The Best Ways to Save Money on a Bathroom Remodel

By Realty Times Published Jun 6, 2022 10:43 am

If you have an outdated bathroom or one that doesn’t function the way you need it to, you might be planning a remodel. However, once you start the process of planning said remodel, it’s very likely you’re going to see it could be more expensive than you thought.

Bathroom remodels, while on a smaller scale, are similar to kitchens in that the costs can add up fast.

It’s important to start with a plan for your dream bathroom and then adjust accordingly as you need to.

A lot of different elements go into a bathroom remodel, like the surfaces, cabinets, hardware, and tile. To stay organized, you might want a spreadsheet where you track your must-haves and their costs.

Along the way, consider the following tips to save money as well.

Be Cautious Before You Change the Footprint

A bathroom remodel can go a long way by changing the finishes and the appearance of what’s already in it but leaving the footprint alone.

The footprint is the layout of your bathroom. It includes things like your walls, plumbing, and the location of your toilet, shower, and bath. It also includes electrical wiring.

If you want to move a tub or shower, for example, this is going to make your remodel significantly more expensive .

You’ll save money by keeping the footprint the same, and you may also be able to do more of the work on your own. In particular, not moving your plumbing is going to be the best way to avoid a very expensive remodel project.

Give Yourself Time and Be Patient

A good way to spend more money than you need to is to make last-minute product decisions. Then, if you find out what you wanted isn’t in stock, you may be in a time crunch so you spend more than you’d planned to.

Give yourself time, and start ordering items well in advance of when you’ll need them, so you aren’t feeling pressured to spend too much and go over budget.

The more time you give yourself, and the more patience you have, the less likely you are to spend more than you plan for.

Refinish Instead of Replacing

If you can refinish certain parts of your bathroom instead of replacing them, you can keep your costs down.

For example, rather than changing your bathtub, maybe you refinish it with a new coating. You can keep your vanity and repaint it and add new hardware instead of replacing it.

If you have shower walls, you can refurbish them too. If your current shower walls are tile, there are a lot of options. For example, you can clean them up and change the grout color.

If you have a vanity that you don’t mind, but you don’t like the countertop, there are some great kits so you can paint it to look like marble or granite, and they’re designed specifically for bathroom sinks.

Be Realistic With the Work You Can Do

Depending on your skill set, you may be able to do a lot of the work on your bathroom yourself, especially if you keep the footprint the same.

However, you need to be honest with yourself and know what you can do versus what you need to outsource.

Yes, hiring someone to do work on your bathroom is going to cost money, but if you try to take on something that’s out of your depth, then you’re probably going to have to pay someone to fix it, and it may cost even more.

Finally, don’t underestimate how much of a difference small changes can make. For example, try changing out your light fixtures and mirrors before you do anything else, and then go from there. You don’t always need an overhaul, even if you initially think you do.