It may not be the heart of the home, but a renovated bathroom is just as important as a sparkling new kitchen. Whether you’re looking to make your home more competitive on the resale market or you just want to upgrade your personal porcelain throne space, there’s no question that taking on a bathroom renovation can be financially and logistically daunting.
Here are four tips to make your life a little easier when you’re trying to figure out how to get that new soaker tub installed:
1. Get Used to Research
Unfortunately, this type of research is slightly less fun than scrolling through design ideas on Pinterest (though, of course, you should do that too!). However, you should spend some time comparing prices on bathroom materials. This means the big stuff like tubs, showers, toilets, and vanities, but also tiles and light fixtures.
Comparing prices will help you get a better sense of what costs to expect (and whether that genuine marble tile is really worth half of your budget). You’ll be more prepared to negotiate rates with contractors. Just don’t forget to leave plenty of room in the budget for labor!
2. Write a Scope of Work
Now that you have a sense of the type of changes you want (and can afford), write them down in a scope of work! This may sound like a professionals-only type of task, but it will make interactions with potential contractors a lot easier.
Consider the following with your scope of work, so you know what you must expect from your future contractor:
-What kind of demolition is involved?
-Will they need to move any plumbing or electric?
-What fixtures and hardware will they install, what will stay as is?
-Do you want them to paint, or just prep the walls so you can do it later?
3. Find a good contractor
This is probably the hardest and most important part of a bathroom remodel. It can be especially stressful if you don’t have a million friends with bathroom renovation experience to ask for recommendations, On the renovation part Home Service Direct may give you focused directions to make the best decisions for saving your money. Even if you do, their favorite contractor might be unavailable during the time you want the work done. They may want to charge you triple what your friend paid five years ago.
Fortunately, there are online contractor connection companies who can do some legwork for you! They’ll seek out top-rated contractors in your area and get estimates and bids for any and all of your bathroom remodeling needs. Having already done the budget and scope of work preparation will make this process even easier.
4. Consider buying your own materials
This one involves a little more work on your end, but it could significantly reduce the stress on your wallet and the amount of time a project takes to complete. Unless you’re intent on only super high-end fixtures, the biggest cost of your bathroom renovation will probably be the labor. If you’re paying an hourly rate, that includes the time they spend running to the hardware store for something you probably could have bought yourself if given the proper instructions.
Not all contractors will be willing to do this, but it’s worth seeing if they’ll collaborate with you on a materials list so you can buy everything ahead of time and cut down on some costs and potential delays.
Final Thoughts
The biggest tip for a non-stressful bathroom remodel is to do all the work beforehand so the actual renovation process goes smoothly. Once you’ve done that, you can sit back with a glass of wine and let the professionals get that soaker tub ready for you!