How To Remodel a Bathroom

There are a number of different reasons you may choose to remodel any part of your home, including your bathroom, ranging from your own personal enjoyment to increasing your property values. Orlando Bathroom remodels can also cover a broad scope of work and range in price and time from a few thousand dollars and lasting a few weeks, to several thousands of dollars and lasting a few months. Here is a brief overview of what all a bathroom remodel entails and how to go about doing one.

1. Decide on the scope of work you want done

There are essentially three different levels of difficulty when it comes to doing a bathroom remodel. The two things to take into consideration when deciding what you want done is money and time. The more extensive you want your bathroom remodel to be, the more it will cost and the more time it will take. Here are the three levels of bathroom remodeling and what they entail

• Surface Alterations

One of the fastest and easiest ways to remodel a bathroom is to simply make surface alterations. If you like the structure and layout of the bathroom and it is in good repair, you can simply recover a number of surfaces. This can include repainting or installing new wallpaper, re-tiling or even covering over the tub and shower area with a new enclosure or replacing surface items like vanities, mirrors and light fixtures. This kind of a remodel can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks and can be accomplished for as little as a few thousand dollars or less – depending on the grade of materials use and how many replacements you make.

• Layout Redesign

When you want a smaller or larger space or want to completely redesign the layout of the bathroom, then you are getting into more extensive and expensive work. Remember, however, that the bathroom is one of the most used rooms in a home, so it is a good idea to think carefully before either undertaking or avoiding the cost and effort of a complete layout redesign. If the current design of your bathroom is a significant nuisance or irritation to you, redesigning the layout can bring you significant comfort and enjoyment over the long haul.

• Complete Remodel/ Rebuild

The most extensive type of remodel involves a tear-down of the entire existing structure. This is often necessary for older bathrooms where floor joists and other wooden support structures may be molded, mildewed or warped with age. While this may be the most extensive and expensive type of remodel, it can also bring you the most significant ROI and give you an opportunity to completely update older bathrooms from pipes to plumbing to electrical.

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2. Decide how to pay for it

If you are simply doing a basic cosmetic overhaul, you may want to simply pay for it out-of-pocket. If you are doing a more extensive structural redesign or complete rebuild, you may need to consider taking out a home improvement or home equity loan. Anything beyond a basic cosmetic makeover can start at around $10,000 for a basic remodel and run upwards from there.

3. Hire a contractor or DIY?

Again, whether you need a contractor or not is going to depend on how extensive your remodel is. For basic upgrades such as paint or wallpaper, replacing a vanity, toilet, light fixture and even some basic tile work, you can probably DIY and save some money. Any time you start looking at any kind of structural overhaul, however, you definitely want to look into having someone more experienced take on the task.

For any kind of structural remodel, you almost certainly want to hire a professionally licensed contractor. Remember that structural remodels will need to be both permitted and built according to code. Failing to have the proper permits for work done and failing to ensure the work is done up to code can seriously hurt you in a resale. While there are certainly a number of home improvements you can do yourself, be careful that trying to save some money up front doesn’t cost you dearly in the long run.