DIY Dad Reveals How He Renovated Bathroom For £1,500, Saving Over £8,000
- Adam Smith, 47, wanted to renovate his family bathroom without spending a fortune
- Adam saved £8,000 by taking on the renovation himself
- He kept prices down by buying ex-display items and watching YouTube tutorials
Bathroom renovations cost an average of £7,000, so it’s no surprise many of us put them off due to their prohibitive cost.
But one dad was determined not to let sky-high prices stand in his way.
Adam Smith, 47, a dad of two from London, wanted to undertake his own bathroom transformation for under £2,000.
Using ex-display materials, watching YouTube tutorials and taking on the stressful work himself meant he managed to pull off the project for just £1,500, representing a saving of over £8,000.
Adam told money-saving Facebook group DIY On A Budget UK: "We’ve lived in our late 1800 Victorian house since 2004 and this year decided to remodel as the house was becoming too small.
"After having our loft extended, giving us three large double bedrooms we had a small amount of cash left over and decided to give the family bathroom a refresh.
"With only a small budget of £2,000 and the quotes we got from builders, it seemed impossible to have the bathroom we wanted.
"As we now had the luxury of having a serving bathroom in the loft I decided to have a go myself.
"I’ve done some DIY projects in the past but have no real building experience so it was a daunting task to say the least.
"A lot of my knowledge came from YouTube videos; there are some really helpful tips out there.
"First of all was the rip out, a really messy job and the first time I thought I’d bitten off more than I could chew. We wanted a hotel feel to the room which is why we went for the dark tiles.
"We spent a lot of time shopping around to make savings to come within budget. We bought ex-display items like taps, basins and cabinets, which saved a fortune.
"They don’t exactly match but they’re close enough. For example, the bath taps were on sale for over £250, but I picked them up ex-display for £20, which was a great result.
“To find the ex-display items, I just went into the local plumbing shop and they had a shelf with lots of items on.
"I also asked if I could buy the display cabinet for the basin.
“The biggest two outlays were the tiles and the bath, both purchased online.
"We did lots of research about these companies and large items are very difficult to return.
“We managed to get all tiles, HardieBacker board, adhesive, grout, silicone, floor screed, screws and underfloor heating (a must for the wife) for just over £400.
"I also sourced items from ebay like the bath, panel and screen for over half price of the shop ones. But do research and lots of measuring as items like this are hard to return if not right
"The whole build took some time as it was done both at weekends and after work, it seemed to go on forever but after several F bombs and some really stressful days, we’re really pleased with the result.
"Trust me when I say it isn’t perfect, there are lots of small mistakes but all in all I’m happy with it.
"If I was to do it again, I’d say you should take your time levelling the floor. Mine is slightly out which had a knock-on effect fitting the bath panel.
"Visit plumbing shops and ask to see display items, you can pick up some real bargains.
"Spend time levelling the walls prior to tiling.
"Speak with a builder or watch videos and get an order of work list - I often did things out of order which made things difficult.
"Lay out your bathroom suite dry, we realised that the toilet was too close to the bath when it was centred between the bath and the basin, so we have it off centre for more comfort. Doing this also helps with pipe placement.
"I estimate it cost £1,500 although the only thing I didn’t do was the plastering. A friend helped with that saving a few hundred quid.
"I reckon we saved about £8,000 by doing it ourselves. I know other people who had their bathroom done and paid over £10,000.
"Obviously I’m chuffed to bits about the savings however, they came with a price. It was very stressful, especially when putting the floor down!
"Having said that, the feedback I have received has made it all worth it.”
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, comments: “Most of us wouldn’t have the DIY skills to pull off such a big project, so hats off to Adam for persevering on such a stressful, messy and time-consuming project.
“He has shown it was more than worth it - the bathroom looks excellent, plus he’s saved an absolute fortune!"
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