Inspired Renos talks about the key elements of a successful bathroom renovation.
When renovating a bathroom one must consider a number of things, but most importantly for most people budget comes to mind. Though budget is important, it shouldn't blur the reality of what really matters. A few key elements to a successful bathroom renovation are structure, material resilient to moisture and quality of install.
When designing a bathroom, there is always a desire to achieve the best looking bathroom possible and sometimes that means compromising structure. Ex. To have a shower with no curb, many times contractors compromise floor joists to have the bathroom floor flush with the adjoining floor. By doing this you weaken the substrate by having less support eventually leading to tiles popping or grout cracking. Try to have 1” substrate and never cut into the joists beneath. It’s against code also.
Materials resilient or materials resistant to moisture must be used in bathrooms. This is our second point. When designing bathrooms whether through a certified designer or contractor, bathrooms must use products that can withstand excessive amounts of moisture. Such materials could be paint, schleuter sytems, green and blue board, dense shield, cement board and backer board. All these products can help mitigate excessive moister or water and help with longevity. One other critical component to a bathroom is a ceiling fan. Fans should be purchased based on the CFM they pull from the bathroom. The cubic feet of the bathroom with help determine how powerful your bathroom fan should be.
The last point will be quality of the install. Having a knowledgeable contractor working for you may be the most important factor of all. He/she must have an understanding of bathroom construction from beginning to end and understand what other trades have to accomplish. The contractor should know when installing a membrane, you may need a modified or unmodified cement depending on the application, certain size tiles require certain size notch trowel, subfloors must be screwed approximately every 6” square with wood course thread screws, tubs should be predrilled and screwed into framing with daps of cement on the feet to help secure into position are just a few techniques that could make or break a job. The contractor should also have good ethical workmanship. Your tile, drywall and taping, plumbing and electrical install should all comply with industry standards and that in the end will help your investment go further. Even though it may cost more in the beginning, it will save you in the long run.
