So You Want to Remodel Your Bathroom

There are plenty of reasons to remodel a bathroom. Perhaps it is the same as when you bought the home, and yellow just isn’t the right color for you. Perhaps you found a shower curtain that is SO perfect that you decided to remodel the entire bathroom around it. Or maybe it is just time for a change.

Be organized about this project. Write everything down: what do you love/hate about this bathroom, what can stay and what has to go, will you be painting, do you want new fixtures, new cabinets, a new medicine cabinet or just a mirror, do you want new floors, etc. Be honest, and for now, be ruthless. Go ahead and fantasize during this stage. Look through books and magazines for ideas and inspiration. Cut out the pictures you like and jot down any useful tips in the book or magazine. Take special note of the “how-to”sections — it’s free advice!

Decide who will do the work. You can paint, but can you install a new cabinet? Will you hire a professional or has your uncle volunteered to help? This is the time to be honest, not the time to decide you have always wanted to give plumbing and dry walling a try.

Now give yourself a rough estimate about what your budget will be. If you are going to hire a professional to do the work, have a good idea what your budget will need to be by getting plenty of bids for the job. Make sure your contractor is licensed for your state, has references, and is in good standing with the Better Business Bureau and Chamber of Commerce.

If you are not getting a professional, write down every single thing you want- and I mean everything. Don’t assume you’ll remember that new toilet seat when you get to the store, write it down to be sure.

With your list and budget in hand, take a trip to the local hardware store. Now is the time that your fantasy has a meeting with reality (don’t get sad, this can be a good thing). On your list of items, write down next to it the prices. Say you see twenty different faucets, write down the one you really want (fantasy) and then write down the one that is great, but cheaper (reality). Keep going down your list this way until you have priced everything. Add it all up and tally it against your budget. This is why you wrote down different prices for the same items: you can get the less expensive medicine cabinet so that you can afford the more expensive faucet.

Your local hardware stores, like Lowe’s and Home Depot, give free classes on how to do these sort of remodeling projects so take advantage of that.

Before you buy the items from your priced list, the next thing you need to do is write down a schedule. Are you going to remodel the entire bathroom during the course of your weekend? What will you do first? Last? You get the point.

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