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Planning estimates · Murray, UTBathroom cost calculators for Murray
Six tools, one for each kind of bathroom work this company does. Every one of them asks the same two questions first: how old is the house, and what is under the bathroom floor. In Murray those two answers move the number more than the tile ever will.
Six tools, one for each kind of bathroom work
In Utah a shower does not need a bigger drain than a bathtub
Search for the cost of a tub-to-shower conversion and you will be told, repeatedly, that the one-and-a-half inch tub drain has to be enlarged to two inches. That advice comes from the Uniform Plumbing Code. Utah does not use it. Utah follows the International Plumbing Code, and IPC Table 709.1 is explicit:
| Fixture | Drainage fixture units | Minimum trap — IPC (Utah) | Minimum trap — UPC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shower, single head | 2 | 1½ in | 2 in |
| Bathtub, with or without a shower | 2 | 1½ in | 1½ in |
| Lavatory | 1 | 1¼ in | 1¼ in |
So the existing pipe is not automatically undersized, and nobody should be quoting you for enlarging it as though the code demanded it. What genuinely costs money is moving the drain — a bathtub drains at one end, a shower drains in the middle — and what that costs depends entirely on what is underneath your bathroom floor.
| What is under the bathroom floor | Cost to move the drain | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A basement | $600 – $900 | The trap is reachable from below. It is a morning’s work. |
| A crawl space | $600 – $900 | Same, slower, and less pleasant. |
| A concrete slab | $1,200 – $2,500 | Saw-cut the floor, run the new pipe, repour, and wait for it to cure. |
| Not sure yet | Priced at a midpoint | Worth five minutes finding out — it is the largest single unknown in the job. |
Murray permits go through Murray, not Salt Lake County
Murray is one of very few cities in Utah that runs its own police, fire, power, water, library, parks and school district. It runs its own Building Division too, which means a bathroom permit here is a Murray City permit rather than a county one.
Murray City Code 15.08.030 sets the floor: “the minimum fee according to any table is fifty dollars ($50.00) and the minimum fee for each supplemental permit is ten dollars ($10.00)”. Above that minimum the city adopts the 1997 Uniform Administrative Code fee tables by reference rather than reprinting them, so these calculators use a flat allowance sense-checked against the $150 to $500 that a Salt Lake County bathroom permit typically runs. They do not invent a valuation formula.
| What the work touches | Permit | What the calculators allow |
|---|---|---|
| Replacing finishes in place — flooring, tile, paint, a like-for-like fixture | Generally not required | $0 |
| Fixtures swapped in place, nothing relocated | Building permit | $50 minimum |
| Moving a drain or a supply — any tub-to-shower conversion that recentres the waste | Building + plumbing | $110 |
| Adding a circuit — a heated floor, new lighting, a heated bench | Add electrical | +$60 |
| New or relocated exhaust ductwork | Add mechanical | +$60 |
| Moving a wall, or taking space from a bedroom or a closet | Plan review as well | +$120 |
The average Murray home was built in 1979 — and the range is enormous
Murray was settled in 1847, became a smelting and brickyard town when the railroad arrived in 1870, and reinvented itself as a bedroom community after the industrial base declined in the 1930s and 1940s. The result is housing stock that spans more than a century, and a bathroom’s price here is decided early by which part of that century it sits in.
Every calculator on this site asks when the house was built and applies the multiplier below. It is not a location index — it is the extra time that comes from walls that are not plumb, plaster that comes away with the surround, and a subfloor nobody has looked at since the tub went in.
| Built | What you usually find | Applied | Contingency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1960 | Plaster, out-of-plumb walls, original waste lines, and flooring that should be tested before it is lifted | +16% | 12% |
| 1960 to 1990 | Drywall, a fan that may or may not reach outside, and a subfloor that has usually seen one slow leak | +9% | 10% |
| 1991 to 2010 | Square framing, adequate panel, modern rough-in | baseline | 8% |
| 2011 or later | Everything where the code expects it; the old bathroom comes out cleanly | −3% | 8% |
One thing worth checking before you spend anything
The residential code asks for 50 cfm of intermittent extraction (or 20 cfm continuous), measured at the point of discharge after duct losses, and it has to discharge directly outdoors — never into an attic, a soffit or a ridge vent. In a great many older Murray bathrooms the fan either does not exist or terminates in the attic, which is where the moisture has been going for thirty years. It is one of the cheapest things on this entire site to fix, and it is why every calculator here asks about the fan.
What these usually land at
The default answer in each calculator, for a typical Murray bathroom in a house built between 1960 and 1990 with a basement underneath. They are starting points for a conversation rather than a price list — change any answer and the number moves, which is the entire point of the tools.
| Calculator | Typical range | What that assumes |
|---|---|---|
| Tub-to-shower conversion | $9,300 – $11,600 | A 5 ft alcove, ceramic tile to the ceiling, prefab pan, semi-frameless door, drain recentred |
| Bathtub replacement | $7,200 – $9,100 | Acrylic alcove tub, new tiled surround to 72 in, new pressure-balanced valve |
| Walk-in shower | $12,800 – $16,100 | 4 ft by 3.5 ft, porcelain to the ceiling, tiled pan, fixed glass panel, low curb |
| Master bathroom remodel | $26,300 – $33,000 | 100 sq ft, layout unchanged, tiled shower with glass, double vanity, porcelain floor |
| Bathroom flooring | $3,200 – $4,000 | 50 sq ft of porcelain over a sound subfloor, old vinyl lifted, toilet reset |
| Bathroom design | $700 – $900 | A full design plan with one fixture moving, half the fee credited against the build |
Tell us what the bathroom needs to do
Send a couple of photos and rough dimensions, and say roughly when the house was built and whether there is a basement, a crawl space or a slab underneath. You will get a straight answer about what the drain and the subfloor will allow — including whether anything you want needs a Murray City permit.
About these calculators
Are these calculators free?
Yes, and there is nothing to sign up for. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere and no result is stored — the numbers are worked out in your browser as you change the answers.
How accurate are they?
They are planning estimates, not quotes. They are built from the cost ranges published elsewhere on this site, from Murray City's own published permit rules, from the Utah plumbing and residential codes that apply, and from current Salt Lake County bathroom cost data. What they cannot see is the state of your subfloor, whether the walls are plumb, or where the waste line actually runs — and those are the things a real price turns on.
Do I need a permit for a bathroom remodel in Murray?
Murray runs its own Building Division rather than going through Salt Lake County, and it is one of very few Utah cities that runs its own power, water, fire, police, library and parks as well. Murray City Code sets a minimum permit fee of $50 per table plus $10 for each supplemental permit. Replacing finishes in place generally does not need a building permit; moving a drain, adding a circuit, changing ductwork or moving a wall does. Confirm with the Building Division at 801-270-2431 before you budget.
Does a tub-to-shower conversion need a bigger drain?
Not in Utah. That advice comes from the Uniform Plumbing Code, which requires a two-inch trap for a shower. Utah follows the International Plumbing Code, where IPC Table 709.1 gives a shower the same one-and-a-half inch minimum trap a bathtub has. What actually costs money is moving the drain from the tub's end position to the centre of the shower — about $600 to $900 through a crawl space or basement, and $1,200 to $2,500 through a concrete slab.
Why do the calculators ask what is under the floor?
Because it is the single biggest unknown in most bathroom jobs. Every wet-area change eventually means getting at a pipe, and whether that is a matter of reaching up from a basement, crawling under the house, or saw-cutting and repouring concrete can be a two-thousand-dollar difference on an otherwise identical job.
Why does the age of the house change the number?
The average Murray home was built in 1979, and the city has stock going back to its smelting and brickyard era in the early 1900s. Older bathrooms have out-of-plumb walls, subfloors that have quietly taken water under a tub, and pre-1980 flooring that should be tested before it is disturbed. Local builders recommend a 10 to 15 per cent contingency on older homes for exactly that reason, and these tools apply it rather than pretending it away.
Can I use these for a rental or a flip?
Yes. The material and fixture choices are where you would flex — panel surrounds, luxury vinyl plank and keeping every fixture where it is will land you at the bottom of every range on this site. The permit position does not change with who owns the house.
What is not included?
Anything outside the bathroom: a new water heater, a panel upgrade, repairs to a ceiling below, or making good a bedroom the bathroom was extended into. Asbestos or mould remediation is flagged as an option rather than assumed, because it depends on a test result nobody has yet.