Bathroom remodeling without draining your wallet

Real Estate Bathroom Remodeling Requires A Plan

The bathroom is the smallest room in most houses and, along with the kitchen, one of the two rooms most often remodeled.

Limited space is typically the chief constraint in a bathroom remodeling project. That's because the usual floor plan is only about 8 feet by 5 feet, and once the essentials are in place, there's not a lot of room for anything else, says Jim Bateman, owner of Bateman Custom Construction, a home remodeling company in Fairfax, Va.

"If the typical bathroom is all the space that's available, you're kind of restricted in what you can do. You have to look at ways to make it prettier, or choose things that might make it more functional, (such as) a walk-in shower instead of a tub bath," he says.

One way to overcome the constraint is to enlarge the bathroom. That can be done by incorporating an adjacent closet, hallway, part of a bedroom or merging two back-to-back bathrooms together. Bateman recalls one couple who converted an unused child's bedroom into a master bath. With that much space, it's possible to include a separate tub and shower, Roman or Jacuzzi tub, dual showers, double large-bowl sinks, or even multiple big fixtures.

The shower, tub or combo question is crucial because any configuration will consume a big chunk of floor space in a bathroom remodeling job.

Today, big showers are "in," according to Robert Criner, president of Criner Remodeling, a home remodeling company in Newport News, Va.

"We take more tubs out," Criner says. "But always leave one in the house, at least, for children or resale."

A shower big enough for two is an especially hot item in bathroom remodeling projects, and doesn't have to be hospital-like, but it can be functional and attractive.

"If you're 30, you think, 'This is going to be fun.' If you're 60, you're thinking, 'I can get some assistance.' It works for both ages," Criner says.

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Bathroom remodeling without draining your wallet