A bathroom remodel can be like breathing new life into a part of your home that you use everyday. You want to make sure that your bathroom remodeling project goes smoothly so that you can enjoy your new bathroom for years to come.
Table of Contents
The bathroom might seem like a small space and it should not be too difficult to perform a bathroom renovation, but there are many things that can go wrong during a bathroom remodel that you should be aware of.
Whether you are just doing a fresh coat of paint, or you are tearing down walls and moving plumbing, this list of seven mistakes to avoid in your bathroom remodel can serve as a reminder of what you can do to make sure your bathroom remodel is the success you are hoping for.
Underestimating Budget
You might think that your little bathroom remodel could not possibly cost so much money, but they are usually quite expensive. Especially if you are doing the project yourself, it is easy to underestimate the funds required to finish the job the way you want.
The good thing about hiring a contractor for bathroom makeovers is that they will figure out the budget beforehand, and if there are cost overruns it should be the contractor’s job to cover them with their profit. This way you can feel safe that you have set aside enough money to make sure the job is completed the way you want.
If you are budgeting in your bathroom remodel and doing the project yourself, you may want to set aside about 15-20% more cash in case of the unexpected. If you don’t have enough money to finish the job, you may end up feeling like you are living in some third-world shack until you can get the money saved to finish the work.
Using the Wrong Materials
When you are building a bathroom, you always need to remember that everything you put in needs to be able to stand some humidity and other moisture. Between hot showers and handwashing, water gets everywhere in a bathroom and you don’t want to have your remodeled bathrooms looking bad after only a few years.
Wood, wallpaper, and paint can all have problems if they are exposed to too much moisture. If you use these materials, make sure that they are made for high humidity and moisture. You may need to put special sealers on them to keep the moisture out, or they may come in a package that makes them water-resistant.
Tile is such a popular material in the bathroom because it holds up so well to moisture. Though tile can be expensive and takes some tricks to work with, it is really a great material for flooring and walls in the bathroom.
Employ a Theme That Fits Your Home
When you are brainstorming bathroom remodel ideas stick with something that will match to rest of the house, especially if you plan to sell the house ever. If you have a coastal interior design theme in your home, you do not want to just jam a modern theme into your bathroom that does not match the rest of the home.
It can make other people feel weird if the change from one room to another is too drastic. Especially when people are shopping for homes have a bathroom that seems weird could be a major turn-off.
You don’t have to have the bathroom look exactly like the rest of your house, but you don’t want the change to be so dramatic that it makes people uncomfortable.
Hire Licensed Tradesmen
If you are remodeling yourself, you will be tempted to try and do the plumbing and electrical yourself, how hard can it be? Well, these trades are really hard and it takes people years of study to become a licensed plumber or electrician.
Having problems with plumbing and electrical work can be dangerous, even deadly, and it is just not worth it to risk. If you get the plumbing wrong and have a leak somewhere, it could be a long time before you find it, and it could be putting raw sewage into the ground or rotting away the house’s frame. Electricity can start fires or kill you.
When you do hire people to do this work, you want to make sure that they are licensed to do the work. Not having a license to do plumbing or electrical work is illegal and could mean penalties or having to do the work over again. Always make sure that you only hire licensed professionals to work on your bathroom.
Use Traditional Hardware
Your bathroom will look best if you just stick with the basics for hardware like drawer handles. Chrome or oil-rubbed brass looks best in a bathroom. You don’t want to do too much wild experimenting with hardware.
To give your bathroom a more interesting flavor, you can try bold paint colors. If you are planning to sell your home, you want to paint the bathroom white though, it will look bigger and cleaner to prospective home buyers.
Be Mindful of Spacing
There is nothing worse than feeling crowded while you are doing your business on the toilet! So make sure that your bathroom remodel plan gives everything enough space to be comfortable and functional.
Building codes have minimal spacings for things like toilets and sinks, but you need to imagine if the minimum spacing is enough to make you comfortable. You will be spending a lot of time in your bathroom, and you need to feel good in there.
Adding an extra inch of clearance can seem like it won’t make much difference, but if you are in doubt and you can give yourself more space, do it.
Exhaust Fan
People often don’t think of their ceiling exhaust fan when they are planning their bathroom remodel, but it is an important feature of a functional bathroom. Make sure that the fan is in a location that it will be able to carry moisture out of the bathroom.
The exhaust fan also needs to be the appropriate size for the bathroom, having too little strength of fan can cause problems down the line. It is important to clean the exhaust vent well when the job is done, a lot of dust and debris can get stuck in there and cause improper airflow.
Especially if you are installing a fan where there was not one before, you should consider hiring bathroom contractors to make sure the work is done properly.
Call us today to schedule an appointment or ask for a free estimate and design. You can also check us on Twitter anytime.
