You don’t need to move to a new house to feel as though you did. Remodeling or renovating your existing space can provide the same effect without the move, school transfers, and home shopping. Because everyone uses the bathroom every day, that typically utilitarian room gets the first upgrade.
Before you book an appointment for a home remodeling consultation with an expert, read on to get a few ideas for your newly updated bathroom. Sometimes, the updates you need have nothing to do with the wallpaper or the cabinets. They happen behind the scenes with a hot water heater or ventilation. Read on to learn the updates you see and those you don’t that provide you with a fabulous bathroom remodel.
Hiring Home Renovation Services
When you attend your home remodeling consultation, it may surprise you to learn that the company with which you contract does not do all the work. Typically, a general contractor (G.C.) or interior designer runs the remodeling firm. A G.C. usually employs a master carpenter, electrician, plumber, and sometimes a mason. They may have a small crew of apprentices or hire temporary workers to handle the brunt of the construction work. For most of the work, a general contractor and an interior designer shop out to subcontractors with whom they’ve worked in the past.
If you would prefer to use companies with which you have an existing working relationship, tell the remodeling contractor when you meet with them. Also, ask about the work process used by the remodeler and how they choose their subcontractors. Sometimes, this position only designs the plans for the remodeling or renovating you want, leaving it up to you to hire the contractors who accomplish the work. Let’s consider the top projects to discuss with your remodeling or renovation expert.
Modernize Your Bathroom’s Function
When you remodel your home, you use the home’s contents and rearrange or repair them. When you renovate, you take out the old and put in something new. Let’s explore how each option affects the function of your bathroom.
You want continuous hot water when you shower, and you want everyone in the family to be able to shower one after another without running out of hot water. Your outdated water heater needs work, so your contractor examines it. If your home uses a tankless water heater already, it probably requires hot water heater repairs; if your home uses an old-fashioned tank water heater, the remodeler will most likely suggest a renovation to remove it and replace it with a tankless water heater.
Most home remodeling consultation appointments include discussions of problems you want to solve through the remodel or renovation. Perhaps you set, as a goal for your bathroom updates, a cooler bathroom that doesn’t fog up as much when you shower. Your contractor will likely suggest bringing in an HVAC contractor to renovate the ventilation in your bathroom. Many older designs of bathrooms rely on a fan exhaust mounted to the ceiling, but adding vents and cleaning ducts can improve bathroom air quality even more than a fan.
Updating the Bathroom’s General Appearance
During your home remodeling consultation, discuss how you want to update the appearance of your bathroom. Perhaps you would like to install new flooring, such as black ceramic tile or white oak flooring. Most consultations prove more productive when you enter them knowing the essentials of what you want. Choose the color scheme you’d like to use and clip pictures you like out of magazines to create a mood board or make a Pinterest board dedicated to your favorite bathroom looks.
A physical or virtual bulletin board of ideas provides you with reference points to share with the remodeler. If you show them photos of your current bathroom and many ideas clipped or pinned from various sources, they can tell you what it will take to realize that dream bathroom. This can help you budget because if your current bath features no alcove, but every photo you save does, you’ll need to renovate, which costs more money. The space for the alcove will likely come from an adjacent closet or by reducing the size of a bedroom.
For a remodeling job that won’t cost much, update the floors, walls, and ceiling. Put in new flooring and prioritize what works best in the wet environment of a bathroom. Forget wood floors and instead, opt for ceramic or glass tile, marble, or Linoleum. Get the look of wood with laminate flooring or wood-looking tiles.
Paint or wallpaper the walls of the bath. Whether you’re tackling a powder room or a palatial bathroom with separate shower and bathtub areas, updating the walls instantly transforms the room. Paint costs very little, and wallpaper only a little more, so expect to spend about $150, including supplies to install it, including a stepladder. Also, paint the ceiling a lighter color or install ceiling tiles to update its appearance.
Updating the Fixtures for an Instant Upgrade
During your home remodeling consultation, discuss updating the water closet’s fixtures. Your remodeling contractor can suggest both plumbing companies and the latest trends in fixtures. Although nickel-plated brass might cost less than polished brass fixtures, the latter may better match your new paint colors. Let your contractor guide you on these interior design choices.
If you’re remodeling a home you plan to remain in during your retirement years, consider having the local plumbing company install easy-to-grasp fixtures like door handles instead of knobs. As people age, some develop arthritis or bursitis, which impedes their ability to grasp and turn doorknobs. Install faucets that use similar designs on the sink, shower, or bathtub. You’ll also make it easier for aging parents to use the facilities when they visit.
No home remodeling consultation would be complete without a discussion of the commode. If your home remodeling consultant does not visit your home, and you instead meet at their office, bring photos of your toilet from all angles. This photo array lets your consultant determine whether you need toilet repair or replacement. If your commode needs replacing, consider adding a bidet to extend the usefulness of your bathroom.
Here’s another item you can replace or update at a reasonable cost – your bathroom’s shower doors. Either install new doors or remove them entirely, using a fabric shower curtain instead. Copying the latest hotel trend of a walk-in shower offers another idea. This design protects your bathroom from shower water spray and offers easy access for those using a wheelchair.
Bathroom Updates that Benefit the Whole House
Some items you bring up during your home remodeling consultation may benefit your entire home, although you think of them because of your bathroom experiences. We’re talking about addressing hard water problems. When you use water softener services, the water in the kitchen, laundry, and outdoor spigots undergoes softening, too. You’ll have an easier time rinsing off in the shower, plus rinsing dishes and clothing.
Hire a local plumber to conduct drain cleaning in your home. Instead of only cleaning the bathroom drains, have them address the home’s entire plumbing drainage system. It all works together, so cleaning all the lines produces an improved effect.
Adding Little Touches that Produce a Big Impact
Some of the suggestions offered by the general contractor or interior designer during your home remodeling consultation might surprise you. That’s because many of the things that update a bathroom cost little, make a big impact, and require no contractor. Let’s consider a few of these do-it-yourself options.
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- Hang a mirror above the sink that spans the length of the sink’s countertop. This mirror offers more than space for more than one individual to get ready in the morning. It creates the illusion of a larger bathroom.
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- Improve upon the illusion of the larger bathroom by creating a unique display on the wall opposite the mirror. Include at least one floral arrangement and an arrangement of collectibles, pretty bottles of hand soap and other toiletries, or towels. A mural or hanging artwork offers another option.
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- Update the lighting using long-lasting LED bulbs. Consider the Hollywood look of small bulbs around the mirror or plug-in wall sconces that let you update the room’s appearance and lighting without needing to cut into its walls for new wiring.
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- Hang wood shelving to provide more storage space without cutting into the floor space. Use matching baskets to arrange everything and create a designer look. Trifold towels to create a luxurious hotel-like environment.
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- Place a hamper for wet towels or clothing either in the large cabinet under the sink or in the large cabinet that typically anchors a bathroom pantry. Because no one wants to bend down to reach towels, this bottom cabinet often goes unused. Put it to work for you and free floor space.
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- Upgrade the towel racks and bars in the bathroom. The general contractor in your home remodeling consultation may suggest heated towel bars that provide you with a toasty towel when you step out of the bath. Choose a design and material that matches your new faucet fixtures.
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- Bring all the installed elements together with matching carpets. Purchase a luxury set of bathroom carpets that includes a rug that fits around the toilet, a runner in front of the sink, and a bathmat that resides in front of the bathtub. These rugs make the room more comfortable, protect your flooring by absorbing excess water, and add to the room’s ambiance.
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- Prevent the smells many bathrooms become known for by installing a scented plug-in device or using potpourri. Place matching scented candles throughout the room and a long handle lighter, so everyone can safely light a candle to rid the room of stench or to provide light in a blackout.
Choosing Your Bathroom Remodeling Expert
Of course, before you can book your home remodeling consultation, you must choose a remodeler or general contractor. How do you know whom to use? There’s no magic formula to choosing a G.C. or interior designer. Let us offer a few tips.
Start your search by asking your friends and family who they used to remodel their own home. Gather these suggestions and create a list of potential contractors. In your next step, you’ll eliminate contractors that don’t meet your needs to hone the list for further research.
Examine each company’s website, Google My Business (G.M.B.) page, Angi profile, and any listings they offer on sites like Thumbtack. These sources offer the company’s portfolio of work, reviews, and information on the services provided. Beware of G.M.B. reviews because it does not check to make sure the reviewer actually hired the business as Thumbtack does. Eliminate businesses that do not offer the type of remodeling or renovation work you want to be done, or that charge fees outside your budget.
Prioritize reviews within the past 12 months. Old reviews may reflect the work of individuals who no longer work for the company or the business’s old work processes. Recent reviews offer up-to-date information.
When you hone the list to three to five options, set an appointment for each to interview them. Some remodeling companies may offer to conduct your free consultation at this time. Agree to this only if you’re already prepared to discuss the remodeling changes that you want to make. You’ll need to bring your mood board or tablet to show your Pinterest board to this meeting.
Take control of the interview. This meeting lets you decide whom to hire, so you need to run the meeting instead of allowing the contractor to do so. Ask your questions about hiring them, such as their experience, length of time in business, and proof of their licensing, certifications, and insurance. Present your bathroom ideas to them and ask them how they would make it happen.
Take notes in each consultation or interview. Record it if you can. This lets you compare their services in more detail later. Choose your remodeling contractor, prioritizing experience, cost, and ability.
Remodeling Your Bathroom
Make a list of bathroom problems that you want to remodel to solve. Collect photos of the bathroom looks you love to show your potential contractors. Interview each potential contractor and choose an experienced remodeler who charges a reasonable fee and has a portfolio that proves they can do the work, plus rave reviews.