The bathroom is one of the most used rooms in the home and designing one to meet your families needs can be challenging both practically and financially. The average family bathroom is small compared to most of the rooms in a typical house, yet a redesign can still cost between £3000 to £10,000 depending on the bathroom furniture and fixtures you choose. In this post, I will go through 5 of my top tips for remodelling your bathroom while sticking to a budget.
Go Green. Save Your Wallet And The Planet.
My first money saving tip is to go green with your bathroom and become eco-friendly. Even if you are not the most environmentally friendly person on the planet you can still do your bit to help with a few small changes, and these changes can save you a lot of money long term. By installing low-flow bathroom fixtures such low flow toilets, dual flushing toilets, low flow shower heads and LED lights you can save on your utility bills considerably. Low flow toilets and bathroom fixtures can save the average family over 40,000 gallons of water per year, not bad for a simple fix.
Install Fittings Yourself And Save
Skilled manual work can be difficult, but with that said, if you are looking to save money on your bathroom remodel, fitting fixtures like the toilet is a great way of saving money. I picked the toilet because it’s quite simple to fit, even with no experience. All you need to do is have a look on youtube and look for a tutorial. The toilet only has one waterline to hook up so don’t be put off, it’s actually quite easy to install. If you do fit your own toilet, get someone to help you move it as they can be heavy and remember to turn off the water in your home before taking your old toilet off the wall.
Update Fixtures And Fittings If You Can’t Afford A Complete Remodelling
If you can’t afford to start from the ground up and have a full bathroom remodel you should have a look into replacing some of the fittings like bath panels, light fixtures, sinks or bathroom cabinets. Every time I have sold a house I have used the above method to make the bathroom (and kitchen) more looked after and more expensive than it actually is. Replacing the small details will make a huge difference in the aesthetics of your bathroom design.
You can even go a step further if your budget is limited. Start by replacing the towels, bath mats, toothbrush holders, toilet brush, and toilet seat. You can replace all of the above for very little and it still makes your bathroom look much better than before. If you can’t afford a complete remodelling, have a look at these top 10 DIY bathroom upgrades you could do this weekend.
Shop Around For Suppliers And Contractors
The majority of your bathroom remodelling budget will go on materials and labour, because of this it makes sense to shop around for the best deals. Often online stores will have cheaper prices than the shops locally, however, this isn’t always true.
If you are looking to remodel on a budget you can look in store for ex-display items, they may not be brand new and will have a few scratches but they will look better than that 15-year-old bathroom suite you currently have.
To save money on your bathroom design it is very important to set a budget and stick to it. Only when you have a budget should you start to look for a bathroom suite otherwise emotion will play a role in the buying process and you will end up spending way more than you should. Some companies charge £5000+ for a bathtub, while others charge £2000 for an entire bathroom suite. Know your budget and stick to it.
Unless You Have A Large Budget, Keep The Pipework Where It Is.
Plumbers are expensive so when remodelling on a budget you will want to keep the time a plumber is working on your bathroom to a minimum. Bathrooms can benefit tremendously by moving certain parts of the plumbing around, maybe moving the toilet into the corner and putting the sink more centrally looks better, but when you’re working on a budget it doesn’t make sense to move them around. Moving the pipework around can increase costs fast, my money saving tip is to leave the plumbing where it is unless it’s a major problem in terms of practicality. This may limit your overall design, but it will save you money.
Conclusion
If you create a realistic budget and make smart choices you can easily create an amazing looking bathroom without breaking the bank. I have moved home several times and I always remodel the same way. Doing all of the above I have on average saved over £1500 with every bathroom remodel.
Do you have any bathroom remodelling tips and tricks that can help save money? Please leave them in the comments below, we’d love to hear them.