How to Remodel Your Bathroom – The Spruce

Bathroom remodeling either fills you with thoughts of clean, gleaming white surfaces or of a half-assembled disaster. Maybe both images are true. Let's follow the steps of a bathroom remodeling project.

Bathroom remodeling is expensive. Bathroom remodeling costs typically range from $15,000 to $18,000 just for a basic, functional remodel.

Even though most bathrooms are small, the cost comes from the intensive amount of sub-contracting you may have to do (i.e., plumbers, electricians) and the expensive elements involved (fixtures, cabinetry, etc.). Of the many methods of funding your bathroom renovation, perhaps the most common way is with a home equity loan. While looking at financing, you may wish to also think about ways to save on your bathroom remodeling costs.

If you're remodeling a bedroom and wish to change the layout, it's not so bad. You move a closet here, push back a wall there. But with bathrooms, you're not just dealing with the visible elements, you're dealing with the underlying structure of plumbing and electrical system. Layout changes, such as switching toilet and shower, drive up the cost of bathroom remodeling in a big hurry, so consider this carefully.

Since bathrooms collect moisture, there is a good chance you may have to replace drywall. In the case of bathrooms, you'll be using special moisture-resistant drywall commonly called "green board" and in the very wet areas like showers and baths you'll be using moisture-proof backer board. Hopefully, you don't need to replace anything beyond the wallboard. But if you do--that is, if the wall stud and joists are bad--they may need to be sistered or completely replaced.

The shower, tub, or shower/tub combination is the heart of the bathroom. For many people, this may be the entire reason for the bathroom remodel.

If the worst thing is a few cracks, it is possible to self-repair your acrylic or fiberglass shower/tub for very little money. For many homeowners, though, the surface might be stained and discolored, so tub refinishing would be in order.

Got problems that go beyond repair and refinishing? It is possible to install a bathtub liner - sort of like an "overcoat" for your icky tub. Should those methods prove ineffective, you will need to go all the way and build a tiled shower. Alternatively and with a bit less fuss, you can install a pre-fabricated acrylic or fiberglass shower/tub. Pre-fab shower/tubs need no on-site buildingbecause they have been fabricated in the factory - though make sure that you do not buy any unit too big to fit through your doorways.

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How to Remodel Your Bathroom - The Spruce