Top 7 Reasons to Remodel Your Bathroom
Kitchen renovations tend to get the glory and moments on TV. However, along with the kitchen, the bathroom is a vital part of your daily life. Bathrooms can suffer becoming outdated and heavily worn just as easily as kitchens, sometimes even more. A bathroom renovation can truly be awe inspiring as there are so many exciting fixtures and finishes on the market today that will not only make your bathroom a work of art, but also the most usable room in your home. Cosmetics aside, many people need to update their bathroom to better accommodate themselves and family members. Here are seven of the top reasons that our clients have asked us to remodel their bathroom:
Your Current Bathroom is Outdated
This one is obvious, as anyone who has walked into a maroon-tiled bathroom from the fifties can attest. Bathrooms can start looking more and more outdated as colors, fashions, fixtures, and materials on the market change. While seeing an avocado green toilet may excite some people who love a retro look, many people want their bathroom to look like a luxurious spa or the bathroom at an upscale hotel. The endless possibilities of tile, countertops, flooring, fixtures, and more make this a daunting task though. That’s where designers, like those at K. Fedewa Builders, make a bathroom remodel far easier.
Some homeowners simply wish to upgrade from builder-grade cabinets and fixtures to something more sophisticated. People want to come home and relax after a long day, not see a bathtub that’s missing enamel, old carpet around the toilet, or tile that nobody really knows the original color of. Beyond just the visual colors and styles, old plumbing fixtures can build up years of corrosion, odors, and more. Replacing faucets, toilets, flooring, and even showers and tubs removes decades of continuous usage in an instant.
You’re Growing Older
Let’s face it, we just keep getting older. Each year that we grow older, we tend to get more aches and pains while everyday activities that used to be easy become harder. This happens to all of us, and that includes when we use our bathrooms. No bathroom is perfect for everyone, and our designers are here for you to ensure that the bathroom that is perfect for you now can also be in ten or twenty years.
As styles and needs change, what used to be great ideas and made you happy are now burdens and annoyances. A deep soaker tub may have been amazing ten years ago, but now it just sits collecting dust because it’s just too hard to step in and out of. Instead, a massive walk-in shower provides an easy entry and exit solution for everyone. Add a removable or built-in seat and it just might be the perfect way to relax at the end of a long and stressful day. Even faucets and other fixtures can become hindrances as we age, and we take that into account. Consider touchless fixtures for convenience at any age. As we age, we tend to become more unsteady on our feet. It’s important to have secure touch points. Fortunately, a grab bar doesn’t have to look like it came from a medical supply store; there are a wide range of lovely grab bars that multipurpose as towel bars and serve well to compliment the bathroom’s aesthetic.
Family Changes (aging parents moving in or new babies)
Continuing with changing bathrooms because of aging, many people update their bathrooms or add a new bathroom to accommodate an aging family member. Just as when you age, if your bathroom has a foot-deep soaking tub but your loved one can barely lift their legs a few inches, a walk-in shower is the perfect option. We can even design and install barrier-free or curbless showers so that anyone can enter them, even with the assistance of mobility aides such as wheelchairs or walkers. If a loved one is in a wheelchair, changing the height or access of a sink and counter is necessary for functionality to ensure independence. Installing grab bars, slip-resistant flooring, and wider door entrances for wheelchairs may all be necessary too.
Bathroom remodels often occur as your family grows…a new baby! While you can bathe your child in a sink for some time, eventually you’ll need a bathtub. If the previous homeowner removed the bathtub in favor of a massive tile shower, you need to swap things out. Just like for older bathroom users, children benefit from non-slip flooring in the shower and out. Children love to splash and play around in the bathtub, so if your tub doesn’t have wall tiles or a surround above it, there will be damage to the paint and drywall. You’ll also need more storage for everything that comes with babies, children, and teenagers and that could include more cabinetry or closet solutions. Don’t forget about durability and making things easier to reach (storage, towel bars, step stools, etc.).
Expand Current Bathroom Size
As a family grows, whether it is from the addition of children, aging parents, or just going from one person to two, bathrooms can become too small quickly. Many bathrooms just don’t have the size that many of us desire. Older homes where more purpose-built than desire-built. Today’s bathroom are almost always larger than older ones.
It’s hard to add two sinks with plenty of counter and cabinet space for everyone when your bathroom only has room for a small vanity and single sink. You may want a giant shower that can fit more than one-person (we won’t judge), but your bathroom has a bathtub / shower combo that you can barely turn around in. Maybe you just want a closet that can store more than three towels, a set of sheets, and your teenager’s supply of hair products.
One option is to expand the bathroom into an addition onto your house so that no square footage is taken away from any other room. Alternatively, maybe you have a guest room next to your bathroom that sits unused. We can take some or all of that room and make a bathroom that Roman emperors would have been jealous of. No matter the reason you want to expand your bathroom, K. Fedewa Builders can do it. Let our designers determine the best option for you.
Add a Bathroom
Consider converting some existing, lesser-used, spaces in your home to serve as a new bathroom. Maybe you have a hallway closet that you know would serve everyone better as a half-bath. Perhaps your basement has plumbing ready to use and you would like to add a bathroom down there. You might choose to take two smaller bedrooms and turn them into a master suite complete with ensuite bathroom and walk-in closet. All of those are technically remodels, as adding an addition to your home to include a new bathroom, master suite, or any other combination of rooms. Our designers can help you determine how best to utilize unused space in your home or add additional space to it.
Increase Efficiency
It’s been said that toilets and showers make up half of all daily water usage in a typical home. If you can increase efficiency by keeping a lid on water costs, why wouldn’t you? There are a wide range of faucets, shower heads, and toilets that conserve water right from the start. Although the monetary savings may not seem like much at first, they add up over time. Many products out there carry the WaterSense label indicating that they’ve been tested and certified to deliver efficient performance. Low-flow toilets and those that have two flushing options offer big savings, as do low-flow shower heads.
Besides just being more efficient in water-usage, you can increase your bathroom’s energy efficiency as well. Standard light bulbs can be switched over to LED light bulbs to save you money on your electric bill. Ventilation fans can save money on energy costs by helping redirect hot, humid air out of the bathroom keeping air temperature and humidity at normal levels. Plus, ventilation fans help reduce mold buildup! New energy efficient windows can also be a great way to save on energy by keeping your bathroom toasty in the winter and cool in the summer and should be a part of larger bathroom remodels.
Increase a Home’s Value
Although your bathroom may be one of the smallest rooms in your home, it can be one of the most valuable. Not only does it serve the obvious functions, it can also function as your personal retreat away from work, kids, and other responsibilities. Many homebuyers love to see an attractive and update bathroom, while an outdated bathroom can put them off because of the work and expense to bring it up to date. Many realty experts state that bathroom remodeling delivers on of the best returns on investment in the home remodeling universe. Of course, that’s only if the work is high-quality and professional.
So, the next time you’re sitting in your “second office” or trying to relax in a cramped and old bathtub, think of the possibilities that your bathroom could be. If you’re not the best at imagining the details but know that your bathroom is stuck in the Dark Ages, our designers are here to help. Seriously, call us now to schedule your design consultation and stop living in a bathroom nightmare: 517-388-6123. You can see examples of our work by visiting our website at https://kfedewabuilders.com/.