Renovating a Bathroom

Homeowners renovate their bathrooms for a variety of reasons, ranging from adding to the home’s resale value to expanding the size and functionality of the bath.  At one end you have simple replacement of existing toilet, faucet and bath fixtures, and cosmetic improvements to walls, ceiling, and floors.  At the other end you have removal of all existing fixtures, flooring, and wallboard and expanding the room to include amenities like Jacuzzis and Bidets.

Regardless of the scope of your renovation project, it all begins with ideas.   Even if you are only interested in replacing the toilet and sink, you must have an idea of what you want.  Perhaps you have a round bowl toilet and an elongated bowl would add comfort.  Perhaps your existing sink is so shallow you can’t use it without splash back.  The surface of your existing bathtub is worn beyond repair, so why not replace it with a whirlpool of the same size?

If you have unlimited financial resources it is quite possible to hire someone to do everything for you, right down to thinking through the kind of ideal bathroom you might want to have.  But even those who can afford this level of service will be missing one benefit of bathroom renovation:   the thrill and sense of achievement that accompanies exercising your own creativity.  Humans are the only species that “decorates its nest” and we are very passionate about our living spaces.  Investing some time and effort into learning some of the possibilities available in bathroom renovation can be a very rewarding experience.

Although it is hard for many young people to imagine, there once was a world without the Internet and back then one went to books and magazines for ideas on home renovation.   While an Internet search of the term “renovating a bathroom” will yield many web sites where you can learn renovation basics and even buy renovation software to create detailed design plans, there is still a place for the kinds of full size, beautifully photographed examples of bathroom renovations you’ll find in high quality magazines.   Spend a little time at your local library and you’ll come away filled with a wonderful world of possibilities.  In addition, visiting local “brick and mortar” retail Home Improvement Centers and Kitchen and Bath Outlets allows you to “touch and feel” actual products instead of pictures.

Once you have these preliminary ideas of the bathroom you would like to create, you’re ready to translate the ideas into action plans.   On the very low end of the renovation spectrum your plan might include the following steps:

1)  Purchase new toilet, sink, and faucet

2)  Purchase toilet, sink, and faucet installation hardware

3)  Remove toilet and sink

4)  Install new toilet, sink, and faucet.

More complicated renovations require more steps but this simple plan helps illustrate the relationship between the planning and budgeting process.  If you start with a flexible budget, this plan can help determine how much you can afford to spend on each plan component.  If you have no contracting skills, you will have to hire someone for installation, but there is no reason you can’t do the removal and purchasing on your own, saving a good bit of money in the process.  The savings can then be applied towards purchasing a better quality toilet, sink, or faucet.

Removing a sink and faucet can seem like a daunting task if you’ve never done it before, but it is in reality fairly simple and doesn’t require sophisticated tools.  You can search the net for step by step removal instructions that are easy to follow.  If you are not sure what kind of hardware will be needed for installation, ask.  Again, an internet search will yield the answer but shopping at a Home Improvement Center that employs knowledgeable sales personnel will get you the same result:  a list of the items you’ll need.

Finally, when renovating a bathroom in a home you are planning on living in for a long period of time, people generally opt for quality materials.  But when renovating for resale, all too many homeowners make the mistake of buying the cheapest fixtures they can find.  Sophisticated home buyers have access to the same information you do and they know “cheap stuff” when they see it.  Bathroom renovations should make the home more attractive to a potential buyer, but sometimes cheap materials can actually have the opposite effect.