THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO RENOVATING YOUR BATHROOM

So its finally time to renovate your bathroom. You have been planning and saving up for the right budget to achieve what you want out of this project. Even with the help of a contractor and designer, a lot of the mental heavy lifting is going to be left to you.

Fist things first is to define what you are actually trying to achieve. The question might seem simple but if you spend enough time thinking about, you will see how complicated it is to answer. There are going to be so many things you wants but so many constraints on what you actually need that things can become confusing. This why you should write everything down so you visually keep track of all the details you need to include. You should focus first on questions like, who will be using this or who is this bathroom for? Is it a master bathroom? A powder bathroom? A bathroom for the kids? How often will the bathroom be used, and what will the major function be? Once you figure its intended user, you can start to ask more questions about how long you plan on living in this house or whether or not this space negatively impacts your life.

This will inform you on your reason for renovating. There mainly three reasons why you would want to renovate. The first is for updating an outdated look which tells you what to focus on in the remodeling. The second is if you are trying to resell the property where renovating your bathroom will raise your selling price. The third reason is to add better functionality or storage which is usually the result of some problem you face in the space.

Now is the time to start researching planning your budget. A bathroom can cost anywhere from a couple thousand to tens if thousands depend on the size and what you want done. You can also ad a buffer cost incase anything goes wrong and you need money that's not in your budget.

Unless you are a designer yourself, chances are your are going to need to hire some professional help in order to make sure everything goes as planned. A professional will be able to provide ideas and options that you probably wouldn't have thought of and be able to integrate them into the budget. This will also help you avoid any errors or pitfalls in the design process that can have major consequences later down the road. They can also work at a much more efficient pace because of the experience they have where as if you were to try yourself through trial and error a lot of time and money would go to waste.

Next is to chose your materials. Do your research before hand so when your speaking with a designer or contractor, you know what you want. This will save time and allow you to get more out of your professionals.

All of the information above will allow you to get estimates from your contractor about the costs who should give you at least three different estimates at different pricing levels for your renovation. It might be tempting to just go with the lowest price but chance are that will end up losing on quality and you having to do most of the work and fixing new found problems which you end up paying for anyway.

One must also be prepared for a new way of living once construction starts. Your routines, shower times, places you eat or relax might change as well. Chances are that most of your materials need to be ordered in advance and will have to be stored somewhere in your house so make sure there is room for them that isn't impeding on any personal space.

Lastly you should keep a list of all receipts, contracts and product information so that your are informed on how to take care of everything and if anything gets or broken or is scratched or goes missing, you know who is responsible. This should a helpful guide on what to keep in mind when renovating your bathroom.