Bathroom Renovation Secrets to Success (Without Breaking the Bank!)

It seems like we haven't done a bathroom video in a while, so today I'm bringing you a video about bathrooms... in my kitchen! For links to purchase the products in this video CLICK SHOW MORE ⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇

I get a ton of questions all the time asking about bathroom renovations so I've compiled a list of your top questions, and I'll be answering them in today's video. Keep watching to learn more about bathroom renovation budgets, the difference between DIY bathroom renovations or hiring a contractor to renovate your bathroom, and the value vs. the risk.

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► DIY Small Bathroom Gut
► DIY How to Do a Bathroom Demolition A to Z
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Produced by: Home Renovision DIY 2020
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Disclaimer:
Videos produced by Home Renovision are provided for informational purposes only. All material provided within this website is for informational, educational, & entertainment purposes only. Some of these projects, materials, and techniques may not be appropriate for all ages or skill levels. The DIY instructions used here are used to simply breakdown projects to their simplest steps. Please use a clear mind and use all safety precautions while following the tutorials provided by this site. Home Renovision does not make any claims of the safety of the projects, techniques, or resources listed on this site and will not take responsibility of what you do with the information provided by this site. Viewers must be aware by doing projects on their homes they are doing it at their own risk and Home Renovision cannot be held liable if they cause any damage to their homes. With different codes around the world and constantly changing standards, regulations and rules, it is the sole responsibility of the viewer to educate themselves on their local requirements before undertaking any sort of project. That being said Home Renovision cannot claim liability with all applicable laws, rules, codes and regulations for a project. Be safe, have fun renovating and ALWAYS stay informed with your local building code.

[judicska]

So true, I did get a quote of $20k to get my basic bathroom done and then did it myself for $3k in 30 days holding a 40 hrs a week job and having 2 kids. ( including tiles around the new tub and on the floor). You have to invest time to learn in advance what you need to do and why. YouTube and Home Depot are your friends! Love your videos. Please do one on kitchen too!

[julietteanne]

What I appreciate about your channel is, you make me feel confident, and you provide the information that I need. As a single woman, I have installed lighting, sinks, faucets, kitchen plumbing, painted, removed lights and cieling fans, and more. Not by choice. Coivd made me do it. I have a bathroom with a shower unit that I want repaced with a tub. I have the soaker tub and vanity. I am going to do half DIY. Thanks for all of your help. All the time:)

[michaelsheets]

We did our bathroom in the master bedroom for $2800. Using a lot from what I learned on this channel. I took it down to the studs, changed over to PEX. Our entire house was on 1/2 copper from the access line from the wall. It had a shower pan that cracked from the previous owner so I had to replace the sub floor too. It is waterproofed with Aquadefence and I used purpleboard on the walls. I have a complete tiled shower and by me doing the work we was able to use higher end fixtures.

[tylercole]

Jeff, very timely video. I am doing a once every 75 year total gut renovation of my condo bathroom in a townhouse and even though I thought through and (thought) i meticulously planned my approach, budget, process, schedule and time, there is no substitute for experience, which I am paying for with more time and a little more expense to the project.
I paid my way through college doing subcontracting/handyman tasks, but still didn't anticipate:

1. $530 (!) in building, plumbing, and electric permit inspection fees from my local government.
2. Super tight framing, making my pex shower installation a challenge because they retrofitted the HVAC stack right behind and to the left of it in the 70s to go from radiators to central air.heat.
3. Thought the wooden plank subfloor from the hallway extended into the bathroom and I'm home free. Nope. I found they buried the bath drain and radiator supply pipes in a mix of crumbly mortar and cement. 5 inches deep, under 3 layers of tile. 11 cubic feet of concrete to haul out later...
4. Yes, you can burn through 24 demo bags xin demo-ing a 25 square foot bathroom easily. If you want to save your back, buy two boxes.
5. Discovered these drain pipes were galvanized and were installed with ZERO slope whatsoever. Water just sat there and peeled back layers, trapping hair and over half way obstructed pathways and corrosion was making its way to the surface of the pipe. Remove these? Yes, you bet.
6. Trying to figure out how to route a new bath pipe on grade diagonally across the room while building up the floor 5 inches without having to put back 1100 lbs of concrete. (CONTRACT OUT!)
7. Realizing the a the area separation wall was a mess and needing to be replaced. Tearing off the condo separation drywall (noted on building permit) to discover it was an apartment building for mice for years. (N-95 mask is your friend).
8. Clearing out insulation and discovered my vent stack (2 baths and a kitchen) for the townhouse just disintegrated, was venting midway up the wall, not the roof for who knows how long. 12 linear feet of rusted galvanized pipe replaced for Charlotte pipe later.

The point in all of this is that if you are really going to fix all of the issues in your bathroom in a way that makes sense, be prepared to just grin and bear it. In an old space. Nothing will be according to plan, and mitigation has its own hurdles to be aware of.


1. There are plenty of pros who will show up and want to do the entire job and charge accordingly, and rightfully will not want to piecemeal the work with you. The scale isn't there for them. You either interrupt their process, present some unknowns, or they will go for the more lucrative entire jobs from A-Z before yours. This presents more time trying to find and vet someone willing to do it, or venture into DIY for one of your weaker or unknown skills. This eats into your sweat equity a bit, IMO.
2. If you are designating one contract task for a small room, like drywall install and finishing/painting, be prepared for sticker shock. The price between small and larger room isn't much because the travel to your site and steps needing to do the job are more important factors in labor that make small rooms not much less expensive.
3. If you make a good living doing something else other than home renovating, how much is your time worth to you? Those 25 visits to Home Depot, watching Jeff's excellent instructional/refresher videos, cleaning up, and you know ACTUALLY DOING THE WORK start to add up. What does that cost? It starts to make that five figure price tag for a bathroom renovation seem quite reasonable.
4. If you buy all the tools needed to demo and rebuild your small bathroom, its quite an investment. What do you do with all of that hardware afterward?


In the end, I have the satisfaction of knowing I tacked an elephant of a task and documented major infrastructure repairs were taken care of for peace of mind now and home value later. It was a huge project and gives me a sense of accomplishment, gives me a bond with my two brothers and sister who also took on major DIY Projects like this and keeps the legacy of our GC grandpa alive. But it always comes at the expense of something else.

[jackculbertson]

I have used dozens of your videos as I remodel and upgrade our 1896 farm house in Minnesota!

The fact that you address different weather conditions that some never have to worry about is a HUGE value add.

Great job educating and keeping it real. A sincere thanks!

[kkp]

get the right tools, go slow, follow code, and you can do everything in your spare time.
Opportunity cost is just the hours you would have spent watching netflix.

[gigig]

We are almost done with a major overhaul of our master bathroom, and even with a lot of previous DIY experience, I don't think we could have done it without Jeff. 100% agree with the costs and points to consider shared in this video because we had a couple of professional estimates before deciding to do it ourselves. We used the VIM system for the walk-in shower/wet room and can highly recommend it for the DIY person! The only part we contacted out was the tile. In our area, it was really hard to find a reputable tile installer who would work with a DIYer. They have the builders they are trying to keep happy, and the tile places won't send one of their tile installers to install tile over a shower system installed by a home owner because of the risk. We finally found someone independent who did great work and trusted us. He was impressed with the work we had done and is looking further into the VIM system to use himself.

[Blackjack]

Home Renovision DIY has become a new inspiration to me. I'm 34 years old, a city kid who grew up on sports and video games, with no trade or mechanical skills. I mean zero. Recently discovered an interest in diy plumbing, but have never attempted anything. I just bought my third home. Hard to believe I'm this new to DIY projects three homes in, but it's true. I think I will start with a shut-off valve addition project. Thanks for all the content you provide on YouTube. If you could do videos on existing plumbing scenarios, that would be helpful. Thanks again

[manuelalejandro]

my man! Always learn something when I watch your content. I wish I could've met someone like you at the beginning of my construction career, even after some time in the industry you still come up with some nugget I have not seen or was unclear about. Thanks for keeping it real and relatable, thanks for sharing. God bless.

[sae]

Everything you said is very true. Im a 66 yr old female. I’m doing a bathroom now in my retirement apartment. I wanted to have the acrylic tub/shower removed and a walk-in shower installed. Contractor gave me a price of $9300. So, I have decided to repaint my vanity, install new bathroom mirror and hardware and place a new vinyl plank floor. It is taking me a lot of time, patching drywall plus drywall cracks above the corners of the door, removing floor trim and placing new, adding a new light fixture, new paint, etc, but in the end I’m sure my redo will be considerably less than the contractor price. Thanks to you and all your videos! The only problem left is venting the bathroom. This is in a 2 story apartment. I can’t get up high enough to vent out the side of the building and my daughter won’t let me get on the roof! I wonder if there is a way to tap it into my vent pipe running through the attic? Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks, Jeff!

[TheGregWallace]

is why I am just going to live in a tent down by the river. Take a bath in the river and build an

[cherylgrant]

Jeff, I do so appreciate your videos. This one is so helpful. I have a 100 year old rural farm house, first time homeowner, and I'm converting a recently drywalled 2nd floor bedroom into a simple bath and laundry. The only bath in the house is a tiny bath downstairs. My plan is doing a lot of what you are saying here. Keep it simple, nice, and functional. My plan is to DIY as much as I can, and hire a plumber/contractor for the rest. I'm looking for creative options for vanity, tub that may be in keeping with the history and charm of the house. Spending a LOT of time in the planning phase without rushing it. I cannot thank you enough for these videos. You confirmed my thoughts and plans, and gave me confidence to stretch my skills. Thank you. Please keep the videos coming.

[teebles]

Gotta DIY it... I was able to refresh a powder room for like $500 bucks and a long weekend... vanity, faucet, mirror, paint, slight tile work... Fully agree with Jeff about the planning though, and one other thing is problem solving... You will face problems, set backs, things that should have fit, doesn't fit etc... This is why YouTubers like Jeff are the best, showing great information on what to expect and how to solve things...

[joemedley]

This reminds me of something we say in the software industry. A project has three options: fast, good, and cheap. Pick 2.

[jaxandmore]

Knowledge, experience, and the right tools make a world of difference with any home renovation project. It's how amateurs become experts. Internet searches and awesome youtube channels like this are a DIY'ers best friend!

[snobac]

This is the best advice for anyone and everyone considering a renovation. Thanks for explaining the reasoning behind the high cost of contractor performed work. There’s also a lot to be said about doing one room at a time when going the DIY route. Keep up the great content.

[normbograham]

I've done 3 bathrooms, and the usual number is about $1, 200. I've been proud of all of them. You'd never know how little I spent, looking at the final result.

[WMercedesS]

Jeff I live in Ontario and have watched your videos for a while and I must say your knowledge has taught me a lot in home renos. Remodeled my washroom to a curbless shower with vertical 12X24 tiling, massage shower panel, built a theatre room and built a new garage for my father. Have not got to the windows yet but I just watched your window video and now will start it tomorrow! Thanks for your info and videos!

[omarskir]

Am a real estate broker, investor, and a flipper for years, this guy is the real deal in the world of renovation, Tru person and Tru content, I would say number 1 in the world of renovation tips and work from the heart, I will say again number #1 in this industry hands down, all greedy and blood sucking contractors learn from this king get some schooling that only good faith on your work and helping the public what level you can reach, very wise, very talented, and vision .., God bless you .

[asawoszc]

We are currently going through our bathroom renovation and this video is SPOT ON with our experience. We fall into the semi custom category and our final cost will be around $18k. We decided we were comfortable enough with the demolition, ripping out the subfloor to the joists and drywall to the studs and replacing everything. We framed out the new shower wall (went from 40" to 60" walk in shower). However, we weren't comfortable with doing the new plumbing (main driver for reno was a shower leak), waterproofing the shower (Schluter) and tile work, electrical, and drywall finish/mudding. So we hired contractors for that. In our experience the biggest cost is as Jeff says, the contractors. Accounts for just over half of the budget. We decided to buy high end finishes which drove the material cost up as well, but obviously a personal choice.

All in all it's been a great learning experience for our first major renovation. We'll definitely do things differently next time around though. Jess, as usual, a huge thank you for all of your videos and advice. This channel has been the single greatest resource for our renovation.