Crappy Bathroom {Home Renovations}

Crap. Bathroom. They go hand-in-hand, right?

Well, I mean more along the lines of when you have a crappy bathroom, it’s just no fun. And I’ve watched enough episodes of Bang for your Buck on HGTV to know that a bathroom renovation, done right, can be both impressive and a wise investment for resell time.

But, I’ve also learned from Bang for your Buck that it takes MUCHO bucks to do a bathroom reno correctly or lavishly.

My first thoughts were, hire a contractor, sit back and drink mimosas, write a check. Then I thought about how LARGE that check would have to be, and would it even clear the bank?

Onto plan B.

DIY.

Mind you, I’ve never ever redone a bathroom. Plumbing? Nope. Electrical? Very minor. Tiling? HA. No experience.

But after way too many YouTube videos + champagne, I was convinced I could do it. And then I found this blogger who did a FAB job and I felt even more inspired to DIY. I could totally handle a wet saw. Totally.

Then my bubbly buzz wore off and I was left with the fact that I didn’t want to do this myself, nor could I.

Sad panda.

Now I am back to trying to figure out how to tackle this. Save up and get a contractor in a year or 2? Get a home equity loan (which TERRIFIES ME!) Try to DIY? A combo of both? Our master bathroom is rather small. It’s about 9x7 feet. All that fits in there is a small shower stall, toilet and single vanity + closet. We want to leave the general footprint the same, but updated. A frameless glass shower enclosure, toilet, double vanity and no linen closet. We need some lights installed and a fan removed. The tile we love comes in at about $600 for the entire bathroom. It’s the darn labor (tile, plumber, electrical) that is going to cost us an arm and a leg. Here’s my inspiration thus far in photos:

 

via Google Images (love the shower stalls)

Manhattan Vanity via Overstock ($1900)

VIGO sliding glass door shower enclosure via Overstock ($1550)

Metallic linen grain tile for our bathroom floor from Floor & Décor Outlets ($2 sq ft)

Overall, I figure all the materials would cost us $6K. Labor…well, who knows. I can’t even get a contractor interested in our project. They all kinda scoff at the we provide materials and you do the work kinda thing. I don’t know why, but they do.

Curses.

I think I am stuck. I would love, love, love a new master bathroom. I can’t even put in the new flooring in our master bedroom until the bathroom is done because I fear it would be ruined by all the work a contractor would have to do (coming in/out of our bedroom). It’s technically not broken, but with the mold issues I am pretty sure we have in/behind our current shower stall, I’d like to take care of this sooner rather than later. What would you do? If you want to read a fabulous and entertaining story about picking a contractor for a bathroom remodel, you have to visit my dear friend’s blog. I adore her. Love her. LOVE.

If I go the contractor route, what would you recommend I ask a potential contractor?

If I go the non-contractor route and hire out each pro myself…is that crazy?

Should I DIY what I can and hire out the rest? But what if I screw it all up? And I need tons of tools. Would it even be worth it?

Monica Wants It. And It happens to be a new bathroom.

Sigh.