Updated July 12, 2026 · 7 min read
Downtown Camas is full of early-1900s mill-worker cottages with one small bathroom wedged under a stairway or off a narrow hallway — a footprint that predates the idea of a primary suite entirely. A bathroom remodel in one of those rooms costs less in raw dollars than gutting a Prune Hill primary bath, but not proportionally less: the toilet still needs a supply line and drain, the walls still need to come down to studs for tile, and a licensed plumber and electrician still have to show up regardless of how many square feet they're working in.
This guide walks through cited national cost data for a small bathroom or powder room remodel by tier and by size, a Northwest-specific wrinkle most cost guides skip — exhaust fan sizing doesn't shrink the way you'd expect in a small room — and Camas Bath's closest published comparable range. For a full primary suite instead, see our master bathroom remodel cost guide.
Key takeaways
- This Old House (2026) prices a small bathroom remodel at $3,000 (cosmetic refresh) to $18,000+ (full renovation); Bob Vila (2023) prices it at $1,500–$15,000, averaging $6,500.
- A powder room or half bath costs less than a small full bathroom in both datasets — roughly $1,200–$4,000 vs. $2,500–$6,000, per Bob Vila.
- By footprint, This Old House (2026) prices a 30 sq ft bath at $11,900–$15,100 and a 48 sq ft bath at $19,000–$24,100.
- The Home Ventilating Institute recommends a 50 CFM exhaust fan minimum even for bathrooms at or under 50 square feet — a fixed requirement that Washington's state residential code also mandates directly.
- Camas Bath's closest published comparable is a Guest Bathroom Remodel at $15,000–$28,000, inclusive of Washington sales tax on labor and materials.
The short answer
This Old House (2026) prices a small bathroom remodel nationally from $3,000 for a cosmetic refresh up to $18,000 or more for a full renovation. Bob Vila's small-bathroom-specific 2023 data lands in a comparable band — a national average of $6,500, with a $1,500–$15,000 range depending on how much of the room actually gets rebuilt.
A powder room or half bath with no tub or shower runs meaningfully less than a small full bathroom in both datasets — which is worth separating out before pricing your own project, rather than assuming one number covers both.
Cost by tier
This Old House (2026) breaks a small bathroom remodel into three tiers.
| Tier | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Basic refresh | $3,000–$8,000 |
| Mid-range update | $8,000–$18,000 |
| Premium renovation | $18,000 or more |
Source: This Old House (2026). A mid-range bathroom remodel returns roughly 80% of its cost as resale value on average, per the same source.
Cost by bathroom type and size
Bob Vila's 2023 small-bathroom guide and its separate 2024 general bathroom-remodel guide both price the same room types slightly differently, since the two pieces surveyed different project sets — we show both below rather than picking one over the other.
| Bathroom type | Bob Vila (2023, small-bath guide) | Bob Vila (2024, general guide) |
|---|---|---|
| Half bath / powder room | $2,250–$3,000 | $1,200–$4,000 |
| Small full bathroom | $4,500–$6,000 | $2,500–$6,000 |
| Small primary bathroom | $6,000–$8,000 | — |
Sources: Bob Vila small-bathroom-remodel-cost guide (2023), Bob Vila bathroom-remodel-cost guide (2024).
Cost by square footage
This Old House (2026) also prices out specific small bathroom footprints, useful if you already know your room's dimensions.
- 5×6 ft (30 sq ft): $11,900–$15,100 (This Old House, 2026)
- 6×6 ft (36 sq ft): $14,300–$18,100 (This Old House, 2026)
- 5×8 ft (40 sq ft): $15,900–$20,100 (This Old House, 2026)
- 6×8 ft (48 sq ft): $19,000–$24,100 (This Old House, 2026)
- Per-square-foot components: cabinetry ~$27, tiling ~$33, flooring ~$13, painting ~$13 (This Old House, 2026)
Why a small room still needs full-size ventilation
It's tempting to assume a smaller bathroom needs a smaller, cheaper exhaust fan. The Home Ventilating Institute's sizing guidance says otherwise for a room this size: it recommends roughly 1 CFM (cubic foot per minute) of exhaust capacity per square foot of bathroom, with a 50 CFM fan as the practical floor even for rooms at or under 50 square feet — which describes most of the small hall baths and powder rooms in Camas's older homes.
Washington's state residential code sets that same 50 CFM minimum as a hard requirement, not a suggestion, for bathrooms and similar rooms, and requires the exhaust to vent directly outdoors rather than into an attic or crawlspace. In a marine climate where showers run daily through a wet season that stretches from fall through spring, undersizing that fan is one of the more common ways a budget small-bath remodel ends up with a mildew problem within a year or two — a fixed cost the square footage doesn't let you shrink.
Camas Bath's published range
Camas Bath doesn't publish a rate specifically for a small hall bath, but our published Guest Bathroom Remodel range — $15,000–$28,000 — is the closest comparable, since a guest bath is typically similar in footprint to the small bathrooms priced above. That figure, like all our published ranges, already assumes Washington sales tax on labor and materials, which runs roughly 8.6%–8.8% depending on which Clark County jurisdiction the work happens in, per the Washington Department of Revenue.
If your bathroom is a full primary suite rather than a hall or powder bath, our master bathroom remodel cost guide is the more accurate starting point — the two projects rarely land in the same budget.
3-year workmanship warranty
Every bathroom we remodel, regardless of size, is backed by a 3-year workmanship warranty, in addition to the manufacturer warranties on the fixtures and materials we install.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a small bathroom remodel cost in Camas?
- Camas Bath's closest published comparable is a Guest Bathroom Remodel at $15,000–$28,000. For national context, This Old House (2026) prices a small bathroom remodel at $3,000 for a cosmetic refresh up to $18,000 or more for a full renovation, while Bob Vila (2023) puts the average at $6,500 with a $1,500–$15,000 range.
- Does a small bathroom need a smaller exhaust fan?
- No. The Home Ventilating Institute recommends roughly 1 CFM per square foot with a 50 CFM practical minimum, which covers most small hall baths and powder rooms regardless of size — and Washington's state residential code sets that same 50 CFM floor as a code requirement, not a suggestion.
- Why does a small bathroom still cost so much to remodel?
- Plumbing rough-in, permits, and skilled labor cost roughly the same whether a bathroom is 30 square feet or 130 square feet, so a small bathroom doesn't scale down proportionally. This Old House (2026) prices even a 30-square-foot bathroom at $11,900–$15,100 for a full renovation.
Sources
- This Old House — Small Bathroom Remodel Cost: 2026 Price Guide
- Bob Vila — How Much Does a Small Bathroom Remodel Cost? (2023)
- Bob Vila — Bathroom Remodel Cost: A Budgeting Guide (2024)
- Home Ventilating Institute — Bathroom Exhaust Fans
- Washington State Residential Code (2021) — Chapter 15, Exhaust Systems
- Washington Department of Revenue — Local Sales & Use Tax Rate Table
Claims and figures are drawn from the sources above and provided for general guidance; your project may vary. Photography is illustrative of design concepts. For a fixed price on your specific bathroom, request a free estimate.
