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Dear city-data forumers! I need your help and ideas for remodeling my bathrooms in the house that is for sale.
We have 2 full bathrooms and one 0.5 bathroom/powder room. Powder room is on the first floor, one full bathroom is in the hallway upstairs, and another full bathroom is part of a master suit. Previously all three had very basic vinyl floors. In addition, we have a laundry room, which also is an entry through the garage, that has the same vinyl floor. Due to some water damage (plumbing issue, long story, hurts too much to discuss ) we need to replace floors in both upstairs bathrooms. Also, all bathrooms have the same cheap countertops with white plastic on top. Here is the picture - this is not my bathroom, but mine looks very similar, we just have a nicer faucet: http://p.rdcpix.com/v05/l1f4fbc43-m11x.jpg
So, downstairs 1/2 bath is just toilet and a very similar sink/vanity, hallway bath is close to this picture but countertop is bigger, and master bath is more space and has a double-sink vanity, but the same counter top.
I don't have much time and somewhat limited in my budget. Say, the budget will be $5000 for both labor and materials. What can I do? This will not be for myself, so I need some decent quality and something that will show well to potential buyer, but not necessarily top of the line.
Here is what I was thinking:
1) Tile in both downstairs half bath and laundry room/garage entryway. The rest of the first floor is laminate. The house has oak staircase and generally finished with "oak trim" - light brown moldings/cabinets, so I was thinking any tile in beige would work.
2) Once there is tile in the downstairs bath, that white plastic countertop will look silly, so replace that with this: 31 in. W Granite Vanity Top with White Bowl and 8 in. Faucet Spread in Beige-31682 at The Home Depot and get a new fancy faucet.
That way all my first floor will look very nice. I may throw in a new stove in the kitchen for good measure, I just found one that will match the rest of my appliances, and will be an upgrade from what we currently have. This is not to the point, but I'm just thinking how can I make my first floor look attractive to the buyer.
3) I would love to do the same for upstairs baths, but this is where replacing counter tops becomes cost-prohibitive, considering my current budget, especially with the double-sink vanity top in the master. Also, I think if we replace countertops, those "plastic" bath tubs will look silly, again. This looks more like full remodel, replacing countertops and bath tubs, putting tile on the walls. Full remodel is what I would do for myself, but I'm pretty sure we won't be able to recoup this in our sale price, plus I just don't have the time or money to tackle a project of this magnitude. Maybe if the house doesn't sell this summer and we have whole winter to remodel.
So, either tile or high quality vinyl in both for flooring, plus udpate the sinks and faucets, but leave countertops and bath tubs alone.
What do you think? Do you have any other ideas?
The square footage (by memory, but probably pretty accurate, excluding bath tubs and vanities, only for flooring):
Master bathroom - about 70 sq ft.
Hallway bathroom - about 30 sq ft
Downstairs half-bath - about 16 sq ft
Laundry room - 60 sq ft.
Persoanlly, I woudl get rid of everything. I dislike plastic. Put in tile. Tile in a shower area and forget the bath tub (no one uses bath tubs in our house anyway). Put in a nice pedastyle or counsole sink and nuilt a nice seperate cabint to store the junk and towels. For $5000 it woudl be tight, but you may be able to get materials from a salvage place and save about 50% or 75% on materials costs.
Persoanlly, I woudl get rid of everything. I dislike plastic. Put in tile. Tile in a shower area and forget the bath tub (no one uses bath tubs in our house anyway). Put in a nice pedastyle or counsole sink and nuilt a nice seperate cabint to store the junk and towels. For $5000 it woudl be tight, but you may be able to get materials from a salvage place and save about 50% or 75% on materials costs.
"I dislike plastic" - me too! Somehow, though, we never had the money to replace it when we lived there and just accepted it when we bought that house. It was really basic decor being a model home in a new construction neighborhood. We redid the floors in bedrooms and living area, but never thought it was wise to put too much money in it, since it is not in the high-end neighborhood, but more of a middle-class. I wonder how many people in our neighborhood have tile in bathrooms, probably, not that many houses have it.
As to "tile in a shower area" - there is no shower area, both bathrooms have bath tubs that are one piece with these "wall protectors", just like you see in the picture I linked to. I don't know how to explain it better, but it should be pretty clear from the picture what they are.
We dicussed and idea of getting rid of that big vanity cabinet in the master bathroom and doing to separate cabinets with sinks with an extra cabinet in between, but I don't quite picture it well, and I'm afraid we don't have enough time to shop different options.
[quote=BoredAndCurious;24760868
As to "tile in a shower area" - there is no shower area, both bathrooms have bath tubs that are one piece with these "wall protectors", just like you see in the picture I linked to. I don't know how to explain it better, but it should be pretty clear from the picture what they are.[/quote]
What cj is saying is pull the tub and surround and make that area an extra large shower stall-
It's a fairly common route a lot of people take- some cultured marble manufacturers are even making "pre-made" bases that replace the tub (30X60).
What cj is saying is pull the tub and surround and make that area an extra large shower stall-
It's a fairly common route a lot of people take- some cultured marble manufacturers are even making "pre-made" bases that replace the tub (30X60).
Ah, I see. Yes, that would look really nice. I would do it for myself (wait, I already have beautiful shower stall in my new house!), but for that house - it's way too much: too expensive, will take too long or need to hire someone to do it. If I go that route - I will spend $5000 just on master bath, and I need to redo another bathroom and a toilet!
If the picture you provided is accurate of what you have, my opinion is to leave it as is. Its a basic run of the mill builder grade bathroom. You are selling the house and the time and effort into changing things out may end up being a hassle. If the floors are damaged then just change the flooring.
I disagree on taking out the tub. I do however agree tubs get rarely used but most buyers want them especially if they have small children. Save your money and aggravation. Most buyers are going to talk you down on price even with spiffy new baths. Use the money as a cushion when selling.
Now if your bathroom has more than a damaged floor then my suggestions are as follows.
-if the cabinet is in good shape, paint it with quality paint.
-replace the top with a new one. Most of the home improvement stores sell pre made granite tops for around 150 dollars.
-replace the floor with a neutral ceramic tile
-repaint the room
-update towel bars
-replace fixtures if they are outdated. Pick the same finish as towel bars and toilet paper holder.
-if you have one of those cheap mirrors with clips, take it down and get a framed mirror. Looks more custom.
-If the toilet and tub have no issues, leave them be.
You're selling the house right away? You need to be smart about how you spend your money. Treat it like a house flip. You need to install items that will help you raise your selling price without overspending and giving away money. The best bet is to look at your comps in the neighborhood and do something that is slightly better than those homes. Don't over indulge in the bathrooms, all purchases should be balanced against the homes value. Your listing agent can be a great asset here. They know what buyers in your area and understand property values.
If the picture you provided is accurate of what you have, my opinion is to leave it as is. Its a basic run of the mill builder grade bathroom. You are selling the house and the time and effort into changing things out may end up being a hassle. If the floors are damaged then just change the flooring.
I disagree on taking out the tub. I do however agree tubs get rarely used but most buyers want them especially if they have small children. Save your money and aggravation. Most buyers are going to talk you down on price even with spiffy new baths. Use the money as a cushion when selling.
Now if your bathroom has more than a damaged floor then my suggestions are as follows.
-if the cabinet is in good shape, paint it with quality paint.
-replace the top with a new one. Most of the home improvement stores sell pre made granite tops for around 150 dollars.
-replace the floor with a neutral ceramic tile
-repaint the room
-update towel bars
-replace fixtures if they are outdated. Pick the same finish as towel bars and toilet paper holder.
-if you have one of those cheap mirrors with clips, take it down and get a framed mirror. Looks more custom.
-If the toilet and tub have no issues, leave them be.
Yes, the picture is very close to what we have. The only difference is that cabinet is upgraded with handles and faucet is nicer. We decided to put granite top in the powder room (found one in Home Depot for $179) and leave the tops upstairs alone. They are much longer, so granite tops become expensive, and for the master bath they don't even do them that big. My husband was trying to talk me into cultured marble vanity tops, but I hate them, and even though the house is for sale and we no longer live there, I still think cultured marble is no better than what we have now.
We will probably go for the tile in all baths, not vinyl. I think in most buyer's eyes tile is a definite upgrade from vinyl, but it isn't that much more expensive to install. We will also do the tile in the laundry room, something I wanted to do long time ago, too bad I won't be able to enjoy it.
Repanting was also in our plans.
Thank you for the idea with towel bars and fixtures! This is exactly what I'm looking for - making the place look nice but not spending a fortune. Now just need to price a mirror replacement, I think with three mirrors, one of which is pretty big (in master bath) it will add up.
You're selling the house right away? You need to be smart about how you spend your money. Treat it like a house flip. You need to install items that will help you raise your selling price without overspending and giving away money. The best bet is to look at your comps in the neighborhood and do something that is slightly better than those homes. Don't over indulge in the bathrooms, all purchases should be balanced against the homes value. Your listing agent can be a great asset here. They know what buyers in your area and understand property values.
Yes, the house was already for sale when water damage occured. We are trying to use this as an opportunity to not only restore it to its previous state, but make it nicer, even though it wasn't our original plan. We were thinking about doing a big price drop, now we may invest a bit in it (we have to, at least to restore the floors), and take less of a drop, that way we may still come out on top
And listing agent will be in a loop, once we price different options, and figure out how much exactly we can spend. I was looking at the comps, and I didn't see granite tops anywhere, so this is why the counter tops upstairs will stay. There was a mix between tile and vinyl in bathrooms in the comps, so I think if we put the tile, we will look very attractive.
Yes, the picture is very close to what we have. The only difference is that cabinet is upgraded with handles and faucet is nicer. We decided to put granite top in the powder room (found one in Home Depot for $179) and leave the tops upstairs alone. They are much longer, so granite tops become expensive, and for the master bath they don't even do them that big. My husband was trying to talk me into cultured marble vanity tops, but I hate them, and even though the house is for sale and we no longer live there, I still think cultured marble is no better than what we have now.
We will probably go for the tile in all baths, not vinyl. I think in most buyer's eyes tile is a definite upgrade from vinyl, but it isn't that much more expensive to install. We will also do the tile in the laundry room, something I wanted to do long time ago, too bad I won't be able to enjoy it.
Repanting was also in our plans.
Thank you for the idea with towel bars and fixtures! This is exactly what I'm looking for - making the place look nice but not spending a fortune. Now just need to price a mirror replacement, I think with three mirrors, one of which is pretty big (in master bath) it will add up.
Our homes must have been built around the same time because that is how my baths look. Since moving in we have done some updates. When we were looking every house in this area all had the same baths! Ugh. Adding a little upgrades can make your home stand out among the rest.
It might be worth a shot to look at some granite fabricators in your area. Many sell remnants of granite. Home Depot was actually really reasonable with granite. We had our kitchen done a few months ago. The installers said their next job was a home in our area that were getting granite tops in the bathrooms.
Our current home is our 5th. We used to buy homes, renovate and sell (ya know when real estate was easy to sell for a profit). I found the details is what made the houses sell. Staging helps as well. Changing out brass door knobs for something more updated really makes an impact. Towel bars, cabinet hardware, light fixtures etc. That being said, do not get too emotionally involved with what you purchase. My husband and I restored an older home with a lot of vintage details that went with the features of the house. At closing the couple buying the house told us the first things they were going to do were carpet over the horrible hardwood floors (beautiful plank floors we busted our behinds refinishing) and tearing out the bath where we installed a very expensive Kohler sink, toilet and high end fixtures. It was heart breaking to hear that. Good luck. I wish you a speedy profitable sale!
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) we need to replace floors in both upstairs bathrooms. Also, all bathrooms have the same cheap countertops with white plastic on top. Here is the picture - this is not my bathroom, but mine looks very similar, we just have a nicer faucet: 
It was heart breaking to hear that. Good luck. I wish you a speedy profitable sale!
