Home Remodeling & Construction Blog

If a major bathroom renovation is outside your calculated budget, then it’s possible you could get by my making smaller adjustments that will still provide a significant impact on your private space. You can think as small or as big as you like, but either way they will work together to change the overall feel of Virginia bathrooms in general.

Design ideas like new tile, lighting, plumbing, cabinets or refreshed carpet from remnants can give your room a whole new look or style. Adding texture to the walls or repainting to can work wonders in the housing market. Read more…

When you own a home there are a lot of expenses to deal with in terms of utilities. When you start planning for your bathroom renovation with a Virginia contractor you should be thinking about ways to trim the cost of the remodel as well as make your new bathroom work for you in terms of energy efficiency. Water efficiency is one of the best ways to improve your bathroom in order to make the remodel pay for itself over time. Read more…

As a homeowner in Virginia, bathroom remodeling projects will become a necessary part of keeping the home in good condition while you occupy the house. If you want your home to be truly comfortable, you should put a little touch of your influence in every room of the home. A lot of people disagree, in architectural terms, what makes a good bathroom, so you may wish to individualize the features with a remodel.

There are a lot of good reasons to begin a bathroom remodeling project, not the least of which is an increase of the eventual resale value of the home. Now it is impossible to calculate the actual difference between any money the home would bring in before or after a remodel, but appraisers can give you fairly good estimates.

It pays to look into the sales prices of the recently purchased homes in your neighborhood that are of a similar size to yours. This will give you the best idea of what your home is worth before the remodel, and at the same time an idea of where the price ceiling will be after the remodel is finished. The difference should be where you set the limit of your budget.

There is no doubt that a finely crafted bathroom can be a major selling point to a home, especially a fully decked out master suite. If your budget is a little on the high side you should make sure that your plans include updating every single “permanent” fixture in the room, including:

• The Tiles: Floor, Backsplashes, Showers, Walls
• Visible Plumbing Fixtures: Shower head, Turn Handles, Faucets
• Counter Tops
• Sinks
• Tub
• Shower Enclosures
• Toilet

When you design your bathroom, it pays to keep efficiency in mind. Little touches that you might find helpful to you might get in the way of another person. Cabinetry is especially a point of contention in a lot of houses. Some like more than others, so it can be very helpful to the sale price to keep cabinets to a necessary minimum.

Ultimately, you are going to remodel the bathroom to your particular taste in some way, and there will be people (potential buyers) who do not share you opinions, and may low-ball their bid because of improvements you made. If you run into a situation where numerous interested parties all agree that they don’t like your bathroom you might have to have it remodeled just to sell the home.

There are little details you can put into your Virginia bathroom remodeling project that appeal to everyone, however. Everyone like a fancy shower head with a lot of settings, or even a larger shower space so that people don’t feel cramped while they refresh themselves for the day. Small things like a padded toilet seat can go a long way to pleasing prospective buyers. The bathroom is one area where the improvements that you make for yourself have a good chance of attracting buyers, as long as you know where to personalize.

Remodeling your new Virginia Bathroom can seem to be a huge task, but with the right planning, the process can be as pain free as possible. Forethought in this matter can save you a ton in time and money. The shower is a focal point of the bathroom, so it should definitely have a style that accents the other bathroom decorations. There are little details that go into choosing just the right tone that can really set off the wall colors or flooring.

Matte or Mirror?

Hardware is the trim element that brings every other element together in the bathroom. When you choose your new shower enclosure, keep the finished look of the room in mind. The fixtures and faucets should complement the color of the shower doors, hinges and other hardware. The choice of finish should really set the look of the colors you use everywhere else in the room.

Silver is a finish that matches well with many of the older chrome fixtures, although modern designers are leaning more towards brushed nickel and oil-rubbed bronze. There are more choices today than ever before, so if you have a hard time making up your mind for yourself, you can always rely on the help of a designer.

Find a Tasteful Glass Door

The metal look may be going the way of the 8-track, but new doors are a little more pricey because of it. In order to remain stable, the glass much is much thicker. The choices available in modern patterns are as numerous as the fish in the sea. If you prefer to have privacy without a bunch of geometric lines, obscured glass is the way to go. Of course, classic clear glass will let anyone who wanders into your bathroom see what great taste in fixtures you have.

Powerful, But Gentle: Showerhead Choices

The newest showerheads are not only stylish and elegant, but water efficient and able to deliver strong water pressure. Many people find the removable hand held sprayers very convenient. The vertical shower spa is also becoming very popular, and customers are raving about how luxurious they feel.

For the ultimate in luxurious showers, you need a combination system that has an overhead shower, vertical sprayers on the walls, and a hand held sprayer. There is a whole new level of clean feeling skin for anyone who has a water delivery system installed in their shower.

Don’t Forget to Accessorize

Once the main hardware finish has been chosen and all of the other big decisions have been made, it is time to settle on your choices for things like towel bars and shower door handles. Most manufacturers of water delivery systems for showers (i.e. showerheads) provide what they call “suites” of products that are supposed to match the showerhead for a very cohesive look.

Every Virginia Bathroom remodeling project should address the shower at some point in the process. A new shower is an investment in daily comfort and you cannot put a price tag on reliability.

Over the last 10 years there has been a growing rush for green remodeling in many parts of the country, especially those areas that have changing seasons from one extreme to another. Energy conservation is a big topic, and of the areas that’s starting to also receive additional attention in the area of green renovation is Virginia bathroom remodeling and the addition of radiant floor heat.

For many homes around the world, millions of people have to deal with the constant nag of cold tiles in the morning, which is especially aggravating when you first step out of a nice hot shower or bath. The radiant floor heat makes the bathroom environment extremely comfortable and helps us resist the urge to crank the heat in order to make sure that our bathroom space is toasty.

Compared to a number of other heating options on the market such as gas furnaces, boilers, electric baseboard heating and wood fire stoves, a radiant floor heating system placed during Virginia bathroom remodeling can provide the most consistent and comfortable heating solution for your bathroom space.

Of course it’s not limited to the bathroom. This is a remodel idea that can be spread through your entire home as its one of the most energy efficient heating systems that can put you on the most appropriate path for going green.

Here are just a few benefits for considering radiant floor heat for your next home renovation of Virginia bathroom remodel:

· Unlike many conventional heating systems, there is no draft or breeze such as forced air. You can set the thermostat lower while getting the same warmth.

· This system can be installed to run on solar energy, providing you with a free source of heat year round.

· Zero spreading of dust and allergens through your home

· Radiant floor heat doesn’t dry the air

· Less heat loss in the winter months than forced air

How a Radiant Floor Heat System Works

If you’ve got a Virginia bathroom remodel coming up, you may want to strongly consider installing radiant floor heating. This works by heating up your bathroom space from the ground up. The electronic or hyrdonic system is incorporated into the floor beneath the actual surface material. The electronic is the most common which will be discussed here.

Electric Radiant Heating Systems

In a Virginia bathroom remodel, you can install strips or mats that are heated beneath the flooring material, often embedded in a very thin layer of concrete. The material heats the surrounding concrete which in turn rises to heat the floor of your bathroom. Electronic radiant heating systems are extremely efficient, easy to install and are well-suited for small spaces such as the bathroom.

Some may think that they can save themselves a few bucks by doing the grunt work themselves, but that may not always be the case. A person may decide to replace or upgrade their bathroom counters, not realizing that they would have to install a sink as well. There are bathroom vanity combinations available, that include the sinks and all of the hardware that goes with them, usually in very elegant designs that are eye catching, but blend well into most Virginia bathrooms.

Versatile Beauty

These all-in-one units are manufactured to suit any installation. The choices of wood color are quite broad, as well as the available looks of all of the other fixtures. There are extremely large vanity combos for luxurious oversized bathrooms, as well as scaled down units that are better suited to smaller rooms. Materials available include marble, granite, or tile for the counter tops, and glass, porcelain, or china for the basin. Together, the combination of beauty and versatility can match what any person desires for their home improvement project.

Just because the bathroom space is smaller than many other rooms, doesn’t mean that it is going to be less expensive to remodel. On the contrary the cost per square foot can be much higher than other rooms, like a bedroom. This can be offset slightly by purchasing a wall mounted vanity to conserve money and space. The units are designed to be extremely easy to install and plumb all in one step. The bowl comes already attached to the vanity. The main advantage is that there is more floor space under the sink, creating the illusion of more room in an otherwise tight area.

A Better Option Today

Expense used to be a big concern for people who bought bathroom vanity combos, but competition from overseas has really done a lot to change all of that. The American standard of high quality workmanship and materials is now available at affordable prices. The more high-end your bathroom vanity combo, the more likely that it is going to bolster your future asking price, if you ever decide to sell the house. Think of it as an investment.

It doesn’t matter if you are brave, foolhardy, or handy enough to successfully complete the project if you don’t take proper measurements of your space. Never neglect to measure the distance of the plumbing and electrical outlets from the floor and ceiling, as well as the height and width of the door that your vanity must fit through. Too many people try to “eyeball” a size in the store where the gigantically high ceiling and bright fluorescent lights will make it look a lot smaller than it is. Having to return your vanity to the store because it wouldn’t fit through your door is embarrassing and discouraging.

The proper measurements in hand, a good place to look for a good vanity is the internet. The competition online is very fierce, and the lack of overhead gives the savvy customer a wide selection at practically wholesale prices. Of course, a qualified general contractor is also quite capable of installing the vanities as well, and will likely get it right on the first try. When it comes to the look of your Virginia bathroom, the ball is in your court.

Designing your new Virginia bathroom can seem to be a monumental task, but with the right planning, the process can be hassle free. Fore thought can save you a ton in time and money. The shower is often a focal point of the bathroom, so it should definitely have a distinct look. There are little details that go into choosing just the right tone that can really set off the wall colors or flooring.

Begin with the Finish

Hardware is the element that brings every element together in the bathroom. When you select your new shower enclosure, keep the finished look of the room in mind. The faucets and other fixtures should compliment the color of the shower doors, hinges and other hardware. The choice of finish should really set the tone of the colors you use everywhere else in the room.

Silver is a finish that blends in seamlessly with many of the older chrome fixtures, although modern designers are trending more towards brushed nickel and oil-rubbed bronze.

Looking Through the Glass Door

The metal look may be going the way of the 8-track, but new doors are a little more pricey because of it. In order to remain stable, the glass much is much thicker. The choices available in modern patterns are as numerous as the fish in the sea. If you prefer to have privacy without a bunch of geometric lines, obscured glass is the way to go. Of course, classic clear glass will let anyone who wanders into your bathroom see what great taste in fixtures you have.

Off with that Head!

The newest showerheads are not only stylish and elegant, but water efficient and able to deliver strong water pressure. Many people find the removable hand held sprayers very convenient. The vertical shower spa is also becoming very popular, and customers are raving about how luxurious they feel.

For the ultimate in luxurious showers, you need a combination system that has an overhead shower, vertical sprayers on the walls, and a hand held sprayer. There is a whole new level of clean feeling skin for anyone who has a water delivery system like that installed.

Don’t Forget to Accessorize

Once the main hardware finish has been chosen and all of the other big decisions have been made, it is time to settle on your choices for things like towel bars and shower door handles. Most manufacturers of water delivery systems for showers (i.e. showerheads) provide what they call “suites” of products that are supposed to match the showerhead for a very cohesive look.

A Virginia bathroom remodeling project is not complete without a new shower. A licensed contractor must be hired to do work as extensive as removing the older shower enclosure and creating the new one. Like any other home improvement, the outcome is what really matters, and the small amount of discomfort is worth it.

The bathroom space that you have in your home right now may be some of the most valuable square footage in the entire house. It is a room that has to be functional, but should be comfortable as well. The importance of Virginia bathroom remodeling cannot be stressed enough, and carefully considered, before trying to sell a home.

It may be in short bursts, but all of us have to spend time in the bathroom, so it is important to make sure that an ugly bathroom isn’t hurting the value of your home. Take the time to decorate your bathrooms in a way that is both functional and reflects your personality and style.

A good place to start is with the cabinets, as they tend to jump out at the eye and give people an idea of what your style is. On the high end, you can go with custom wood-worked cabinets that are unique, but budget minded individuals will want to look at modular units sold at you local home improvement store. Read more…

You simply cannot overestimate how important the bathroom space is in your home, and not just from a functional standpoint but from a point of comfort as well. Take a look at home listings and next to the number of bedrooms you’ll find the number of bathrooms. That’s why Virginia bathroom remodeling is so important.

Given the amount of time spent in the bathroom, it’s a safe bet to say that the bathroom has a lot of influence over the value of a home. The space itself is just a canvas, it’s important to decorate and remodel your bathroom in a way that will reflect character, style and functionality.

Cabinets speak a lot about the style of the homeowner and they come in a variety of styles. From the simplistic models off the shelf at Home Depot to the small box medicine cabinets or the elegant, custom made cabinets that are unique to your home – remodeling your bathroom will require some special considering for how you’ll store things. Read more…

We often take this area of Virginia bathroom remodeling for granted but most of the people within your home are going to interact with it in some way shape or form throughout every day. The bathroom floor has got to be able to stand up to a lot of heavy traffic in and out every day while at the same time delivering a lot of comfort to everyone that’s walking on it.

That durability and comfort is essential, and can lead people down different paths when they’re trying to decide how they want to outfit their bathroom and the materials that they intend to use to cover the floor of that space. Either way, you need to keep your floor in mind when you remodel your bathroom, because the floor can say a lot about your taste and how well you keep your home.

Plopping down carpet in your bathroom probably isn’t the best idea, especially if it’s a high traffic bathroom with a lot of moisture but it does provide the ultimate comfort for bare feet. It’s a more convenient option for smaller bath spaces like a half bath in the basement or a guest bathroom. Read more…