Bathroom Remodeling in Maplewood, NJ

Maplewood's housing is old enough that bathrooms here fall into two clear groups. Either the room is essentially original (period tile, a cast iron tub, a wall-hung sink) or it was renovated once, usually in the 1980s or 90s, and that renovation is now failing.

With the median house built in 1938 and more than half the stock predating 1940, we see both regularly.

Median year built

1938of 9,051 housing units

Built before 1940

55.5%71.4% before 1960

Single-family detached

60.9%83.7% in 1–4 unit buildings

Owner-occupied

74.9%3.87 sq mi, Essex County

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

What we find in Maplewood bathrooms

The wet wall in an original 1930s bathroom is usually tile set into a mortar bed over plaster and lath. That construction is more durable than people expect and it has no waterproof membrane behind it, because the concept did not exist. It survives on mass and on the tile being well set. When it fails, it fails from the top down: grout cracks at a corner, water gets into the bed, and over a decade or two the plaster behind it disintegrates.

The 1980s renovation version fails differently and faster. That era commonly set tile on greenboard, moisture-resistant drywall, with no membrane, which is not adequate in a shower. It also frequently used a fiberglass surround over the original wall without addressing what was behind it.

Either way, the recurring finds at demolition are: rotted subfloor at the tub apron and around the toilet flange, soft or crumbling plaster behind the surround, joists that have taken water where a leak went unnoticed, and galvanized supply lines closing up internally.

The framing in these houses is generally excellent, which means repairs are usually localized rather than extensive.

What we handle in a Maplewood bathroom

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

Full Bathroom Remodels in Maplewood

In a house of this age, this is often the honest recommendation rather than the expensive one. Once the wet wall is open, and if the shower has failed it has to be, you are already paying for demolition, containment, permits and waterproofing. The marginal cost of also replacing the floor, the fixtures and the galvanized supply lines while the walls are open is much smaller than doing those things separately over the following decade, each time reopening the same walls. Three to four weeks of active work if the layout stays put. See full bathroom remodeling.

Shower Remodeling in Maplewood

A rebuild here means going back to the studs in the wet area, repairing whatever the plaster and framing need, and building a modern assembly: a sloped pan, a continuous bonded waterproof membrane detailed at every corner, the curb and the drain, then backer board and tile. The valve gets replaced with a pressure-balancing or thermostatic type, which also removes the temperature spike when a toilet flushes downstairs. What we will not do is tile over a wall that is already wet, because that is a two-year fix you pay for twice. See shower remodeling.

Bathtub Replacement in Maplewood

Cast iron is the standard find in these houses and it is genuinely good. It holds heat better than anything else and lasts indefinitely. The reason to replace one is usually a worn or previously refinished surface rather than a failure. Be aware that replacing a tub means replacing the surround, because the tile laps over the tub flange and cannot be removed cleanly, and matching ninety-year-old tile is not realistic. If you want to keep bathing in the house, cast iron again is a reasonable choice, though the weight sometimes warrants checking the framing on a second floor. See bathtub replacement.

Bathroom Tile in Maplewood

Two substrate problems recur. On floors, joists of this era flex more than a rigid tile assembly tolerates, so the floor generally needs an added plywood layer or an uncoupling membrane before anything is set. On walls, old plaster is rarely flat, and tile follows exactly what it is set on. Small hexagon and square mosaic floors suit these houses well and are period-appropriate without being a pastiche. Movement joints at every change of plane get flexible sealant rather than grout, which is the reason most old bathrooms have a cracked line where the wall meets the floor. See bathroom tile.

Walk-In Showers in Maplewood

Most of these houses have an open basement, which makes a curbless shower more achievable here than in much of our service area. The shower floor can be recessed by getting at the framing from below. Where that is not practical, a two-inch curb delivers most of the benefit. A linear drain lets the floor slope in one plane, which allows large-format tile on the shower floor and, placed at the entry, catches water before it reaches the bathroom floor. A single fixed glass panel rather than a hinged door avoids the collision with the vanity that these small rooms invite. See walk-in showers.

Tub-to-Shower Conversions in Maplewood

Common in houses with more than one full bathroom, where the second-floor hall bath is used entirely for showering. The alcove stays, the tub comes out, the drain relocates from the tub position to a shower position with correct fall and venting, and the space is rebuilt as a full shower. In a house with an open basement below, the drain work is straightforward. If this is the only tub in a family house, it is worth thinking twice, and keeping a tub in one bathroom while converting the other is often the right compromise. See tub-to-shower conversion.

Bathroom Vanities in Maplewood

These bathrooms frequently have a wall-hung sink and no storage whatsoever, so adding a vanity is a real improvement rather than a swap. The constraint is usually the door swing and the toilet clearance, roughly 15 inches from the toilet centerline to the vanity side. A recessed medicine cabinet is worth adding at the same time, since it uses depth between the studs at no cost in floor area. A wall-mounted vanity shows floor beneath and makes the room feel larger, and it needs blocking installed while the wall is open. See bathroom vanities.

Permits and inspections in Maplewood

Bathroom work altering plumbing or electrical requires a construction permit from Maplewood's Construction Division, issued and inspected locally under New Jersey's Uniform Construction Code. Rough plumbing and electrical are inspected before anything covers them, and there is a final inspection at completion.

Where we work in Maplewood

Throughout the township, around Maplewood Village, the Hilton section, Jefferson, and the streets running up toward South Orange. The housing age is consistent; what is behind any particular wall is not.