Post Punk Kitchen Forum

So, we have talked about it for a while but we will be remodeling 2 of our bathrooms. The bathrooms are smallish but I feel overwhelmed. I have a decent idea of what I want and I've started researching contractors in my area. Has anyone gone through a remodel? Any tips/tricks?

Use Angies List, for sure! Be around as much as possible when the contractors are there, and keep an eye on their work. Question anything that concerns you ASAP, especially if you don't like the quality of work you're seeing. Ask for walkthroughs of everything they're putting in and how it works. And take pictures of the location of plumbing and electrical, with a tape measure included, before drywall goes back on.

We remodeled one bathroom, and are in the middle of a second right now. My best advice is to budget more than you thought you would have to, in case you get in there and find that all the studs are basically paper from termite damage, or that former homeowners had a major leak that they hastily covered up and all the framing needs to be replaced.

If you can't easily access your shower plumbing from the outside, consider adding access panels of some sort, as well as cutoff valves.

You can always save some money by doing the demo yourself. Consider getting Bagsters over renting dumpsters (Google for coupon codes before scheduling pickup, they usually have a deal). Anything usable, from scrap wood and metal to old fixtures and cabinets, you can put on Craigslist for free and plenty of people should be happy to pick it up, saving you disposal cost or the hassle of bringing it to the ReStore.

Thanks for the tips! We also have access to Checkbook magazine (website & magazine - similar to Angie's list but for my area) and I've been researching there. I also signed up with Angie's list as another tool for researching contractors.

I work at home part time so it won't be too much trouble to keep track of what is going on. A panel is a good idea, we recently had a plumber come in to fix a minor issue and while he was here, I asked about something else but when he went to look to see if there was a panel, there wasn't so he made a guess that seemed plausible. It is something that can wait until the remodel if anything so not a big deal but a panel would be good.

The week after next is when I start doing serious research and start calling around. We knew when we bought this place 5 years ago that we would want to remodel but now that it might actually happen, my head is swirling.