Mission Hills asks for something on a bathroom submittal that no other city in this market asks for: the contractor's bid to the owner, filed alongside the interior plan calculating square footage. That is worth knowing before the first meeting, because it means the number and the scope have to be settled and written down before the permit process starts rather than negotiated alongside it. The rest of the submittal is an interior plan and, where walls are coming out, header construction drawings. The city puts construction drawing review at one to two weeks, which is a published figure rather than a guess, and it is short enough that the drawing package rather than the review is usually the item on the critical path in a house whose median year built is 1953.
What the work covers
- Demolition to the studs and subfloor wherever the existing waterproofing is suspect
- Supply and drain rework, including moving the toilet flange or shower drain if the layout changes
- Shower pan and wall waterproofing as one bonded system, not a patchwork of products
- Backing and blocking for grab bars, benches, glass and wall-hung fixtures
- Exhaust ventilation ducted to the exterior, never into an attic or soffit
What we find in Mission Hills homes
- A bathroom original to a 1950s house where the fixture layout has never been moved, only re-surfaced.
- Waste and vent arrangements that were legal in 1953 and have to be re-proved the moment a fixture relocates.
- A scope that has to be fully priced before submittal because the city wants the contractor's bid on file.
- Original wall assemblies that make the square-footage calculation on the interior plan less obvious than it looks.
Working in Mission Hills, KS
Mission Hills is roughly 1,365 housing units and every one of them is a single-family detached house that is owner-occupied. There are no apartments, no duplexes and no rentals in the count. About 73 percent of the stock predates 1960, with 315 units built in 1939 or earlier and 442 in the 1950s, and only 35 houses have been built here since 2010. The median year built is 1953. The city runs its permitting in house rather than contracting it out: a Codes Inspector reviews interior work and the City Planner grants final approval, and permits are filed through the OpenGov Permitting and Licensing portal. Residential work is reviewed against the 2018 International Residential Code, in force since January 1, 2020, and the 2017 National Electrical Code. MrImproveIt carries the Johnson County Class C residential contractor licence Mission Hills requires by trade before a permit issues. The city also requires a separate City Occupational License from contractors, with a certificate of liability insurance naming the City of Mission Hills as certificate holder.
How this job goes wrong
- Waterproofing treated as a product instead of a system, so the pan, curb and wall planes are never actually tied together
- An exhaust fan venting into the attic, which relocates the moisture problem rather than solving it
- Tile set on a floor that was never flattened, which telegraphs lippage across large-format tile
Planning range
$14,000 to $45,000. A tub-in-place refresh sits near the bottom. A gut to the studs with moved plumbing, custom glass and large-format tile sits at the top or past it. Plan on two to five weeks of active work once materials are on site.
What moves the price on a bathroom remodel in Mission Hills
Because Mission Hills wants the contractor's bid to the owner as part of the submittal, a bathroom here is priced fully before the permit is filed rather than refined alongside it. That is a discipline, not a cost, and it changes how the unknowns get handled: anything that cannot be seen before demolition is written as its own decision point with its own number rather than folded into a lump sum. The two items that most often move are the waste arrangement, because a 1950s bathroom was drained around fixtures that are about to relocate, and the wall assembly, because plaster behaves differently from drywall in both demolition and repair.
Permits and inspections for this work in Mission Hills
Bathroom work is permitted by the City of Mission Hills through the OpenGov Permitting and Licensing portal and reviewed in house. A typical interior remodel submittal is an interior plan calculating square footage, header construction drawings where walls are being removed, and the contractor's bid to the owner. Construction drawing review runs one to two weeks. Review runs against the 2018 IRC, in force since January 1, 2020, with the 2017 NEC for electrical. The city requires every contractor to be licensed with Johnson County by trade before a permit issues and states that it does not itself determine whether a contractor is qualified. We confirm current requirements with the city on every job rather than working from the last one.
Common questions about this work
Does a bathroom remodel in Mission Hills need a permit?
Usually yes, as soon as plumbing, electrical or framing changes. Permit requirements are confirmed with the local building department before work starts.
Can the bathroom stay usable during the work?
Not that bathroom. If it is the only full bath in the house, that changes the schedule, and it is worth saying so before the estimate is written.
How long is the bathroom out of service?
Plan on two to five weeks of active work once materials are on site. Tile and glass are the long poles, because glass is measured only after tile is set.
Bathroom Remodeling questions from Mission Hills homeowners
Why does Mission Hills want to see my contractor's bid?
It is part of the city's published interior remodel submittal, alongside the interior plan calculating square footage and header drawings where walls come out. No other city in this market asks for it. The practical effect is that the scope and the number have to be settled and written down before the permit process starts.
How long does drawing review take here?
The city puts construction drawing review at one to two weeks. That is a published figure, which is more than several neighbouring cities offer, and it is short enough that the drawing package itself is usually what sets the start date.
Who actually reviews the work in Mission Hills?
The city's own Codes Inspector reviews interior work and the City Planner grants final approval. Mission Hills does not contract its inspections out, so the people reading the drawings are the people who will be standing in the room.
Call (913) 395-8571 or request a written estimate before any work starts.