5 HELPFUL BATHROOM RENOVATION TIPS

You have created a bathroom design that reflects your unique personality. Years have passed, and now it’s time to consider making a few changes to the look of one of the highest traffic rooms in the house. With careful planning and a feasible home improvement budget, you are ready to renovate your bathroom.

Let’s review a few reasons why homeowners remodel their bathrooms, before we touch on five tips that should help you complete a successful bathroom renovation project.

Reasons to Renovate Your Bathroom

Renovating your bathroom can bring a new and improved vibe into your home. The project can be as easy as adding a new cabinet or as complex as tearing up the floor tiles and installing a new floor. Renovating your bathroom will produce four important benefits.

An Increase in Home Value

Like virtually every type of home improvement project, remodeling the bathroom will boost the value of your home. Bathrooms depreciate in value over time mostly because of the slow, yet enduring damage caused by a prolonged exposure to moisture. Remodeling Magazine released a study that states potential home buyers place an emphasis on renovated bathrooms, which means homes with remodeled bathrooms typically sell faster than homes that have antiquated bathrooms.

More Space to Store Stuff

Whether your family has gained a new member or the supply of toiletries has increased, you might need to renovate the bathroom to create more storage space. Additional space can come in the form of more shelves or knocking out part of a wall to expand the bathroom’s square footage.

Repair Plumbing Issues

Let’s face it: Your bathroom will eventually need to have at least minor plumbing repairs. From leaky pipes to decaying faucet joints, plumbing plays a huge role in determining the need for making renovations in the bathroom. Remember that leaky pipes can leave enough water to cause one of the greatest health hazards lurking in the bathroom: Mold.

It’s Just Time for a Change

If you’re like most people, there comes a day when something you have looked at for years begins to look quite tired. You might need to account for the redesign of other rooms in your home or you simply have lost the love for the appearance of the bathroom. Whatever the reason, you just think it’s time for change.

5 Helpful Tips for Renovating Your Bathroom

The Internet offers several resources to help homeowners come up with bathroom renovation ideas. Let’s boil down the myriad options into five neatly tied together talking points.

Meet the New Plumbing…

…same as the old plumbing. One of the biggest mistakes homeowners make with bathroom remodels is dramatically changing the plumbing fixtures. It is important to make sure the new plumbing fixtures closely resemble the design of the old plumbing fixtures. A professional contractor might find out that outdated plumbing fixtures need to be replaced, but the replacement parts will be installed in about the same areas as the old plumbing fixtures.

Let There be Light

Many homeowners focus on refurbishing bathroom fixtures, such as the faucet and showerhead. Although installing brand new shiny bathroom fixtures is a great way to upgrade the bathroom, don’t forget to give the lighting system its due. Overhead lights are integral to creating the right ambiance in the bathroom. One idea that works for a bathroom renovation project involves placing LED recessed lights and wall scones around or above the mirror. Frosted glass bulbs generate a diffused glow that complements overhead lighting.

Make Ventilation a Priority

Investing in a high quality fan is a must for homeowners planning a bathroom renovation project. Fans eventually underperform because of the passage of time. Replacing the current fan with a new fan not only eliminates common bathroom odors, the new ventilation centerpiece will also quickly disperse the noxious fumes released by cleaning chemicals. Moreover, an improved ventilation system quickly evaporates moisture to prevent the build-up of unhealthy mold and mildew.

Involves the Family

Long before you contact an independent contractor that specializes in bathroom remodeling projects, you should meet with everyone that will use the new and improved bathroom on a daily basis. Discuss everything installing a new faucet to replacing the toilet seat lid. The input you glean from family members before the start of a bathroom renovation project goes a long way in determining how long the project takes and whether you remain within the project budget.

Choose the Right Countertop Material

If you plan to replace or install a brand new bathroom countertop, you have to select the best material for designing the countertop. Here is a summary of the six most common bathroom countertop materials.

Granite

Granite is considered the gold standard of materials because of its sleek appearance, rugged durability, and minimal maintenance. On the downside, granite is one of the costliest countertop materials.

Marble

Marble exudes elegance, which makes the material connected to the accumulation of wealth. It resists chips and dents, as well as offers several polishing options. Because of its porous composition, marble is vulnerable to scratches and the etching caused by caustic substances.

Quartz

As one of the hardest countertop materials available for homeowners, quartz is dent, stain, scratch, and moisture resistant. Quartz never needs to be sealed or polished, and the hardy material comes in a wide variety of colorful tones. However, manufactured quartz usually costs more than granite and marble.

Laminate

If you’re operating on a tight home improvement budget, affordable laminate represents a viable countertop material option. It’s easy to clean and it requires little, if any maintenance. Laminate is also one of the easiest countertop materials to install. On the other hand, laminate tends to turn dull over a short period of use.

Concrete

As an easy to customize bathroom countertop material, concrete offers seemingly countless size, shape, color, and texture options. However, concrete requires a seasoned professional to fabricate and install.

Tile

Affordable tile comes in a wide variety of styles and designs to provide homeowners with bathroom décor flexibility. Ceramic tiles are sound countertop options in humid bathrooms. Tough to clean grout and the formation of cracks represent two disadvantages of going with a tile bathroom countertop.

An Overview of Countertop Estimators

If you’re having a difficult time making up your mind about the right bathroom countertop material, consider getting a countertop quote to help you make the correct decision. Big box home improvement stores and websites have in store countertop estimators that not only help homeowners choose the right material, but also fill the blanks for the following countertop buying factors:

• Size
• Edge
• Color
• Project complexity
• Cost of removing current countertop

Renovating your bathroom can be a do it yourself project, even if your DIY skills need a bit of polishing. Nonetheless, for moderate to extremely difficult bathroom remodeling projects, homeowners should hire a licensed and thoroughly vetted independent contractor.