Preparing for a Successful Bathroom Remodeling Project

For many starting a remodeling project may be a daunting task. The cost alone is enough to scare people away from making their dreams come true of enjoying the perfect bathroom. But what if you had a simple to-do list and recommendations on the brands or companies that could offer you their services at a low cost? Or better yet; What if you had simple recommendations on how to budget yourself and hire professionals to help you achieve the perfect look only whenever you need them?

Any remodeling project starts with a budget. You don’t have to be an expert in finance to be able to budget the renovation of your bathroom, which may be fluctuate between 8,000 and 10,000 dollars, the national average. According to experts at BathroomUS.com, your best bet is to create two different budgets: one standard and one high-end.

Understanding Standard and High-End Budgets

A “standard budget” is just a way to measure a cost of a budget that is lower than the national average. A way to accomplish this is by selecting standard or basic bathroom solutions. For example, instead of tiles for your floors you may select a more affordable solution such as vinyl. For your counters and furniture, you may select standard sizes because they cost much less than high-end, larger cabinets.

The same sliding scale holds true for plumbing fixtures, light fixtures, among others, which together may save you almost half of the cost of a budget for high-end solutions.

A high-end budget is the opposite of the standard budget in both the types of solutions you are going to choose and their prices. A high-end budget may include for example: travertine floors instead of vinyl, marble countertops instead of pine wood, shower panels with multiple body jets instead of a simple three-piece shower set, among others.

However, regardless of your choice you should consider that the cost of your budget is never written in stone and you should expect to go over budget at any time. Also, a standard budget should not considered to be a “cheap” because there are many home solutions that are very affordable but elegant and tasteful.

A rule of thumb that you should consider is creating yet a third budget which mixes things from both the standard and the high-end budgets, a kind of hybrid budget that will give you enough headroom to allow you to go over budget without feeling any sense of guilt.

Shop Online

Many online retailers offer prices and discounts that you may not find in your local vendor. We are not recommending that you stop buying from local hardware store (with whom you may have built a nice relationship with benefits) but to open your mind a little and consider the Internet for things that you may not find elsewhere in a traditional brick and mortar retailer.

Before you even browse bathroom products on a Website, search for discount programs, coupons and sales events. Read their return policy and find out if they charge taxes and how much for shipping and delivery. Don’t be surprised if you find many that are tax-free but charge you a ton for delivery. Be wise and find the best that matches your budget.

Combos are Your Best Friends

There are ways to get high-end solutions for your bathroom without spending the high-end price. For example, there are bathroom sinks that come in combos, which means that they include the water faucet, the drain and other important accessories. Buying all of these items separately would cost a fortune.

The same holds true for accessories such as soap dispensers, soap dishes, toothbrush holders and napkin dispensers; buy them in sets and not individually.

Do-It-Yourself!

You can cut a ton of money from your bathroom remodeling project if you took part of the remodeling itself. For example, if you added a high-end shower set or a shower panel to your hybrid budget, then consider installing it yourself so that you save money by avoiding the expensive price tag of hiring a plumber to do it for you.

A way to do this is by working a little extra during your shopping and selecting only those home solutions that can be assembled and installed by the consumer. Only this way you will be able to get the items that you need but that are simple to install and even maintain.

Ask for Help Only When Your Need Help

Any renovation project needs the opinion of an expert at some point during the process. This is a fact that we must consider whenever we are budgeting for a renovation. Another rule of thumb to follow is to hire experts only whenever you need them. But when?

If your remodeling project includes changing electric outlets, vents or even if you need to tear down a wall, these are things that you should consider to listen to the voice of an expert to guide you in the right direction. Further, one way to cut down on that bill is by lending a hand to your contractor to finish the work so that he or she doesn’t sub-contract others, which may hurt your budget.

Do-it-yourself projects may also need the recommendations of experts who can help you achieve the same goal at a lower cost or in less time. And so hiring a consultant to help you choose the right tools and even to decide whether to buy them or to rent them, may be a great reason to hire them.

Following these recommendations may help you achieve your goal of creating the picture perfect bathroom that you so much want without feeling the guilt of going over budget or even for limit yourself so much that you end up with a design that you don’t like.

Find more tips for your bathroom decor in Remodeling Geeks.