Granitech’s Expert Advice on Quick and Quality Bathroom Remodels

Transcription

Nora Duran: Welcome back to our show everyone. Today we are talking about something many of you have been asking about. Bathroom remodeling. Whether you want to do a quick update or a full renovation, there’s a lot to consider.

Bathrooms are important spaces in our homes and remodeling them can make a big difference in how they look and function. Today we have our special guest Ali from BrainyTech to help us understand everything we need to know. We’ll cover how to plan, budget, and make smart choices for your bathroom. So how are you Ali?

Ali Yılmaz: I’m Very good. Thank you for asking. 

Nora Duran: Thank you. So let’s get started with our first question. Are one week bathroom remodels really worth it? I mean, can you really get a quality renovation done in just one day? 

Ali Yılmaz: One week bathroom remodels are the ones that, a difficult one because you are pretty much, , with that short of a time.

 You are not going to be getting a lot of things that you want on that bathroom. You’ll be dealing with a lot of, materials that is ready to go and, panel style showers, either fiberglass or plastic. And doing a tile work and some upgraded look on the bathrooms will be, impossible to accomplish on the 1B bathrooms.

So are they worth it? In a way that what your needs are , basically, with the one big bathrooms you can basically sort of If you’re in the time for selling your house And you need a quick turnaround time and you need something ready to go one big bathrooms are the ideal and if you are there staying and you’re going to enjoy this house for a while, you’re looking for something custom, you definitely need to more customize that bathroom.

You need more time. 

Nora Duran: That’s interesting. Now let’s talk about budgeting. How much should someone realistically expect to, invest on a bathroom remodel? I know this can vary widely, but what are the key factors that influence the cost? 

Ali Yılmaz: Basically our smaller bathrooms, your secondary bathrooms like whole bathroom and your share bathrooms.

Those are what we call the 5 by 7, 5 by 10 bathrooms. They do a range between 15, 000 and 26, 000. And these are our smaller bathrooms and you get all the nice, complete materials with it, including tiles and cabinets and beautiful lighting and so on and forth. Our larger bathrooms on the upper scale, like the master bathroom, and if you want to step up the game a little bit on the materials, especially on our larger bathrooms, Those bathrooms normally can exceed 50, 000 and can, it can reach high as 70, 000 80, 000 if you want like items like some experience items like, heated floors and, , you know, towel warmers and lit medicine cabinets and more storage and freestanding tubs and, or even including steam showers.

Those could lead definitely higher cost. 

Nora Duran: So what would you say is the most expensive part of a bathroom remodel? 

Ali Yılmaz: The most expensive part is, of course, our labor costs tend to be significant, and especially the plumbing and electrical rough ins are normally involved with these bathrooms. And additionally, like the high end materials, depends on your materials, like the plumbing selections, Can add a lot of custom, cost to it.

And also as well as like the custom cabinetry can drive the cost versus using a stack line cabinetry, or something ready to go versus customizing the storage spaces and the vanities that we want. 

Nora Duran: Mm hmm. And now many people are interested in converting their bathtub to a shower. So how much does that typically cost?

Is it a good investment in terms of home value? What’s your opinion? 

Ali Yılmaz: Yes, most of the time we look at these bathrooms in the homes, we see a lot of multiple tub baths and because builders are, intend to keep the cost low and they intend to put these cheaper tubs in there versus the showers. And, so typically these days the trend is going for, converting those, tubs into, shower baths.

And, converting a regular tub bath into a shower bath normally adds between, 7, 000 to 10, 000 difference. And, and, , depends on if the, if the structural changes are not added to that cost.

Nora Duran: And let’s talk about timing. Is there a best time of the year to start a bathroom remodel? Is there a step by step process you recommend? How does it work? 

Ali Yılmaz: Typically there isn’t any, time frame. You can’t start a bathroom remodel. And we do have clients that they prefer, they do have a vacation time coming up or they want to, they have an extended time, leave, they like us to get that bathrooms done.

 That’s very, occasionally we had a client where the clients went to overseas trip, one of this bathroom done. And by the time they come back, they wanted to see this bathroom done. So those are best times when you’re traveling and if you are comfortable with your contractors. And they can get the work done, while you are gone and normally, typically, the late, , the early fall and the late summers are great times before the holidays start.

Those times intent is the slow down in the construction. you could get these multiple bathrooms out at the same time. 

Nora Duran: That makes sense. That makes sense. And when someone’s ready to start, what’s the right order to tackle a bathroom remodel? 

Ali Yılmaz: When we’re ready to start the bathroom on our start date, typically demolition is the, the first thing that starts.

And that first day and the second day depends on the size of the bathroom. It can take one to two day for the demo. And then as soon as after the demolition, we have the plumbing and electrical roughings. Means we gotta get all our new fixtures, all the plumbing pipes needs to be replaced, and get all those in place.

And then we make any changes, structural changes, like the framing. And then follow that is the paint and installation of the flooring and cabinets and fixtures. And then the final touches are done. 

Nora Duran: And how long would you say a bathroom remodeling, takes from start to finish? Like what’s a reasonable timeline to expect?

Ali Yılmaz: Yes, our basic remodels does take about two to three weeks completed. And, and with also with our larger bathrooms like the master bathrooms and some more extensive renovations can take up to four to six weeks.

Nora Duran: and let’s talk about value. What adds the most value to a bathroom? Like are there specific upgrades or features that really make a difference? 

Ali Yılmaz: Yes, generally, when the bathrooms are the modeled, any of your bathrooms, you can definitely tell the difference from a builder, standard grade bathroom.

To a, upgraded bathroom and, but specifically, , what adds more value is deleting those big, large tubs into a more freestanding tubs and, as well as adding like heated floors and adding more storage like drovers versus a big base cabinets where you have no drovers to store things. And, , these are normally add, a lot of, value.

And also one of our larger items is what adds the most value is a larger showers. Converting, tubs into a larger showers or increasing the size of the showers are, add a lot of value to the bathrooms. 

Nora Duran: Great. And let’s talk about the design when it comes to the design. What are some popular colors for a bathroom model?

Are there like timeless options that you recommend? , 

Ali Yılmaz: so as far as the design in bathrooms, we are working with a lot of like neutral colors. And, whites and grays are becoming very popular, especially the marble look, porcelain tiles, earthy tones, and we create a timeless look and clean look.

Everybody wants that now, less cluttered bathroom and with more storage. Adding the accent blue and the greens are becoming more popular in the bathrooms and, and, for a shooting atmosphere and feeling like you’re in a spa. These spa bathrooms are, , more on the cleaner, lighter look and, , adding blues and greens really makes that make big difference for relaxing environment in a bathroom.

Nora Duran: Those are great to know and great colors. And what would you say comes first in a remodeling project? Is there a specific, like, element that should be tackled before everything else? 

Ali Yılmaz: Yes, before you come into a bathroom project, what comes first is the design. Designing the bathroom, planning it, and the consultation part of that process.

And of course with that come along is the material selection. And once we have that picture together with all those, , items, then we are ready to start. 

Nora Duran: Amazing. And, for the DIY enthusiasts out there, what are the pros and cons for each you say? 

Ali Yılmaz: Yes, if you are want to tackle your bathroom remodeling as a do it yourself and, biggest, biggest, savings there is the cost.

You can save cost if you have a budget and then you are a hands on person and you can tackle that large task. And besides your, your work duties and your home duties and your family duties. And, you could tackle that and save a lot of money and, but the cons of course, becomes is the, , become, making mistakes and be able to have the time to complete the project timely manner.

We do have a lot of do it yourselves. They start and, and we see those projects, take as long as like six months and seven months. And becomes a burden for the family. And then having a bathroom missing from the family is a burden for everybody else and sharing the back. And so hiring the professionals, , definitely ensures the quality of work and the time saving if the cost savings is not the most important, , part of your, project, tackling the project.

Nora Duran: And when planning a remodel, what are some key things to keep in mind to avoid common pitfalls? 

Ali Yılmaz: When you’re planning that, basically, , you need to have a detailed plan and the budget. And, and the most important thing is hiring a reputable contractor. And, basically, when you’re hiring a contractor, checking their reviews and checking their references and making sure that the contractor is licensed, will be able to obtain the, permits and, and then choose, a durable timeless materials to avoid, , replacements , and short lived products.

And, , and the products that has also offer lifetime warranties, like the plumbing fixtures and heated floors. Like, these are very important, costly items that will provide the lifetime warranties. 

Nora Duran: And before we wrap up, what’s one piece of advice that you would, , give someone starting their bathroom remodel?

What’s crucial to know before starting anything? 

Ali Yılmaz: If you are, this is your first remodeling of your bathroom, and I would say definitely, educate yourself and plan truly and have a clear vision of, what you want to achieve with this remodeling and research the materials and contractors very carefully and listen to professions and professionals do this for living.

And so they will give you the best advice. and for the projects and do not assume anything and instead basically ask the questions in advance and clear those questions and definitely also have a breakdown contracts and making sure that labor the materials everything is listed and nothing is missing from those items.

Nora Duran: Fantastic tips. Thank you so much. You’re welcome. And thank you so much for joining us today and sharing your expertise. I’m sure our listeners have found this incredibly helpful. And thank you for having me. Of course. Happy remodeling. 

Ali Yılmaz: Yes. Happy remodeling. Thank you. Bye bye. 

Nora Duran: Bye.