Straight answers for your Southern Utah remodel

Plan on about $28,000 to update a kitchen and about $80,000 for a full midrange remodel.¹² Those numbers come from Las Vegas and Salt Lake City, the closest markets with published data. The 2025 Cost vs Value report from the Journal of Light Construction has no St. George or Cedar City market.³ It puts a minor kitchen remodel at $28,271 in Las Vegas and $27,871 in Salt Lake City. A major midrange remodel runs $80,500 and $79,909.¹²

Houzz users report a median spend of $20,000 on a minor kitchen job and $55,000 on a major one.⁴ These are planning ranges, not quotes. Try the estimator in our kitchen remodel cost guide.

A midrange bathroom remodel runs about $24,000 to $28,000 in the closest markets with published data.¹² Smaller updates often cost far less. The 2025 Cost vs Value report lists a midrange bath remodel at $23,733 in Las Vegas and $27,526 in Salt Lake City.¹² Houzz users put the median major bath remodel, where the shower gets redone, at $25,000. A minor refresh comes in near $9,000.⁵

A big upscale primary bath can pass $75,000.¹ Our bathroom remodel cost guide breaks out walk in showers and add ons.

Not by as much as you might hope. Federal data shows the median construction worker in the St. George metro made $23.69 an hour in May 2025. That compares with $28.92 in Salt Lake City and $29.17 in Las Vegas.⁶

But labor is only part of the bill. Fixr says it makes up 50% to 60% of a kitchen remodel's total cost.⁷ Cabinets, counters, fixtures, appliances and the remodeler's overhead make up the rest. Use published ranges to plan. Then let a written estimate for your own home set the real number.

Most people pay with savings, and some borrow against their home. In Houzz's 2026 study, 84% of renovating homeowners used savings, 34% used credit cards and 13% used a loan backed by their home. Many used more than one.⁸

A home equity loan pays out one lump sum. A HELOC lets you draw money as you need it, up to a set limit.⁹ HELOC rates usually change over time, so your payment can change too.¹⁰ Both use your house as security, so the lender can take it if you don't repay.¹¹ Talk with a lender or financial advisor about what fits. We don't offer loans.

A modest kitchen update tends to return the biggest share of its cost. In the 2025 Cost vs Value report, a midrange minor kitchen remodel got back 96.9% of its cost at resale in Las Vegas and 109.8% in Salt Lake City.¹² A major midrange kitchen returned about half in both cities.¹²

Bathrooms vary more. A midrange bath returned 85.8% in Las Vegas but 58.6% in Salt Lake City.¹² No one publishes St. George or Cedar City figures, so treat these as a rough guide. If you plan to stay for years, how you'll use the room matters too.

There may be, so ask before work starts. Downtown's St. George Central City Historic District joined the National Register of Historic Places on April 6, 2026. The city says the listing adds no restrictions.¹² Utah offers a state tax credit worth 20% of rehab costs on National Register homes. You have to spend at least $10,000, and the work must meet the Secretary of the Interior's Standards.¹³ Owner occupied homes can't use the federal credit.¹³

Cedar City points owners of listed homes to the same 20% state credit.¹⁴ Ask the Utah State Historic Preservation Office or a tax pro if your home and plans qualify.

Most full kitchen remodels take 6 to 12 weeks of work. Big or custom jobs often run 3 to 8 months from start to finish.¹⁵ Permits alone can take a week or two.¹⁵

Cabinets usually set the pace. Semi custom cabinets tend to arrive in 4 to 8 weeks. Fully custom ones can take 3 to 6 months or longer.¹⁵ Planning takes a while too: Houzz users say they spent 9.5 months on average planning a kitchen.⁸ Pick cabinets early, and ask the remodeler for a written schedule.

Plan on 2 to 4 weeks for a typical bathroom remodel, though some take up to 12 weeks.¹⁶ A prefab tub to shower swap can take as little as 2 days. A custom tile shower usually takes 1 to 2 weeks or longer.¹⁷

If it's your only full bath, ask the remodeler how long the shower will be out of use. Inspections add a little time too. In Hurricane, you book an inspection by 3 PM the business day before, and the city doesn't do same day inspections.¹⁸

It can, mostly for work on outside walls, plumbing in cold spots or anything in the ground. Cedar City sits at about 5,800 feet.¹⁹ Its airport averages about 169 nights a year at or below freezing, while St. George averages about 63.²⁰ Cedar City's building standards use a 30 inch frost depth,²¹ and Hurricane lists 12 inches.¹⁸

Inside jobs like cabinets, counters and tile depend less on the weather. Ask the remodeler how pipes on an outside wall will be kept from freezing. Hurricane's frozen pipe tips say to leave sink cupboard doors open when pipes run along an outside wall.²²

If the cabinet boxes are solid and the layout works, a refresh can make sense. If storage or flow bugs you every day, a full remodel fixes more. The typical Washington County home was built in 2003,²³ so plenty of local kitchens are about that age now.

Refacing keeps the boxes and puts on new doors and fronts for about $3,000 to $13,500.²⁴ Painting cabinets runs about $2,500 to $6,500.²⁵ Still, 68% of renovating homeowners in Houzz's 2026 study replaced every cabinet.⁴ Our kitchen remodeling page walks through both paths.

It's hard. St. George's 2024 water report says most water sources in Southern Utah are hard. It suggests softener settings between 13 and 24 grains per gallon.²⁶ Ivins City says its water is usually high in hardness and suggests a setting of 22.²⁷ That Ivins number doesn't cover Kayenta homes mostly west of the Dry Wash, which get water from a separate private system.²⁷

Hard water leaves scale that can shorten a water heater's life and clog pipes. It isn't a health concern, though.²⁸ If plumbing moves during your remodel, ask about room for a softener.

Natural gas comes from Enbridge Gas Utah, once called Questar Gas. It's the only regulated gas utility in the state.²⁹ Power depends on your address. St. George Energy Services covers most of St. George.³⁰ Bloomington, Bloomington Hills and Little Valley, south of the Virgin River, are on Dixie Power.³¹ Washington City Power serves Washington north of the river.³² Santa Clara and Hurricane run their own city power.³³ Ivins and Cedar City use Rocky Mountain Power.³⁴³⁵

If you ever smell gas, leave and call Enbridge at 1-800-767-1689 or 911 from a safe place.³⁶

Usually yes, if the work moves pipes, adds wiring, touches gas or changes walls. Utah's statewide code for homes calls for a permit before you change a building or replace its electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing systems.³⁷ The same code skips permits for paint, tile, carpet, cabinets, countertops and similar finish work. So swapping cabinets and counters in place often needs no permit.³⁷

Rules vary by city, so the remodeler should check with yours. St. George, Washington City and Cedar City take permits online through CityInspect.³⁸³⁹⁴⁰ Unincorporated Washington County uses CivicReview.⁴¹

Yes. Cedar City's building FAQ asks that exact question and answers with a plain yes. It also warns that most insurance companies could deny coverage for work done without a permit or not built to code.⁴² The city says you generally need one for structural, electrical, plumbing or mechanical changes, or for changes to walls or floors.⁴²

You apply online only. The application needs the licensed contractor's details, unless the owner uploads a notarized owner builder form.⁴⁰ Unincorporated Iron County gives the same yes.⁴³ Enoch has its own building department.⁴⁴

Yes. Washington City lists water heater replacement as a Simple Permit. Gas line additions and HVAC upgrades are on that list too.⁴⁵ In Cedar City, a gas line for a new water heater needs a gas meter or mechanical permit if no other permit covers it.³⁵ Iron County's fee schedule includes a water heater permit.⁴⁶

Utah law says gas appliance work must be done by someone certified for it, even on small jobs.⁴⁷ Hurricane also notes that a water system with a backflow device needs a way to handle thermal expansion, like an expansion tank.⁴⁸ Other cities set their own rules, so check yours.

In Kayenta, yes. Its Architectural Control Committee has to approve a Form G before any remodel of an existing home. That includes inside jobs that affect neighbors, like ones that need a dumpster or portable toilet on site.⁴⁹

More broadly, Utah law limits HOA rules about a home's interior to what's reasonably needed for the safety of nearby lots.⁵⁰ But limits written into the CC&Rs themselves don't count as rules under that law.⁵¹ HOA rules also can't stop you from hiring someone just because they aren't on a preferred vendor list.⁵⁰ Read your CC&Rs first. HOA approval doesn't replace a city permit.

Exterior changes. Santa Clara adopted design guidelines for its Historic District in 2024. They say any change to a building's outside, even painting, is subject to the guidelines and Heritage Commission review.⁵² The district covers historic properties along Santa Clara Drive and nearby side streets. Most homes there date from the 1920s to the 1960s: bungalows, period cottages and ranch homes.⁵²

The guidelines don't list interior work. Still, check with the city before you assume a kitchen or bath job skips review. Plan on normal building permits either way.

You can remodel it, but nightly renting depends on where it sits. About 1 in 10 Washington County homes is a seasonal or part time home.²³ St. George allows rentals of under 28 days only in designated areas, not in single family zones. Renting out a home also takes a business license.⁵³ The city posts its approved properties online.⁵⁴

Washington City limits nightly rentals to named subdivisions, with yearly fire inspections.⁵⁵ Hurricane allows them in approved resort communities.⁵⁶ Check your address with the city before you plan a remodel around rental income.

Most tub to shower conversions cost about $1,200 to $10,000. The average is around $4,000, and high end custom builds can reach $20,000.¹⁷ A prefab kit sits at the low end: about $2,000 to $3,000 in materials plus roughly $1,000 in labor.¹⁷ A new walk in shower averages about $8,000, and most land between $5,000 and $11,000.⁵⁷

These are national figures, so local quotes will vary. See the bathroom cost guide for tiers, or read more about walk in showers.

Usually not by much. Fixr says going curbless doesn't usually add much to the cost, and it puts the average near $6,000.⁵⁷ A custom 60 by 60 inch curbless shower with a seat, grab bars and full tile can still top $20,000.⁵⁷

Houzz asked homeowners who were remodeling to age in place what they chose. It found 55% picked a low curb shower and 32% went curbless.⁵ Ask the remodeler which one fits your floor, your drain spot and your budget.

A grab bar costs about $85 to $300 to install, and a typical stainless L shaped bar runs about $248.⁵⁸ For height, one reference point is the ADA standard for public buildings. It puts grab bars 33 to 36 inches above the floor.⁵⁹ That standard doesn't apply to private homes, so the right spot depends on who uses the bath.

In Houzz's 2026 study, grab bars were the top bathroom pick for people remodeling to age in place, at 63%.⁵ Ask the remodeler to mark bar spots before tile goes up.

Yes, and local numbers help explain why. More than 1 in 5 Washington County residents is 65 or older, close to double the Utah share.⁶⁰ In AARP's 2024 survey, 75% of adults 50 and older want to stay in their current home as long as they can. Of those planning changes, 72% want bathroom upgrades like grab bars and no slip tile.⁶¹

The CDC says more than one in four people 65 and older falls each year.⁶² Nationally, a tub comes out in 26% of bathroom projects. When it does, 79% of owners use the space for a bigger shower.⁵

There can be, but help is limited and no one qualifies automatically. The Five County Area Agency on Aging serves older adults in Washington, Iron, Beaver, Garfield and Kane counties.⁶³ Utah's Caregiver Support Program runs through local aging agencies. It may provide limited extras, such as grab bars, for unpaid family caregivers of people 60 and older. There's no low income rule.⁶⁴

USDA's Section 504 program offers grants of up to $10,000 to very low income owners 62 and older in eligible rural areas. The money only goes to fixing health and safety hazards.⁶⁵ Call the agency to ask what's open now.

Send us a short request, and we'll pass it to one independent remodeler who serves your town. That remodeler has an active Utah contractor license. They'll call you, set up a visit at your home and give you a written estimate.

Requests come in from St. George, Washington, Hurricane, Ivins, Santa Clara and Cedar City, plus La Verkin, Toquerville, Leeds and Enoch. Whoever you hire, you can look up their license for free on the state's DOPL lookup.⁶⁶ Our bathroom remodeling page explains what the work involves.

No. Southern Utah Kitchen Remodel is an advertising and referral service, not a contractor. We pass each request to one independent remodeler who serves your area and has an active Utah contractor license.

That remodeler visits your home and handles the design. They write the estimate, sign the contract with you, pull any permits and do all the work. We don't do any remodeling, and we don't sell materials. Our part is the handoff, checking that the remodeler's license is active, and explaining costs on this site. Read how it works for more.

The estimate is free, and you never have to hire anyone. You don't pay us anything, now or later. Remodelers may pay us for the requests we pass along. That's how the site stays free for homeowners.

Any price for your project comes from the remodeler, in writing. Utah requires a contractor's license number on contracts and bids.⁶⁷ If you sign, your contract is with the remodeler, not with us. If the estimate doesn't fit your budget, you're free to walk away.

Use the free license lookup from Utah's Division of Professional Licensing, called DOPL.⁶⁶ Search the company or person and make sure the license shows as active. DOPL requires licensed contractors to carry liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per incident and $2,000,000 total.⁶⁸

In Utah, a remodeling job worth $7,000 or more, counting labor and materials, generally needs a licensed contractor.⁴⁷ Plumbing and electrical work needs licensed trades, even on small jobs.⁴⁷ Before we pass along your request, we check that the remodeler's license is active.

No. Your request goes only to us and one independent remodeler who serves your area, so only that remodeler calls you about it. That remodeler has an active Utah contractor license. We don't post your details on a bidding site or hand them to a crowd of companies.

You're still free to get other bids on your own. The state's DOPL lookup lets you check anyone's license.⁶⁶ When you're ready, call (385) 450-4329 or send the three step form.