Before week one: design, ordering and the permit

A lot of the waiting happens before anyone picks up a pry bar. Dana Point requires a permit for almost all construction, and the city's bathroom handout (B020) spells out what counts as a renovation: removing or moving a vanity, sink, toilet, tub or shower, changing the lighting, or tearing out and replacing wallboard. Swapping towel bars, mirrors, paint or floor coverings by themselves is maintenance and needs no permit.

Approval time is hard to pin down. National remodeling guides give answers anywhere from about a week to two months, and permits and approvals are often named as the biggest cause of delays. Those figures come from all over the country. Dana Point's own queue is the one that counts, so ask your contractor what the city is running at when you sign.

Use this stretch to order materials. Custom vanities, tile and shower doors can take 4 to 8 weeks to arrive, according to one remodeler's guide, and its advice is to order during design instead of after demo. A vanity that shows up late pushes back the countertop and everything scheduled after it.

A few contract checks belong here too. CSLB's homeowner checklist asks whether the contract states when work will start and end, whether it requires permits before work begins, and whether permit fees are included. The same checklist covers your 3-day right to cancel, which is 5 days for homeowners 65 and older. Under California law, the down payment can't be more than $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less. There is no exception for special-order materials.

Week 1: demolition and rough plumbing and electrical

Demo usually takes a day or two. The old finishes and fixtures come out and the debris gets hauled away. From here until final sign-off, plan on the bathroom being unusable. One week-by-week guide marks it off-limits from week one through week six, so line up another bathroom in the house or a gym membership.

Demo is also when surprises show up. Water damage, mold, rotted subfloor and outdated wiring can hide behind a wall that looked fine, and each one adds time before the new work can start.

With the room open, the plumber and electrician do their rough-in work. The California Electrical Code, as cited in Dana Point's handout, drives some of this. Each sink needs a 20-amp GFCI-protected outlet within 3 feet of the basin edge. Bathroom outlets also need at least one 20-amp circuit with no other outlets on it, although one circuit can serve more than one bathroom.

Week 2: inspection, framing and waterproofing

The rough work has to pass inspection before the walls close up. Nobody on site controls that wait. One guide estimates each inspection adds roughly 3 to 10 business days of waiting in many US cities.

After sign-off come framing and then the shower pan and waterproofing. This is the step to be patient with. One contractor puts it bluntly: it "is the step that fails when someone rushes tile."

Week 3: tile starts, then waits

Tile goes up, and then the site can go quiet. Tile, grout and countertop adhesive all need drying and curing time, which can add 3 to 5 days with no visible work. If you come home and wonder why nobody showed up today, this is usually why.

Cold or humid conditions can stretch drying and curing times for grout and caulk, so a damp stretch of weather can slow this stage down.

Week 4: tile finished, vanity and countertop in

Once the tile is done, the vanity goes in and the countertop gets templated and installed. This is where the early ordering pays off. If the vanity is still on a truck somewhere, the countertop waits for it.

Week 5: glass, trim-out and fixtures

The shower glass goes in, and the plumber and electrician come back for trim-out and fixtures. Two rules from Dana Point's bathroom handouts apply here. Glass less than 60 inches above the floor and within 60 inches of the tub or shower's water edge must be safety glazing. If you're adding a bidet, its water supply needs an air gap or vacuum breaker, and its hot water is capped at 110 degrees.

The trades have to line up this week. If the plumber is booked on another job, everything after that step moves back.

Week 6: paint, punch list and final inspection

Paint finishes the room. You walk it with the contractor and make a punch list of small fixes. Then the city does its final inspection, and the bathroom is done only after that sign-off.

Keep payments lined up with the work. Apart from the down payment, California makes it illegal for a contractor to collect for work not yet done or materials not yet delivered, and CSLB's checklist says the payment schedule should follow completed work. Any change you asked for along the way should be in writing.

Habits that keep the weeks from slipping

• Pick and order the vanity, tile and shower door before demo.
• Make your choices early. Changing tile in week three means a written change and possibly a new delivery.
• Expect quiet days during curing and inspections. They are part of the schedule.
• Check your contractor's license on the CSLB website or at 1-800-321-2752 before you sign.

Planning a bathroom in Dana Point?

Carrieri Construction is a family-owned general contractor in Dana Point (CSLB #1138940) and handles the city permits on its projects. If you're thinking about a bathroom remodel in Dana Point, Laguna Niguel, San Clemente or a nearby city, call (858) 776-6692 or request a quote and we can talk through your room.