Bathrooms remodels and refreshes can add instant value to your home. Here’s how to do a bathroom remodel that will add value to your house.
Know Your Budget
Money runs out fast on remodels. Staying under budget and within budget is key. Write down what you can spend right now and commit to that amount, or be ready to go into reserves or see your credit card skyrocket.
Decide What You Want to Make Fresh
Knowing your budget will help you create a list of items to remodel. Setting up an excel spreadsheet or shareable Google doc can help you keep an itemized list with corresponding prices to focus your resources. Having a list makes it easy to decide options when budgets get tight. I encourage you to bring this list to Home Depot with you and other stores to track materials costs, in addition to labor costs if you hire a contractor. Think about options like this:
- Option 1: Demo entire bathroom and price out costs for new bathroom – floors, paint, vanity, vanity top, faucets, tile, bathtub, mirrors, lighting, and removal of old bathroom.
- Option 2: Refresh bath tile and keep existing tub.
- Option 3: Replace vanity and add fresh paint and new lighting in bathroom; hang a nice shower curtain to match.
As you can see, these three options provide you with choices on how to add value depending on the budget you have. Dream big, stay in reality, and get it done!
Don’t Go Overboard
I know, you love, love, love that hotel shower at the resort you went to in Bali, or some other hotel – and you want that same bathroom in your house. Well, here’s the deal. Labor in some places of the world is very cheap, and in the Bay Area, it is very expensive. So, while materials may run around the same price no matter where you are, the cost to demo, install, and ahem…get a permit, is not cheap in California.
Thinking of adding that concrete bathtub? Stop. Odds, are you will never recover exotic upgrades because these upgrades are taste dependent. While you like it, others may not. It’s important that you do not go overboard remodeling a house you intend to sell.
Choose neutral colors and refer to design trends to stay up with the times. And remember, design for the masses to make your house more appealing to a wider buyer pool.
Purchase Your Own Materials
Contractors and handymen love it when you purchase your remodel materials. This also reduces costs as they will charge you time to pick things up that you could load on your own and bring home. Don’t have a truck? Rent one from Home Depot for a few hours or call a friend. When you purchase your own materials a contractor can spend their time doing the work when they show up and spend less time getting supplies.
Some of the best places to get materials for a bathroom remodel are:
- Floor and Decor – This place is incredible for all of your tile needs and for luxury vinyl plank flooring that makes bathrooms like great.
- Home Depot – The go-to for building supplies and materials like caulking, wood, shower doors, faucets, etc.
- Lowes – my go-to for lighting. Lowes has some great vanity lights and outshines Home Depot in the finer touch department.
- Granite Expo – look no further than Granite Expo in Emeryville or Vacaville, California. They have some of the nicest color options for granite and quartzite countertops; and they also have modern vanities to give your washroom a fresh look. Not sure about tile for your shower, Granite Expo has prefabricated wall pieces that make a shower look clean and are easy to install in a standard shower.
While you can search numerous places, these are my top stores for bathroom remodel materials in the Bay Area.
Permit or No Permit
Depending on what you are remodeling, you may need to apply for a permit with your city’s building department. Pulling a permit when starting a remodel may help you longterm as you can disclose this when you sell your house. Working with a licensed contractor also provides reassurances if something goes wrong. Knowing what’s at stake is important before allowing anyone to start demolition on your bathroom.
Keep It Clean
When remodeling a bathroom with the intention to sell your house down the road, remember the golden rule – keep it clean. Think about the modern, minimalist hotel bathrooms that are simple, clean, and never go out of style. You can always spruce things up with a plant, tasteful decor, and fresh towels. The simpler you keep your design, the more cost effective your remodel will usually be as well when you opt for materials that are popular.
