Bathroom Remodeling in Bloomfield, NJ

Bloomfield is close to evenly split between owner-occupied and rented housing, and about 41 percent of homes are single-family detached. The rest is largely two- and three-family houses plus apartment buildings. Median build year is 1950, with 38 percent of the stock predating 1940.

Median year built

1950of 21,789 housing units

Built before 1940

37.7%64% before 1960

Single-family detached

41.1%72.8% in 1–4 unit buildings

Owner-occupied

50.7%5.34 sq mi, Essex County

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 5-year estimates. Figures describe Bloomfield township, Essex County, NJ.

Stacked bathrooms and shared consequences

In a two- or three-family, bathrooms are aligned vertically so they can share a waste and vent stack. That is efficient construction, and it means three things for remodeling.

A failure upstairs becomes a stain downstairs, which is genuinely useful because it means problems get reported early. The toilet is difficult to relocate, since its drain is the largest in the room and ties directly into the shared stack. And the work affects people who are not you: shutoffs, noise, stairs and debris all need agreeing in advance.

In the older two-families, the wet wall is often tile set into a mortar bed over plaster with no waterproof membrane behind it. In the postwar housing it is more likely a standard alcove tub with drywall and copper supply. Both fail, at different speeds and for different reasons.

The recurring finds at demolition here: rotted subfloor at the tub apron and around the toilet flange, galvanized supply lines closing up internally, and exhaust fans ducted into an attic or a chase rather than outside.

What we handle in a Bloomfield bathroom

Demolition, framing and subfloor repair, plumbing and electrical, waterproofing, tile, fixtures and finish. Permits filed with the township and inspections scheduled.

Shower Remodeling in Bloomfield

The most common job here and almost always a repair of an assembly built without a membrane. Grout is porous and passes water in normal use; the layer behind the tile is what protects the structure. Rebuilding means back to the studs, repairing the framing, then a sloped pan and a continuous bonded waterproof membrane detailed at every corner, at the curb and at the drain, before backer and tile. The valve gets replaced with a pressure-balancing type, which matters in a building where a flush in another unit changes your water temperature. See shower remodeling.

Full Bathroom Remodels in Bloomfield

Once the wet wall is open, doing the whole room is usually better value than doing it in stages, because the demolition, permits and waterproofing are already happening. In an older house that is the moment to replace galvanized supply lines, repair subfloor at the flange, and duct the fan properly to the outside. Three to four weeks with the layout unchanged. In a rented unit, that timeline needs discussing with the tenant before it starts. See full bathroom remodeling.

Bathroom Tile in Bloomfield

Substrate governs. Floors in older frame houses flex more than a rigid tile assembly tolerates, so an added plywood layer or an uncoupling membrane is usually necessary. On an upper floor in a multi-family building, sound transmission to the unit below is a real consideration and worth addressing with an appropriate underlayment. Movement joints at every change of plane take flexible sealant rather than grout, which is the reason old bathrooms crack in the same corner year after year. See bathroom tile.

Small Bathroom Remodeling in Bloomfield

Most bathrooms in the two-family housing are 35 to 45 square feet. The changes that matter are not structural: a clear glass panel instead of a curtain so the eye reaches the far wall, a recessed medicine cabinet using depth between the studs, tile carried to the ceiling to remove the horizontal break, and a shallower vanity to free the door swing. In a windowless bathroom, a properly sized fan ducted outside does more for the room than any finish. See small bathroom remodeling.

Tub-to-Shower Conversions in Bloomfield

Straightforward in a standard 60-inch alcove: the tub comes out, the drain relocates from the tub position to a shower position with correct fall and venting, the valve is replaced, and the alcove is rebuilt with proper waterproofing and tile. In a stacked building the shared stack limits how far the drain can move, which is usually not a problem within one alcove. For a rental unit likely to house families with young children, keeping a tub somewhere in the building is worth considering. See tub-to-shower conversion.

Bathtub Replacement in Bloomfield

Cast iron is standard in the prewar houses and usually gets broken up in place, since a 400-pound tub will not come down a narrow staircase whole. Expect the surround to come with it, because the tile laps the tub flange and matching decades-old tile is not realistic. In a rental, a steel or acrylic tub with a solid-surface surround is a durable and sensible specification. See bathtub replacement.

Bathroom Vanities in Bloomfield

Many of these bathrooms still have a wall-hung or pedestal sink and no storage, so a vanity is a real gain. Depth is the constraint in a small room, an 18-inch cabinet instead of a 21-inch returns three inches where the door already clips something. Drawers hold far more usable material than a door with a P-trap through the middle. Check the new cabinet clears the existing supply stops, which in an old house are rarely where you would expect. See bathroom vanities.

Permits and inspections in Bloomfield

Bloomfield issues and inspects construction permits under New Jersey's Uniform Construction Code. Bathroom work altering plumbing or electrical requires one, which covers essentially every real remodel. Work in one unit of a two- or three-family requires the same permits and inspections as work in a single-family house.

Where we work in Bloomfield

Across the township, Bloomfield Center, Brookdale, Brookside and Watsessing toward the Newark and Belleville lines.