Bathroom Remodel in Rockford, IL

This is a common first job in an older Rockford house. The 5-foot alcove tub that came with the house comes out, and a walk-in shower goes into the same space. Because the drain is already in that corner, the plumbing change is small: the drain is moved to suit a shower base and the valve is replaced.

A prefab base and wall panels is the quick version. A tiled shower on a waterproofed pan takes longer and costs more. Either way the new valve has to be an anti-scald valve set to no more than 115 F, which is Illinois code. Angi's national range for a conversion is $1,200 to $15,000; This Old House gives $2,000 to $12,000.

A walk-in shower has a low curb or none, a fixed glass panel instead of a door or curtain, and usually a niche, a bench and a handheld. Curbless versions need the floor framed lower so water runs to the drain, and that is the part that drives the price.

Illinois sets a floor on size: a shower stall needs at least 1,024 square inches of floor and 32 inches on its shortest side. Angi's national range is $6,000 to $12,000, about $9,000 on average. Glass, tile and whether the floor has to be lowered are what move a quote within that range.

An old fiberglass stall that leaks at the corners, a cracked base, a surround that never comes clean. Replacement takes the old shower out down to the studs and puts in a new base, new walls, a new valve and a door, usually in the same footprint so the drain stays.

Opening the wall is the useful part. It is when water damage behind the old surround gets found and fixed, instead of being sealed in again. Angi's national range for a shower installation or replacement is $4,448 to $12,373, with an average of $8,204. A prefab stall kit alone runs $1,000 to $8,000 before labor.

A tile shower is built in layers: a sloped pan, a waterproof membrane or a lined pan turned up at least 2 inches, cement board or a foam board, then tile and grout. The tile is what you see. The waterproofing is what decides whether it lasts.

Tile itself runs $2 to $17 a square foot for material in Angi's walk-in shower guide, and installed tile flooring $10 to $50 a square foot. No approved guide prices a custom tile shower as one line, so it comes as a written quote built from the size, the tile and the pan. Small tiles and patterns take longer to set, and labor is most of the bill.

Some houses should keep a tub, and some people want one. Replacement pulls out a chipped, stained or cracked tub and puts in a new alcove tub, a deeper soaking tub, or a freestanding tub where there is room. The valve and the wall around the tub usually get replaced at the same time, because the old surround rarely comes off in one piece.

Angi's national range for a bathtub replacement is $2,104 to $9,756, with an average of $5,929. A cast iron tub from a 1950s house is heavy, and getting it out of an upstairs bath is part of the labor. Refinishing is cheaper when the tub is sound.

A walk-in tub has a watertight door in the side and a built-in seat, so you step in and sit down instead of climbing over a wall. It suits people who still want to soak but find getting in and out of a standard tub risky. The trade-off is time: you sit in the tub while it fills and while it drains.

Angi's national range is $4,000 to $15,000, about $8,000 on average, and $10,000 to $16,000 for wheelchair-accessible models. A large walk-in tub can outrun a small water heater, so ask about hot water capacity before you choose one.

An accessible bathroom is built for the person using it: a curbless or low-curb shower, a fold-down seat, grab bars blocked into the wall, a comfort-height toilet, a vanity with knee space and a doorway wide enough for a walker or a chair. It can be a full remodel or a few targeted changes.

Angi puts an accessible remodel at $5,600 to $12,000 nationally, and HomeAdvisor at $2,700 to $16,000. The 2025 Cost vs. Value report prices a full universal design bath in Chicago at $38,963. In Winnebago County, 34.7% of homeowners are 65 or older, so this is a big share of the work here.

Many Rockford houses built before 1960 came with one small bath, with a tub on the short wall, the toilet beside it and a sink by the door. The 2025 Cost vs. Value report prices its midrange remodel on a 5 by 7 foot bath for a reason: it is a common size. Small baths cost less in total but more per square foot, because the plumbing, the valve and the fan cost the same in a small room as in a big one.

Angi's national ranges: $1,500 to $15,000 for a small bathroom, $2,250 to $3,000 for a half bath of about 15 square feet, and $4,500 to $6,000 for a small full bath of about 30 square feet. Half baths and powder rooms are the cheapest rooms in the house to redo.

A primary bath has more of everything: a separate shower and tub, two sinks, more tile, more light and often a linen closet or a toilet room. Newer houses, like many in Roscoe, tend to have one, and the first remodel of a 1990s primary bath is a common job.

This Old House puts a primary bath of 100 square feet or more at $22,370 to $24,715. The 2025 Cost vs. Value report puts an upscale bath remodel in Chicago at $76,524, and says it recoups 34.2% at resale. A big tub people never use is the first thing many owners trade for a larger shower.

A new vanity changes a bathroom more than its price suggests. The job is the old cabinet and top out, the wall patched behind it, the new cabinet set level, and the top, sink and faucet connected to the existing supply and drain. Moving up from a 24-inch to a 36-inch vanity can mean shifting the drain a few inches.

Angi's national figure is $400 to $2,200 installed, vanity included, about $1,500 on average, plus $150 to $500 to take out the old one. In Rockford a same-spot vanity swap needs no plumbing permit; a moved drain does.

A second bathroom is the remodel that changes how a house works. The usual spots are the basement, a big closet, part of a bedroom or an attic. The cost is driven by how far the room is from the existing drain and vent lines, and whether the new drains sit below the sewer.

A basement bath below the sewer line needs a sealed, vented sump with a sewage ejector pump under Illinois code. Bathrooms only need 6 feet 8 inches of ceiling height, which helps in basements. Angi's national range for adding a bathroom is $5,000 to $75,000, about $35,000 on average; a new half bath runs $4,000 to $12,000.