From the outset, I would like to say… renovating your bathroom or bathrooms is a substantial investment in your property. You’ll notice I said ‘investment’. The key with bathroom renovating… like any investment, is to make sure you make informed and responsible decisions, to ensure you don’t end up throwing money away on a renovation that doesn’t deliver a reasonable return. I’m talking about both financial and emotional returns. You want to add value to your home and love the look and feel you experience. A professionally designed and fitted out bathroom renovation can potentially increase the value of your property by far more than the investment of the bathroom renovation alone. However by getting it wrong, and making some or any of the mistakes detailed below, can potentially end up costing you much more than the money you spent on what you thought would be a wise investment. It’s the disappointment, anger or frustration you’d feel having to look at ‘that’ mistake each and every day! Sure, you can’t be expected to know everything there is to know and consider when planning your bathroom renovation. It’s not something you deal with every day.
There are however, traps and pitfalls you really MUST be aware of. Some you may have already considered, others you hadn’t even thought of.
That’s why, in the interests of expanding your knowledge and informing you upfront before you start, the great team here at Creating Impressions Bathroom Renovations Canberra has compiled the following information especially for you… Here it is…‘The 7 Big Costly Mistakes People Often Make…And How You Can Easily Avoid Them’.
BIG COSTLY MISTAKE #1 – Holding Out And Waiting Too Long To Renovate.
This is a mistake we often come across. Because a bathroom renovation can rightfully be viewed as an expensive investment, it is quite often put off where problems are patched up or sealed over with the view of prolonging the inevitable. It’s quite understandable you may not value the benefit of renovating your bathroom before the paint starts peeling, the shower starts leaking into your walls or the tiles start falling off. Often by the time many symptoms of bathroom failure become apparent, costly damage beyond the surface you can’t see has already taken hold.
Water damage inside your walls can spread like cancer.. long before the visible signs become the trigger that prompts you to action.
It’s not only the localized damage to the walls, framework and flooring in your bathroom. It’s the termites that just thrive in a moist environment and spread quickly causing monstrous damage. Also mould, a major cause of debilitating allergies and illness including asthma, eye, skin and lung infections.
Protect the value of your property, the cost of delaying could far outweigh a hassle free renovation before problems arise.
Creating Impressions Bathroom Renovations Canberra are experts. We’ve seen and worked with many customers who have waited too long for their bathroom renovations. We’ve rebuilt entire walls and floors inflicted with insidious termite and water damage.
Human exposure to airborne fungal spores, hyphal fragments or metabolites can result in a variety of adverse health effects (Pasanen, 2001). Reactions to exposure include allergic and irritant responses (Gravesen, 1979); infectious disease such as histoplasmosis, blastomycosis, and aspergillosis (de Hoog et al., 2000); a variety of respiratory diseases (Godish et al., 1996a) including asthma (Downs et al., 2001) allergic rhinitis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis (Samson, 1985; Stetzenbach, 1997) and bronchial hyperactivity (Dharmage et al., 2001); acute toxicosis (Samson, 1985; Stetzenbach, 1997); SBS symptoms (Szponar & Larsson, 2000); and cancer from exposure to mycotoxins (Levetin, 1995). Exposure to fungal spores has been identified as statistically significant risk factors for respiratory health in children (Garret et al., 1998a, b). The inhalation of fungal material, which is often small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs, may pose an even greater health risk than ingestion or dermal contact (Johanning, 1994; Stetzenbach, 1997). (source: http://www.mould.com.au/_webapp_120970/Health_Effects)
So, if you’ve been putting off your bathroom renovation, I urge you to consider the costly consequences. It may just save you thousands of dollars and unwanted stress.
BIG COSTLY MISTAKE #2 - Performing A Partial Renovation, Makeover Or Worst Of All, A Bathroom Reseal Or Reface.
What may seem a more economical option at first, can sometimes create greater problems. As tempting as it may seem upfront, there is no possible way to guarantee the integrity of your bathroom without a complete renovation taking everything back to a bare shell.
A partial bathroom renovation will inevitably disturb the waterproofing membrane originally installed... which down the track will cause further costly damage to occur if a patch up job fails. It simply hides previous damage not obvious at the time.
Only by installing a complete waterproofing membrane, meeting today's exhaustive standards and regulations is your bathroom protected from further damage. I’m sure you’ve heard of or come across the quick-fix ‘bathroom reseals without removing tiles’.
Be warned… this practice is not the answer.
If your shower or bath is leaking from cracks in the grout or joints, the damage has already commenced. Usually you become aware due to swollen skirting boards or wet carpet. Imagine the moisture buildup inside your wall at this time. By allowing one of the many ‘Bathroom Reseal’ products to be applied in your shower, to your tiles is simply sealing the problem in. As you may or may not be aware, when timber or wall sheeting gets wet, it swells. When it dries out it contracts.
What would you think happens when cracks in grouting or joints are sealed over, allowing the timber and wall sheeting to contract as it dries out?
Of course, they will move and inevitably crack again. Over time, sometimes only a matter of months, leaks can reappear, causing more damage than before, shattering the false sense of security you were given by a salesman.
Don’t risk your property being subjected to a cover up when a full bathroom renovation is the right choice to ensure that your bathroom will stand the test of time.
BIG COSTLY MISTAKE #3 – DIY Or Choosing A Backyard Business Instead Of A Professional Bathroom Renovation Specialist With Fully Licensed Tradespeople.
Over the years, many TV lifestyle programs have been encouraging people to have a go at DIY. Of course, all these shows are sponsored by the hardware giants and suppliers benefiting from the DIY’er and backyard businesses. Now, there’s nothing wrong with getting your hands dirty and having a go yourself at many jobs not requiring specialized knowledge and licensing.
Bathroom renovating is not something to be attempted by anybody but a specialist. A bathroom is the most complex renovation task to be undertaken on your property.
Renovating your bathroom requires skillful co-ordination of many qualified trades… each playing an important and perfectly timed role… ensuring your renovation meets all required standards and will perform it’s function for many years to come.
Each trade, with their individual roles:
- Electrician
- Carpenter
- Plumber
- Plasterer
- Water proofer
- Tiler
- Cabinetmaker
- Glazier
- Painter
- Asbestos specialist
- Stonemasons / concreters / renderers
- And at times others not listed
Due to the complex nature of bathrooms, many contractors come and go. Often leaving behind a trail of substandard renovations. Creating Impressions Bathroom Renovations Canberra get called out, only to deliver the bad news, sometimes costing property owners thousands of dollars to rebuild.
BIG COSTLY MISTAKE #4 – Choosing The Wrong Design That Doesn’t Suit Your Needs Or Your Property’s Style
Even the most basic of bathroom renovations done with the right design can create a real WOW factor and improve its functionality.
Not to mention the increase in value to the property that often results.
Many people put too much pressure on themselves to save a few dollars here and there, avoiding the design elements and finishes that really provide what had previously been sorely missed. Worse still, many are swayed by the opinionated salespeople or tradesperson who only want to make their job easier so they can take your money and move on to the next job as quickly as possible.
It’s often better to invest a little more time and money into the tweaks of design that include space saving features and fixtures that give you what you really want and add value and style that matches your property.
Creating Impressions Bathroom Renovations Canberra are design specialists. Drawing on many years of experience, we offer individual solutions to suit you and your property, creating the ultimate in bathroom design and functionality for any budget.
BIG COSTLY MISTAKE #5 – Choosing Poor Quality Fixtures, Fittings And Tiles
With so much choice out there in the market these days, it’s important to choose correctly.
It’s confusing to navigate the styles, the options and of course the prices. You don’t want to waste money on excessively priced fixtures or fittings. But you want something that will last, and come with a good warranty in case it fails. In reality, you don’t have to pay too much for products that come with extensive and longer warranties. From our experience, the ones with the better warranties stand true to their claims and by far have lesser problems.
Particularly with plumbed in fixtures like taps, showerheads, wall mixers… these items are worth ensuring you source the best quality and longest warranties.
When it comes to choosing your tiles, there are a few tricks here to be aware of. Because a bathroom is a wet area, you must ensure any tile you choose is first quality and non porous or they just won’t last. Make sure all tiles are consistent in shape and sizes. After all, the last thing you want is uneven grout lines in your new bathroom caused by inconsistent tiles of random sizing.
BIG COSTLY MISTAKE #6 – Not Insisting On References From Previous Clients
You’ve decided to renovate your bathroom and begun to get a couple of quotes.
But whom do you trust?
How do you know you haven’t been sold to by a slick salesman? Only to be treated later like a number once your commitment is made.
You want to know that any company you engage for your bathroom renovation stands by their promises and commitments as much as they do their workmanship.
You want to trust and believe you will be treated with respect and honesty… not held to ransom by a company that only wants your money so they can move on.
Here at Creating Impressions Bathroom Renovations Canberra, we want your renovation experience with us to be something you will rave to your friends and family about. We want your business because you know what to expect. We want you prepared and comfortable your renovation will go as planned. That is why we have included a Gallery of past work and Testimonials from our previous clients. We encourage you to look through both.
BIG COSTLY MISTAKE #7 – Choosing Your Bathroom Renovation Company On Price Alone
Quite often when making choices that require a significant investment, the bottom line is what people look at. Sure, price is definitely an important consideration… it’s the only way you can gauge if you are being ripped off.
However, considering the complexity and importance of getting your bathroom renovation right, without hassles and stresses that can cause even greater problems… it’s more important to consider ‘who’ to choose, based on trust and confidence before price.
We may not always present the cheapest quote, after all there will always be somebody cheaper who underhandedly buys your job cheap to hit you up for extras later.
In reality though, everyone loves a great deal.
Whilst we commit to being competitive on pricing, we believe by offering you the best deal is far more valuable than just the cheapest price. If however you are able to obtain a better written quote, we would appreciate the opportunity to match those prices or be give the opportunity to asses why there may be a difference.
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Do you have a question about our laundry renovations in Canberra? Would you like to book a quotation? Why not give us a call today?