How to Renovate Your Bathroom in 10 Steps

Bathrooms are one of the most commonly used areas of the home, which also makes them one of the most popular rooms for renovation. Bathroom renovations are an excellent and often simple way you can give your bathroom and home a fresh, new look. If you want to do your own bathroom renovation, you will need to set aside plenty of hard work, patience, as well as money for tools and supplies that will help you achieve the perfect DIY bathroom renovation of your dreams. The following guide will help you figure out how to renovate your bathroom, step-by-step.

Cost of a Bathroom Renovation

First, it’s important to consider how much a bathroom renovation will cost you in the long run. The average cost for a full bathroom renovation is $15,000 to $18,000 when you are using professional renovations services like ours; however, if you are renovating the bathroom on your own, you can save thousands of dollars but obviously take on the stress and responsibility if things were to go wrong. 

Typical (avg) costs in relation to room size

The cost of a bathroom renovation when you’re doing it on your own will depend on what tools and materials you need to purchase. Since you won’t be paying for labor, the costs will be limited to the materials and tools you buy for your DIY renovation. As a general rule of thumb, you can save money by choosing more budget-friendly options and less expensive materials. For instance, rather than buying high-end bathroom tiles, you can opt for tiles that are priced more modestly.

Planning Your Bathroom Renovation

Before you can begin your DIY bathroom renovation, you will need to plan it out as thoroughly as possible. The more work you do at the planning stage, the easier it will be to carry out your plans once you move on to the next step.

Floor to Ceiling

Choosing Design

The design of your bathroom renovation is one of the most important elements of the project. The design you choose for your renovation should be based on your personal preferences, what aesthetic and design elements you think will look best in the space, and the budget. Common design elements you should definitely decide upon before you start your bathroom renovation are:

• Colour scheme: What colours will you use for your bathroom renovation? Will you be painting the walls? Make sure that all of the elements of your design work together in terms of colour scheme; for example, if you plan on painting the walls a soft blue colour, you will want to avoid colours that clash with blue in other areas of the bathroom.

• Fixtures: Will you need completely new fixtures, such as sinks, showers and tubs? If so, how many fixtures do you plan on replacing? Knowing this will play a large part in creating your budget as well as helping you decide on other aspects of the budget.

• Storage: Will you be adding storage space during your renovation? If so, where will you add it? You will also need to find replacements for any areas of the bathroom that you’ve renovated by removing storage options, such as removing bathroom closets.

• Utility: Where are the utilities in your bathroom located? Specifically, where is the electrical wiring and plumbing pipes in your bathroom located?

You will also need to lay out exactly what type of renovation you want to do, such as installing new tiles, replacing a toilet, etc.

DIY: Essential Tools and Supplies

Doing your own bathroom renovation can be cost effective and rewarding, but you need to make sure that you have all of the necessary materials and proper tools to safely and effectively renovate your bathroom. The following are the most essential tools and supplies you’ll need for a renovation.

Essential Tools:

• Gloves
• Goggles
• Safety Mask
• Hammer
• Tape measure
• Spackle knife
• Silicone sealant
• Caulking gun
• Chisel
• Flathead screwdriver
• Adjustable wrench
• Chisel
• Bucket
• Pry bar
• Power drill
• Hacksaw
• Utility knife
• Spackle
• Stud finder
• Chalk line
• Extension cord

In addition to these essential tools, you may need additional tools depending on the type of renovations that you’ll be doing. For instance, if you will be removing any sort of plumbing fixtures, you should have a wet-dry shop-vac on hand to suck up water spills when removing plumbing fixture such as a toilet. You may also want to use a cordless drill in favor of a traditional drill so that your extension cord can be used for other tools.

If you don’t have these tools on hand or don’t want to buy them outright, you can rent them from a home improvement store for a reasonable price.

Step-by-Step Bathroom Renovation

Once you have your renovation plan in place and you have all of the necessary tools and supplies, you can begin your renovation. The following is a step by step renovation guide that will take you through the basic renovations that most people perform in their bathrooms.

Before you begin: Full or partial bathroom renovations require you to work with your home’s plumbing, so make sure that you either have experience working with plumbing or have someone with you that has plumbing experience for best results. You don’t want to accidentally damage your home’s plumbing or find yourself needing to call in an emergency plumber due to busted plumbing lines or similar mistakes.

Step One: Remove fixtures first

If you’re doing a complete bathroom renovation, you will want to start with removing any fixtures that are going to be replaced during the process. This will allow you to start the room with an open, clean slate; in addition to this, removing fixtures will free up the rest of the room for cleaning, repairing and installing new fixtures and materials into the bathroom.

Ideally, begin with draining and then removing the toilet so that you will avoid unnecessary water spills or issues with the plumbing; then, if applicable, remove the bath tile before removing the bathtub itself. The last fixtures to remove are cabinets, vanities, mirrors, wall tiles and floor tiles. If you are installing new floor tiles and other fixtures, make sure that you have them nearby for easy access.

Step Two: Install new plumbing fixtures

Once all of the old fixtures are gone, you can install the new fixtures, such as the bathtub, shower or sink. Do not install the toilet during this step–save it for last. You may need to adjust the wiring in the bathroom depending on the dimensions of the new fixtures–for instance, your new vanity might be tall enough to cover up your electrical sockets, which means your sockets need to be moved; in this case, call in an electrician to work with your home’s wiring to avoid any unpleasant electrical accidents.

Step Three: Install floor tiles

If you are replacing the floor tiles in your bathroom, now is the time to put them down. Make sure that you use a chalk line to create reference lines so that your tiles will be straight, as otherwise you might end up with something every DIY bathroom renovator dreads: uneven floor tiles. Don’t forget to grout in between the floor tiles.

Step Four: Place new drywall and paint

Your new drywall should be in place before you begin painting; make sure that you cover seams and gaps with drywall mud and tape so that you have a flat, even surface to work with before painting. If you are painting in the bathroom, you’ll want to pick up a paint that has a moisture-resistant finish in order to help prevent mould and mildew growth in the bathroom.

Step Five: Install new cabinets and vanities

Once the walls are painted and finished, you can finally move on to installing any new cabinets and vanities. Go for the vanity first, so that you can install the sink and faucet, before moving on to the mirror, cabinets, and so on. If you’d like, you can add trim around the vanity for more aesthetic appeal.

Step Six: Make sure the plumbing is re-installed

If you had to remove plumbing elements during your renovation, you can finally re-install your toilet during this last step. It’s best to do this last to avoid any unnecessary problems with water spillage or potential plumbing line issues. Once the toilet is installed, make sure you give it a test to check if the plumbing is working properly in the bathroom again. 

Finishing Up Your DIY Bathroom Renovation

Once you have your renovated bathroom looking like–well, a bathroom!–you can work on those all important finishing touches. Finishing touches include installing trim around the mirrors or the rest of the room, adding back in your decorative touches such as hanging pictures and plants, installing window curtains if you have a bathroom window, and otherwise making your newly renovated bathroom look its very best.

If you are planning on a DIY bathroom renovation then this guide will take you through the process step by step and you will have a much easier time giving your bathroom a new lease on life. 

Want to know exactly how much your bathroom renovations will cost? Try our bathroom instant quote now:

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