Small Bathroom Remodeling in San Antonio, Inch by Inch

Thousands of San Antonio homes have the same small bathroom: a 60-inch tub along the back wall, a toilet in the middle and a vanity by the door, all in about 40 square feet. It’s efficient on paper. In practice, the door hits the vanity, the toilet sits too close to the tub, the towel bar has nowhere to go and the single light above the mirror leaves the room dim.

We see this layout constantly in ranch homes across Leon Valley, Oak Hills and Windcrest, and in 1980s tract homes in Converse and Live Oak. The good news is that small changes make a big difference, because every inch counts twice in a room this size.

Age shows in other ways too. After decades of hard water, the tub spout and shower valve in these baths are often crusted with scale, and the shut-off valves under the sink may not close. Hairline cracks in floor tile running toward the tub can point to slab movement. We note each of those on the first visit, since they change what the remodel needs to include.

The best wins in a small bathroom usually come from swapping out space-hungry fixtures rather than moving walls. A slimmer vanity, a pocket door or a wall-hung toilet can each free up room without trenching the slab.

Recessed storage is another favorite. The wall cavity between studs is about 3.5 inches deep, which is enough for a medicine cabinet, a shower niche or a shallow shelf for toiletries. We check for plumbing and wiring in the wall before we cut.

• A pocket door or outswing door instead of a door that hits the vanity
• A vanity 18 to 21 inches deep instead of the standard 21 to 24
• A floating vanity that shows more floor and feels lighter
• A recessed medicine cabinet in place of a flat mirror
• Shower niches built into the wall instead of hanging caddies
• A wall-mounted faucet to shorten the vanity depth further

Whether to keep the tub is the biggest decision in most small bathroom remodels. If it’s the only tub in the house and you have young kids or plan to sell soon, keeping it is often smart. A new tub with a tiled surround and a glass panel instead of a curtain can refresh the room without giving up bathing.

If the house has another tub, or you’d rather have an easy step-in shower, converting the 60-inch tub space into a walk-in shower opens the room visually. Our tub-to-shower pros and cons guide lays out the trade-offs, and the conversion page explains how the drain and pan are handled on a slab.

Light colors and fewer grout lines help a small room read as bigger. Large-format porcelain tiles on the floor, running the same tile up the shower wall, or using one color across floor and walls all reduce visual breaks. A clear glass panel instead of a curtain lets you see the full depth of the room.

Lighting matters even more here than in a larger bath. Vertical lights on each side of the mirror, a bright ceiling fixture and a recessed light in the shower remove the dim corners that make small rooms feel cramped. If the bathroom has a window, keep the treatment simple so daylight comes in.

• Dark grout lines that chop up a small floor visually
• Oversized vanities that block the walkway
• Fans too weak to clear steam from a tight space
• Heavy shower curtains that hide half the room
• Too many tile patterns in a room under 50 square feet

Small bathrooms fill with steam quickly, and during humid stretches of a San Antonio summer it doesn’t clear on its own. That’s how mold shows up on ceiling paint and in grout lines within a year of a remodel. A properly sized fan ducted outside, with a timer or humidity sensor, is the most important piece of equipment in the room.

We also use mold-resistant drywall outside the shower, cement board or foam board behind tile and a waterproofing membrane on every shower wall. These choices don’t show, but they decide how long the finishes last. If your current fan vents into the attic, our exhaust fan installation work reroutes it outside.

Because the room is small, we coordinate trades closely so no one is waiting on someone else.

1. Measure and plan: we check the layout, walls, drains and fan, and talk through what bugs you about the room.
2. Choose fixtures and finishes: vanity, toilet, tile, lighting and glass are picked and ordered.
3. Demolition: old fixtures and tile come out, and any water damage is shown to you.
4. Rough-in: valves, drains, wiring and fan ducting are installed and inspected where required.
5. Waterproof and tile: the shower is waterproofed, flood tested and tiled, followed by the floor.
6. Install and test: vanity, toilet, fixtures, mirror, lighting and glass are installed and checked.