Kitchen & Bath Contractor · Nashville, TN
The Nashville homeowner's guide to kitchen and bathroom remodeling
What the work involves, what drives the price, what your options are, and what a bad job looks like — written so you can judge any kitchen and bath contractor in Middle Tennessee, including us.
Estimate request
Which room is it, and what bothers you about it?
Straight to us, and a reply the same day.
By Michael Blair, owner, Nashville's Kitchen & Bath · who we are
Warning signs
How to know you need us
Recognize one? Have it looked at before it grows.
- A layout that makes people walk through the cook while they are cooking
- Cabinets structurally sound but dated, where refinishing beats replacing
- Grout and caulk failing at the tub or shower no matter how often it is redone
- A soft or springy floor near the toilet, the shower or the dishwasher
- Not enough counter run either side of the range or the sink to actually work
- Preparing to sell, where these two rooms carry more weight than any others
Your options
More than one right answer.
Not every tired room needs a full gut. Here is the spread from a refresh to a new layout, and when each one makes sense for the house and the budget.
Cosmetic refresh
Refinish the cabinetry, change the counters, update lighting and hardware. The biggest visual change for the least money, and often the right answer.
Replace within the existing layout
New cabinetry, tile and fixtures where the plumbing and gas stay put. A full transformation without the cost of moving services.
Full gut, same footprint
Everything out to the studs, waterproofing done properly, layout unchanged. The best value in a real remodel.
Full remodel with layout changes
Relocated services, walls opened with an engineered header, sometimes a structural change. Permitted, inspected, and worth planning properly.
What it costs
What actually drives the price.
A kitchen or bath price depends on what is behind the walls and what you choose for the room, so nobody can give you one honestly by phone. Below are the biggest swings.
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Whether the layout moves
Keeping plumbing and gas where they are keeps a project affordable. Moving a sink, a range or a shower drain — particularly on a slab — is the line between a substantial refresh and a substantial remodel.
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Cabinetry and countertops
Usually the largest line in a kitchen. Stock, semi-custom and custom differ as much in fit as in finish, and countertops are templated after the boxes are set rather than before.
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What is behind the tile
Older bathrooms hide water damage as a rule. A fair quote names the rate for subfloor and stud repair up front instead of pretending it will not be found.
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Electrical, ventilation and code
Modern kitchens need more circuits than older houses have, and bathrooms need real extract ventilation and GFCI protection. Both are permitted, inspected work.
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Tile area and difficulty
Tile is priced by area and by hand work. A niche, a curbless entry, a herringbone floor and a mitered corner are each slower than a plain field.
Estimates are free, written and without obligation. Anything found only after starting is priced up front.
What happens
From your call to the finished job.
Design and selections
Two to four weeks, and worth taking. Selections made under time pressure are the ones people regret, and cabinet orders are effectively non-returnable.
Lead times
Cabinetry runs three to twelve weeks depending on stock or custom, and it drives the entire schedule.
Demolition and rough-in
A week or two. Plumbing, electrical and framing changes happen here and are inspected before anything is closed up.
Install and finish
Cabinets, then countertop template and fabrication, then tile, then trim and punch list. Counters add a week between install and finish.
Done badly
What goes wrong, and why it matters.
Shortcuts that cheapen the quote and cost you later. Ask anyone you are considering about them.
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Ordering cabinets before the layout is final
Cabinet orders cannot be returned. Every change after that point is paid for twice.
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Tiling over a failed shower pan
New tile on an old liner buys a year or two, and then the ceiling below tells you about it.
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Skipping proper waterproofing
Cement board is not waterproof. A bonded membrane behind the tile is the entire point of the assembly.
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Removing a wall without checking what it carries
Ceiling sag and cracked drywall upstairs is the cheap version of what goes wrong.
Before you hire anyone
Six questions worth asking any kitchen and bath contractor.
Including us. If a kitchen and bath contractor cannot answer these easily, that is the answer.
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Are the drawings finished before the price is fixed?
A remodel priced from a sketch is a remodel repriced mid-job. The right answer is a plan, a materials list and one number.
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Who coordinates the plumber, the electrician and the tile setter?
One person runs the job and one crew comes through to the punch list. A job passed between subs nobody schedules is the one that takes five months.
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Are you licensed at this job’s value, and are your subs licensed?
A Tennessee contractor’s license where the value requires it, and licensed plumbers and electricians for their trades. The numbers, not the assurance.
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What happens when the wall comes off and there is rot or old wiring?
A rate and a change order, agreed before the work continues. The wrong answer is a bigger invoice at the end.
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Is the shower waterproofed to the standard, and is it on the quote?
The pan and the membrane are the parts you never see and the parts that fail. A good answer names the method.
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Will you pull the permits, and will the inspections happen?
Yes for plumbing, electrical and structural changes, in the contractor’s name. A remodel with no permit is a problem at resale.
FAQ
Choosing a kitchen and bath contractor in Nashville
How do I choose a kitchen and bath contractor in Nashville?
Every remodeler on our crews holds the Tennessee contractor’s license required at the job’s value, carries liability insurance, and uses licensed plumbers and electricians for the trades that need them — all on file with us. Ask the six questions below of anyone, including us.
Should I get more than one quote for kitchen and bathroom remodeling?
Yes — and compare the scope, not the total. A Nashville kitchen or bath is priced by what moves — plumbing, walls, electrical — before it is priced by the finishes, and the honest quote separates the two so you can see where the money goes.
Is the cheapest kitchen and bathroom remodeling quote usually a bad idea?
Not automatically; a low number is information. An allowance is a price that will go up; the real tile and the real faucet are in the quote.
Do I need a permit for kitchen and bathroom remodeling in Nashville?
Metro Nashville and the surrounding counties permits a remodel that moves plumbing, electrical or walls and inspects at rough-in and finish; a contractor who says a bath remodel never needs a permit has not asked.
How far in advance should I book kitchen and bathroom remodeling?
A design visit in Nashville is usually within a week or two; the build itself starts when the cabinets and tile are on hand, because a demolished kitchen waiting on a delivery is the worst way to live for a month.
Free estimate
Ready to stop working around that room?
Send Nashville's Kitchen & Bath the room, its measurements if you have them and what bothers you about it. We come out, look behind what we can, and put a written estimate on the table with nothing owed for it.