Today we are talking about how to remodel your Bathroom on your Own, also commonly referred to as the “Do It Yourself” (DIY) approach.
We are lucky enough to have Eric Drenckhahn, the No Nonsense Landlord guide us through this topic. Eric has more than twenty rental units and has done countless bathroom and kitchen remodels.
As a relatively new homeowner and landlord I’ve enjoyed reading Eric’s blog posts and have even emailed him about a few things. He’s incredibly knowledgeable about home-related questions/issues and he’s put together a thorough post about how to remodel your bathroom on your own.
There are many improvements that you can make to a bathroom to make for a more modern look. You can spend quite a bit of money on it, or you can do it in a less expensive way. Money spent modernizing a bathroom goes a long way, and much of the investment can be re-cooped in increased property valuation.
You can go out and hire one of the big name bathroom remodeling companies, and spend in excess of the national average for a bathroom remodel of $16,128. For that money, they will line the bathtub and put in a new shower surround. They might do something with the rest of the walls, or not. It’s going to be difficult to part with that money, knowing that just delayed your eventual retirement date by about twelve months.
Let’s break down the remodeling by section, and address each improvement one at a time. Most of these can be done on a piece meal basis as you have time, or money. They are not hard tasks, and many are DIY projects. You can do a 100% remodel, yourself, for under $1,500. It will be a better job than any one-day remodeling company can do.
Floors – Total DIY Cost: $200
The floors in most bathrooms should be tile, if yours is not, read further. If you have vinyl or the stick on squares, get rid of them. The stick on squares will only be OK if you want something quick to mask the existing floor, like when your mother-in-law comes to visit.
Remove the toilet and vanity. Put up the old flooring, all the way to the subfloor. Inspect the subfloor for rotten areas and any water damage. If the floor is weak under the toilet, reinforce the area, using treated 2x4s and joist hangers between the existing floor joists if you need to. Patch in the new subfloor with ¾” treated plywood.
Once you have the subfloor solid, with no rotted areas, put down a cement backer board. Since you do not have a toilet or vanity installed, it’s a pretty easy task. I use ¼” lightweight backer board material, designed for under tile.
The tile that you use should be a non-slip version. Both ceramic and porcelain are OK, but make sure if you are getting out of the shower, with wet feet, the slippery surface does not become an accident waiting to happen.
The bathrooms in my apartments are about 5’ x 8’, and I have used both 12” and 18” tile. Both sizes look great. I was initially worried about the 18” tile being too large, but they were fine.
Tile costs about $1 per square foot for the tile itself. Backer board is under $10 for a 4’ x 4’ sheet. Tile easy to install, but installers generally charge ~$4 per foot. Tile is easy to cut, and a bit messy if you cut dry tile indoors. Pick up a cheap wet saw, and save all of the dust. Use the plastic ‘T’s to help keep the tile in a straight line. Use a thin-set mortar to set the tile, and a dark colored grout to hide dirt.
Ceilings – Total DIY Cost: $100
There is not much to do with the ceiling, other than paint it with a non-mildewing paint. Bright white is the best, and I use a semi-gloss. If you have a popcorn ceiling, and some small places are coming off, you have several choices. You can scrape the entire ceiling to get a flat ceiling, re-spray the popcorn with a compressor and hopper, or just buy a spray can of ceiling popcorn at Home Depot and re-spray the blemished area.
If you do any scraping of popcorn ceilings, be sure to spray it with water and wait 15 minutes. Spray it a few times in those first minutes, as the water will continue to soak up into the popcorn, and once it is soaked, the popcorn will be easy to scrape.
Anther ceiling improvement is a new bathroom fan. Most bathroom fans are too loud. There are fans out there that run super quiet, for less than $100.
Walls – Total DIY Cost: $150
Walls are like ceilings, it’s mostly paint. You can tile them, but it is far cheaper to just paint them. Fill in any holes in the wall(s), sand the area smooth, and remove the towel bars before you start.
Use a good non-mildewing paint, designed for kitchen and bathrooms. You can use a wainscot on the lower part of the wall, if you want. You can buy paneling, which looks like wainscot. Simply cut the 4’ x 8’ piece into three 32” pieces. That $25 piece of paneling will cover 12’ of wall. Add some top and corner trim, and you are all set.
Tub/Shower – $500 to $750
Replacing a tub is expensive and a lot of work. Do not do it if you do not have to. One alternative is to paint a tub. For ~$500, you can hire out the task of painting a tub. I had an old cast iron tub painted, and it worked great. It was an old 1920’s tub that had the finish of sandpaper the finish was so worn out. The contractor came in, and completed the painting in a day. It was like a brand new tub when he was complete.
If you have a fiberglass tub, you can polish it, or have it painted. They paint fiberglass boat hulls and the paint holds up, a tub is not much different.
If you have a tub with a separate wall surround, you can also replace the surround before the tub is painted. Matching the color of the surround to the tub might be difficult, but the painter can paint both. For about $200, you can get a decent price sub surround. They are not too difficult to replace, but might stretch the amateur’s ability just a bit. A good surround might add more shower shelves or hand holds.
Shower Doors are another easy fix. A glass door looks nice, but is difficult to clean. They are just over $100, and install in less than an hour. Never put a glass door in a rental, as renters do not clean them.
Fixtures
No bathroom remodel is complete without replacing some fixtures.
- Complete Double Vanity: $550
A decent vanity should be put in. If you have enough room for a double vanity, with two sinks, so much the better. A decent 60”, solid oak front vanity can be purchased as a ready to assemble (RTA) cabinet for ~$200, plus shipping. The double vanity top is another $200, and faucets another $150.
Stay away from particle board in a bathroom, the sink can leak, and the sides can sit in water if you have any kids splashing in the tub. You can never go wrong with solid wood. The inside of the vanity, under the sink, can be lined with a small piece of vinyl flooring. That will spruce up even an old vanity. Caulk the edges with clear caulk to hold it down, and never worry about a leaking sink drain ruining the vanity bottom again.
- Medicine Cabinet: $100
A simple flat mirror can be installed on the bathroom wall, or a medicine cabinet can be installed. Either one works, but the flat mirror is cheaper.
A toilet topper will look great, and is also fairly cheap.
- Toilet: $200
If you are replacing a toilet, go with the highest flush power toilet you can get. That will save future clogging and over flow issues. There is nothing worse than a clogged toilet over flowing onto the bathroom floor, and then soaking up into your particle board vanity.
- Doors/Knobs/extras: $100
You can also replace door knobs, cabinet knobs, and shower doors. Even changing the shower curtain and floor rugs can make a big difference. Replacing a flat door with a six-panel door makes a large noticeable improvement. Towel bars and toilet paper holders, are all inexpensive and easy to replace.
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I hope you enjoyed this guide from the No Nonsense Landlord on how to remodel your bathroom on your own. Each bathroom is different, of course, but Eric has given a great breakdown of the general costs and some really solid tips for people who are going the DIY route.
Any additional questions about bathroom remodels? What DIY projects have you done in your home? Renters – do DIY projects excite you or make you happy that you are a renter and not an owner?
Finally – If you have any home-ownership or renting questions that you think are worthy of a post by Eric, please contact me and we just might be able to work something out!
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First photo by Sitka Projects
Second photo by midiman
Third photo by Geoffrey Fairchild
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Good info, Eric! Our ensuite jacuzzi tub has little visible lines in it like preliminary cracks. I’ve always thought the whole tub will need to be replaced. Do you think this can be painted?
I would hire someone to cut and lay tile, but I would try everything else. =)
We would really like to remodel our bathroom. I don’t know if I would be comfortable doing it DIY. I wouldn’t mind gutting everything, but tiling would scare me! Seems like really tricky work.
I’ve bookmarked this for future use. What a great rundown.
This is a great overview–thank you! I know we have a bathroom renovation in our future, so this will come in handy!
Thanks for sharing this! Great start for anyone who wants to DIY their bathroom. I’ll bookmark it in case I need it in the future.
Great info! My biggest issue when we redid ours was the precision that had to go into laying tile. Then I discovered Snapstone. it’s a floating ceramic tile floor that takes 1/2 of the time to lay!
Love this post! I’m hoping to buy a place and while it’s a co-op which requires a licensed contractor for every little renovation, they will allow you to DIY. So it’s great info here…hoping to read another post…this time about low cost remodeling of a kitchen!
I like the breakdown and the landlord-style tips. I am surprised that you’ve never had a tenant clean a glass shower door. I guess it all depends on the type of tenant, location, calibre of the unit, etc.
BudgetforMore I’m on the same page as you with this. I’m almost ‘scared’ to try to lay tile, even though if you don’t ever try you’ll never learn how to do it. It may be something that you’re really good at, even. We’ll see if I am brave enough when the time comes ;)
My hubby recently remodeled our downstairs bathroom and it looks amazing for just a few hundred dollars. The biggest issue he had was with the tile and having to buy more than we needed because he kept cutting the tiles wrong; however, even accounting for his excess tiles, the project was a financial and visual success.
Great overview Eric! We have a good friend that does bathrooms and he makes decent money at it, but the crazy thing is that he tells us much of it can be done on your own…as long as your willing to do the work and teach yourself.
Thanks for placing my post! I have done so may bathrooms in may apartments it becomes almost routine. Tile floor, new vanity, new topper, new faucets, etc.
Nothing is that hard, but I will say I have a relative who is a builder just did a $72K ($72,000) bathroom remodel, that had a fireplace between the master bedroom and bathroom.
FrugalRules Exactly, nothing is too hard. Someone on YouTube probably already has a video.
blonde_finance With a Wet saw, it’s easy to cut tile and fast.
moneypropeller Even when they attempt to clean it, there is always soap and lime on he glass. A $10 shower curtain can be replaced faster. No one has ever paid me more rent for a glass shower door.
Andrew LivingRichCheaply I have done a ton of kitchens too. Use RTA kitchen cabinets, stock laminate counter tops, new faucets and appliances. Easy peasy.
RetiredBy40 Snap stone is great, but very expensive. Use the plastic ‘T’s, a good tape measure, and it all comes home for you.
PoorStudent thanks for reading!
Mrs. Frugalwoods Bathrooms make a big difference!
DC @ Young Adult Money BudgetforMore No worries. Once you do it you wonder how anyone can get paid to do it.
Holly at ClubThrifty Easy stuff. Use a wet saw and its almost as easy as a stick on tile.
debt debs I am sure it can be. the painters will sand it and make it look like new.
DonebyForty Thank you for the compliment!
Great tips here. I think the biggest thing for a lot of folks,and particularly myself, is the intimidation factor. Not wanting to start something that they don’t have any knowledge about. I think once they get over that and realize they can handle the smaller upgrades, they will wonder why they never did it before.
ImpersonalFinance Once you overcome the fear of the tools, it’s easy. Of course, the third time you do anything, it is a lot easier.
Doing a small item, then progressing to the larger ones, builds confidence.
It is really nice that you included that general prices for these remold jobs. Does the flooring include a plywood sub-floor? Most of the time in older homes you need to replace your plywood sub-floor for structural reason. <a href=’http://www.famitchell.com.au’ >http://www.famitchell.com.au</a>
Thanks for itemizing the costs for us. I would like to do something like this but I just don’t know enough about what I’m doing. Would you guys be able to recommend any course or perhaps even YouTube channel that teaches how to do some of these renovation tasks? If I could do most of it on my own I’d be able to save enough money so that these tasks would seem possible for me to do with my current finances. http://www.citybuilders.com/bathrooms/
I really liked reading about what bathroom remodeling tasks I could do myself if I had the time and the money. It was also nice to know what the costs would be if you were doing a lot of this yourself. However, this is also assuming that most of the work you need to do is cosmetic and that you don’t need to replace or repair any of the plumbing work. If you have a leak or something else is wrong with your pipes, that might cost you more. I’m not expert with plumbing, so I would probably have to call somebody else to come fix that if there was a problem. http://www.beebeinc.com/Plumbing__Heating__Irrigation_Products_and_Par.html