The bathroom renovation
Shayden and Georgia of Mooch Style are well entrenched in their major bathroom overhaul. Here they share their best planning advice for a successful project.
Bathrooms serve a crucial purpose in your home. You don’t want your shower or toilet to be out of action for too long, so it’s essential to put the groundwork into the planning stage to avoid setbacks. Here are a few tips we’ve learned on our bathroom journey so far:
The budget
The budget should be the first thing you’re thinking about for any renovation. A bathroom renovation can quickly get away on you, and before you know it, you’ll be out of coin and out of time. A robust spreadsheet helps you monitor spend and also prioritise expenses. You might want to spend more on fittings, and less on tiles and a good budget will help clarify where you can scrimp and where you can splurge!
Timeline
The dreaded timeline! If you’re living in your home, you’ll want it done ASAP. Be realistic and set yourself a schedule to help keep things on track. Specific timeframes will help coordinate your tradies, monitor your own time on the job and help the project flow smoothly. Also, don’t forget to allow for the surprises; they happen in every reno and can mean your tradies become unavailable.
Product selection
You’ll want to take your time here, whether it’s a high-end bathroom remodel or a makeover on a budget, there’s a lot you can achieve just by shopping around. Get advise from local experts, such as plumbing centres, make boards on Pinterest and get involved with Instagram accounts that have done it before. We often ask our followers what they think.
Bathroom backup
What will you do while the bathroom is being renovated? Pop to the neighbours, hire a portaloo, shower at the gym? You’ll need to have a backup bathroom ready, especially if you are DIYing things like the demo, GIBing and painting.
Demo
You can save a lot of money getting your hands dirty and DIYing. You’ll have to be prepared with a skip and all the tools you need to get the job done. This approach can sometimes unearth surprises, coming back to the importance of a solid budget that protects you from setbacks.
Tradies
Always look for quality assurance through a ‘master’ brand mark. It means you are protected should quality be compromised and you’ll get a tradie that is backed as an industry best. Get them around to look at the project and make sure you have all the information on hand for them. Tradies can also give fantastic advice on spatial set-up because they’ve seen hundreds of homes.
In the meantime, there’s plenty of work ahead of us, so fingers crossed for stunning results. We’ll update you with the after photos in our next column plus follow us on instagram @moochstyle. Wish us luck!
