How To Set Priorities During A Bathroom Renovation Project
Bathroom remodeling projects can range from simple refreshes to full-on teardowns. You're likely to have a certain budget range in mind for your bathroom renovation effort. Consequently, it's critical to set priorities so you can maximize your investment.
How do you set the priorities for the project, though? Build a checklist based on the following four principles.
Fixes Come First
As enticing as it is to go all-in on aesthetic upgrades and functionality improvements, the first priority is fixing the bathroom. If there are old pipes in the floors or walls, for example, those need to come out.
The upside is that fixes and upgrades often align. If you never liked the showerhead and it looks old and corroded, you might as well replace it with a better model. Even if the replacement represents a simple upgrade, you can still use low-flow and aeration technologies to improve efficiency. Also, the most basic replacement will likely be more aesthetically pleasing than whatever was there.
Visual Improvement
This may seem a little high on the list, but there's a reason. Bathroom remodeling tends to be one of the better bang-for-the-buck investments in a house. Particularly if you're within ten years of possibly selling the home, you want the bathroom to look good when it comes time. Visual appeal matters, and that means you'll want to modernize the bathroom's style so it can sell.
Efficiency
If the bathroom's systems haven't seen upgrades in at least 20 years, you can almost presume efficiency improvements will return value. You can target water consumption by upgrading the faucets, toilets, and showerheads.
It's also wise to upgrade the lighting system, especially if they weren't built to use modern LED lightbulbs. You may want to upgrade the windows to let in more light. Also, modern windows tend to be very efficient in terms of retaining warm air in the cold months and cool air during the hot months. Mirrors can also spread more light from the windows, reducing energy consumption.
Functionality Expansion
With the dollar-for-dollar best items off the checklist, you can now add functionality. You might want to install a second sink, for example, if your family competes a lot for the bathroom when getting ready to leave. More people are installing sound and voice assistant systems in their bathrooms, too.
Even in this section of the list, it's a good idea to prioritize. Work your way down from the nice-to-have items to the stuff that just interests you. To get help planning your bathroom remodeling project, contact a contractor in your area.