I refinished mine about two years ago with one of those epoxy kits from the hardware store, and honestly, it's held up surprisingly well—no peeling yet. Prep was key though... sanding thoroughly and cleaning obsessively made all the difference. Still, if patience isn't your thing, hiring out might save your sanity.
Did mine last year and went the DIY route too—though I skipped the epoxy and went straight for tile. Honestly, prep is everything, you're spot on there. I spent more time scraping old adhesive and leveling the subfloor than actually laying tile. Probably cursed enough to make my neighbors blush, but hey, it turned out decent and saved me a chunk of cash. All in, materials ran me about $1,200 (small bathroom), plus a weekend or two of my sanity. Still beats the quotes I got from contractors, though... those numbers made my wallet cry a little.
Did mine about two years ago, and your numbers sound pretty close to mine. I went DIY too, but opted for vinyl plank flooring instead of tile—mostly because I wasn't confident enough in my tiling skills yet. You're totally right about prep work being the real beast. I spent days pulling up old linoleum and scraping off glue residue... honestly thought I'd never see the end of it.
Materials ran me around $900 total (smallish bathroom), but I splurged a bit on fixtures and lighting, so that bumped it up another $400 or so. Still way cheaper than contractor quotes though—those were easily triple what I spent. One thing I'd recommend to anyone tackling this is investing in a good leveling compound if your subfloor isn't perfect. Makes laying down flooring way less stressful and saves you from headaches later on.
Your numbers seem pretty spot-on, but I gotta say, I'm not totally sold on the leveling compound being a must-have for everyone. I mean, sure, if your subfloor is really uneven or damaged, then yeah—it's a lifesaver. But in my experience (done a few bathrooms now), if you're dealing with just minor imperfections, you might get away with a good underlayment instead. It's cheaper and way less messy to work with.
I actually learned this the hard way when I went all-in on leveling compound for my first remodel. It definitely worked great, but mixing and pouring was kind of a pain... plus drying time slowed me down quite a bit. Next bathroom I tackled, I just used a thicker underlayment pad under some vinyl plank flooring, and honestly couldn't tell much difference in the end result.
Not knocking your advice—just wanted to throw out another option for folks who might be intimidated by self-leveling compounds or looking to save a bit more cash. Either way, DIY is still miles cheaper than hiring out!
I hear you on the leveling compound—been there, done that. My first flip I went all-out thinking I'd be fancy and "do it right." Ended up covered in the stuff, cursing the drying time and wondering why no one warned me about how messy it gets. Now, unless the floor's a total rollercoaster, I usually stick with a solid underlayment or just shim out minor dips. Saves money, time, and my sanity... and honestly, nobody's ever noticed any difference.