Like the kitchen, the bathroom is one of the parts of a home that will greatly influence the decision of a person to purchase a house. Thus, renovating the bathroom will surely increase the market value of your home. However, this project could turn out to be a difficult undertaking because of the complex plumbing and structural work that may be required.

Planning the Scope of Work

When planning the details of the work to be done, you may find that they could be structural, have to do with size and design, moisture issues, fixtures, heating and ventilation, and electrical or plumbing. The various parts of the bathroom that you can renovate are the wash basin, vanity, toilet, shower stall, flooring, bathtub enclosure, and the wax seal for the toilet. Remember that you can always hire a contractor if the scope of the work exceeds what you are comfortable with. If it is at all structural, it is advised that you at least consult a professional.

The first step in planning is to determine the things that need to be done. For example, if your home is more than 30 years old, you may want to replace the electrical wiring and plumbing. It would be a good move to consult an electrician and plumber to be able to estimate the cost for such work. After noting the various details of the project, the next step is to ask for the prices of every item that you need at the furniture and hardware stores. You may want to consult several stores to ensure that you get the best value. However, it is important to remember that purchasing all or most of the items from one store would likely be beneficial because you might be able to negotiate a bulk discount.

Renovating the Bathroom

Before you can start with the actual work, you will need to clear out the existing items. You will then shutdown the water supply and remove the sink and the toilet. This will allow you to work on the bathroom flooring but you have to check first if the floor joists and beams are damaged so that you could replace them if they are indeed faulty.

Also, before you do any work on the flooring, you will have to hire a plumber to make the changes to the drains, pipes, and fittings if this kind of work is required. And if you need renovate the electrical wiring, hire an electrician first to make the appropriate changes in the wiring before you start working on the walls.

An important step is to ensure that the waterproofing of your bathroom complies with the building requirements in your area. You will need to perform the waterproofing work before you place the new tiles. After this, you can lay the new tiles or you can ask a qualified tiler to do it for you. For the flooring, make sure that the slipperiness of the tiles will be able to comply with building regulations. After you have put in the tiles, you can now put in the tub, toilet and wash basin.

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