Bathroom Remodeling in Yolo, CA

First, the thing that trips everyone up: Yolo is both a county and a small community inside it. This page is about the community — historically known as Cacheville — a place of roughly 425 people on the valley floor at about 74 feet of elevation, northwest of Woodland. Its water district still carries the Cacheville name, a reminder of the town’s older identity.

The distinction is not just trivia. A remodel in the town of Yolo has its own specific utility picture — one that differs from both the county at large and from the wells-and-septic hamlets nearby. Getting the place right is the first step to getting the project right.

The town of Yolo has an unusual utility split. Its water is public: the Cacheville Community Services District operates the community water system (state ID CA5700700, roughly 157 connections on two wells). But its wastewater is not — the LAFCo record states the district specifically opted not to provide sewer service, so the community relies on private septic systems, with the nearest sewer some four miles away in Woodland.

For a remodel that split governs the plumbing plan. On the supply side we are working with a monitored district system whose water quality is published each year. On the drain side we are working with a private septic field whose capacity was set when it was installed — so before adding any load-increasing fixture we confirm the system can absorb it and favor efficient, low-flow toilets and showerheads.

Because the water is on a public system, its quality is measured. The Cacheville district’s 2025 Consumer Confidence Report lists total hardness at 265 ppm as calcium carbonate — about 15.5 grains per gallon, which is very hard. Water like that clouds shower glass, etches thin chrome plating, and leaves film on porous grout.

So the finish selections follow the published number. We default to large-format porcelain over natural stone in wet zones, dense epoxy grout, hydrophobic-coated shower glass, and PVD-coated or solid-brass fixtures that resist mineral pitting — choices that keep the bathroom looking clean well past installation day.

The town of Yolo is mapped in FEMA Zone A — a Special Flood Hazard Area, but one where FEMA has not published a base flood elevation. The flood risk is recognized without a specific required height being set. For a bathroom remodel the substantial-improvement rule still applies: a project costing 50% or more of the structure’s pre-construction market value triggers full floodplain compliance under Yolo County Code 8-4.201.

The wrinkle is the missing base elevation. Without a published number, a project that reaches the threshold may need a site-specific elevation determination rather than a figure read off a map. Most single-bathroom projects stay comfortably below the threshold, but we confirm where a project lands before design so any floodplain step is planned, not discovered.

See our Northern California bathroom remodel cost guide for a full breakdown.

The town of Yolo is unincorporated, so bathroom-remodel permits are issued by the Yolo County Community Services Department, Building Division in Woodland. Any project that relocates plumbing, alters electrical, or changes structure requires a permit, and floodplain review may apply given the Zone A mapping. We pull the permit, coordinate any floodplain step, and schedule the rough-in, waterproofing, and final inspections.