DIYer Saves $100s Restoring Bathroom With ‘50 Years Of Dirt’ Caked In
- Hilary, 30, wanted to restore the bathroom in her fixer-upper on a budget
- She generated $500 towards the project by selling pinecones on Etsy
- Instead of replacing the floor, she restored the dirty grout using a clever hack
It’s easy for bathrooms to become neglected, especially areas like the floors or wall tiles which can look filthy after years without a deep cleaning. One clever DIYer has saved $100s on transforming her bathroom - which had a floor with over 50 years of dirt caked in - by employing a series of money-saving techniques.
Hilary York, 30 from North Carolina who is a content creator posting on TikTok as LightsCameraYorks, told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: ‘We bought a fixer-upper and have been renovating it one room at a time.
‘Our bathroom was run down, it was dingy, it was outdated. The floor was caked on with dirt, the sink was super rusted, the faucet had seen better days. The electrical outlets were cracked and falling apart, the window was covered so there was poor lighting in the room.
‘My budget to renovate it was $500. I generated these funds by selling pinecones on Etsy. I have pine trees on my property that produce large pinecones so I started making craft idea videos on TikTok with them. Crafters saw me cutting pinecones into flowers and showed interest in purchasing them from me, so I opened up my online store and got buyers right away.
‘These types of pinecones are hard to find and tough to cut, so I started doing the work to sell them. When we ran out of money for renovations I started using the funds from selling pinecones towards upcoming projects like this one.
‘I ended up going slightly over budget, spending $625 in total, but when I did research online it would easily have been a few thousand dollars for a renovation like this so I still saved money.
‘I got the supplies from Home Depot, Lowe’s and Amazon. The tools were $40 - we had most of the tools already so I just got some new blades for them. The other supplies were $81 - things like grout sealer and plumber’s putty.
‘Bigger items such as the sink, faucet and counters were $371, while the decor - rugs, shelves, art - cost $191. I already had some items, such as the door, paint, grout powder and joint compound.
‘I wanted the bathroom to feel like a spa and I think I achieved that. When you are renovating a bathroom on a budget you want to mix the old with the new. I wanted to add new countertops and a sink but I decided to give the vanity a makeover instead of replacing it.
‘I sanded it down and added a fresh coat of paint. I went with white as I already had a tub of paint lying around. My mum donated some knobs for the doors that she wasn’t using and I was so thankful for that because knobs are so expensive.
‘I ripped out the wallpaper by using a scraper and soaking the paper with laundry detergent softener and water beforehand. It took 30 minutes in total. I painted the walls using wall paint I already had.
‘After that I replaced the light fixtures and outlets, changed the toilet seat and replaced the mirror. I repaired the drywall by sanding it down, applying joint compound, sanding again until the wall was smooth, priming it and painting it.
‘Next up was the floor. 53 years of dirt had just built up on the tile. I didn’t have the luxury of ripping it up, it would have cost too much. I went out and got a grout removal attachment for the Dremel Multi-Max tool I had, and I also got a bottle of Zep Grout Cleaner.
‘It worked like a dream! It took me three days to remove the old grouting and regrout the floor but it was worth it! The process definitely reminded me that you don’t have to replace things, you can restore what you already have and it can look brand new.
‘Next up was the countertop. Most of our budget went into the supplies for this part and I was nervous because I couldn’t afford to mess it up! We had to get creative and make our own countertop, because it was impossible to find one with a sink on the right hand side for a small vanity like the one we have.
‘I looked everywhere and I couldn’t find one, so we used a butcher block countertop. My partner cut it to size and then I realised the sink I’d bought was much too big so I returned it and ordered a smaller one online.
‘My partner cut the new door to size while I worked on treating the countertop. I decided to keep the wood natural. I did a pre-stain to condition the wood with water-based polyurethane on top.
‘After painting and fitting the door I made my own artwork for the walls. I decided to try out textured canvas art. All I needed was some canvases, I already had joint compound. It takes forever to dry so you can keep changing the design and tidy up any mistakes you make.
‘I got some thin pieces of wood to create borders around the canvas; the border wood matches that of the countertop. All I did was apply some wood glue and attach each side with nails to keep it in place.
‘My partner then installed the vessel sink once it arrived, and I installed the corner shelves before painting them the same colour as the wall. Finally I was able to add in decor and the makeover was complete.
‘Certain parts of the project took longer than expected. For example, restoring the bathroom floor was the most time consuming part. It took me days to remove the old, dirty grout and deep clean the tiles before installing new grout and sealing the floors.
‘If I’d had the budget I would probably add an accent wall or a backsplash behind the vanity. However, the bathroom now looks great and it’s satisfying to know we did it all ourselves, saving $100s in the process.’
Tom Church, Co-Founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, said: ‘Hilary has done a great job transforming the bathroom. Many of us have grout that is old and dirty, so her hack for restoring it on a budget is brilliant - I’ll have to try it out myself!’
Save More With These Discount Codes
Read More Money Saving Guides