Bathroom remodeling in Detroit usually means a small old room that freezes, thaws, and sits over a damp basement. Plaster at the tub rim softens. A fan dumped into a cold attic feeds the moisture an ice dam uses. Moving the toilet is a bigger job than swapping the tub, because the drain in the floor sets the layout. Say whether the footprint stays put.
Cast iron stacks and tight joists limit how far a drain can move. Stained surrounds often hide soft board. A formed base and a tiled shower keep water out differently, and the slope to the drain has to be real. A valve that will not hold steady belongs on the same list as the new wall. Say if the floor beside the tub already feels soft.
Steam has to leave the house, not the ceiling of a bungalow. A fan that only stirs the room fails that test. The duct should end outdoors rather than in a freezing soffit. The bath window in these houses is often painted shut, so it is not a plan. Ask if water is stopped by a continuous membrane or only by the finish people see.
Many of these baths are narrow, and the tub is tall. A grab bar needs blocking in the framing, not a hopeful screw in the finish. A curbless shower can mean dropping the floor. Say who has to use the room and what must stay easy to step into. A shower window on an outside wall takes the worst of the thaw.
Say tub, shower, or a full gut, and say whether the stack wall can be opened. A soft spot in the floor turns a fixture swap into open joists. Say if the fan currently ends in the attic. Photos of the room help after you are on the line. Call the number on this page.