Start With A Good Plan

It's Your Space-You Call The Shots

Even if you decide to use the services of a professional designer, it is a good idea of make the initial plans for a bathroom remodel yourself. After all, you and your family are the prime users of the bathroom. It's your personal space and who better to decide how it should look and what is needed to make it fully functional for your needs? Having your own plan helps the contractor with something to follow in order to meet your expectations. If there are things that just won't work, the contractor can help you make alternate choices, but if you don't have a plan you may not end up with what you want.

Your Contractor Will Appreciate Knowing What You Want

If you have a heritage house or an older bathroom, your plan may well include more than a simple update. It may be that you'll have to replace major fixtures and change some plumbing. Perhaps you want to enlarge the space by either moving the bathroom entirely into a different room in the house, or taking some square footage from an adjoining room to make the bathroom larger. Such design changes will require a lot more than paint and new towel racks. Again, if you don't have a basic idea of what you want to do, your contractor may not be able to perform the task well for you.

Do Your Research, Get Prices And Create A Budget

To get some general ideas, and maybe even some specific ones as well, browse online and gather magazines to look through. Check out fixtures at various outlets and pick up brochures and information on flooring materials, tubs and sinks, countertops and lighting. Be sure to get prices as well so you can construct a solid budget. Your budget won't gel until you have a good idea of how much things cost, so be sure to include prices of items as well as costs for labor, taxes, fees and licenses. Once you have a good idea of what things will cost, then you can begin to hone the budget to fit the bank account. Remember, most remodeling jobs come in over budget, usually due to unexpected things like having to tear out old pipes or remove a cupboard that you hadn't planned on taking out. This sort of thing happens, plan for it.

Plan Your Space And Work Your Plan

Think about what you want from your bathroom. There was a time when it was just a place to take care of necessities. Today, may people want to create a spa in their home-a place to relax and refresh. By taking the time to plan the way you'd like your bathroom to look, you will be able to discuss major changes with your contractor. You'll know what will fit in your bathroom and where the best place for the new tub would be. Certainly money can be saved by putting things in the same place as the old fixtures were, but if the placement isn't functional, it may just be time to make a change.

Having a firm plan not only helps you get exactly what you want, it is also necessary if you have to finance the project. Your bank will appreciate the fact that you have some hard costs and numbers and the loan will likely go through a lot faster.