Renovating a Bathroom 🏠💡

Welcome to Area Renovation Inc Series. These articles cover a wide range of topics, from bathrooms to roofs, providing essential information for effective renovation planning, confident contractor communication, and maximizing your renovation investment.

Despite being the smallest room in your house, the bathroom is where you spend a significant amount of “quality” time. That’s why bathrooms have consistently ranked among the most popular rooms for renovation. 🛁💫 After all, if you’re going to be in there a lot, starring at the walls, the shower head, or yourself in the mirror, you might as well like what you see right?

If you’re thinking of renovating or remodeling your bathroom, you’ve probably got at least a few ideas in mind. Maybe it’s a color scheme, a tile design, or a super modern bath fixture you saw at the Jones’ house (so jealous!).

But where do you start?

Do you hire a contractor first? Buy all your fixtures and tiles together? What about budgeting…how much should you spend?

To get the bathroom of your dreams, and not go completely insane, it’s important to follow these three major steps:

1. Plan Ahead

Research:

Measuring! Measure your bathroom top to bottom. Measure dimensions of your shower, toilet, and vanity.
Know what you want before you buy. Go online, walk around hardware stores, talk to friends, and browse renovation magazines. Use everything at your disposal to find the colors, fixtures, tiles, shower heads, and accoutrements you like.
Find a good contractor in your area.

Budget:

According to homeguide.com, bathroom remodeling cost on average cost from $5,000 – $25,000 depending on size, and quality of materials. Pricing variables, such as material costs and labor expenses, fluctuate significantly across different regions of the country . 💰🌎 Generally speaking, you should plan on spending about 12-15% of your home’s value on a really good, full bathroom renovation.

Schedule and plan:

Define the duration and scope of your renovation. Know exactly what you want changed. When it comes to renovation timing, consider this: The number of renovations or fixtures you’re replacing plays a more crucial role than the actual size of your bathroom.
Order materials ahead of time. Materials (especially custom-built ones) can take time to arrive. Build that into your plan so your fixtures are available when your contractor needs them.
If your house only has one bathroom, plan ahead! Have a place where you can shower and “go” when you need to.

2. Design the space

Picking Fixtures:

Fixtures can significantly impact your budget. To maintain cost-effectiveness while still achieving your desired results, start by creating a list of “must-haves.” While there might be occasional indulgences, prioritize finding the best prices for your essential fixtures.Avoid feeling overwhelmed. Take it step by step—focus on one area of the bathroom at a time. Select fixtures for that specific zone, and then proceed to the next.Remember to strike a balance between style and functionality. After all, this room will be part of your daily life. Opt for fixtures that not only enhance aesthetics but also make your daily routines more convenient.

Flooring and Tiling:

When selecting tiles, prioritize both durability and design. Ceramic, marble, and stone tiles excel in terms of longevity and water resistance.
Use expensive tiles strategically. When aiming to reduce costs, consider using elegant tiles as accents or borders alongside more affordable and durable tiles. This way, you achieve both style and practicality. Get creative and make unique patterns!
Make sure flooring and tiles are well sealed. When designing a wet room, prioritize water damage prevention to avoid costly issues down the line. 💧🚿🔐

Buying Materials:

Before starting a project, there are typically two approaches to purchasing fixtures and materials. You can purchase them yourself and look for discounts and good buys on your own. Or you can go through your contractor, who usually gets deep discounts on materials, but may charge a mark up to you.
Purchase and receive all your parts and fixtures before the work starts!

3. Do the work

Sequence the job:

First of all, let the contractor do the work. If they’re experienced and trustworthy, you can rely on them to perform the task effectively and meet the agreed-upon deadline.
As a good rule of thumb, have your contractor work top down. That means starting at the ceiling, working on the walls and fixtures, and then finishing with the floors. This helps to keep things ordered, timely, and helps protect new components as the job goes on.