closing walls avoids demolishing new work for a missed pipe. Waterproofing before tile is non-negotiable — tile is decoration, the membrane behind it is the actual shower. Floors before the toilet and vanity means no cut-in flooring gaps under fixtures. Paint before finish fixtures beats cutting a roller around a faucet. The common DIY mistake is installing the pretty things early and then working trades around them; the professional order runs dirty-to-clean, inside-to-outside.

Budget Dumpster's DIY guide runs the same direction — fixtures out first, shower or tub in early, drywall and paint, then vanity, trim, flooring, and final plumbing hookups — a reasonable cross-check that the order isn't one publisher's opinion.

Cosmetic-only projects skip the middle entirely: no wall opening, no rough-in, no inspection — paint, vanity, hardware in almost any order. Staged renovations work if the stages respect the wet area: you can defer the vanity or lighting, but splitting waterproofing-and-tile across stages reopens finished work. And in older homes, plan the schedule assuming discovery: the rough-in stage is when galvanized supply lines or chewed wiring surface, and the order exists precisely so those surprises appear while the walls are still open.