Looking to renovate your bathroom, but only have a small budget? Freshening up your bathroom needn’t cost you tens of thousands of dollars. By being smart about the improvements you make, it’s possible to spend very little on a bathroom makeover while still making a dramatic difference. Below are a few tips for saving money when remodelling a bathroom.
Find the right funding option
There are two main ways to pay for a bathroom remodel: use savings or borrow money. Using savings will eliminate the need to pay interest in the long run and is usually the best option. However, not everyone has savings set aside and building up enough savings to remodel a bathroom could take a very long time.
As a result, most people tend to borrow money to pay for a bathroom remodel. When doing this, it’s important to shop around for loans in order to get the best interest rates. Sites like Plenti are great for shopping for personalized loans by linking you with investors. You could find that this is a better option than seeking out a traditional loan.
If you’re still paying off a mortgage, you could also consider cash-out refinancing or a home equity loan. If you’re already juggling multiple debts, this could prevent you having to take out another loan.
DIY or hire pros?
Should you remodel your bathroom yourself or hire professionals to do it for you? When it comes to reducing costs, both options have their advantages. Here are the two compared:
Why go DIY?
Designing and undertaking your makeover yourself can save you a lot of money in labor fees. You’ll still need to make sure that you’ve got the right tools and materials, but even so you’re likely to spend a lot less than you would when hiring professionals.
Of course, you need to be sure that you know what you’re doing. A mistake could be costly to fix and could result in you spending more than if you hired a pro. If you’re going to do your own tiling or plumb in a bathtub yourself, make sure to educate yourself beforehand to minimize mistakes.
Why hire professionals?
Hiring a professional to design your bathroom can minimize errors by making sure that all measurements are accurate and that all practicalities are covered. Bathroom specialist services also know all the latest design trends, helping you to achieve a clean, modern look. If a designer does make a mistake, you have the option of gaining compensation to fix any problems – which is something you can’t do if you design the bathroom yourself.
When it comes to hiring contractors, there can be certain jobs such as plumbing and electrics where it is much safer to put your trust in pros. Hiring contractors also reduces the need for you to give up your time. On top of this, contractors are liable for any mistakes.
Just make sure that you hire a trusted professional. An architect or contractor that is licensed, insured and has good reviews is less likely to make any blunders. Such professionals will charge more, which is the only issue.
Why not both?
It’s possible to handle some of the work yourself while also hiring pros to do certain tasks. This could include hiring a professional architect to check your plans and hiring contractors to handle electrics and plumbing, while doing everything else yourself in order to cut costs. It all comes down to what you feel competent doing.
Take time to shop around
When it comes to buying materials and hiring pros, it’s important to shop around. You can save a huge amount of money on a new bathtub or an electrician simply by taking the time to research what is out there.
When shopping around for new fixtures, always look out for bathroom store sales. This is a great opportunity to pick up heavily discounted sinks, showers and tubs. Black Friday and the January Sales are some of the most reliable periods to find discounts, however there are likely to be sales throughout the year. Try looking out for coupons too as these could be extra ways of securing discounts.
As for hiring professionals, you should take the time to collect multiple quotes. If you’ve already received previous quotes, some contractors may even be willing to beat any price you’ve had. Be wary of pros that charge very low rates – always research into these companies beforehand to make sure that they have a good reputation.
Refinish, don’t replace
You don’t have to replace items in your bathroom in order to carry out a makeover. Unless you don’t like the style of your fixtures, you may be able to breathe new life into them simply by repairing and refinishing them.
For instance, when it comes to sinks and tubs, reglazing is often an option. This involves sanding down the fixture to get rid of any chips or scratches and then resurfacing it to make it look brand new. This typically costs $300 to $600 (which is a lot less than buying a new fixture). It may not be possible with severely damaged tubs or sinks.
When it comes to worn and grubby tiles, there may also be refinishing options. A thorough clean using anti-mold sprays and a steam cleaner can sometimes be enough to rejuvenate old tiles. If the tiles are scratches or the grouting is damaged, reglazing and regrouting may be possible. A professional tiler can carry this out and it’s likely to be a lot cheaper than buying new tiles.
You may be able to restore old wooden cabinets or radiators simply by adding a new lick of paint. In fact, a layer of gloss paint could make a cabinet or radiator look brand new. Sanding down the fixture first is recommended if it is chipped or scratched. Avoid painting over mold – this should always be cleaned off first.
Don’t change the layout
If you decide to install new fixtures, it’s worth keeping them in the same location as the previous fixtures. This allows you to use existing plumbing.
If you change the layout, you’ll have to alter the plumbing, which could cost you a lot of extra money. Even something as simple as moving a sink a few inches could put hundreds of dollars on the bill. Unless the current layout is impractical, try to keep it the same.
Make a big difference with small details
You may not have to replace or restore fixtures at all to give your bathroom a makeover. Sometimes the small details can make a big difference. This could include:
- Adding a new shower curtain
- Replacing the toilet seat
- Installing a new toilet roll holder
- Adding bathroom plants
- Adding new toothbrush holders, soap dishes
- Hanging up a new mirror
- Installing new taps (this may require a professional plumber)
All of these improvements can be carried out very cheaply and could be ideal if you’re on a tight budget.
Opt for second-hand fixtures
It’s possible to buy used tubs and sinks. These can be a lot cheaper than new fixtures, however you need to be wary of their condition – there’s no point replacing a chipped bathtub with an equally chipped bathtub.
When buying used fixtures online, make sure that there are enough photographs provided. It is sometimes better to buy fixtures locally as you can inspect them in person. You will likely have to sort out collection and installment yourself – this could push the price up if you have to hire a van or hire moving professionals.
This guide at Home Stratosphere offers more tips for buying used fixtures.
Opt for vinyl flooring
Bathroom flooring needs to be waterproof. The stylish material choice tends to be tile or polished stone, however vinyl flooring can be just as effective and a lot cheaper.
Nowadays, vinyl comes in all kinds of patterns and styles, some of which are able to emulate tiles and stone. Vinyl is often laid loose and you don’t need to install an underlay. It’s an easy DIY job and could save you having to hire professionals to install flooring.
Try tile stickers
Been looking into new tiles? Tile stickers are an option for transforming tiles on the cheap. These are stickers that are placed over the top of your existing tiles in order to add a pattern or make them a different color.
You can buy about 24 tile stickers for as little as $10. More premium stickers tend to be higher quality and can sometimes be worth spending more on – they’re still likely to be a lot cheaper than installing new tiles.
Optimize your lighting
Installing new lighting can be expensive. The more individual light fittings you have to install, the higher your overall lighting cost will be. For this reason, you want to try and reduce the amount of fittings by optimizing the location of your lights.
This could include opting for only a few high luminosity spot lights instead of multiple ceiling and wall lights. You could also look into track lighting – this allows you to install multiple lights from one fitting.
Leave a Reply