How to do bathroom remodeling without losing your mind or overspending
Bathroom remodeling will help your home to sell but more importantly, will make your home a more pleasant place to live while you own the property. Here’s a plan to help you remodel without losing your mind, overspending, or possibly endangering your marriage.
1. First and foremost, you need to have a plan. Before you starting breaking down walls, tearing out tubs and tile, you should know how you want the layout to be, what you’re going to use for flooring, walls, fixtures and lighting as well as how much you want to spend. Whatever your budget is, plan on a deviation of approximately 10% so that you have wiggle room if you go over budget or there’s an unexpected expense.
If you don’t have a plan and start changing your mind as you go along, you’ll find that your budget will have to be adjusted accordingly and so will your time frame. If you’re using a contractor, it will cost you to make changes or alterations.
One item that may seem like a luxury but may actually save you money in the long run is a designer. A designer has been through this process before, is trained to listen to and interpret what you want, and can make the process go more smoothly. The designer will be your master planner for the project and will keep you from worrying about the little details that you may not think of but which may end up costing you thousands.
2. Change = Cost
When you’re thinking about bathroom remodeling decide whether or not the original footprint of the bathroom can work for you. If you don’t have to move pipes you’ll save hundreds if not thousands on plumber expenses. You’ll also be able to allocate those funds to some extras or luxury items that you might not ordinarily be able to afford. Look long and hard at your current plan and see what you can and can’t live with. If you can’t live with something, see whether or not it can be modified to make it more livable before you completely demolish and re-design. Maybe the shower isn’t so bad in it’s current location with some glass doors and a multiple head shower.
3. Lights, lights, lights!
Nothing dates a bathroom more than low or flickering lighting. Older bathrooms with florescent bulbs, dated fixtures, and shiny gold accents are never well received by buyers. Lighting is very important to make sure that the bathroom can be seen and that you can see yourself in the bathroom. With the new energy efficient lights that are available, there are some amazing options for your new bathroom lighting.
4. Fog is not a fashion statement
Remember to put in a ventilation system please. Foggy mirrors are not romantic they’re actually contributing to a slippery floor and possible mold and mildew. It’s expensive to remediate mold so spend the extra money to have a ventilation system put into your nice new bathroom and make sure it vents the air to the outside not the attic. There are some very nice models that are quiet and don’t sound like miniature airplanes taking off which can be purchased reasonably.
5. Sometimes it’s not what you see that’s important
Storage is always a huge item for bathrooms. No matter how efficient you are in your hygiene, you’ll still need to be able to store towels, soaps, hair items, tissue paper, etc. It doesn’t have to be conventional storage to work. You can put in shelving units over the toilet, bath or by the shower. Shelves can go almost anywhere and come in almost any size. Storage doesn’t have to be fixed into place either. Baskets for towels or coat racks for towels and clothes will work as well.
6. How to stay within budget
If you’re handy and you can do some of the work yourself, you’ll save some money. If you can paint or install baseboards, install the shelving, install the toilet or mirrors, you will be able to add up some significant savings to either pocket or put to another luxury item in the bathroom. If you’re working with a contractor make sure you let them know what you’re working on so that you don’t have an issue later with either billing or them doing the work you can do.
7. Don’t over personalize the project
Just because you like purple and plaid doesn’t mean that they need to be represented in a permanent manner in your new project and doesn’t mean that anyone else will appreciate that upgrade. Better to go more neutral in the permanent upgrades and accent with towels and knick knacks that represent your personality and style.
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