Can I Renovate A Toilet Myself?

Transforming a toilet is likely one of the hottest dwelling enchancment tasks. Sadly, it’s additionally some of the costly — simply operating into the excessive 5 figures — and it’s getting pricier: The median spend on main remodels for each small and enormous loos elevated by as a lot as 20 %, in line with the 2021 Houzz Toilet Tendencies Research.

Labor makes up a whole lot of that value, which naturally results in the query: May I renovate a toilet myself? On the floor, it sounds attractive. Do-it-yourself rest room renovations value on common $5,720. In contrast with having a professional do the job, the place the typical value runs $19,130, doing it your self can save $13,410, in line with the U.S. Census Bureau’s newest American Housing Survey.

Although this value comparability may compel you to dash to your nearest dwelling enchancment retailer, there are some elements to think about earlier than enterprise a toilet renovation. Bankrate’s information tackles these challenges and reveals you which ones reworking tasks are simpler so that you can do and which of them you need to depart to the professionals.

Is it a good suggestion to DIY a toilet transform?

It is determined by the scope of your venture. Beauty or superficial remodels, similar to including a mirror, repainting partitions or ceilings, or changing the showerhead are straightforward duties to do. However if you wish to make the lavatory greater, issues begin to get difficult: Even a easy enlargement of the room requires expertise with drywall and flooring.

And, in case you’re taking a look at doing an entire redesign — involving putting in new fixtures, altering their placement or something having to do with energy or water strains — then you definitely want substantial data of plumbing and electrical wiring, as a result of coping with these programs may lead to hazards like flooding, fireplace and electrocution.

Together with ability, time is one other essential think about figuring out whether or not you need to do the renovation or not. Extra intricate work can take days or even weeks, relying on the supply of the supplies wanted and whether or not you uncover any points requiring treatments alongside the way in which. And with loos, totally different duties should be accomplished in a exact order: a ground have to be prepped earlier than you’ll be able to put in a bathe stall, a sink drainpipe have to be hooked up — on the correct peak — previous to placing in that new counter.

Having a plan in place earlier than you start permits you to take stock of all the pieces you want, the steps concerned and whether or not you’ve sufficient time to do the job nicely. As a part of planning, “discover the unique format of your [room] and map out each plumbing and electrical energy line discovered there,” says Stephen Keighery, CEO and founding father of House Purchaser Louisiana, an actual property developer. “Busting a pipe open occurs extra typically than you assume.”

What rest room renovations are you able to DIY?

Listed below are a number of the tasks you are able to do and the way a lot financial savings (based mostly on HomeAdvisor nationwide common figures) you’ll be able to anticipate:

• Portray the partitions or ceiling: A contemporary coloration could make the room pop or appear extra spacious. Since an enormous a part of a paint venture’s price ticket is the labor, wielding the comb your self can save $380 to $800.
• Putting in ground tiles: Tiling can even rework the house. Once more, labor’s a big value right here, as professionals can cost wherever from $860 to $2,600 to do the job — about two-birds of the general price ticket. Tiling isn’t robust, both, although you do want a gradual hand and a few exact slicing instruments.
• Putting in a mirror/new lighting fixtures: For a confined rest room, a dangling mirror redirects the angle, permitting the eyes to understand the house as bigger: It can save you $150 to $460 doing this low-skill job your self. The type and measurement of sunshine fixtures can also dramatically alter the looks of the room; whereas altering them requires some care, it’s inside a DIY-er’s purview, and it might save the same quantity on electrician’s charges.
• Refreshing the taps: On condition that plumbers can cost $150 to $340 to put in a faucet, doing it your self represents a big financial savings. It’s a comparatively simple job to do, however “it’s vital to purchase the precise faucet for the holes that exist already within the countertop (except you intend on altering or altering the countertop),” says Enoch Heise, a journeyman plumber for Legacy Plumbing in Denison, Texas. Similar goes for bathtub/bathe fixtures: Be certain the brand new ones match the outdated ones in measurement and configuration (for instance, don’t attempt to substitute a single-handle system with a two-handle one).
• Refinishing your bathtub: Often known as reglazing or resurfacing, this facelift for the bathtub prices a fraction of getting a brand new one; and it can save you much more by not paying knowledgeable $330 to $600 to do the give you the results you want. As a substitute, refinishing kits could be bought at your native ironmongery store for below $100. Make certain to have ample air flow as you combine the hardener with the epoxy resin.

What kind of rest room renovations ought to the professionals do?

Although you’ll be able to substitute the fixtures, extra basic adjustments involving components of the plumbing or electrical programs ought to at all times be left to the professionals. “Sadly, many householders make the error of considering that shifting the water pipes is a straightforward process when it’s most positively not, and it might get costly once you want pipes mounted,” says Ryan Thompson, a residential plumber in Miami. “Extra useful householders may be capable to make it work, however oftentimes even minor errors could cause water leaks that result in water injury.”

That’s why enlarging a toilet or altering its format typically requires constructing permits, that are simpler for licensed contractors to acquire (the truth is, solely professionals can get them in some localities). Even when it’s only a matter of pulling down partitions, you continue to may want a allow, and may need a contractor’s experience to attenuate injury and particles.

The identical goes for putting in main new fixtures, like a bath or stand-alone bathe stall: Even prefab bathe kits can require a plumber to verify the drain is attached correctly and the ground prepped accurately. To not point out this stuff are heavy to deal with. And in case you’re changing such objects, who’s going to haul the outdated ones away?

Time is one other issue that will sway your choice. In properties with one rest room, availability is significant, and having a contractor do the work can expedite venture completion time in contrast with doing it your self.

Backside line on DIY rest room transform

General, it can save you a whole lot to hundreds of {dollars} doing rest room renovations by yourself however be reasonable about your skillset and plan rigorously earlier than you start. For superficial or beauty upgrades, you might be able to do the job shortly. When changing main fixtures or basically altering the lavatory’s footprint, you need to possess substantial plumbing, electrical, and drywall expertise — and in case you don’t, it’s finest to go away the work to the professionals.

One compromise is perhaps to make it a hybrid venture: Depart the design, building elements and greater installs to contractors, then do the ending touches (portray, tiling, and so on.) your self. Or do a number of the nitty-gritty work below the contractor’s supervision. You’re nonetheless saving cash but in addition have a educated eye inspecting all the pieces — and able to take care of any issues you encounter alongside the way in which.