Bathrooms are one of the most, if not the most important, rooms in any household. This is why it is extremely important to have a bathroom that not only looks great but also functions well. However, remodeling a bathroom can create a huge dent in the wallet of homeowners. From replacing old bathroom vanities to purchasing new shelves for storage, there are a number of reasons why most homeowners try to avoid this huge undertaking.
But if you’re worried about the total cost and damage this would make, there are actually a lot of simple and innovative ways you can remodel your bathroom without spending a huge amount of money. Here are some money-saving tips to help you successfully renovate your bathroom:
1. Always start with a plan
In any remodeling project, nothing else is going to cost you more money than realizing that you missed a step or did something wrong and having to re-do something. This is why the first step to saving money when remodeling your bathroom is to plan ahead of time.
Not only will this save you money, but it will also save you time and energy.
Planning starts from listing down everything you’d want in your bathroom. From there you have to figure out what you want from the items that you need. As much as you’d like your bathroom to have everything that you want, it is still important to be realistic and practical.
You have to be mindful of the size of your bathroom and its functions. A great way to determine the necessary items that your bathroom needs are to think about three main factors. The first factor is who the bathroom is for. Are you living alone and solely using your bathroom or are you sharing it with your partner or kids?
Once you have determined who uses the bathroom, the next factor to consider is the routines of these people. For example, does anyone usually use the bathroom to put on their makeup? If the answer is yes, then lighting and a bathroom vanity should definitely be considered.
The last factor to consider is where the current plumbing is. Having to change pipes and plumbing can be extremely expensive. When determining your final layout, ensure that you’re sticking to the current plumbing in your bathroom.
Now that you have all of this information, then you can figure out the flow and layout of your bathroom.
2. Do the demolition yourself
It is no secret that labor costs can take up a lot of your budget during remodeling. Moreover, contractors usually charge per hour. This means that the labor-intensive tasks can cost you hundreds of dollars right off the bat.
In order to save more money, you can do the demolition yourself. Of course, you will still need the help of a plumber or an electrician but by doing this yourself, you’re already saving a lot of money.
Once the electrician and plumber are done doing their jobs, all you need are a couple of basic tools such as a baby sledgehammer, a screw gun, and a crowbar and you can start to demolish your bathroom.
In order to do this, you have to start with fixtures and fittings. Then you can move on to the framework and demolish it until you’ve gone through the entire space and all you’ll have left to demolish is your bathroom floor.
3. Don’t repurchase every item
Doing the labor saves you a lot of money but so does reusing old items. Although purchasing new materials for your bathroom is extremely exciting, you can always check and see if there are some materials or items that you can refurbish to fit into your new bathroom.
For starters, you can always refurbish old bathroom vanities. You can either replace its countertop or simply give it a paint job to match your new bathroom theme. You can also opt to skip purchasing a new sink and give it an upgrade by simply replacing the faucet.
For most homeowners, storage is a huge problem when it comes to bathrooms. It is not unusual to consider purchasing a new cabinet when remodeling. However, if your current cabinet provides you with the storage space that you need, you can always choose to repaint it or even replace its doors to make it look brand new. This will automatically save you a couple of hundred dollars.
Bathtubs can also cost a lot of money. If you’re thinking about purchasing a brand new bathtub, try to have the one that you have cleaned and restored professionally. Although it will cost you money, it will still be a lot cheaper than buying a new one.
Another fixture you can always refurbish is your bathroom toilet. A bathroom toilet can cost up to more than $100. In order to save you money, you can give your toilet a fresh new look by replacing the lid and toilet seat.
4. Hire the right company
Although you can save a lot of money by doing the work yourself, it will still be inevitable that there are certain tasks that would require the help of an expert. Tasks that involve plumbing and tiling are just a few of those tasks.
So even though spending money on labor is inevitable, you can still work your way around saving a couple of dollars by doing your research.
In order to ensure that you’re getting your money’s worth, you have to look at your options. You can’t immediately hire the first company that you find. At the same time, you shouldn’t also hire a company that provides the cheapest rate.
You have to be cautious about a company that’s offering a low rate since it may reflect on their actual work. There is no use to save a couple of hundred dollars now only to have a company do a poor job and then having to look for a different company who can do it better for a higher price. At the same time, the most expensive companies may sometimes not be worth it.
This tip is all about doing your due diligence. The key is to always circle back on what needs to be done and who can do it the best.
5. Expand your options
Just like with hiring the right company, you must also be selective and smart about the products that you will use for your new bathroom. Nowadays, there are a lot of high-quality and cheaper alternatives to bathroom materials.
Here are some that you might want to consider:
Flooring
Flooring is an essential part of any bathroom. And typically, you have three options for flooring that fall into three different price points.
The first one is vinyl flooring which is the cheapest. There are a number of different options now for vinyl flooring that can easily match any design or theme that you’re going for in your new bathroom.
Your next option is ceramic or wood flooring. Although this may cost a lot more than vinyl, it is still not as expensive as your third option which is stone tile.
Walls
Another element that you should consider is switching from tiled walls to painted walls.
It is common for bathrooms to have tiled walls given the environment of the room. However, you can save a lot of money if you decide to only tile the walls for the areas that are prone to getting wet such as your shower area.
From there, you can just opt to have the rest of your walls painted. This is a lot more cost-effective than having your entire wall tiled.
Toilets
The reality is, you can splurge on the most expensive toilet in the world and it will still do the exact same thing. The only time you should consider splurging a little extra on toilets is when you’re trying to save money on your water consumption.
Cabinets and Storage
Traditionally, you would have an entire dresser dedicated for storage in your bathroom. However, these cabinets are not always the best and cheapest option. You can easily choose to go for wall-mounted open shelves.
These shelves are a lot more cost-effective and at the same time, offer the same amount of storage space. But the biggest advantage of wall-mounted cabinets is that they wouldn’t take up as much space as a cabinet.
Final Thoughts
These are only five of the many ways you can save money when remodeling your bathroom. However, it all boils down to planning and execution. There may be a couple of hurdles along the way such as an item or product being unavailable, but if you do your due diligence, you’ll always have options for Plan B.
At the same time, it’s all about knowing your priorities and knowing when and where to compromise on. You can always choose to splurge on a couple of items that are of high priority to you and cut costs on other items. Remodeling your bathroom may seem like a daunting task, but as long as you stick to your plan and keep in mind what your ultimate goal is, you should be able to achieve the bathroom that you’ve intended to have.
