Are your weekends feeling dull and unproductive to the point that you have no idea what to do and what to keep you distracted with? If your answer is yes, then this article offers a solution to your problem; and that’s through conducting a few do-it-yourself upgrades inside your bathroom, assuming you are capable of carrying them out.
Aside from the guide itself, we’ll cover situations that might require the help of a pro to ensure that the bathroom upgrades will go as expected.
Why do DIY Bathroom Upgrades?
Before we head over to the heart of the matter, let’s find out why you need to conduct DIY bathroom upgrades. In this section, we’ll cover some of the reasons why homeowners would love to carry out DIY bathroom upgrades, and here are some of them:
Lower Costs
First off, let’s cover the obvious reason why homeowners opt for DIY bathroom upgrades, and that is the lower costs. Unlike hiring a professional, such as tub reglazing services, conducting DIY upgrades on your bathroom costs less since you’ll only cover the costs for items and hardware that you intend to add to your bathroom.
Creative Control
The second reason why homeowners love DIY Bathroom upgrades is that they have complete control over how they’ll customize the bathroom.
For example, you could add shelves to your bathroom and then spice it up further with some trinkets on the shelves, and then add some ornamental plants near the sink.
Personal Satisfaction
Aside from complete creative control, there’s the satisfaction of completing a do-it-yourself project. Doing upgrades that you can carry out on your own brings a surge of satisfaction and self-discovery, in which you realize you have a bit of creativity and handiwork skills, allowing the refreshing of your bathroom to happen.
There’s no better way to kill time on the weekends than with a personal project that you have completed yourself.
Upgrades you can conduct yourself
Now that we’ve covered the reasons why you’d want to conduct do-it-yourself bathroom upgrades, let’s cover some of the bathroom upgrades that you can do by yourself.
Listed in this section are some upgrades that you can carry out without the help of a professional, as they are simple to do and also don’t have nuances that require an expert:
Frost your Windows
Privacy is a must when your bathroom is situated at a part where the window it has faces either neighboring houses or the street.
What you’ll need to do is to purchase frosted window panels or films for the window’s glass and an application kit so that the film will stick in place on the bathroom window.
Through frosted window panels, it is assured that no one will see what’s inside the bathroom as the frosted panels blur every single detail inside that room, ensuring maximum privacy and lighting at the same time.
Swapping out Bathroom Hardware
If you’re starting to notice that the bathroom hardware, such as faucets, towel holders, cabinet knobs and handles, and the like, are starting to show their age, perhaps this is the time that you’ll need to swap them for a better or fresher set to upgrade your bathroom.
Select the ones with a modern finish, such as gold or even matte black. The only thing you’ll need aside from the new hardware itself when carrying out this upgrade is a screwdriver and some screws to get the new hardware in place.
Just a note, you might need a plumber’s help if you don’t know how to install a faucet yourself, but otherwise this upgrade can be done completely on your own.
Caulk and Grout Refreshing
Take note that Caulk and Grout, over time, will accumulate dirt and mold growth that, if left unattended, could spread and make your bathroom look filthy. What you’ll need to use here is a caulk remover to remove the old caulk and then apply a fresher caulk layer on either your bathtub, sink, or toilet seat.
As for the grout, you’ll need a grout cleaner or a grout pen. Clean the grout thoroughly until you have white or clean lines that make your bathroom feel like it’s brand new.
Change the Lighting
Whether it is out of necessity due to a bulb growing dim or if you’re looking for a more stylish light source, then maybe it is time that you change your bathroom’s light source.
You can go for basic lighting if you’re not exactly into aesthetics, but if you do, you can look into the more ornate-looking light sources, such as sconces and wall lamps. Do take note to turn off the power to prevent any electrocutions.
Do take note that you might need some help from an expert here if it’s about installing a different light source, not just changing the lightbulb, since wiring could be factored in.
When to call in the Professionals?
Sometimes, not all DIY projects inside the bathroom can be done by yourself alone. In this section, we’ll cover some conditions that might require professional assistance to ensure that the DIY bathroom upgrade project is a success.
Requires Electrical Work
First off, you would need to call a professional – in this case, an electrician whenever a part of your DIY Bathroom upgrade project requires wiring; the obvious scenario is related to bathroom lighting.
The electrician will do the wiring part of installing the lights to ensure that the wiring is safely positioned and is working as intended, and obviously, to prevent you from shocking yourself.
Modifications to Plumbing
Unless you know your way around plumbing, you’d better call the help of a licensed plumber if a section of your DIY Bathroom upgrade project requires some modifications or relocations of existing pipes, but also for installing a new faucet.
The logic for this is to ensure the plumbing works as intended and won’t suffer from leaks, post-modification, installation, or adjustments.
Tweaks to Bathroom Structure
Whether this involves changes to the walls or layouts of the bathroom or changing the tiling, you’ll need to call in the help of a refinisher or a remodeler, depending on the situation.
The logic for this is that if it’s related to the walls or layouts, you need an expert who knows the best approach to preserve your home’s structural integrity mid-upgrading, and in the case of tiles and finishes, a good refinisher could help you narrow down your aesthetic choices.
The Bottomline
If you have nothing to do over the weekends and are looking for a project to work on, then conducting some do-it-yourself bathroom upgrades could help you kill time and gain some skills in the process.
However, keep in mind that you can’t fly solo always when conducting the upgrades, as some situations might require the help of a licensed professional to ensure safety during upgrading.
But regardless, these DIY projects can be a less costly way to refresh your bathroom and make it feel either brand new or to change its vibe, while, in turn, you uncover new skills as you proceed further into the project.
