
Home renovations – adding a new bathroom
For those of you who are a frequent reader of my blog, you will know that I have often lamented my 70’s style pale pink bathroom. It is in the original condition from when the house was built, but has seen better days. Over the year we have lived in our old house we have slowly done it up, room-by-room. That is, room-by-room, excluding the bathroom.
I know, I know, as a plumber it should have been one of the first rooms we fixed. But somehow it has always remained a low priority, until now. This winter we decided to face the situation and get those final few upgrades around our house completed. That includes a new bathroom and adding an ensuite.
The month’s blog is inspired by home renovations. Even after doing hundreds of these for other people, as the home owner I have still learnt a lot. Below are a few “insider tips” coupled with the reality of “living through a renovation”.
Insider tips:
- Expect it to be loud, dirty and disruptive.
My wife works from home and even though our renovation is small, it has still meant getting in different trades to help (i.e. builders, sparkies and brickies). Our helpers have all been fantastic but you have to be realistic. Expect noise and dirt, it is inevitable. I would suggest covering furniture, moving most items out of the affected and surrounding rooms and laying towels to cover your flooring.
- You just can’t plan for everything.
As a tradie myself, when you go out to quote, you do your best to be accurate and account for every possible scenario. But sometimes things pop-up that you just can’t foresee and you have to be flexible. For us (or more-so for my wife), it has meant that occasionally she has had to compromise on her ideal and work out a happy medium. This flexibility has meant our renvo has kept to our initial time-frames and disruptions have been easily overcome.
- Go for quality
I always buy my plumbing fittings and fixtures from a dedicated plumbing supplier. I have found over the years, they cost abit more but the quality is so much better. Interestingly our tiler said the same thing. He noted that he was happy we had brought good tiles because for him they were so much easier to work with. Second, he said they were more durable and he had less breakage during the cutting process.
and finally…
- Hire quality help
As a trades person myself, who has picked up a few tips over the years from different professionals, it is tempting to want to do abit more yourself. Don’t do it. Seriously. I mean it – Don’t do it! I am a keen to support the DIYer, but know your limits and know when to call in expert help. At the end of the day when you are looking for quality and something to last the duration, it is better to get an expert in and do it properly.
Admittedly, even to a seasoned tradie, renovations can throw up challenges. But if you are realistic and work with your team the outcomes can be an enjoyable and satisfying experience!
6 Comments
Ashley Turns
My husband and I are planning on renovating the ensuite to our master bedroom and we have been wondering what kind of tips we should follow. So thanks for telling us that if we want a high-quality job to be done, we should make sure that we find a great service to help us with the process. Since we both want the best for our ensuite renovation, I will be sure to start looking for a great service we can use for help with the project.
Glenn
No worries Ashley. Glad you found our blog helpful.
Steven Bahbah
Great post. I agree with being flexible and meeting in the middle. There will be times when issues pop up during your renovations but it is how you overcome the minor setbacks, that will determine the outcome.
Glenn
You’re welcome, Steven. If you need a hand, just call me (Glen) on 0401 956 095
Milla Ewan
Thank You Glen for your article your tips it helps me lot for renovation of my small bathroom located in my house in melbourne
Glenn
You are most welcome. And if you need a hand, just call me on 0401 956 095