Bathrooms · City of San Diego
Bathroom remodeling in San Diego
A bathroom remodel rebuilds a small room that has to stay watertight for decades: the shower or tub, the vanity, the tile and the waterproofing behind it, the fan and the lights. In the City of San Diego, a same-size tub or shower set in the same spot needs no building permit. A full remodel that keeps the walls and the number of fixtures goes on a No-Plan permit, and a new fixture or a moved wall brings drawings.
BHI Builders, licensed by CSLB as a B General Building contractor since 1997 under license 738313, designs, permits and builds bathroom remodels in homes across San Diego County, from powder rooms to primary suites.
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- 111Permits on the public record, 2000 to 2025See the projects
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What a full bath remodel changes
The tub surround and the oak vanity give way to a walk-in shower, a double vanity and stone underfoot. Slide the handle to see both.
Right for your house when
The bath leaks, stays damp or no longer suits the people using it: a tub nobody climbs into, one sink for two, a step-in that keeps getting harder, or tile with soft spots behind it. The rest of the house is fine.
The wrong choice when
You need another bathroom rather than a better one. A new bath means new plumbing fixtures and often new floor area, which makes it part of an addition with its own permit path.
If a new shower pan and a proper fan would solve it, we tell you that on the call.
What the City asks of a bathroom remodel
| Rule | What applies |
|---|---|
| Like-for-like swaps | A tub replaced by a tub, or a shower by a shower, of the same size in the same place takes no building permit. A new toilet or sink in place of the old one takes no plumbing permit either, provided its drain, vent and supply lines are left alone. |
| No-Plan permit | A bath remodeled inside its existing walls, with the same count of fixtures and no structural or exterior change, gets the City's No-Plan permit: one permit for the plumbing, electrical and mechanical work, issued with no plan review, in a house that was permitted and finaled. |
| More fixtures or moved walls | A second sink, a separate shower beside the tub, a new toilet room or any change to the wall framing takes the bath off the No-Plan permit and onto drawings and a plan check. |
| Fan and wiring | Done as a job of its own, a new exhaust fan, a new circuit or moved outlets fit the City's self-issued Simple MEP permit, which isn't available for a designated historical resource or a home in a historic district. |
| Alarms | Any permitted bath job in an existing home also means smoke and carbon monoxide alarms that meet today's code before the final inspection. |
| Houses 45 years or older | Remodeling a bathroom from the inside needs no historic screening. When a building on the lot is 45 or more years old and the work alters its exterior, such as a new or enlarged window, the City screens it before issuing the permit. |
| Water-saving fixtures | Permitted bath work in a house built by January 1, 1994 ends with every toilet, showerhead and interior faucet in the house meeting the state's water limits, a condition of the building department's final approval. |
Outside the City of San Diego, the bath is permitted by your own city or, in unincorporated areas, by the County, each with its own exemptions. Find who issues my permit
Bathroom remodel questions
Do I need a permit to remodel a bathroom in San Diego?
Only a straight swap avoids one. Once the work reaches the pipes, the wiring or the shower's drain, the City expects a permit, usually its No-Plan permit when the walls and the number of fixtures stay the same. Moving a wall or adding a fixture means drawings.
Can I replace my tub with a walk-in shower?
Yes, and it is one of the most common bath changes. Because the fixture itself changes, it isn't the exempt tub-for-tub swap and takes a permit; done inside the existing walls with nothing added, it fits the No-Plan permit's terms. The drain is moved and sized for the shower, and the pan and walls are waterproofed and flood tested before any tile goes on.
Can a shower have no curb?
Often. A curbless shower needs the floor under it lowered, or the rest of the room raised, so water runs to the drain, and lowering it can mean cutting into floor framing, which puts the job on drawings. A linear drain along the back wall makes the slope simpler to build.
Can we add a second sink?
Yes, if the vanity wall has the room. A second sink adds a plumbing fixture, which ends the No-Plan option: the bath is then permitted with plans, and the drain, vent and supply lines run along the same wall.
Does my bathroom need an exhaust fan?
Most remodeled baths get one, ducted to the outdoors rather than into the attic, because moisture is what ruins grout, paint and cabinets first. Replaced or added on its own, a fan goes on a Simple MEP permit.
We only have one bathroom. Can we stay home during the remodel?
Many families do. With a single bathroom, the order of the work is planned around it: the toilet is set back in early, and the days without a shower are agreed before demolition starts. With a second bath in the house, that one simply stays in use.
Do we have to replace old toilets in our other bathrooms?
If the house was built and in use by January 1, 1994, state law ties the City's final sign-off on permitted work to water-conserving fixtures throughout: no toilet over 1.6 gallons per flush, no showerhead over 2.5 a minute, no interior faucet over 2.2. A licensed plumber can certify where that isn't technically feasible.
Is lead paint a concern in an older bathroom?
In a home from before 1978 it can be, in the old paint on the walls, the trim and the doors. Federal rules require any paid firm whose work disturbs that paint to hold EPA certification and to keep the dust contained.
Who picks the tile and the fixtures?
You do, with help. A designer we work with, or your own, lays out the room, and the shower valve, the drain and any niche are placed before the walls close, since moving them later means taking tile off.
Tell us about your bathroom.
On a short call we go over the room, who uses it, what is failing and the permit the work will take.
