Bathroom Remodel – Washington Crossing, PA
Most bathroom remodels stay inside the four walls of the room. This one did not. As part of the renovation, an existing bathroom window was removed entirely and the exterior wall was rebuilt — framed, insulated, sheathed with plywood, sided to match the house, and painted. That kind of scope goes well beyond a fixture replacement and reflects a deliberate decision to improve the room’s layout rather than work around a wall penetration that the homeowner no longer wanted.
Belmax Remodeling completed this bathroom remodel in Washington Crossing, PA in December 2025. The project covered 60 square feet at a contract value of $10,500.
What This Project Included
- Full demolition
- Moisture-resistant wall panels
- Cement board on floor and shower walls
- Custom-built shower base with integrated bench
- Floor-to-ceiling shower wall tile
- Mosaic tile shower floor
- Engineered marble thresholds at shower curb and doorway
- Glass shower doors
- Updated shower plumbing and fixtures
- Large-format tile bathroom floor (homeowner-selected)
- Window removal and full exterior wall reconstruction
- New framing, insulation, plywood sheathing, and siding
- Exterior wall painted to match house
- Double vanity with sinks and faucets
- Mirrored storage cabinets above vanity
- Two vanity light fixtures
- New toilet
- New exhaust fan
- Towel ring, towel bar, toilet paper holder
- New baseboards and full interior paint
Demolition and Substrate
The project started with full demolition. Moisture-resistant wall panels were installed where needed, and cement board went down across the floor and throughout the shower walls before any tile work began. These substrate decisions are made at the start of the project and are not visible in the finished room — but they determine how long the tile installation holds up in a space that gets wet daily.
The Window Removal
Removing a bathroom window and closing the exterior wall is a more involved scope item than it appears. Once the window comes out, the rough opening has to be properly framed to create a structurally sound wall section. Insulation goes in to maintain the thermal performance of the exterior envelope. Plywood sheathing is installed over the framing before new siding is applied to match the existing house exterior. Finally, the exterior section is painted to blend with the surrounding facade.
Done correctly, the finished result from outside the house should show no sign that an opening was ever there. Done incorrectly — framing skipped, insulation missed, siding mismatched — it reads immediately as a repair rather than an intentional part of the home’s exterior.
On the interior side, closing the window opened up a section of uninterrupted wall that improved the shower layout and gave the room a cleaner, more enclosed feel. Windows in shower areas also create long-term waterproofing challenges where the window frame meets the tile — eliminating that joint removes a potential failure point entirely.
Custom Shower with Built-In Bench
The shower was built from scratch with a custom base sloped to drain correctly. The standout feature is the integrated seating bench — built as part of the shower enclosure rather than added as a freestanding element. A built-in bench has to be framed and waterproofed at the same time as the rest of the shower base, which means it needs to be planned before the cement board and tile phases begin. The result is a bench that sits flush with the surrounding tile work and drains properly rather than collecting standing water.
Shower walls were tiled floor to ceiling. The floor of the shower was finished with mosaic tile, which provides traction on the sloped wet surface. Engineered marble thresholds were installed at the shower curb and at the doorway. Glass shower doors complete the enclosure.
Large-Format Bathroom Floor
The homeowner selected large-format tile for the bathroom floor. Large tiles reduce the number of grout lines across a floor area, which affects both maintenance and appearance — fewer grout lines mean less surface for mildew to accumulate and a cleaner visual result. Installation of large-format tile also requires more careful subfloor preparation, because any variation in the substrate will telegraph through to the tile surface and create lippage between adjacent tiles.
Double Vanity and Lighting
A double vanity was installed with two sinks and faucets, giving the bathroom enough counter space and fixture capacity for shared daily use. Mirrored storage cabinets were mounted above the vanity. Two light fixtures were positioned above the cabinets to provide even illumination across the full width of the vanity — one centered fixture over a double vanity tends to leave one side dimmer than the other, which makes the mirrors less useful for grooming on the shaded side.
What Changed
The window removal is the clearest example of what makes this remodel distinct from a standard bathroom refresh. It extended the project into exterior construction and required coordination across framing, insulation, siding, and paint — work that most bathroom remodels do not involve. The result is a bathroom with a more coherent interior layout, no ongoing window-to-tile waterproofing concern, and an exterior that shows no evidence of the change.
The built-in shower bench and the double vanity both reflect decisions made at the planning stage about how the room would be used — not features added opportunistically during the build.
Bathroom Remodeling in Washington Crossing
Washington Crossing is a Bucks County community known for its historic character and established residential neighborhoods. Homes in the area vary widely in age and condition, and bathroom layouts in older properties often reflect original construction decisions that do not suit how the space is actually used today. When a remodel needs to address those structural decisions — not just replace the tile — the scope and planning involved are different from a cosmetic update.
Belmax Remodeling works throughout Bucks County including Washington Crossing. For more on our bathroom work, see our bathroom remodeling service page. Homeowners in the Washington Crossing area can also visit our Newtown, PA bathroom remodeling page for nearby completed projects.
Considering a Similar Project?
This Washington Crossing project — 60 square feet, full remodel with custom shower bench, window removal and exterior wall reconstruction, double vanity, and large-format floor tile — came in at $10,500, completed December 2025. If your bathroom has layout issues that go beyond surface-level updates, request a free estimate to discuss what a full remodel would involve.