Remodeling Bathrooms
- It Pays to have a Plan

When remodeling bathrooms it pays to have a usage plan. The family will thank you for it when the bathroom is finished. 

My brother does remodeling work for a living and I occasionally advise him on the interior design. This has allowed us to work together on remodeling bathrooms and kitchens.

If you don't intend doing the remodeling work yourself you might want to find a Remodeling Bathrooms Specialist through a useful online service.

America’s Premier Contractor Referral Service, matches homeowners to local home service contractors.

Estimates are Free, all you do is complete a simple, one page estimate request form. Then your requirements are matched to a local contractor who does this type of work in your area.

You are provided with up to 4 estimates and you choose which one you think is the best.

A word of warning: If you intend to do the remodeling work yourself after a few days or weeks, you're not going to be the most popular person in your household. If you want to know why then read on.

My brother and I both agree that remodeling bathrooms is what we least like doing.

The reason is that in remodeling bathrooms there are just too many choices and generally you have a limited space to work with, being it's normally the smallest room in the house.

Remodeling bathrooms is also very inconvenient for the home owner.

This is especially true if it's a single bathroom home and the owner must use a neighbors facilities or worse still, a portable toilet.

Not only does the toilet become unusable but so can the bath, wash basin and shower.

It's essential to create a bathroom use plan for families during any remodeling work.

By having a plan the household will function more normally.

It always amazes me when remodeling bathrooms, that some people are surprised to find the bathroom is unusable for most of the time.

This combination does not usually make for a happy customer whilst the work is being carried out.

The other factor that makes remodeling bathrooms difficult is that people tend to notice even the slightest of flaws since being such a small room any imperfections are staring them in the face.

People also tend to spend time looking around in a bathroom.

What else can you do when sitting on the toilet or lazing in the bath tub ?

When working in cramped quarters doing tiling, grouting and painting, there are bound to be some imperfections, no matter how careful the person is while doing the job.

This is hard for the home owner to accept, particularly when the cost of the remodeling can be so high.

If you are planning to do the bathroom remodeling yourself and have limited experience at this type of work there are some good instructional videos available online.

Randy Davis, who has over 25 years experience in the building trade, has produced several videos on topics such as Installing a Shower, Installing a Marble Floor and How to Lay Ceramic Tiles.

In remodeling bathrooms in the future I have decided only to get involved when the entire room is being gutted.

This means the wall papering and painting is much easier because you don't have to reach behind awkward places like the toilet or the vanity unit.

In addition the finished appearance of the bathroom is much better since all the fixtures can be installed at the same time.

By completely gutting the room you can often save money because the new plumbing and electrical work does not have to be adapted for use with old fixtures.

When remodeling bathrooms I usually double any initial time estimates for completing the work, since in practice it turns out to be more accurate.

By this means I avoid the clients anger and frustration since projects rarely exceed the deadline.

In addition the client is pleased when we appear to finish the work earlier than they were advised.

Remodeling bathrooms will modernize and extend the life of your home. A newly remodeled bathroom is also a good selling point should you decide to put your house up for sale at a later date.

Adding an additional bathroom, if done well, will also increase the value of your home. Having more than one bathroom also adds to the convenience of daily life as well as making it easier for guests.

Household Tips & Do-It-Yourself Advice