Has anyone partially redone their own bathroom?
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Anonymous
| I do not want to spend 20k. I would keep the exact same layout. Thinking of doing demo ourselves, then getting someone to put in tub and shower, and then we do the rest. Do you think it is realistic? How much can we save that way? |
Anonymous
| Our neighbors did this. They said cutting the tile was really challenging and they broke a lot of tile in the process. The final result looks good, though. |
Anonymous
PS. Home Depot used to give tile classes. I have no idea whether they still do. |
Anonymous
Would tile demo actually save that much for a bath? We had kitchen hardwood floor replaced and the demo was $2/SF. Or did you mean they installed the tile themselves which is obviously more work. |
Anonymous
| Yes, you can do it. There's so much "how to" online. I redid an entire powder room this way (including leveling the floor and installing tile). Just Google "how to ____," and you can find everything (removing a toilet, removing a vanity, etc ). My favorite instructional site ended up being thespruce.com but there are many |
Anonymous
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We mainly DIY-ed a bathroom and we are not handy.
We laid a new tile floor on top of the existing floor (the threshhold is slightly higher but it’s no big deal); installed a new toilet, vanity/sink and light fixture. We hired someone to “reglaze/spray paint” our tub and wall tiles (you can only choose white or black for this). We learned how to do this via online how-to articles (there are a million). |
Anonymous
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We've done this, and are doing again. Haven't ripped out or redone tile, but we painted over tile from the 70's, tore out all fixtures, replaced valves, laid flooring, and installed new toilet/vanity. That was a powder room, so a little smaller, but we have full baths up next.
We may get a bath fitter type thing for the tubs, and not sure how to handle the tile in these bathrooms - it will involve cutting out old grout and redoing it, at the least. Maybe it's worth it to just tear out the tub altogether, haven't figured it out yet. It is worth the money saved for us - upgrading an elderly parents home for sale. |
Anonymous
| Are you people disclosing when you sell your house that you DIYd the plumbing and tile? |
Anonymous
There was a reddit FU thread to previous owners and many posters said their leaks happened because of tile over tile in bathroom. One person complained that when they dug it out they found 3 layers of floors and the subfloor was full of mold and warped and there were maggots. Gross. So there's that for DIY. |
Anonymous
If the home owners did this, there goes the sale. They'd be better off selling it 'As Is' in a seller's market to avoid litigation for non disclosure. |
Anonymous
How big is your bathroom? Have you called around for estimates and gotten recommendations from friends/neighbors (cheap ones, not folks who want a premium experience). I think your problem will be finding someone to just put in the tub and shower. Most competent people aren't going to want this crap job. Be prepared for some high estimates (or people not going to be willing to do this at all). Can a handyman do this? |
Anonymous
| Your added cost is time. We did a lot of work on a basement bathroom. It was a tight space and we weren't remodeling to add more, and didn't want to replace everything. In that case our only option felt like DIY. But it was a basement space we could do without for however long it took. A neighbor did something similar with an upstairs bathroom, hired a friend of a friend. He was working entirely on his own, and not full time. He did a good job, but it took a very long time and it was very disruptive. There were no complaints about the work he did, but in hindsight they regretted the arrangement |
Anonymous
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Ughhj why.
Add in time, cost of getting rid of waste, materials....is it really worth it? It's not just about doing techniques and installing things. It's about doing everything to code too. |
Anonymous
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To the original question, essentially you'd be acting as GC and partly as laborer.
I've done it. You can save a lot of money, but you will work for that money. It will take you a lot longer to finish the job than a contractor, so you have to be prepared to live with you house torn up and the bathroom unavailable. You will have more trouble getting people to work with you than a contractor would, because you can't offer them repeat business. You'll be at the bottom of their priority list, if anyone higher priority needs something they'll get taken care of first. Contractors know the cheapest places to buy things and can get discounts unavailable to non-contractors. Although with internet shopping this isn't so much of a deal. There are some advantages. You have home field advantage, it's easier for you to work there than someone else. A lot of the work in a renovation is really low skill, carrying debris out and materials in. It's a lot easier to change your mind if you're the only one affected. |
Anonymous
Why would it matter if not moving plumbing? How is it different from installing your own washing machine, something most people do? |