Time has come to renovate your guest bath, master bath, or powder room, but in today’s economy who has the money to gut and remodel an entire room? The bathrooms are the most tracked rooms in your family’s home because they offer relief for a wide range of services, from bodily needs to grooming to basic hand washing and more.
Even if you cannot afford to remodel a run-down bathroom, you can at least take some of the destitution out of its overall appearance in the span of just a couple of weekends. If you hire a contractor to take care of the job from start to finish, then you can knock out the entire job in just a few days’ time without having to put your family in a hotel while the work is underway. Here are some tips to get you started.
- Clean Everything.
When your bathroom is clean, it looks better than ever. Dust the crown molding and baseboard. Vacuum the exhaust fan. Wipe down the walls and deep clean the shower. Scrub the grout between the squares of ceramic tile. Declutter the cabinets.
- Refresh the Grout.
Nobody likes a bathroom with grungy grout lines. No matter how much you scrub the floor, stained grout gives the appearance of a dirty bathroom. If scrubbing the grout with diluted bleach (10 tablespoons of water to 1 tablespoon of bleach) and an old toothbrush doesn’t work, then hire a contractor to pull out the old grout, apply a new batch, and seal it accordingly.
- Replace the Exhaust Fan.
The exhaust fan in your bathroom should run quietly. It should recycle the air in the room once every seven or eight minutes. This will help cut down the risk of mold growing in your bathroom. New fans combine the exhaust work with lighting, which can kill two birds with one stone.
- Update Your Toilet Lid and Seat.
You can update the comfort level of your bathroom just by replacing the toilet seat. They are easy to replace. After removing the existing seat, clean the exterior of your toilet completely. Then install the new seat but avoid over-tightening the screws, as it could damage the toilet or the toilet seat.
- Install a New Shower Head.
Taking a shower under a stream of water that never changes is boring. You can have all the luxury of a spa treatment just by installing a new shower head. You can have a contractor or a plumber do this for you, or you can try to DIY the job. If you choose the latter, be sure to wrap the new fixture in a towel when using pliers or a wrench to tighten it so you do not scuff the surface.
- Add Storage for Linens.
The linens that get used most in your bathroom are the towels. Add a few towel bars to keep them up off the floor. While you are at it, you can attach a robe hook on the back of the bathroom door. This will keep bathrobes handy and at reach when they are needed the most.
- Replace the Bathroom Sink Faucet.
You can find a wide range of faucets at your local DIY home improvement store. There is something to fit every style and budget. There are so many choices to fit your budget that your biggest decision might be choosing which one you like best from all the available options. One thing to keep in mind is that if you pay a little extra for a water efficient faucet then you could make up the savings on your monthly utility bills.
- Replace Your Bathroom Vanity Cabinet and Top.
Taking out the old vanity cabinet and replacing it with a newer model can go leaps and bounds toward renovating the look of the room. You can buy the vanity cabinet and top separately or you can buy models that have the top combined with the cabinet in advance. While easier to install, choosing a model that has the two pieces combined means living with someone else’s design choices – even if they do not exactly fit the style of your bathroom.
You spend a good portion of each day in the bathroom – anywhere from 20 minutes to a full hour. When you combine that number times the amount of people in your household, you can see why it is important to keep up with the appearance of your family’s bathroom. As this article outlines, however even the smallest budgets can result in amazing transformations in bathroom remodeling projects.
Looking to splurge on a new bathtub? Learn more.