Even if you don’t know anything about home-improvement, there are many do-it-yourself projects that are pretty easy and anyone can do it with just a little effort. In this article I’m going to concentrate on bathroom makeover tasks. On the other hand, if you have absolutely no experience in DIY projects, there’s a chance you’ll need some professional help.
If you do all the work on your own, you’ll probably save a lot of money, and, also, really enjoy the job when it’s done. But, if you do the calculations wrong, you might end up wasting time and money and you will probably have to hire a professional. That’s the reason why you have to know which parts of the job you can do on your own, and which will demand professional help. There are a couple of things to think over:
1. Scope and size of this project. You should know how much work will have to be done, regardless of the size of your bathroom. If your bathroom isn’t that spacious, you might think you’ll do the job without a problem. But, redoing the tile around a sink and toilet, and replacing the fixtures could be a big job, actually. On the other hand, big bathrooms wouldn’t represent a problem if you only need to do cosmetic updates like lighting, fabrics, paint, and hardware. Only the tiling job and plumbing could be complicated to do yourself.
2. If you haven’t done many do-it-yourself projects, then you might experience a drop of confidence and competence level, but that’s not something that can’t be overcome. Being a beginner forces one to measure his or hers potential and aptitude. If you’re good in handling power and hand tools, following instructions and if you have patience to do the tile and paint job repeatedly, and, above all, withstand the possibility to get frustrated if something goes wrong, then you’re the one for the job. It may seem too much at first, but if you have friends and family to help you out, it won’t be that horrible.
3. Decorative mosaic tile will highlight the beauty of your bathroom in whole. But remember not to use too many decorative tiles because they might look tacky and overwhelming if not used in “small doses”. So, by dosing the number of tiles, you’ll dose the amount of money you spend. For instance, you can make a bath tub surrounded with a couple of decorative tiles around it. Then, you can spend some time relaxing in your bath tub surrounded with colourful decorative tiles, and we all know that happy colours affect our mood in a positive way. You can also make a frame for your bathroom mirror out of these decorative tiles. Make sure you limit the number of tiles, so you don’t end up with an “overwhelming” effect. In order to gain both in style and function, don’t forget to limit the number of tiles. Surrounding tiling is a very good choice to make, especially for the area around the tub, because of their resistance to water. For example, you can arrange white tiles in a traditional way – the traditional brick arrangement, and eventually make a strip of black and white mosaic tiles.
4. Time is one really precious “possession.” No meter how old you are, wasting your time is something you shouldn’t do. You can save a lot of money by doing any project on your own, but that may cost you some time. If you decide to take a week off, or do the project on evenings or weekends, know you’ll have to sacrifice your precious time. What is the price of your time? It’s expect-able for projects that can last for a long period of time to make you put many activities such as sleeping, working, spending time with family or hobbies on hold until you do the job. It’s important to calculate if you’re willing to put your life on hold, or pay a professional to do it for you.
5. Your budget is also an important issue. If you contract a professional to arrange your bathroom, installation and labour usually account for 50 percent of the total price of the project. Supplying your labour may cause some stretching of your budget. But, even if your budget isn’t that big and generous, you won’t need to do everything on your own. If you do the parts of your project one at the time and get estimates for them, it’s probable that you’ll be able to afford it. On the other hand, even with a generous budget you’ll want to do something yourself, for sure. Maybe you have a specific vision in your mind, or you want to enjoy the makeover of your bathroom, or you just want to be more in control. There’s no way to be that much satisfied and proud until you’ve done something big by yourself.
Conclusion
If you have a dilemma whether to do-it-yourself or hire a professional, consider that the chance to be happy with the result is 50:50 in both cases. There’s always something you want to change or make better, but that shouldn’t be a problem for you, if you decide to do it on your own. If you, on the other hand, decide to hire someone, you can work on the imperfection (if there is any) afterwards, and feel like you’ve been part of the working process. For some parts of the working process, one can’t really tell the difference between the final result of a professional and the one who did it with their bare two hands. For instance, a bath faucet or a toilet seat look almost the same in both cases - DIY and a professional. It’s a shame that tiling might represent the biggest problem and the differences can be easily spotted. If you’re not that skilled in tiling, and, on the other hand, you consider yourself a perfectionist, I recommend you consult a pro. The edges and corners may not look neat and orderly, and the grout lines may not be that clean and straight, but the decision is yours and yours only.