NYS and NYC M/WBE Certified Contractor
The biggest fear most Setauket homeowners carry into a bathroom renovation isn’t the cost. It’s what happens when the walls come down. You’ve heard the stories a contractor finds mold behind the shower, or pulls up floor tile and hits something that looks like it shouldn’t be touched. Suddenly the job is on hold, you’re sleeping down the hall, and now you’re coordinating a second company you didn’t budget for. That’s the scenario we eliminate before it starts.
The majority of homes in Setauket and East Setauket were built before 1978. That means lead paint on trim, asbestos in floor tile or joint compound, and moisture damage that’s been accumulating quietly behind walls for decades especially in homes near Setauket Harbor or Conscience Bay, where coastal humidity doesn’t let up. We hold licenses for asbestos abatement, lead-based paint removal, and mold remediation. If something turns up during demo, we handle it in-house, on the same timeline, without stopping your project or calling in outside help.
What you end up with is a fully finished bathroom properly permitted through the Town of Brookhaven, built with materials that hold up in a coastal environment, and completed by one crew that was accountable from the first day to the last. No handoffs, no finger-pointing, no half-demolished bathroom sitting open for three weeks while you wait on a specialist.
We’re based in Bohemia, NY Suffolk County, not Nassau, not the city. We’ve been working in homes across Long Island’s North Shore long enough to know exactly what a pre-1978 Setauket home looks like on the inside once the demo starts. We know the cast-iron plumbing, the mud-bed tile, the galvanized supply lines, and the ventilation systems that were never quite right. That familiarity isn’t a marketing line it changes how we plan and price your project from day one.
We’ve completed over 5,000 restoration and remodeling projects across New York State. We hold a Nassau County Home Improvement Contractor License, NYC DCA License, Lead-Based Paint License LBP-F122209-1, and state asbestos abatement certifications and we carry full general liability and workers’ compensation insurance. In a community like the Three Village area, where homeowners research before they hire and neighbors talk, those credentials aren’t optional. They’re the baseline for earning your trust.
It starts with a walkthrough not a sales pitch. We look at your existing bathroom, ask about what’s working and what isn’t, and talk through what you actually want out of the space. For a lot of Setauket homeowners, that’s a walk-in shower to replace an old tub, better lighting, storage that makes sense, or accessibility features they’re planning ahead for. We take notes, ask the right questions, and give you a realistic scope before anything is signed.
From there, we handle the permit application with the Town of Brookhaven. This step trips up a lot of homeowners who try to manage it themselves the documentation requirements, the review timelines, and the inspection scheduling all have to be done correctly or the project stalls. We’ve done this enough times to know what the building department needs and how to get it submitted right the first time. Simple permits can come back in two to three weeks; anything requiring plan review takes longer, and we account for that in your timeline upfront.
Demo comes next, and this is where our process diverges from a standard remodeling contractor. Before we open walls, we assess for hazardous materials. If we find anything asbestos in old floor tile, lead paint on the trim, mold behind the shower surround we remediate it in-house under the appropriate licenses before the rebuild begins. Then it’s plumbing rough-in, electrical, waterproofing, tile, fixtures, vanity, and finish work all under one contract, with one crew, through final inspection.
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A full bathroom gut renovation with us covers everything from demolition through final inspection and in Setauket, that scope almost always includes things a standard remodeling company isn’t equipped to handle. Hazardous materials assessment is built into every project, not offered as an add-on after something shows up. If your home was built before 1978, we treat that as a baseline assumption and plan accordingly.
On the build side, we specify materials for a coastal environment cement board substrates instead of greenboard, waterproof membranes behind tile, properly sealed grout systems, and ventilation fans sized to actually move air in a bathroom that faces Long Island Sound humidity year-round. These aren’t premium upgrades. They’re what a bathroom in Setauket needs to last more than a few years before grout starts failing and moisture finds its way into the substrate.
For homeowners whose remodel was triggered by water damage a burst pipe in an older home, storm flooding, a slow leak that finally became impossible to ignore we also handle the insurance documentation and bill carriers directly. That’s a meaningful difference if you’re already dealing with a stressful situation and don’t want to manage an adjuster and a contractor at the same time. We operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, so if something happens in your home on a Saturday night, you’re not waiting until Monday to get a callback.
Yes for most bathroom remodels, you’ll need at least one permit from the Town of Brookhaven, and often more than one. If your project involves moving or modifying plumbing, adding or upgrading electrical circuits, installing a new ventilation fan, or making any structural changes, permits are required. Simple cosmetic updates painting, swapping out a toilet or vanity in the same location typically don’t require a permit, but the moment you’re touching supply lines, drain locations, or wiring, you’re in permit territory.
The reason this matters beyond legal compliance is practical: Suffolk County can issue stop-work orders, impose fines up to $25,000, and require demolition of completed work that wasn’t permitted. It also creates problems at resale, especially in a market like Setauket where buyers at the $1 million-plus price point will have their attorneys review everything. We handle the permit process from application to final inspection, so you don’t have to figure out the Town of Brookhaven’s documentation requirements on your own.
This is the question most Setauket homeowners should be asking before they hire anyone and most don’t ask it until it’s too late. If your contractor isn’t licensed for asbestos abatement or mold remediation, the answer is: the job stops. They’re legally required to stop work when they encounter regulated materials, and now you’re waiting on a specialist, paying for a delay you didn’t budget for, and living with a half-demolished bathroom in the meantime.
In Setauket and East Setauket, where the median home was built in 1969 and a large portion of the housing stock predates 1978, this isn’t a rare scenario. Asbestos shows up in original floor tile, pipe insulation, joint compound, and ceiling texture. Mold accumulates behind shower surrounds and under flooring in homes that have dealt with decades of coastal humidity from Setauket Harbor and Conscience Bay. Lead paint is common on trim and door frames in any pre-1978 home. We hold licenses for all three asbestos abatement, lead-based paint removal (LBP-F122209-1), and mold remediation so when something turns up during demo, we handle it in-house without stopping your project or bringing in a separate company.
The honest answer is that it depends heavily on scope, but you should plan for Long Island pricing to run 30 to 50 percent above the national average. A midrange full gut renovation in Setauket new tile, updated plumbing fixtures, vanity, lighting, and ventilation typically runs in the $35,000 to $60,000 range. High-end finishes, larger bathrooms, or projects that require hazardous materials remediation before the rebuild can go higher.
The factors that push cost up in this area specifically are labor rates, permit fees through the Town of Brookhaven, and the likelihood of encountering something behind the walls that needs to be addressed before the build begins. That last point is where a lot of Setauket homeowners get surprised mid-project when they’ve hired a contractor who didn’t account for it. We price projects with a realistic assessment of what’s likely in a home of your age and construction so the number you agree to at the start is as close as possible to the number at the end. We’ll also tell you upfront if something in your bathroom’s history suggests a higher likelihood of hidden issues, rather than letting you find out during demo.
For a full gut renovation, you’re typically looking at four to eight weeks from permit approval to final inspection but the permit timeline itself adds time before that clock starts. Simple permits through the Town of Brookhaven can come back in two to three weeks. Projects requiring plan review take four to six weeks or longer, and during busy construction seasons in the spring and early summer, those timelines can extend further. We account for all of this in your project schedule upfront so you’re not caught off guard.
The actual construction phase once permits are in hand moves faster when one crew handles everything. When you’re not waiting on a separate plumber, a separate electrician, or a separate tile contractor to show up on their own schedules, the project stays on track. If we encounter hazardous materials during demo, we handle that in-house rather than pausing the job to bring in outside help, which is one of the most common causes of extended timelines in older Setauket homes. We give you a realistic completion window before we start, and we communicate clearly if anything changes.
Potentially, yes and it’s worth understanding what your policy covers before you assume you’re paying out of pocket. Homeowners insurance typically covers sudden and accidental water damage, like a burst pipe or a washing machine line failure, but not gradual damage from a slow leak that’s been going on for years. The distinction matters, and insurers will ask for documentation of when the damage occurred and what caused it.
For Setauket homeowners, burst pipes in older plumbing systems and storm-related flooding from nor’easters or coastal surge events are both realistic scenarios that may be covered under your policy. We’ve handled the insurance documentation and direct billing process on hundreds of restoration and remodeling projects. We know what adjusters look for, how to document damage properly, and how to submit the claim in a way that supports your coverage. If your bathroom remodel was triggered by a covered event, we can take the insurance coordination off your plate entirely which matters when you’re already dealing with a damaged home and don’t need another layer of complexity added to it.
The Three Village area is a tight-knit community, and reputation travels. The most important things to verify before hiring any contractor for a bathroom remodel in Setauket are licensure, insurance, and the ability to handle what’s actually inside your walls. Ask for specific license numbers not just “we’re licensed and insured” and verify them. Ask directly whether they hold EPA RRP certification for lead paint, asbestos abatement credentials, and mold remediation licensing. In a community where the majority of homes were built before 1978, a contractor who can’t answer those questions confidently is not fully equipped to work in your home.
Beyond credentials, look at how they handle the permit process. A contractor who tells you permits aren’t necessary for your scope, or who suggests pulling them in your name as a homeowner, is a red flag. Legitimate bathroom remodeling contractors in Suffolk County pull permits in their own name, manage the process with the Town of Brookhaven, and stand behind their work through final inspection. Check reviews carefully not just the star rating, but what people say about communication, timeline, and what happened when something unexpected came up. That last category tells you the most about how a contractor actually operates once the job is underway.
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