This is a comical topic to me… I wish I would have written it about a year ago and then listened to my own advice.
In 2017 or 2018 we had a wall behind tile start collapse in own main bathroom. Big YIKES! I had leaned on the wall a little too hard and broke through the softened drywall behind the tile. There had been a major leak from the window sill in the shower and we found out the hard way. As we started to clean the area up to repair it, we found more and more that needed to come out. Before we knew it the entire bathroom had been gutted, from floor to ceiling everything needed replaced.
And now a few years later, we are completely redoing our other bathroom after attempting to complete a simple toilet replacement- which became impossible and led to the beginning of the demolition.
Here are 7 things I wish we knew before starting either project!
1. Over budget for the entire project. Take whatever number you estimate it to cost and double it. Either you will have to buy replacement parts for your replacement parts or you’ll get half way through welding the pipes together and realize you need a professional to help with plumbing. We ended up spending more than we thought we would but it was still quite a bit cheaper than hiring a company to do all the work.
2. Way over estimate the time required to complete any project. If you think it should be a five minute project, give yourself twenty to complete it. You are most likely learning as you go so you might need the extra time to Google, watch YouTube, and undo your mistakes. Trust me when this happened a lot to us.
3. When picking items out, like a vanity, make sure you love them before buying and installing. We rushed a few things and now not loving all of our initial choices but don’t want to redo it already. Splurge for the higher quality items if possible. We did on the tub and toilet and are so thankful we did!
4. Pick decent looking floor but make sure it has DIY laying instructions. We learned the hard way- again- that somethings are packaged just for contractors or professionals and then sold to the general public. Not everything comes with instructions or is self explained…
5. Use your resources for people you might know. Do you know a structural engineer? Do you know a carpenter? What about a plumber? If you do and can trade services, I highly recommend it. We traded 30 minutes of plumbing for 2 dozen eggs. One of the best trades ever! We know a structural engineer (my dad), so he helped with any reframing, supports, and general construction of getting the bathroom back to a place of putting it together instead of demo and replacing.
6. Dedicate a set of work clothes, shoes, hat, gloves, and safety glasses to the project. You most likely won’t want them after you’re done anyways.. my jeans were ripped, caked with grout, and I definitely didn’t want them in my washer! My shirt, hat, shoes and gloves were equally as gross. I think the only thing salvageable post bathroom renovation was the safety glasses!
7. Have fun! The last thing I wish we knew before starting our renovations is to make it fun. Spend quality time learning and designing together. We thought we needed to be serious and push through the project as much as possible. Take the time to design it the way you want and leave a little memento for the next person to renovate. I wrote on a few 2x4s. I wrote who we were, when we bought our home, and when we renovated that bathroom. I plan to do the same when we get to that point with our current bathroom project.
I hope you take some advice but if you don’t no worries! We didn’t either… Haha and we have lived to tell the tale (so far anyways).
Happy renovating!
Xx
Hal
Hallie Dantzler 