Should I Renovate my Bathroom?
DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME!
By Daniel Wiskin
Have you been looking at your bathroom lately and thinking to yourself just how hard it is to navigate and use functionally? Below is a list of commonalities I see on a daily basis.
- Getting in and out of your tub has become a daunting task
- Your vanity is too high and clogged
- Your toilet is too low or takes several times to flush
- Your exhaust fan doesn’t work or you don’t have an exhaust fan at all
- The tiles on your floor are slippery or broken with sharp edges
- Your doorway is small (24”) or the door swings in an inconvenient location that takes up floor space
- You have taps that leak and don’t work properly
- You have a musky smell of potential mold or mildew.
- Your paint on the ceiling is bubbled or falling off.
The above is just a short list of multiple issues and warning signs that all point to, “ IT’S TIME TO RENOVATE, AND DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME.”
With over 10 years experience in the accessibility and renovation field , time and time again I see and hear people renovate their bathroom with one foot in the water and one foot out. Meaning, they try to take shortcuts to deal with 1 or 2 issues and leave the rest for a future date in time.
For example, I recently completed a project for a client that was in desperate need of a bathroom renovation for his wife Susan. Susan is in her mid 70’s and has arthritis and bad knees. Susan uses a walker to navigate her home but could potentially need a wheelchair in the future.
To paint the picture, this bathroom was completely outdated, inaccessible, and not functional at all for Susan as the bathroom presented a large amount of challenges.
Susan’s main concern was the bathtub, as it was getting extremely hard to get in and out of and presented her with great fear of having a fall.
Before seeing the bathroom for myself, the plan was to just remove the bathtub, and install a new barrier free walk In tiled shower.
Once I had a chance to see the bathroom in person, I made several more suggestions to consider and I’ll list them below:
- Widen the Door: If we are going to make a bathroom accessible, it doesn’t make much sense if you can’t get inside of it. You may be able to use it right now with no issues, but in the future you may require a larger device.
- New Exhaust Fan: A critical part to the longevity of your bathroom. To the naked eye, their current fan looked okay. Upon further inspection, the fan’s CFM was meant to exhaust moisture for a small bathroom and not a large bathroom. Once we went inside the attic, the vent was not actually going outside the home, the previous contractor didn’t install it properly so all the moisture over the years was going directly into the attic space. We installed the proper sized exhaust fan, and vented it outside the home through the roof properly. By doing this, walls will no longer bubble and your bathroom can stay nice and dry.
- Lighting: In most cases, adding pot lights or new light fixtures to your bathroom are straight forward. It’s always a good idea to brighten up the space.
- Comfort Height Toilet: Installing a toilet (17”) that is higher than a standard height (15”) makes it easier to get up and down from a seated position. Installing a grab bar close by also helps for safety.
- Updating Vanity: Finding a vanity that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing will save you money in the long run. If we didn’t plan ahead for the vanity the client wanted, a vanity that specifically fit the space we made would be hard to find.
- Slip Resistant Flooring & Heated Floors: Changing the entire floor surface to flooring with texture and slip resistant is also very important. Although not a necessity, if the floor is lifted, it’s never a bad idea to add some heated flooring for Ontario’s cold winters. It feels incredible on your bare feet.
All in all, the goal is to future proof your bathroom, so you do it once, and do it right. If you have to go back to make changes in the future, you are spending money to do things twice which also is an inconvenience to you.
If you feel it’s time to update your bathroom and make it your, “ Forever Bathroom,” we are just a phone call away. Did I mention the assessment is FREE.
Call us: 416-505-8183