What You Should Know Before Beginning Your Bathroom Renovation
In a lot of home renovation projects, bathrooms often get overlooked. They are rarely the focal point of your home (nor should they be), but a good bathroom renovation can actually work wonders for your house. An exceptional master bathroom automatically increases the value of your home, which will help in a potential re-sale situation, and executing improvements on a guest bathroom not only makes your home more inviting, it can also help increase your home’s market value. But bathrooms are not only often forgotten, a bathroom remodel can be a daunting task. When you take into account the amount of electrical outlets and all the plumbing involved, it can be intimidating. Here are some things you should know before you even start the remodeling process, and remember, you can get through this.
Budget
As is the case with any home renovation, it’s incredibly important that you implement a budget and do everything possible to stick to it. It’s generally a good idea to allot a certain amount of money in your budget for unplanned obstacles, added ideas, or inevitable mishaps. For instance, if you live in an older home, it’s possible that coding regulations have changed since your plumbing was initially installed, so you’ll need to allow some money to bring everything up to code. Unless you’re hiring a professional, you’ll probably end up cutting something wrong or doing something that you immediately regret. Keep this in mind when you’re calculating your budget. Prioritize what matters most in your renovation and shop around for those items. Figure out your bottom line, include a portion for accidentals, and get everything purchased before you start. The only consistent thing about renovations is the presence of inconsistencies. There will always be an unexpected hiccup along the way, so be prepared.
Shop Around
Bathroom renovations are incredibly hard to do on your own due to all the different aspects we’ve already discussed. You may be able to hang a new mirror or put some paint on your walls, but as far as plumbing and installing new showers, sinks, and corner toilets, it’s probably a smart move to bring in a professional. However, contractor prices can vary wildly from company to company. Don’t get in such a rush to get your project complete that you take the first estimate that you get. Shop around, bring in multiple contractors to give you an estimate, and don’t be afraid to tell them what the other contractors have quoted you on price. Money that you save on the contractor is money that you can use in other areas of your home. Get multiple quotes!
Save Money Where You Can
While you certainly don’t want to do a cheap looking renovation, it’s entirely possible to save some money in some practical ways. One such a way is to renovate your bathroom without totally changing the existing footprint of the bathroom in your home. In construction, a standard bathroom is generally somewhere between 36 and 40 square feet. While that gives you room for a tub (with shower), vanity, and toilet, it’s important for you to realize that you don’t have to change all of that around within your bathroom to completely change the look. If your toilet, vanity, and tub/shower are already in a good, practical spot in your floor plan, don’t feel like you have to totally change the footprint of the existing bathroom to make a splash. Doing so will mean you have to totally alter your plumbing and electrical layouts which can eat a big chunk of your budget. You can make a dramatic change to your bathroom keeping the layout the same by doing something as basic as replacing your existing countertops with marble countertops which provide an immediate elegant look to the space. Marble countertops are shockingly affordable with prices that can range from $40 per square foot up to $100 per square foot. Seeing as most vanities aren’t incredibly large, you could have marble countertops installed at a very reasonable rate.
Practicality Matters
At the end of the day it’s important to remember that while you want your bathroom to look good, it’s not a main living space in your house. As much as elegance is the goal, it’s important to keep practicality in mind. One of the most important elements of a bathroom is storage. It’s not difficult to find a way to incorporate nice looking cabinets or built-ins to help hide away towels and toiletries. You don’t have to sacrifice the look you’re going for, but you don’t want to go so extreme with a new look that you don’t allow this space to serve the purpose you need it for. Make sure that you allow some space in both your budget and your design for a place designated for storage.
Your bathroom remodel can make an immediate positive impact on your home, and it doesn’t have to break your bank account to do so. Keep these things in mind and enjoy the transformation that a new bathroom can bring to your home.
