Remodelling a bathroom is among the costliest home improvement projects. The bathroom is the place where water and electricity meet, and one misstep could cost a fortune to repair.
Luckily, bathroom renovations don’t involve making structural changes to your bathroom, and they’re an affordable way to freshen up the overall look of the room. In this article, we’ll discuss how to make bathroom renovations cost-effective.
How to do bathroom renovations for cheap
Unfortunately, bathroom renovations can be costly. An average bathroom renovation can set you back more than $6,000, with prices going as high as tens of thousands of dollars.
On the other hand, renovating a bathroom doesn’t have to break the bank, given some adequate planning and materials sourcing. Here are a few tips on budget bathroom renovations:
Create a plan
The first step of any bathroom makeover is thorough planning, so make sure to plan ahead. Changing your plans halfway through is one of the costliest and time-consuming changes, which could significantly delay the entire project.
Ensure you take proper measurements and brainstorm different layouts. Unforeseen, plan-altering changes are likely to happen, including discovering a possible leak, a damaged cable, or anything else that might require your time.
Keep the bathroom’s footprint the same
Frequently, people tend to use the terms “bathroom reno” and “remodelling “interchangeably, but they’re not the same thing. Remodelling involves significant changes made to the room’s structural design, footprint, shape, and size. It often includes alterations of plumbing lines, electrical wiring, fixture positions, just to name a few factors. It is a cost-intensive process.
Renovation usually refers to freshening up the interior bathroom design by changing the floor tiles, wall colour, or lighting while leaving the initial layout unchanged.
Do the work yourself
Roughly half of a bathroom renovation cost is labour cost. The average homeowner will spend approx. $65 per hour paying contractors, like plumbers, electricians, carpenters, and drywallers for a bathroom remodel.
On the other hand, the more of your renovation that you handle on your own, the more money you’ll save. It’s important to note that DIY is only an option if you have the necessary skills. Otherwise, you’ll spend additional money on contractors fixing your mistakes.
Shop around
Secondhand fittings and materials, as well as bargain deals, are another fantastic way to give your bathroom a new look and save money, but this isn’t a simple process.
The best way to go about secondhand shopping is to start early, to ensure you have plenty of time to find and acquire what you want. Start checking local flea markets, reuse centres, antique stores, and yard sales while you’re still in the early planning phase of your bathroom renovation.
7 cheap bathroom renovation ideas
You can easily renovate your bathroom on a budget. Here are seven inexpensive bathroom renovation ideas:
Use a fun wallpaper
You can add more colour to your whole bathroom simply by covering one of its walls with a colourful or patterned coated wallpaper. These are specifically made for bathroom applications since they’re easy to clean and withstand high humidity.
We suggest covering the wall behind your bathroom vanity; it will contrast the rest of the bathroom walls. You can also cover the whole bathroom with wallpapers.
Install a new towel rack
Installing a towel rack doesn’t require much skill, and you can easily follow a YouTube tutorial on how to do it. Most importantly, the towel rack in question doesn’t necessarily have to be new, as you could obtain a secondhand option at an antique shop. You will be surprised by how a new towel rack can help complete a new bathroom look.
Consider a mixed material floor
You can add some variety to your bathroom by combining different textures. For example, floorboards or wooden laminate would be a nice addition, as long as you impregnate the wood to prevent decay. In addition, you can add pebble tiling, natural stone flooring, or some other type of tiles to contrast the wood.
Repurpose an old vanity
Vintage cabinetry can be repurposed and retrofitted as a sink cabinet. You can find inexpensive mirror-dressers and other cabinets at garage sales, flea markets, or used furniture shops.
Mirror dressers require a cutout for a drop-in lavatory. If your cabinet doesn’t have a mirror, you can always mount one on a wall above the sink. When it comes to finish, the choice is yours: re-finish the piece for a cleaner look, or keep its original appearance. Just don’t forget about waterproofing.
Hang a chandelier
Hanging a vintage chandelier can add a bit of unexpected sophistication to your bathroom. A unique-looking fixture can provide a focal point, accentuating the bathroom’s high ceilings to make the space appear bigger.
Look for a rewired piece or one that’s ready to install. If you happen to stumble upon one with bad wiring, an electrician can repair the wires.
Mount a cabinet on the wall
Mounting a cabinet on a wall is a good idea to conserve the floor space of a small bathroom while also hiding your toiletries. Most modern cabinets do have an option of additional shelving so you can maximize your storage. Vintage cabinets are also nice, but adding shelving requires carpentry skills, which could knock a few dollars off your renovation budget. Additionally, you shouldn’t attempt to mount a cabinet on your wall unless you have the appropriate experience as you risk breaking your bathroom wall tiles.
Install a decorative window
Replacing a plate-glass window with stained glass, frameless, or even leaded glass panels is a fantastic idea if you have a large bathroom window. Not only do they obscure the view to add more privacy, but they don’t block out the light. Admittedly, calling a professional to change your window is probably the safest, low-cost option. With a professional’s assistance, you’re more likely to end up with a beautiful bathroom when the decorative window is installed.
Endnote
Renovating a bathroom can be inexpensive and cost as low as $1,000 or less, given adequate planning, material sourcing, and some elbow grease. You can save a ton of money by purchasing second-hand fittings and materials, as well as doing some of the work yourself. However, for more skill-demanding work, we suggest you call a contractor.
Recent Comments