Renovating your bathroom has the ability to add value to your house in multiple ways. For your family, the space can become more functional and stylish. In the event that you want to sell the house, the updated bathroom can make it more attractive for potential buyers and more likely to draw a high sale price.
The process can seem overwhelming, but you can follow some steps to reduce stress and increase how pleased you are with the project.
Decide Your Path
Early on in the project, you should decide if you’re planning to have a contractor complete the work or if you plan to take care of the renovations yourself. You may also want to combine both methods. For example, while you may lack the ability to install or update plumbing, you might know how to put in a new vanity.
To at least some degree, budget will likely dictate how you decide to have the work done. Keep in mind that completing the project by yourself will almost certainly cost less, but it will also almost certainly induce more stress.
Understand Limitations and Necessary Modifications
In the event that you opt to work with a contractor, understand that some features may not be possible given the current layout of your home. You may want to install a hot tub in addition to the current shower, but the house may lack adequate piping to do so. If you are renovating a basement bathroom, figure out the cost of a basement bathroom.
Perhaps you can have the aesthetic renovation, but you may need to have more pipes installed to make it functional. Understanding that your vision may not work exactly as you hope for it to is an important part of the process.
Create a Vision
While you don’t need to know exactly what you want the first time that you meet with the contractor or go to the store to shop for items, narrowing down your ideas will make the selection phase less overwhelming.
For example, you can decide on the layout of the bathroom and what color scheme you want used. You can also decide if you wish to have a full tub with a shower or just a tub. The needs of your family should dictate many of these decisions, but you should also take resale value into account.
Consider Resale Value
Even if you currently have no plans to sell your home, the need or desire to do so may arise in the future. Imagine that you have only one bathroom in your house. The needs of your family may not elicit a bathtub. As a result, you may decide to have only a shower stall in the renovated room to provide more space elsewhere in the bathroom. This decision could make the house quite difficult to sell.
Plan for Renovation
You may have the ability to use the bathroom during part of the renovation period, but there will surely be days or weeks where you cannot. Residents of a one-bathroom household will need to find somewhere else to live during this time period. If you have more than one bathroom, consider if you can make living in the house work while taking into account space and both childcare and pet care.
Renovating your bathroom means that you’ll soon have a new space, which can refresh the entire house. To reduce stress, work to integrate these steps of the process.
