How to Start a Bathroom Renovation: What You Need To Know

So, you’ve made the decision to renovate your bathroom? Hooray!

It is time to say goodbye to your leaking shower, almond ivory vanity and taps that drip or require a pair of vice grips to turn off.

Visions of modern European bathroom furniture, expansive glass shower enclosures and easy to clean vitreous surfaces are probably dancing through your mind right now.

But, how do you go from the ugly stage to the luxurious new finish stage?

There are a number of things you need to consider before you take to that old bathroom with a sledgehammer. Here’s what you need to know…

How To Start A Bathroom Renovation: What You Need To Know

Step 1: Establish Your Needs And Your Wants

While a freestanding stone bath would be nice, it might not fit with your budget or the space available in your bathroom. You need to be very clear about what you NEED in your bathroom, versus what you WANT.

Letting the professionals (like the team here at The Bathroom Factory) know about your must-haves will help them to create a design brief that you will be happy with. That means including all of your must-haves and as many as the “wants” as possible, depending on your budget and practicality of course.

Step 2: Set A Budget

Before you go racing out to the shops and fall in love with various bathroom fittings, you need to have an idea of your budget. Options are endless, and you can easily spend your entire renovation budget on fittings alone, leaving nothing in the tank for the required labour and installation costs.

The great news is that you don’t have to sell your spleen in order to renovate your bathroom. There are plenty of cost effective options that still look the part, they just don’t cost the earth!

So, the first task is to sit down and work out how much money you have to spend. To make sure you establish a realistic figure, you will need to do some research. Get searching online or speak with people that have renovated recently to get a feel for cost. If you really have no idea, then talk to the professionals who will give an indication on exactly what you need to spend. We have some pricing packages available on our website, that you can browse here. All of our packages include everything you need to renovate your bathroom, including labour, materials, quality bathroom products, and your very own project manager.

Having a designated budget will help to make decisions easier and will ensure that you don’t get yourself into financial trouble.

Step 3: Get Some Design Inspiration

Once you have the basics established, it is time to get inspired. Go crazy on Pinterest, interior and design magazines and Google.

Once you have a design aesthetic in mind, you can show your renovation team what you are after. Knowing the kind of design and colours that you like makes it easier to select the final items that will appear in your brand new bathroom.

Step 4: Talk With The Professionals

Unless you are some kind of savant builder, plumber, electrician, decorator and designer all in one, you are going to have to engage some professionals to help you with your project.

Speaking to the professionals from the very outset will make the entire bathroom renovation process run smoother. They will let you know what is possible in the space that you have, and will know the legal and best practice guidelines that you must follow. Also, given they live and breathe renovation work, they will have some great advice and ideas to help get you started.

A smart renovator will work to your budget, ie they will design to suit your budget.

Here at The Bathroom Factory, we offer a complete end to end service and project manage the entire process. We are with you right from the design stage through to completion. We can help make the whole bathroom renovation process stress free, and with our set price packages you know exactly what you will be spending.

Step 5: Have Installation Plans Created

An accurate set of installation plans will ensure you get the end product that you expect and desire. Installation plans show you exactly what your renovated bathroom will look like before the work even begins.

It will detail where all of the elements are positioned, what height they will all be placed at. Everything will be considered right down to the placement of powerpoints and light switches.

These plans are invaluable as everyone who works on your bathroom will know exactly where everything goes. It means they can execute the design vision and make sure every fixture and fitting has been accounted for. The plans can also save you money (and stress) as you will not have your tradies calling you every 10 minutes asking where a something should go.

Installation plans are just part of the service we offer here at The Bathroom Factory. We will provide you with a full plan before you begin your renovation so you know exactly what you are getting in the end.

Congratulations! You now know how to start a bathroom renovation project. Get in touch with us here at The Bathroom Factory to find out more about how we can help you create your dream bathroom.