From the one small bathroom in a 1950s Woodlawn bungalow to the dated ensuite in a 2000s Portland Hills house, we design and build bathroom renovations across Dartmouth, NS. You see the room in 3D with a fixed price before any demolition, and we deal properly with whatever is behind the tile.
Design, planning, and construction all happen under one roof at HGC. Most bathroom renovations reach completion in 3 to 6 weeks once construction starts.
We measure the room, look at what we can of the plumbing and venting, and design a layout that works for how the bathroom is used. You see it in 3D and choose every finish before anything is ordered.
You approve the design and get a fixed-price contract with a clear scope. We apply for any HRM building permit, book the trades, and order tile and fixtures before we start.
One project manager runs every trade on site, schedules the inspections, and keeps the rest of your home protected, with weekly updates throughout.
Dartmouth grew in waves, and the bathroom you have depends a lot on when your house was built. This is what we typically find when we open each kind up.
Woodlawn, Westphal, and Commodore Park grew out of farmland in the building boom that followed the Macdonald Bridge opening in 1955. These houses usually have one small bathroom, older supply and drain lines, and often no exhaust fan at all, so a renovation tends to mean new plumbing behind the walls and proper venting for the first time.
From the homes around Highfield Park to the 1980s streets of Portland Estates, the original tub surround is often near the end of its life. Where water has been getting past it for years, we tend to find soft subfloor around the tub and toilet that has to be replaced before any new tile goes down.
Newer subdivisions have sound bones and builder-grade bathrooms: fibreglass surrounds, basic vanities, and ensuites built around a large tub that rarely gets used. These are usually about the finish and the layout, like trading the tub for a bigger walk-in shower.
In older houses, demolition is where the real scope shows up. In one Dartmouth bathroom we opened, the walls were stuffed with seaweed, a historical insulation in the area, and the plumbing and some floor joists needed replacing. We price a realistic allowance for this up front so it gets fixed, not tiled over.
The Hex and Arch Suite won a 2026 Peak Award for Most Outstanding Bathroom Renovation. It started as a small, outdated three-piece bathroom. We expanded it into an unused bedroom, carried a structural beam through a load-bearing wall, and built a four-piece primary suite with a new walk-through closet beside it.
The homeowners' biggest problem was a high-threshold tub. It was replaced with a zero-entry custom shower, set on a full waterproofing membrane system with electric heat under the floor.
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A lot of Dartmouth homeowners get quotes for both. They solve different problems, and it helps to know which one you actually have.
Bath renovations sold as a one-day install put a new acrylic tub or shower surround over the existing one. That can be a reasonable fix when the layout suits you, the plumbing is sound, and nothing behind the old surround is wet or soft.
A liner covers what is there. A renovation fixes what is behind it: the waterproofing, the subfloor, the plumbing, the venting, and the layout itself. If any of those is the problem, covering it only hides it.
Comparing contractors? Our guide on how to choose a bathroom renovation contractor covers the questions to ask.
Most of what goes wrong in a bathroom renovation is hidden behind the tile. Here is how we deal with it.
The bathroom in this photo is a good example. Once the old finishes came off, we found seaweed packed between the studs, plumbing that had to be fully replaced, and damage to the floor joists and subfloor. We investigate what we can during design and carry a realistic allowance for what we cannot see, so hidden problems are repaired before anything new goes in. Read what we found in this bathroom.
Tile and grout are not waterproof. We install a waterproofing membrane system behind the tile, slope the shower floor to drain properly, and duct the exhaust fan to the outside rather than into the attic, so moisture leaves the house instead of sitting in the walls.
Many post-war Dartmouth houses have a single bathroom. We order materials before demolition and sequence the trades to keep the out-of-service window as short as we can, and we tell you up front how long it will be.
A walk-in shower in place of a tub, a slimmer or wall-hung vanity, recessed niches, and a proper lighting plan can change how a small room feels without moving a wall. Where the room is simply too small, borrowing space from a closet or an unused bedroom, as we did in the Hex and Arch Suite, is often the answer.
Dartmouth is part of Halifax Regional Municipality, so HRM issues building permits here just as it does in Halifax. We prepare the applications and book the inspections for you. Our guide to bathroom renovation permits in Halifax goes through each step.
HRM requires a building permit when a renovation changes interior or exterior walls or the existing plumbing system, or involves structural work. Moving a toilet, shower, or drain, or moving a wall, means a permit. The application includes a floor plan showing fixtures, drains, and ventilation.
Replacing plumbing fixtures where they are, and replacing cabinets or flooring, does not need a building permit. A like-for-like swap of a toilet, vanity, or tub with no change to the drains or walls usually falls here.
Depending on the scope, HRM may inspect the rough-in plumbing, the framing, the insulation and vapour barrier before drywall, the final plumbing, and the finished work. A basement bathroom with drains under the slab adds an underground plumbing inspection. We schedule these so the job is not held up waiting for one.
New circuits, lighting, or a heated floor need an electrical wiring permit, which only a certified electrician can open, with inspection through Nova Scotia Power on the Province's behalf. Plumbers and electricians are both compulsory certified trades in Nova Scotia.
An interior bathroom renovation does not normally need a Halifax Water permit. That is only required when sewer or water lines or the service connection are installed, altered, or moved. Separately, Halifax Water runs a program to replace lead service lines, which it estimates may serve about 3,500 properties in Halifax and Dartmouth.
We price every bathroom from an in-home assessment and a 3D design, then fix the price before work starts. These are the things that move the number most.
Keeping fixtures where they are is the most affordable path. Moving the toilet, sink, or shower, or trading a tub for a walk-in shower, means new plumbing in the walls and floor and usually a building permit.
Hidden damage under an old tub surround, older supply and drain lines, an old circuit that needs updating, and testing old tile or plaster before demolition where asbestos is suspected are priced after the site assessment.
The amount and type of tile, the shower glass, the vanity, and extras like heated floors or a backlit mirror set the finish level. This is the easiest place to match the budget to what matters to you.
For a line-by-line look at where the money goes, read our bathroom renovation cost guide, or get a starting number from the bathroom renovation cost calculator.
16+ years renovating across HRM, formerly as Case Design/Remodeling Halifax.
Design, permits, construction, and the final walkthrough are handled under one roof, with one project manager responsible for the result.
Including a 2026 Peak Award for Most Outstanding Bathroom Renovation for a Dartmouth primary suite, eight-time Best of Houzz winner, and CHBA Nova Scotia Renovator of the Year.
Held to the Canadian Home Builders' Association standard and the RenoMark renovator code of conduct, and BBB Accredited with an A+ rating.
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It depends on the scope and on the house. Keeping fixtures where they are, the amount of tile, the shower or tub you choose, and what we find behind the walls of an older Dartmouth home all move the budget. We give you a fixed price after an in-home assessment and a 3D design, and our bathroom renovation cost calculator gives you a starting estimate in a few minutes.
Dartmouth is part of Halifax Regional Municipality, which requires a building permit when a renovation changes walls or the existing plumbing system, such as moving a toilet, shower, or drain. Replacing fixtures where they are does not need one. Electrical work needs a separate wiring permit, opened by a certified electrician and inspected through Nova Scotia Power. We prepare and manage the permits for you.
Most bathroom renovations take 3 to 6 weeks of construction once the design is approved and materials are ordered. A straightforward refresh is at the shorter end. A full ensuite with custom tile, moved plumbing, or repairs to hidden damage in an older house takes longer. We order everything before demolition so the room is out of service for as little time as possible.
It can be, if the layout suits you, the plumbing is sound, and nothing behind the old surround is wet or soft. A liner covers what is there. If the problem is water damage, a soft floor, older plumbing, poor venting, or a layout that does not work, a renovation fixes it properly instead of hiding it.
Yes, and it is one of the most common requests we get. It usually means moving or replacing the drain, a full waterproofing membrane, and a properly sloped shower floor, and a building permit if the plumbing changes. In the award-winning Hex and Arch Suite in Dartmouth, a high-threshold tub became a zero-entry custom shower.
It varies with the age of the house. Older supply and drain lines, soft subfloor around the tub and toilet, and no exhaust fan to the outside are common. In one older Dartmouth home we found seaweed packed between the studs, plumbing that needed full replacement, and damaged floor joists. We allow for this in the plan so it gets repaired, not covered over.
Not directly, since a bathroom renovation is inside the house. Halifax Water runs a separate program to remove lead service lines, which it estimates may serve about 3,500 properties in Halifax and Dartmouth, and it offers a rebate of 25 percent, up to $5,000, to owners who replace their line sooner. If you are already opening walls and floors, it is worth checking with Halifax Water first.
We design and build bathroom renovations in every part of Dartmouth and the communities around it. For the rest of HRM, see our bathroom renovations in Halifax.
Planning more than a bathroom? We also do kitchen renovations in Dartmouth and home additions in Dartmouth. Get a free, no-obligation quote and we will visit your home and give you a detailed, itemized price.
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