Bathroom remodeling in Hialeah, FL

Tub-to-shower conversions in Hialeah's 1950s and 1960s block homes

Most of Hialeah was built out in the 1950s and 1960s: one-story concrete-block (CBS) houses on the numbered streets and avenues on both sides of Palm Avenue and Okeechobee Road, many with one bathroom for the whole house. The original room is small: a tub with a tiled surround, a toilet and a sink in a line, one window for ventilation, and plumbing that in many houses has never been replaced. Over the decades many of these homes picked up additions and converted garages, so the second bathroom, when there is one, is often newer and smaller than the first.

That is why the Hialeah bathroom job is so often the same one: the tub comes out and a walk-in shower goes in, with frameless glass, curbless if someone in the house needs it. Behind it we rebuild what the old tile was hiding: a waterproofing membrane over the shower walls and pan, new supply lines in PEX where the house still has galvanized steel, a new drain and valve, and an exhaust fan where the window was doing the job. The before-and-after below is one of our own South Florida conversions, the layout most Hialeah bathrooms started with.

City of Hialeah bathroom permits and inspections

Hialeah issues its own building permits through the City of Hialeah Building Division at City Hall on Palm Avenue, not through Miami-Dade County. Swapping a faucet or a vanity in the same spot does not need one, but a bathroom remodel that moves a drain or a supply line, takes out a wall, or adds circuits for a fan or GFCI outlets does, and a tub-to-shower conversion moves the drain almost every time. We pull the permit under our general contractor license, the plumbing and electrical rough-in are inspected before the walls close, and the final inspection closes the permit before your last payment.

The closed permit matters at resale. Additions and converted garages are common in Hialeah, and when a house sells or refinances, the buyer's inspector and the lender check the permit record; a bathroom built without one can mean an after-the-fact permit, opened walls or a price cut at closing. If your second bathroom sits in an addition, we check whether the addition itself was permitted before we quote.

• City of Hialeah permit pulled and closed under our general contractor license.
• Plumbing and electrical rough-in inspected before the walls close; final inspection and paperwork handed to you.
• Waterproofing membrane on the shower walls and pan, flood-tested before tile.
• Written scope with allowances before demolition; changes priced in writing.

Estimates in Spanish, from the first visit to the final walkthrough

Hialeah is a Spanish-speaking city, and so is our office. The estimate visit, the questions along the way and the calls about deliveries and inspections can all be in Spanish; our Spanish-language pages and estimate form are there if you would rather start that way.

Finishes that work in a Hialeah bathroom

The bathrooms photographed on this page are our own South Florida remodels, not Hialeah houses, but the finishes are the ones Hialeah owners ask for: large-format marble-look porcelain so a small room has few grout lines, a floating vanity that makes the floor look bigger, a backlit mirror instead of the old strip of Hollywood bulbs, and frameless glass measured after the tile is in.

How long a Hialeah bathroom takes, and what sets the price

Once the permit is approved and the tile, vanity and fixtures are in hand, a full Hialeah bathroom is typically 2–4 weeks on site: demolition, rough plumbing and electrical, inspection, waterproofing, tile, vanity and fixtures, then the glass, measured after the tile and about two weeks out. A finishes-only refresh in the existing footprint is faster and needs less paperwork.

What moves the price in a Hialeah house, roughly in order: moving the drain, which on a slab floor means cutting concrete; replacing galvanized supply lines with PEX back to the main; a second bathroom where there was none, with its own drain line and possibly a larger water heater; the tile size and the amount of custom glass; the vanity and fixtures; and new circuits on a 1950s panel. Everything is a line item in the written scope.

Interior remodels do not qualify for PACE, so bathrooms are financed through GoodLeap and Service Finance: fixed rates from 2.99% APR, 5–20 years, $0 down, on our financing page. Many Hialeah customers first called us for a roof; if the house needs both, one contractor is simpler. See bathroom remodeling across South Florida, pair it with a kitchen remodel, or book a free consultation.

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See bathroom remodeling across South Florida, everything we do in Hialeah, or call (786) 999-5353 for a free inspection.