Building the spa bathroom of your dreams can cost you a lot of money. When it comes to home improvement projects, busting the budget is everyone's biggest fear. How do you turn your bathroom into your own personal spa without having to spend a fortune?
Use these tips to give your bathroom a makeover without flushing your funds down the drain.
Hire a pro
A lot of people choose to go the DIY route in the hopes of saving money. But if you don't have the skills and experience, we recommend that you hire a professional instead.
Tiling a bathroom, for instance, may seem like an easy task. But it's not as quick and easy as it looks. Different bathroom floors require varied approaches and methods. So if you haven't laid a tile before, it is best to leave it to the experts.
If you want to save on labor cost, you can install shelves and towel bars, paint walls and trims or install window and baseboard trim. These are easy projects that average DIYers can handle on their own.
Keep the old bathroom footprint
Keeping the old bathroom footprint will help you save money on demolition and reconstruction. Plus, it helps reduce the dust and dirt that makes remodeling difficult to deal with. Locate plumbing fixtures near existing plumbing pipes.
If you can live with the total square footage you already have, you can afford the fixtures and tiles you want.
Hit the recycling center
Most contractors only work with brand new materials. They refuse to use salvaged materials because they don't want to assume responsibility if something goes wrong. But if you're tackling this project on your own, you can reap big savings by hitting the recycling center.
Do-it-yourselfers can save a lot of money by purchasing lightly used materials or fixtures. Habitat for Humanity offers salvaged materials for half the price. They have about 400 stores nationwide, so you won't have a hard time locating one.
