One of my sellers has a fabulous renovated bath in his 100-year-old house, including a skylight for natural light, heated floor and towel rack to keep you toasty and great built-in storage. Renovated bathrooms are great selling features and have been know to make the difference when buyers are choosing properties.
If you thinking about doing your own bathroom renovation here are some questions to help you get started…
- What don’t you like about your current bathroom?
- What doesn’t work? What does?
- Do you need to replace all the fixtures? Move them to different locations in order to improve traffic flow?
- Is the existing bath too small? If so, where can you find extra square footage to add?
- What do you want the room to become—an updated but basic, functional bathroom or a sumptuous spa-like indulgence?
- Perhaps most important, what is your budget for this project?
Here are some construction points to keep in mind…
- A powder room needs at least16 square feet to be serviceable… a full bath about 36-40 square feet
- Green board, as opposed to traditional drywall, is necessary in areas that are exposed to water, but can be advantageous in the entire full bath because it doesn’t absorb steam or humidity
- Ground-fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) are required by code to protect electric receptacles in areas that may be wet to help prevent a potentially fatal shock
- Low-flow toilets using 1.6 gallons of water or less per flush are required by law in all new and remodeled bathrooms
- Install a ducted exhaust fan to eliminate problems with mold and mildew, being sure it vents to the outside and not into the attic… to find out how large a fan you need, divide the cubic footage of the room by 7.5
- If you install a grab bar, make sure you bolt it directly to the studs for stability and security
Bathrooms help sell homes, so if you have been thinking about doing a renovation this could be a great investment for future resale as well as enjoying it yourself in the meantime!
Sharlene Hensrud, RE/MAX Results – Email – Minneapolis Realtor
