Answers to All of Your Bathroom Renovating Questions

Every Stage of Your Bathroom Renovating Process Explained

Bathrooms are one of the most essential and personal rooms in your house. When your bathroom doesn’t fit your family’s needs and preferences, you’ll never be completely comfortable with it. In that case, a bathroom remodel is in order.

But where do you begin? If you never have remodeled a bathroom before, just the idea of it can feel overwhelming. There are so many options to consider and decisions to be made. Luckily, you don’t need to know everything about bathroom remodeling to make the changes you need.

For the best results, hire a professional bathroom remodeling contractor. An experienced contractor will walk you through all the possibilities for your renovated bathroom and complete your project with quality materials and craftsmanship. Working with experts will save you time, worry and stress. Best of all, you’ll have a brand-new bathroom!

In the meantime, you can learn more about bathroom remodels with this guide. It’s a great way to jumpstart your bathroom remodel and get you ready to work with a trusted contractor.

Guide Chapters

What Are the Benefits of Updating Your Bathroom?

There’s a reason bathrooms are the first room people remodel in their homes. Everyone hates an ugly, outdated bathroom! You deserve to feel good in such an intimate space, and a bad bathroom is a deal-breaker for many homebuyers when you try to sell someday.

But there are many more benefits of bathroom remodeling than what your bathroom looks like. If you have been hesitant to begin the bathroom remodeling process, consider these benefits of a bathroom remodel:

• Create a spa-like environment for relaxation.
• Fix or replace faulty features for more convenience.
• Upgrade to modern or luxurious features that match your tastes.
• Incorporate energy- and water-efficient fixtures.
• Add more space for storage.
• Increase your home value and impress future buyers.

When you’re dissatisfied, even disgusted, by an unattractive or dysfunctional bathroom, expert bathroom remodeling can help you create the bathroom of your dreams!

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When Should You Consider Remodeling Your Bathroom?

There are some undeniable benefits to remodeling your bathroom, but how do you know when it’s time to take the plunge and go through with it?

There are many reasons for embarking on bathroom remodeling. If you have been considering a renovation based on any of these reasons, it’s probably time to get started:

• You expect to sell your home soon and want the best price possible.
• Broken fixtures or tiles are a safety hazard.
• You need significant plumbing repairs.
• Your bathroom looks outdated and needs a fresh look.
• You want to save money and the environment with energy-efficient fixtures and other green solutions.
• Your bathroom is too small, or you need more storage space.
• You have a mold problem.
• You need accommodations for a disabled family member.

Of course, these are just a few common reasons for starting bathroom remodeling. You may have other reasons or simply feel like changing things up. When it’s your bathroom, you get to decide when it’s time to remodel!

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How Much Does a Bathroom Remodel Cost?

Once you know you want to remodel your bathroom, the next question on your mind is: What will it cost?

Bathroom remodeling costs are some of the most difficult home improvement projects to estimate because there are so many factors to consider, such as:

• Bathroom size
• The extent of existing damage
• Quality of materials and fixtures
• If you’re changing the layout
• How labor-intensive each task is

Your bathroom remodeling costs really depend on how many changes you want. Obviously, changing out a few fixtures and repainting will cost less than gutting the entire room and starting from scratch. And the amenities and products you choose can range from basic and economical to outright opulent.

That’s why bathroom remodels costs can vary anywhere from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands!

Luckily, with so many ways to remodel your bathroom and so many products to choose from these days, it’s easy to find solutions that fit your budget. Work with your contractor to prioritize your bathroom remodeling needs and find materials you love without going over budget.

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What Are the Steps to Remodeling Your Bathroom?

So how does your bathroom go from ugly and frustrating to fresh and beautiful?

Depending on what you have done, the bathroom remodeling process can look very different for each project. However, here is a general outline of what you can expect from your contractor and the standard bathroom remodeling steps you might see:

1. Your contractor will discuss with you what you want and how they can make it happen.
2. They will make a bathroom floor plan that maps out vital things like the water supply and drainage and create your custom plan within existing constraints.
3. Before starting work, they will obtain relevant building permits.
4. Next, demolition begins.
5. Most bathroom remodeling requires a plumber and/or electrician to do some work at this point.
6. Installation of the shower or bathtub comes next.
7. If you’re getting a fresh paint job, it happens before other elements are installed.
8. Now it’s time for new flooring.
9. A new toilet, counter, cabinet and sink come after the floor is done.
10. Finally, most homeowners choose to have a fan installed to help with ventilation.

Along the way, expect to receive frequent updates from your contractor about when materials will be delivered and when their crew will be in your home. When they are finished, they should perform a thorough cleanup and then inspect the final results with you to ensure you are satisfied.

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Finding the Right Bathroom Remodeler

The whole point of a bathroom remodel is to make your bathroom more functional and appealing. To that end, it’s important to find the right bathroom remodeling contractor who can make your dreams become a reality. Working with a qualified contractor ensures you receive trustworthy work and service that’s worth the price you paid.

So how do you find a reputable interior remodeling contractor who can give you the results you want?

Start by making a list of local bathroom remodeling contractors. You can find them online or in a phonebook. Perhaps the best way to get a good list is to ask acquaintances for referrals.

Once you have a list, it’s time to do some research. Call each contractor, and ask them the following questions:

• How much experience do you have remodeling bathrooms? You want someone with extensive experience with the kind of project you want to be done.
• Are you licensed to work in my area? Pick a local contractor with proper licensing.
• How do you manage the work of subcontractors? Most contractors use subcontractors for certain tasks, but they should be on site to supervise the work.
• How do you handle client complaints? You want to hear how a contractor fixes problems.
• What warranties do you offer? They should have warranties for both materials and workmanship.
• Can you provide references? A good contractor will have a list of past clients who are happy to vouch for them.
• Can you give me a detailed estimate? They might need some time to draw this up, but you want to know that they can provide you detailed information about the cost of your bathroom remodel.
• What’s your payment schedule? Never work with a contractor who asks to be paid 100 percent upfront.

Don’t settle for the cheapest contractor or the one who says they can start the soonest. Your bathroom remodel is an investment that only will pay off if done correctly.

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Tips for Your Bathroom Renovation

The right bathroom remodeling contractor will help you create a custom design you love, but you can get a head start with these professional bathroom remodel design ideas:

• Create the illusion of more space with clear shower enclosures.
• Install shelving and a medicine cabinet inside walls between the studs for extra storage.
• Place floor tiles on a diagonal to make a bathroom look larger.
• Use an attractive but functional and low-maintenance floor material.
• Dress up and protect the lower section of walls with beadboard.
• Use simple, minimalist hardware for a clean, sleek look.
• Install bright lights for safety and to make the room look larger, but place them on a dimmer for when you want a certain ambiance.
  Pick a fan designed for the square footage of your bathroom.
• Replace towel racks with hooks for more space and versatility.
• Keep your color scheme simple with just two colors, and avoid busy patterns. Use textures for added interest.

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What Type of Bathroom Fits Your Lifestyle?

Every homeowner has different needs and expectations for their bathrooms. To meet those needs, your bathroom remodeling project might involve downsizing or expanding a bathroom.

Not sure what type of bathrooms you already have and what kind you need? First, you should know that bathrooms are categorized based on how many components they have. Those components are:

• Toilet
• Sink
• Shower
• Bathtub

A full bathroom has all four. A three-quarter bathroom has three, usually a toilet, sink, and shower or tub. A half-bathroom will have a toilet and sink. And sometimes you can find a very small quarter bathroom with merely a toilet.

Homeowners have different tastes when it comes to bathroom styles too, and there are many bathroom styles to choose from.

Want a charming look? There are farmhouse and rustic bathrooms. Have more international tastes? Look into Mediterranean or Scandinavian styles. For a spa-like experience, you might prefer a tropical or beach bathroom.

If you want a bathroom style that appeals to almost everyone, choose one these four most popular styles:

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Why Hire a Professional Bathroom Contractor?

These days, DIY home improvement projects are all the rage. Unfortunately, bathroom remodeling disasters are increasingly common too.

To guarantee your bathroom looks and works the way you want it to, hire a professional bathroom remodeling contractor. When you hire the pros, you only are bound by your imagination. Whatever you want, you won’t be hampered by your own lack of skills and knowledge. Qualified contractors have the expertise and skills to translate your vision into a finished result you’ll love.

A professional bathroom remodeling contractor also will be prepared for the unexpected. DIY instructions rarely address complications. They make every project look easy and offer no advice for troubleshooting. Your contractor is experienced enough to anticipate a few obstacles and resolve them so that they don’t cause problems later.

Perhaps the biggest benefit you’ll see of hiring a professional bathroom remodeling contractor is the long-lasting confidence you’ll enjoy with the quality of your finished bathroom. A contractor knows what materials will hold up best in the bathroom environment and how to build the elements you want so that they are sturdy and durable.

The major motivation behind bathroom remodeling is to improve your bathroom environment. The best way to improve your bathroom is to trust the experts to do it for you. They will save you the stress and costs of questionable amateur work and give you a bathroom that you can love for years to come.

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Ready to Love Your Bathroom Again?

Don’t live with an ugly, flawed bathroom any longer. You and your St. Louis area home deserve better.

If you’re ready to finally enjoy using your bathroom, contact Lakeside Renovation & Design for a free consultation. We’ll work with you to create and build the custom bathroom design you’ve always dreamed of. We have helped thousands of homeowners transform their homes into functional, beautiful living spaces with our exceptional interior remodeling services.

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• Smart Bathroom Technology You’re Going to Love
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• How to Add Energy Efficiencies to a Bathroom Remodel
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