Ways To Save Money When Remodeling A Bathroom

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Did you know the average cost for completely remodeling a bathroom is anywhere from $9,600 to $11,000??

How much do you think it cost us to transform our 1980’s bathroom from this…

To this??

We actually spent less than half of the $9,600 lower estimate amount!

So how did we do it??

Well, I’m glad you asked!

Here are 7 things we did to save money on remodeling a bathroom:

1. KEEP YOUR BATHROOM’S BASIC LAYOUT

If you don’t move the location of your tub/shower, commode, sink or walls, it’ll save you lots of money. Moving plumbing fixtures and walls usually requires permits and professional licensed contractors. And that will cost you way more than if you leave everything where it is.

2. RE-USE WHAT YOU CAN

We re-used our bathtub and commode because they were in perfect condition. The commode had some water stains in the bowl and you can see how I was able to get those out HERE We also re-used the mirror and the ceiling heater.

3. SHOP FOR BARGAINS

Our vanity cabinet cost us $164.25. It’s a good quality wood piece (no particle board) that retails for $1400. But we got it at a fraction of the cost because the marble top was broken. So for the top, we bought a pre-cut piece of Sichuan Bianco marble from our tile store for $430.00 and we had it custom fabricated to fit the vanity and sink. That was a little bit of a splurge, but I never would have found a top on a ready-made cabinet that’s as beautiful and works as well in this room as this one does. So it was worth it!

The polished nickel sink faucet is an Amazon find for only $266. It’s a good quality solid brass fixture. And we got the tub/shower faucet on clearance at a local plumbing supply for only $150.

We picked up the Carrera marble wainscot tile at a big box discount tile store and the pencil molding trim on top is from there too. The trim pieces were actually polished which made them too shiny up against the honed Carrera so I ‘honed’ them by soaking them in white vinegar and sanding them with fine sandpaper. So don’t automatically disregard something that’s not exactly perfect. Maybe you can do something to it to make it perfect!

4. USE SOME BASIC STANDARD MATERIALS

For the sink we just went with a basic ceramic under-mount from Home Depot for under $50. A guest bath sink doesn’t need to be heavy-duty and since everything around it is so pretty, it didn’t need to be anything super special.

I like plain white tile in the shower so we used standard 4 x 8 white porcelain subway tiles on the walls in there. They’re very reasonably priced. And since they’re subway tile, they’re classic and timeless so they won’t go out of style. We probably could have saved a little more money if we hadn’t tiled all the way up to the ceiling but I think it looks more finished to go all the way up.

Pin for laterSee how to make this tissue box slipcover HERE — Pin for later
See how to make this tissue box slipcover HERE

5. DIY THE LABOR

If you’re handy and pay attention to detail, you can probably do a lot of the work yourself. Demolition and painting a room yourself are great ways to save on labor costs. You can also learn to install tile, faucets, light fixtures and trim moldings yourself. Just be aware of your limitations and make sure your finished project looks professional.

6. CONSIDER USING A SHOWER CURTAIN INSTEAD OF GLASS

This was a no-brainer for us. Mr. Redoux and I both hate to squeegee shower glass. All of the homes we’ve build in the past have had showers that I designed without glass or curtains. We lived in a rental for a short time recently that had a glass shower and we learned pretty quickly how much of a chore it is to keep clean. So… shower curtain it is. And we saved a ton of money on the cost of having glass doors fabricated and installed.

You can see how I made this DIY shower curtain from a linen bed sheet HERE

7. MAKE YOUR OWN MIRROR

As I mentioned before, we re-used a mirror that was already in the house. But we didn’t just slap it up on the wall with a couple of clips and call it good. We cut holes in it so we could mount the light fixtures on it and we built a custom frame around it. It really looks like some of the high-end custom mirror treatments I used to have made for my clients back when I had my decorating business. At a huge fraction of the cost!