Thursday, November 27, 2008

It Ain't as Easy as It Looks; Bathroom Renovations

By Adam Peters

When you analyze how difficult it is to do a bathroom renovation, you will realize you are better off hiring a contractor.

Tired of your outdated old bathroom? Thinking of renovating it? When you look around, it doesn't seem like such a big deal to just change the toilet, sink and tub, take out the tile floor and put in another, hang a few bathroom accessories. You can probably do all of this stuff yourself, couldn't you? Well, before you take on a big project like this, think about what is really involved. When you consider the amount of work and expertise involved, you will realize why re modelers who charge so much are so busy all the time anyway.

A false sense of confidence can invade us when we look at the seemingly small amount of work involved versus the large amount of money the contractors want to renovate a bathroom. Just a small item such as the toilet looks easy enough. Take the old one off and put a new one where it was. But have you ever witnessed the incredible mess when a toilet was not properly sealed? You may think it is a simple task of putting the caulking around the bowl, but there is a lot more to it and the installers know it.

OK, let's hire someone to do the toilet, but the shower we can handle, right? What could be involved here? Well, what is involved in knowing how to install plumbing lines, using an acetylene torch to connect lines, putting in a drain, evenly laying out,installing the shower pan, caulking the tile, etc., etc. If you have inquired about the costs of bathroom renovations, then you know that the most expensive single item is the shower. The parts (pipes, a drain, a shower head and the tiles) are far from the most expensive item in the project-the labor is.

If a shower or tub is improperly installed, a slow leak can be causing damage to parts of the house that you cannot even see, and that you will not even find out about until it is too late to do anything about. Avoid all of this and bring in an expert.

It may be a big ego booster to be able to say "I did this myself", but risking the safety of your home and family is just not worth the bragging rights. Save the bravado for your golf or tennis game and make sure you hire an expert to do these kind of jobs. It is hard to calculate the amount saved, since you do not know how much later problems would have cost you, but just stay on the safe side and have the job done right by the right people.

Read more articles about bathroom counters and sinks and related information at this web. - 15252

About the Author: