Home Selling: FSBO and Hiring a Broker
You can even refinish your old bathtub with hardware store products that are similar to nail bangkok condo for sales polish. Like most people, you probably can’t spend endless amounts of money on a new bathroom. Veteran homeowners who’ve been through any of these productions agree: Even the ultimate bath is only a small part of your life, so keep things in perspective. Whatever you choose, be sure your expectations are in line with what’s possible, given the scope of the work and your budget. Meticulous preparation of these surfaces is critical, but these treatments are an economical way to improve the look of your bath, fast.
For example, the vertical lines of wall cabinets, windows, the shower stall, and doors can make a room look taller; horizontal lines in the edges of the vanity and tub can make it look broader. Floor tiles contribute to line as well: Tiles laid diagonally make the floor appear larger than those laid parallel to the walls. If you’re fortunate enough to have a larger bath, use the same techniques you would for a bedroom or other room to keep height in balance with other dimensions. The traditional 537 bath with an 8- to 10-foot ceiling is taller than it is broad, so creating an illusion of height is seldom necessary.
A new upstairs bath must also tie into the existing main drain line and vent stack, but this is usually an easier accomplishment because upper floors and walls are not made of concrete. Not to mention, in upper floors, gravity works with, not against you in moving waste downward. Regardless of where you plan to locate your new bath, you know installing it isn’t for amateurs. Unless plumbing and mechanical engineering are your lines of work, consult the experts, and save your energy for choosing fixtures and decorative treatments!
Whether this dealer is a high-end specialist or from the kitchen and bath department of your local hardware megastore, the dealer sells fixtures from his or her own showroom as well as installs them. These independent designers can spec (short for “specify,” or select on your behalf) products from many sources, but they do specialize in bath design (and often kitchen design as well), offering their design services for a fee or a fee plus a markup. In this case, design services to actually plan your bathroom may either be handled as a separate professional fee or built into the price of the products used in your bath (Think twice about using dealers who advertise “free design services”: If it’s true, they may not be around long, or the quality may not be what you expect. Some bath designers are specialists but not dealers.
These elements occur naturally together, so it may take a bit of practice to see them. Whole books have been written on how to use color, but a few basic techniques are worth noting here. Contrasting colors stop the eye, breaking up space and making it look smaller. Once you do, you’ll be able to make the often small corrections that give your bath maximum eye appeal. Light colors reflect light and make a space or an object look larger and airier; dark colors absorb light and make them look smaller and denser. Color is the most compelling element.
On the next page, learn how best to design a bathroom on a budget. Inch for inch, the bathroom is the most expensive room in the house to remodel, largely because of the variety of skilled labor required from plumbing and electrical contractors, carpenters, and other experts. Materials, too, take their toll in cost. You don’t want your bathroom project to be a financial burden, so make sure you really need the high-end solution in each case, and plan as much as possible in advance to avoid costly changes in the middle of the project. So, heed some advice from the experts and from families who’ve done the job already: Take your time at the beginning to make sure each decision reflects your tastes and meets your needs.
