Bathroom Renovation Tips - Common Mistakes to Avoid

While often the smallest room in the house, bathrooms shouldn’t be overlooked for any less. Since we spend a decent amount of time in there, getting ready for the day or bed, its functionality is paramount, as is its cozy factor.

Renovating a bathroom should be pretty straightforward but, at times, homeowners make trivial mistakes, often leading to a decrease in property value, as well as the likelihood of issues down the line.

10 Mistakes to Avoid When Renovating a Bathroom

1- Disregarding budgetary planning

Source : Céramique Concept DG

Even though bathrooms typically have a low square footage count, they can be the most costly to renovate. A lot of renovation expenses are often overlooked and additional fees can creep up at any moment during the renovations. Stop overspending on elegant tiles, and focus your attention and budget on the brunt of the work, including concealed features, as they’ll cost a pretty penny.

If you’re thinking of hiring a professional to carry out the renovations, make sure to hire a qualified worker with extensive bathroom renovation experience. A contractor familiar with bathroom overhauls will know, from first-hand experience, the challenges and unforeseen circumstances that can happen, and will have the necessary know-how to quickly and efficiently fix problems. All bathroom components must be installed correctly to avoid problems down the line.

2- Neglecting the importance of decent ventilation

There’s no way around the following: if your bathroom is poorly ventilated, mould growth is inevitable. Having a window in your bathroom makes for a great way to air out the room, doubling as an inlet for natural light. If possible, the window should be paired with an exhaust fan or ceiling fan to help airflow. 

You need one or the other, but having both can prevent moisture from building up on all bathroom surfaces. If moisture builds up, the paint will deteriorate, metal features will rust, and mould will grow, leading to long-term problems, making it a health hazard.

Along with proper ventilation, ensure to paint your bathroom walls with oil-based paint or mould-proof paint. Bathroom-specific paints resolve common problems, such as colour-lasting results while also boosting the house’s resale value. Moreover, if your bathroom has a fan, keep it clean at all costs. Dust its surface regularly, helping it maintain the ambient air, and your bathroom itself, fresh and clean.

Consider installing a fan fitted with a timer. That way, you can ascertain how long your bathroom fan will be powered on, making for a definitive energy-efficient option.  

3- Underestimating your storage needs

Source : Construction Viro

A spacious countertop and storage space are must-haves, especially since bathrooms are supposed to be multifunctional spaces, hosting different devices, products, and materials, which must function accordingly and require a lot of space to be used comfortably. Make sure your storage is smartly designed and conveniently placed: add cabinets, additional shelving, and a bunch of hooks to hang towels and bathrobes.

Avoid having a useless gap between the countertop and the nearest wall or toilet, and don’t overload the room with excessive storage units. Since bathrooms are often considered the smallest rooms, ensuring both storage options and layout are effectively designed is paramount.

Furthermore, try to be creative with storage. Add wooden crates under the sink or unused corners. Not only will doing so make for additional storage, but it can also be a way to implement a specific aesthetic to your bathroom. 

4- Overlooking optimized lighting

If your mornings include a full makeup routine or a close shave before heading out for work, you know how vital quality lighting can be. Given that these daily tasks are typically done in the bathroom, we know that said room needs excellent, well-designed, and positioned lighting. During a bathroom renovation project, lighting is often overlooked, which often results in the unfortunate need to redo everything.

Make sure there is sufficient lighting around the sink and walls, checking whether the intensity is too soft or too bright. Good lighting is essential for getting ready every morning, and poor bathroom lighting can be highly hazardous. Installing quality light fixtures can help prevent many bathroom-related hazards and problems, including falls in and around the shower and bathtub area.

What kind of light fixtures best suit your space? Before answering this question, let’s start by establishing the necessity for two types of lighting: ambient lighting and task lighting. For the former, it’s best to opt for flush-mount, semi-flush-mount lighting, or reflector light bulbs. Note that the latter is especially practical in a bathroom setting, as it allows for directing light toward specific areas, such as the shower, mirror, or bathtub. 

As for task lighting, using spotlights is a highly recommended option. Whether you prefer recessed spotlights or track lighting, both will provide adequate lighting to carry out tasks requiring brighter light.

For those who prefer more architectural lighting for its capacity to play off the room’s decorative aspects, sconces work wonders. Since they tend to stand out, they might not be suited to subdued settings, hence the importance of considering the room’s overall aesthetic when choosing light fixtures.

5- Using porous or ill-fitted materials

Source : Plomberie OG

As is well-known, bathrooms tend to be very humid and disorganized rooms. You can foresee water spatter on the walls and flooring. As such, using moisture-proof and waterproof materials is paramount. When picking out tiles, paint colours, and finishes, ensure all the materials are specifically designed for bathroom use. 

If you found your dream paint colour, yet it’s not oil-based, best to forget about it and choose a more practical product. Using non-oil-based paint will lead to peeling paint, resulting in mould and fungi growth.

If you have ceramic, natural stone, or porcelain bathroom floor tiles, the grout joints must be sealed, so don’t cut corners when applying a bathroom-specific tile sealant. Using materials specifically designed for bathrooms ensures long-lasting renovations, saving you the hassle of redoing everything in two years.

While most turned up their noses at melamine once upon a time, it’s come a long way since it was considered a low-rent material. Given the material’s water resistance, it’s definitely an option worth considering for bathrooms.

6- Poorly planning the bathroom layout

Don’t prioritize aesthetics over functionality! Although it's relatively easy to consider the bathroom's overall look above all else, how everything is set up and how the space is used are paramount, ensuring functionality and a user-friendly setting. A bathroom might seem to hold just a few components: a cabinet, a toilet, a bathtub, and a shower.

But, the reality of the matter is, that it encompasses a slew of features that must fit within a small space. If the bathroom is well designed, it should be functional, a cost-effective build, and meet user-friendly expectations. Avoid installing the toilet near the door, as it can make for an odd layout. Try to plan for the toilet to be set up as far away as possible from the door. Also, consider safety, accessibility, and comfort.

7- Blindly following trends

Source : Ethan and Brother building contractor

When experimenting with your bathroom decoration, renovations can be both complex and costly, so it’s best to proceed with caution  Bold, extravagant trends or on-brand materials can be expensive both upfront and down the line. Trends come and go—will your decor still be stylish in five years? Instead of giving this essential room a makeover, prioritize conventional colours and materials. Focus your time, efforts, and budget on the quality of the work rather than on the opulence and luxury of what’s surely to be a short-lived craze.

Rely on neutral colours, such as vintage white, cool grey, or soft blue. Also, ensure the selected finishes fit together, rather than having ill-fitted colours and hues. If the toilet is white, choose a similar colour for the bathtub and sink. Also, compare several materials against one another before buying anything, as you might be disappointed once installed, realizing everything clashes. 

8) Overlooking electrical needs

Despite it resulting from poor planning, neglecting to consider the electrical aspect of the bathroom can lead to problems, both from the onset and down the line. Bathrooms are considered a part of the house that requires specially designed electricals, so hire an electrical contractor before moving forward with any installation, especially if you reside in a province where the law mandates you to do so.

There are specific requirements to comply with when it comes to bathroom electricals, which largely hinge on the city or province of residence, so get as much information before installing any device!

9- Opting for water-intensive faucets

Source : Côté, Alain

Since society is hyper-focused on the environment, as conscientious citizens, we must start considering ways to cut our water use in the bathroom. If your budget allows for it, there are several options like low-flow showerheads, self-closing faucets, and high-efficiency toilets that save both water and money in the long run. Also worth mentioning: a wastewater management system.

Water resource recovery facilities reuse water, channelling it from one zone toward another that doesn’t require clean water, per se, such as a toilet. This eco-friendly system not only allows you to contribute to environmental preservation but also helps boost your home's resale value.

10- Attempting a DIY approach

As mentioned, a bathroom makes for a specific setting, one that conceals several different components that aren’t necessarily seen on a daily basis. Many homeowners attempt to undertake renovations without first considering all aspects of a bathroom improvement project.

Unless you feel completely at ease carrying out the renovations yourself, hiring a professional is paramount, as they’re familiar with and understand all aspects of a transformation and the necessary maintenance thereafter. 

Moving forward with a lack of confidence in your skills can lead to long-term problems. Moreover, who wants to renovate the same room twice over in the span of a few months? We certainly don’t!

We highly recommend consulting our bathroom renovation checklist, a complete guide, featuring a handy renovation checklist.