Bathroom Vanity Tops in Chesapeake, VA

Bathroom vanity tops are a small piece of stone that changes how a bathroom looks and feels. Many Chesapeake homes still have one-piece cultured marble tops with an integrated bowl, which tend to dull, craze around the drain, or yellow over the years. Replacing them with quartz, granite or marble and a separate undermount sink gives the bathroom a cleaner look and an easier surface to keep clean.

Material choices for a bathroom

Quartz is the most common choice for vanities because it shrugs off toothpaste, makeup and hair products and never needs sealing. Granite works well too, especially if it matches a kitchen. Marble is traditional in bathrooms and looks beautiful, but it etches from acidic products and needs sealing, so it suits a guest bath or a primary bath where the owners are prepared for the patina. Cultured marble remains an option for budget prefab tops; HomeAdvisor lists cultured marble at $40 to $180 per square foot.

Remnants keep vanity tops affordable

Vanity tops are small, often around 20 by 36 inches for a single sink. That means they can often be cut from remnants, the leftover pieces from larger kitchen slabs. Remnants can lower the price considerably, though color choice depends on what is available. If you are also doing the kitchen, a vanity cut from the same slab can match the two rooms.

Sinks, faucets and backsplashes

We cut undermount sink openings to your exact sink and drill faucet holes for single-hole, centerset (4-inch) or widespread (8-inch) faucets. Pick the sink and faucet before templating so the holes match. Most vanity tops get a 4-inch matching backsplash and a side splash where the vanity meets a wall.

Humidity, ventilation and the vanity below

Chesapeake's humid climate, combined with steamy showers, is hard on vanity cabinets made of particleboard or MDF. Leaks at the drain or supply lines can go unnoticed inside the cabinet and swell the box. We check the vanity before templating; if the cabinet is damaged, it is better to replace it first. A working exhaust fan helps everything in the room last longer, from the vanity to the grout.

Plumbing and permits

Replacing a top and reconnecting the sink and faucet where they already are counts as replacing plumbing fixtures without altering the supply and drain systems, which Virginia's Uniform Statewide Building Code exempts from permits. Converting a single vanity to a double, or moving the drain, alters the drain and supply lines and requires a plumbing permit. HomeAdvisor lists plumbing installation or replacement for a vanity at $400 to $2,000. If your plan goes beyond a direct swap, we list the plumbing work separately in the quote and schedule around the permit.

Updating baths before a move

In a region with as many military moves as Hampton Roads, many owners update hall and primary baths before listing or renting. Matching quartz vanity tops in a neutral color are an efficient way to make several bathrooms look current at once, and doing several vanities at the same visit keeps the cost per top down.