"packat" wrote

My old and only bathroom is about 8x8 squares. I planned to replace
everything: bathtub, toilet, sink, cabinet, vanity, floor and ceramic
tiles, and new sideboards, prep but no paint. All standard. There
will be very little plumbing since everything will be in the same
place as original.

What range is reasonable for this kind of work?

The problem here is not really enough information but if replacing floor and
wall tiles, the 8,000$ job means cheapest possible materials because the
cost of the tub alone with an enclosure (not tile) is normally a 5,000$ or
so job.

What range is reasonable for this kind of work? Three contractors
gave me very different estimates: $8000, $17000, and $12000.
Anything I need to be concern of going with the lowest?

I'd avoid the lowest in this case. Ask to see the hardware and fixtures the
12,000$ fellow plans (actual sight, not glossy photos made to make it look
'better'). Also, ask waht amount they want upfront and what speed
guarentees they have. This is after all, your ONLY bathroom right?
Critical part here is you have at least a functional toilet *that you can
get to* (no 'can't walk on the new floor for 24 hours so go pee in a bucket
out in the backyard).

A sad fact is some unscrupulous folks will take advantage. Like, need 50%
up front to buy the materials' (and you never see them again). Usually they
bid *too low* to be real and the 8,000$ sounds too low to me. Way too low.
Yes, I could remodel a bathroom for that with all you ask, but by me doing
the work.

The work you spec out, is the sort where if you go to a big box store, price
out the cost of parts for what you want, then multipy by I think 8 to add up
to a rough estimate of the labor costs to install it. Take a simple
bathtub. Nothing fancy, just a normal one. 400$. Multiply by 8 and it's
3200$ which is farily close to install costs. Add 2,000$ and you get the
shower enclosure (not tile).