Bathroom remodeling in Maine usually means one bath in a cape or a farmhouse, often on an outside wall or in an ell that runs cold. Coastal houses add constant damp, so a fan that does not leave the building becomes peeling paint and a soft casing fast. Inland houses add the chance of a frozen line in that same ell. Plaster, a cast-iron tub, and a narrow stair are ordinary from Brunswick to Bangor. Say whether you are fixing a leak or rebuilding a room.
The ceiling or the crawl below tells the truth about the pan and the wax ring. Tile that sounds hollow has let go. A window in the shower is a rot path, quicker on the coast where the wall is already wet from fog. Fans that dump into the attic feed ice at the eaves inland and mold in the rafters on the shore. That is not a detail to skip because you like the new light fixture. Look under the lavatory for a soft floor.
Moving the toilet can mean joists, a septic system, and ledge that will not let the pipe go where you drew it. Keeping fixtures put is often the right scope. Well water stains and pressure should be known before a shower head is promised a performance the well cannot give. A line in an outside wall freezes the first hard night inland and can still freeze on the coast after a blow. Mention the heat in the room.
If this is the only bath, the house has to keep working. Galvanized pipe closed behind new board will weep. Access on an island or a peninsula changes when debris can leave. A camp converted to all-year use often has a bath that was never framed for daily winter. Say if that is your building. The pretty tile will not fix a stack that gurgles or a septic field in the yard.
Give the town, coast or inland, and what is below the floor. List a slow drain, a rotten sill, or a fan that goes nowhere. Say well or street water if you know. Call the number on this page.