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Bath Room Remodel And You

 Well, most people don’t start to think about remodeling their baths until they have their taxes done.  The time of year to do your bath room is in the beginning of the year.  This is a slower time for most re-modelers and they are more likely to give you a better price.  The Jan-Feb slow down is a known and common problem for most people in the remodeling business, especially the smaller companies.  The large out fits just pump up their ads and keep getting the required work for the slower time.  Again, you will probably be able to get a better price for your  projects if you do them during this time.  When spring hits and everyone has their cash in hand,  this generates a higher volume of work and creates a supply and demand type situation.

The same is true for seasonal type work, like hydroseeding new lawns for instance, the sooner you book in spring the better rate you will get.  The hydroseeding market is a short growing season so first come first serve becomes a big issue for people.  A company like Badges Properties will book 1-2 full yards to be sprayed in a day, so you can see if your don’t book early you may have to wait some time to have your yard put  in.  Going back to remodeling, it is a better time if you have the money to do your remodeling early on.    I have heard of people getting full bath remodels right down to the studs for under $10k even lower a $5K-$8K when things are really slow.   Badges Properties LLC home of the “Fix-It Brothers” in Southeastern WI will be lining up their bath jobs for Jan-Feb.  this is the only time they can get their bath room jobs in as they will be booked until april and then they start installing the Gutter Care II system which is a foam insert which protects a homes gutter system.

The Fix-It Brothers  like to remodel baths adding custom tub surrounds in ceramic tile and flowing the water through a brushed satin nickel shower handle.  This combination makes a very striking surround.  Then adding a floor in ceramic tile balances the whole room.  The individual tastes of the home ower can shine.  The Fix-It Brothers also can take a bath from start to finish designing the whole bath for you.  The ceramic tile look is a rich look that will last for a very long time and stay looking good with very little work on the home owners part.  I think this is also why so many people want to remodel their baths with ceramic tile. 

You as the home owner need to sit down and decide how much or how little you want to do to your bath.   The time to decide is before you start having contractors in your house for free estimates.   Some have some really good sales people that will have you putting in marble and solid gold fixtures before your done.  Don’t let this happen to you.  Times are still hard for contractors and builders and they are hitting sales hard to just get by.  So you as the home owner need to have what you want in mind already.  There can be a few contractors that will actually give you some ideas on how to save money on your bath also.  You can do smaller things like take out a old vanity style sink and fixture,  replacing it with a updated sink and vanity.  Making the change quick and less expensive.  Many times people will paint the room, change the floor and put a new sink vanity in.  This will change the whole look of the room.

You can then change over the towel holders and soap holders to give a whole new fresh look to your bath.  You can do alot of remodeling on less.  Just don’t go over the top with the thought you will get everything done for $5 and a can of soda.  Many people have not done any remodeling fo so many years they are not current on what is reasonable price for what they want done.  I always say look at your job and what you get paid.  If  you are in a skilled job and expect to get paid for your services, so do trades people.  Just the tools alone that are needed to perform this kind of work carries a high cost in itself.  There are many good deals to be had on remodeling your home.  Watch out for the guy with the rusted out pick up truck and a hammer,  these traits don’t make him or her a contractor,  at least not one that you want to hire.  Many of these guys bait and switch on you.  The 10% guys,  they take this amount or any other amount off your lowest estimate.  This is a sales tactic to get the home owner to hire them.

I would never hire the guy that comes in last,  ohh yes,  these guys show up last so they will either tell you to get your other estimates or will just blow you off for a long time.  They want to be the last estimate this enables them to not really do any real work on the estimates.  Most contractors have a general idea of what it will cost or use programs now days that tells them what to charge.  They will tell you they will take 10% off and will have you sign a contract with them right away.  There is the cost mark up mid way through the job.  Have heard of this happening  to people.  A good contractor gives a fair price of  $7,000 for the entire bath and then the low baller comes along and tells the home owner they can do it for $5,500 sounds good.  NOT,  by the time the job is done the cost went up to the $7,000 and sometimes more.  You need to pick contractors that have done work for maybe family or friends and they were happy with them.

Sometimes you get lucky and see a ad on TV for a good company.  If you see a ad on TV, go and check out their website and check them out.  Watch out if they have a ton of advertising also.  Sometimes this can be a sign that they spend alot on advertising,  creating  higher costs for them to operate and then passing that cost on to you.    You see this happen with really large home builders or contractors.  Don’t get me wrong a business has to advertise some how or else no one would hear about them.   Also be very careful with those so called contractor finder services or lists.  The contractors have to pay to use those services,  it gives a appearance that they have got on a checked out service list,  when all they have done is pay money to get on the list,  just like any other advertising.  I don’t care for these as it gives the home owner the idea that this company checks out,  when really all they did was pay for a phone call to them.  Don’t fall for these contractor service lists.  I am not talking about user lists which are non-profit or consumer protection lists.   

Good luck in finding a contractor for your bath project,  they are out there.  Call them and they will come.