Strategies for Your Bathroom Remodel

Strategies for Your Bathroom Remodel 

You dream about a bathroom that’s high on comfort and personal style, but you also want materials, fixtures, and amenities with lasting value. Wake up! You can have both.

A bathroom remodel is a solid investment, with a national median cost of $35,000 that will recover about 71% of those costs when it’s time to sell your home, according to the “Remodeling Impact Report” from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

Regardless of payback potential, you’ll probably be glad you went ahead and updated your bathroom. Homeowners polled for the report gave their bathroom renovation a Joy Score of 9.6 — a rating based on those who said they were happy or satisfied with their project, with 10 being the highest rating and 1 the lowest.

Stick to Your Plan

A bathroom remodel is no place for improvisation. Before ripping out the first tile, think hard about how you will use the space, what materials and fixtures you want, and how much you’re willing to spend.

The National Kitchen and Bath Association recommends spending up to six months evaluating and planning before beginning work. That way, you have a roadmap that will guide decisions, even the ones made under remodeling stress. Once work has begun — a process that averages two to three months — resist changing your mind. Work stoppages and alterations add costs. Some contractors include clauses in their contracts that specify premium prices for changing original plans.

If planning isn’t your strong suit, hire a designer. In addition to adding style and efficiency, a professional designer makes sure contractors and installers are scheduled in an orderly fashion. Hiring a bathroom designer costs $50 to $200 per hour for a consultation, and $1,200 to $4,800 (5% to 10% of the project) for a complete design.

Think Storage

Bathroom storage is a challenge: By the time you’ve installed the toilet, shower, and sink, there’s often little space left to store towels, toilet paper, and hair and body products. Here are some ways to find storage in hidden places.

• Think vertically: Upper wall space in a bathroom is often underused. Freestanding, multi-tiered shelf units designed to fit over toilet tanks turn unused wall area into found storage. Spaces between wall studs create attractive and useful niches for holding soaps and toiletries. Install shelves over towel bars to use blank wall space.
• Think movable: Inexpensive woven baskets set on the floor are stylish towel holders. A floor-stand coat rack holds wet towels, bath robes, and clothes.
• Think utility: Adding a slide-out tray to vanity cabinet compartments provides full access to stored items and prevents lesser-used items from being lost or forgotten.

Call us at DBI Kitchen and Bath

We are an Accredited Business Member of the Better Business Bureau (BBB). DBI carries an A+ rating which means that we have chosen to be accountable. Also, we continue to demonstrate good faith to our community. We do this through our business relationships and our operations. DBI Kitchen and Bath commits to responsible construction practices. We install sustainable and energy-efficient materials.