Unique Bathoom Vanity Blog » bathroom remodel

How do you estimate the value added to a property based on the cost of the remodel?

Unique Bathroom Vanity — Fri, 13 May 2011 20:21:52 +0000

As a general rule the average value added to a property is 85% of the remodel cost for a kitchen or bathroom renovation. This will depend on the area you live and the finishes of the remodel. This is not an exact figure, just an estimate using historical averages.

How do you estimate the value added to a property based on the cost of the remodel? is a post from: Unique Bathoom Vanity Blog

When is it necessary to pull a building permit and what are the consequences if caught doing work without one?

Unique Bathroom Vanity — Wed, 11 May 2011 20:14:55 +0000

Most municipalities have a set of guidelines either online or at the building inspection department that will describe the types of projects that require a permit. In general anything that is cosmetic does not require a permit such as, flooring, painting, or even replacing bathroom vanities, or kitchen cabinets and countertops. If you have to move any plumbing drains or water supply lines then a permit is required. The inspector will want to see how the drains are routed and how many bends or fittings are used to make the move. The inspection department will tell you that any new electrical work has to be permitted. This is to make sure a licensed electrician is doing the work and like plumbing the contractor must be insured to protect the home and homeowner from any liability issues. If you are just changing devices and cover plates or light fixtures then you don’t need a permit.

The penalty for getting caught without a permit will vary from area to area. Most of the time it is a fine where the amount is determined by the inspector and the permit fees. Building inspectors do not take it lightly when they find someone doing work illegally or without a license and can make the rest of job difficult to get green tagged by picking apart everything you do and they can make you cut open walls to see the concealed work. If you are a contractor for a living then the inspectors can make all your future jobs difficult once they know you have tried to get away without pulling a permit.

If you are fixing up a house for resale purposes and manage to get it done without pulling a permit you may still run into issues with a home inspector (not a building inspector) hired by the prospective buyer or realtor. The home inspector is paid to find every issue with a home to make a complete report for the home buyer and if they see anything not to code it will be listed on the report. This can lead a buyer to request a courtesy inspection from the building inspector at which time they will see that no permit has been pulled for the updates. In the end it is always better to permit the job right up front to make sure you don’t run into any issues down the road that will cost more money.

When is it necessary to pull a building permit and what are the consequences if caught doing work without one? is a post from: Unique Bathoom Vanity Blog

Do the toilet and sinks in a bathroom remodel need to be the same brand name?

Unique Bathroom Vanity — Mon, 09 May 2011 20:09:29 +0000

Question: I’m replacing my old vanity and toilet in my bathroom with a Kohler Pedestal Sink. The Kohler toilets seem to be overpriced….at least the one is that is the direct match to my sink. I was just wondering if it’s really necessary to match the brands. I can find a cheaper toilet that goes well, but it’s not Kohler. Thoughts please?

It is not necessary to match the toilet brand to the bathroom sink however with years of remodeling experience I can say that you get what you pay for with toilets. Although Kohler may cost a little more they are a respectable company that stands behind their product and you can expect to get years of reliability from their products.

Do the toilet and sinks in a bathroom remodel need to be the same brand name? is a post from: Unique Bathoom Vanity Blog

What is the proper way to seal the tiled walls to the top edge of the bathtub?

Unique Bathroom Vanity — Thu, 05 May 2011 19:57:30 +0000

When installing a new tile tub surround it is critical to make sure the substrate or tile backer is installed over the lip of the bathtub and the and the joint between the tub and bottom row of tile must be filled with grout caulk not just grout. Grout caulk can be purchased from the grout manufacturer to match any color of grout they sell. The purpose of using grout caulk is that it is flexible and will not crack like grout will. If the proper caulk was not used on the original installation and cracks appear it is important to have the grout removed and replaced with grout caulk right away. If you do not repair the crack promptly water will penetrate the wall and cause damage to the framing or the wallboard behind the tile making it impossible to ever get a waterproof seal.

What is the proper way to seal the tiled walls to the top edge of the bathtub? is a post from: Unique Bathoom Vanity Blog

What is best option for remodeling bathrooms when it comes to resale value?

Unique Bathroom Vanity — Wed, 04 May 2011 19:57:24 +0000

Question: From a selling stand point is it better to have a house with 2-1/2 baths where 2 of them are extremely small (one being the master) or converting Two into One and having a new large master bath?

When looking at a listing on a house it would be more attractive to have a home with 2- ½ bathrooms there is no question. However if a prospective buyer looks at the house and sees that two of the bathrooms are very small and outdated it could be a deal killer. Also you have to make sure that spending money on a bathroom remodel will increase the sale price of the home equally or more. A large master bath is ideal for most home buyers, and spending the money in this area can yield a return on investment in most cases. If you are not planning to put the house on the market for a few years then the remodel is going to be for your benefit anyhow, not for the next owner.

What is best option for remodeling bathrooms when it comes to resale value? is a post from: Unique Bathoom Vanity Blog

What would cause sewage smell in bathroom after new remodel?

Unique Bathroom Vanity — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 18:54:34 +0000

Question: We just remodeled our entire bathroom replaced the tub, sink, floor tile, and toilet. Our restroom now has a sewage smell what could be causing this? Do you think they didn’t install the toilet correctly?

There are a few things that can cause a foul smell of sewer gas in a home. One is improper venting of the drains. All drain lines must be connected to a vent pipe that extends through the roof to let the sewer gas escape to the outside. The vent may be connected but clogged and not letting the gas out or the plumber installed it incorrectly. The other cause may be the lack of a trap in a drain line. A trap is the u shaped pipe you see under the sink in the drain piping. All drains must have a trap in them including the shower, bath tub, and bathroom sinks. Toilets have the trap integrated in the bowl not in the drain piping of the house. The trap is designed to hold water at a level that prevents any sewer gas from escaping back into the room. If the plumber did not install a trap or if the trap does not have any water in it then you may get the smell from there.

What would cause sewage smell in bathroom after new remodel? is a post from: Unique Bathoom Vanity Blog

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How to Find Design Ideas for a Bathroom Remodel?

Unique Bathroom Vanity — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 22:20:01 +0000

There are many ways to find design ideas for home remodeling. There are magazines printed just for this purpose such as Kitchen & Bath or Home Remodeling or Luxe just to name a few. Throughout the year there are Home and Garden Shows in some of the larger cities that are set up to premiere new design trends and ideas. You can hire an interior designer which is a great way to get ideas. Interior designers will meet with the client and gather information about them to help with the process, then the designer will pull the ideas together from all the resources and present it back to the client for review. This takes all the leg work out of it. Online you can find many ideas as well either from pictures or online software to help draw the room or rooms you wish to remodel. This can be especially helpful for laying out a bathroom or kitchen remodel.

How to Find Design Ideas for a Bathroom Remodel? is a post from: Unique Bathoom Vanity Blog

How Much Should a Basic Bathroom Remodel Cost? Total Bill?

Unique Bathroom Vanity — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 21:48:11 +0000

A basic remodel of a bathroom should cost anywhere from $5000 to $7,000. There are many factors that can drive this cost in either direction. Size of the bathroom is one, for the fact that tile material and labor to install it is priced by the square foot. If you are going to change the tile or tub surround then it is a good idea to replace the tub/shower valve while you have the wall open and this also allows for updating the color or trim of the fixture. Tile material can vary in price from $1 per square foot to $50 but there is a very large selection in the $5 range. Same with bathroom vanities; depends on if you are buying a small pedestal sink vanity for $100 or a large double vanity for $2500. Additional lighting, new mirror, and painting usually are incorporated with a bathroom remodel and can all be done within this range.

How Much Should a Basic Bathroom Remodel Cost? Total Bill? is a post from: Unique Bathoom Vanity Blog

Average Bathroom Remodel Costs

Average Bathroom Remodel Costs

Unique Bathroom Vanity — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 05:31:57 +0000

Today we’re going to discuss the average cost for remodeling a bathroom. From simple things like accessories or adding a vessel sink all the way to a complete remodel, we have the answers for you. Please keep in mind the information presented here are just averages but we do get this question quite often from our clients. So it seemed like a great topic to discuss and walk you through all the things to take into consideration just so you can get an idea of what to expect if you’re going to remodel your bathroom.

The first thing to consider is cabinetry. If you have custom built cabinetry you can expect the low end to be about $75 per linear foot for paint grade cabinetry up to $250 per linear foot. Again that’s for custom vanities. To have that finished to put the paint or stain on it, you can expect that to be around $100 dollars per linear foot additional.

The thing to take into consideration with plumbing is whether or not you can use the existing plumbing lines or are you going to be doing a major renovation meaning you’re going to relocate the toilet to a different part of the bathroom or you’re going to relocate your shower. If you are just changing out fixtures as an example like your faucets and shower head you can expect that to be around $600 for the entire bathroom.

However if you’re doing a major renovation changing out the layout of your plumbing. You can expect that to be about $2600. In addition if you want to add a Jacuzzi tub, the average cost of adding that is about $1000. For mirrors budget between $200-500 dollars. That’s a good amount of money to get a high quality mirror.

Lighting and electrical run very similar to plumbing. Can you use your existing fixtures and electrical lines or are you going to need to move your existing layout? If you’re just changing out existing fixtures and hang up new lighting fixtures, you can expect an electrician to cost between $75 -$100 dollars an hour. If you’re going to totally revamp your lighting design and add things like recessed lighting or an exhaust fan, you can expect that to cost an average of about $1500.

The next thing would be flooring, there are two pieces or two components to your flooring. You need to think about labor and material. Your labor install will really depend on the area you’re working in, but we have found that the average cost is between $4-6 dollars a square foot. Then obviously the tile material or whatever you choose for your flooring can range between $2-$20 per square foot. Tile is the most popular but there are other things to consider like wood.

Moving on to the shower, if you were just going to add a once piece around shower you can expect that to cost around $400. If you want a tiled shower you can expect those costs to be similar to the tile costs that we had talked about with flooring for example.

Drywall and paint: budget about $600 for basic textured walls. But if you decide to go with something fancy like an artistic plaster finish you can go up to as much as $2500 dollars.

Counter tops also vary. If you go with something popular like granite or marble you can expect to pay anywhere from $40-$60 dollars per linear foot. And that’s really dependent on the material you use.

Accessories range from about $100-500. Accessories would be all the little stuff that you’re going to add to your bathroom remodel project. It could be the hardware on your vanity or your towel bars just to name a few ideas.

Just keep in mind that these are average costs. If you have any questions visit our website www.uniquevanities.com, we’ve got a lot of information there. Also feel free to call us anytime 866-526-1843. We have highly trained staff that are available to answer your calls. We are also a general contracting company here in Dallas, Texas so we know what it costs to remodel bathrooms. Give us a call we’d be glad to answer any of your questions.

Average Bathroom Remodel Costs is a post from: Unique Bathoom Vanity Blog

Tips On How to Size Light Fixtures for Your Bathroom Vanity

Vessel Sinks are a Great Investment for Your Home

Unique Bathroom Vanity — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:47:13 +0000

When you want to invest in upgrades for your home, the kitchen and the bathroom will bring in the most return for your investment. Buyers are more sophisticated these days and they appreciate your careful attention to detail. That is why bathrooms that pamper your body and your mind are popular. You will want to spend your money on items that are in style and items that are timeless, so that you are maximizing your dollars. The elements that you choose will bring the buyers to your door and improve the worth of your home. You may not be thinking about selling your home now, but adding a vessel sink to your bathroom will still increase the value of your home. These projects can be done by an expert or you can manage them with some effort. No matter what design style you are going for these sinks will be the jewel in the bathroom, which you can build off of.

These sinks offer drama and appeal to people that love enriched design elements. They are not your typical sink, which is inserted into the counter. These sinks rest on top of the counter in the same way that a bowl would set on the top of a counter. They come in many different types of materials and color choices. They can be found in stone, copper, ceramic, porcelain, glass, and more. The glass vessel sink would be great for a contemporary designed bathroom. The stone and ceramic vessel sinks, often times, will offer you a more rustic look. You can match these sinks to your color pallet or go off your color pallet to bring some drama into the room. These sinks will bring value to your bathroom and you will enjoy the design features.

After you have decided to purchase a new sink for your bathroom, you will need to review the choices in materials, textures and style. You will find that there are a wide variety of price points to consider. You can shop online and review each selection. You will want to take not of the measurements to ensure that you have enough counter space for the new sink. The vessel sinks will add the beauty and value that you want in your bathroom. Today is a great day to start the selection process.

Vessel Sinks are a Great Investment for Your Home is a post from: Unique Bathoom Vanity Blog

Pros and Cons of Vessel Sinks