So, How About That Bathroom
It has been my experience throughout the years that many people would like to change their interior design but they don’t know where to start and they don’t really want to leave it up to someone else to do for them.
You know what you want and it’s hard to get it duplicated by someone else to your satisfaction. Then to see it in the physical universe and it really wasn’t what you were trying to achieve.
That is one of the troubles I have had in my career as a contractor/remodelor. My customers have told me what they want and then I go ahead and do what they say and then they tell me it isn’t exactly what they had in mind.
The communication between the two parties is the key to the puzzle. If you can’t communicate exactly what you are looking for to the one that will perform the work then you will not get the result you are looking for and if the one that is going to do the work doesn’t understand exactly what you are trying to say then the same thing will happen.
So making sure that everything is understood between parties is the key to your satisfaction when you use someone else to do the work for you.
One thing you can count on is the project is going to take some time. Whether you do the work yourself or hire it done. From a new toilet (which only takes an hour or so to do) to a completely rebuilt bathroom (could take a month or two depending on the extent of change.).
So now let’s look at you doing the work. There are many things to consider as you take on the job. First and foremost is deciding what you want the room to look like. This is going to take some research unless you have already figured it out. I personally look at displays in the big home improvement stores and magazines and I also look at the fixtures that are available. This way I can be of help to my customers to give them ideas.
Next thing is to plan out what bathroom facilities you will use while your bathroom is apart. This is very important because once you tear into it you will need another bathroom or you will have to use someone else’s or you will need to use the same room while it is apart. You can’t very well take a shower if the walls are apart. I have gone as far as hanging plastic around the walls so a customer was able to shower while I was working on their house.
Alright, now you have the primary things worked out. Where do you start? Empty out all of the cabinets and shelves. Get all of the loose stuff out of the room. If you are going for a complete gut and rebuild then order a dumpster to throw everything in so you don’t have to handle it twice when you tear it out. If you have a truck to haul the stuff away with that works too and will save you some money.
Turn off the water under the toilet and the sink. Disconnect the water supply lines next. Flush the toilet and hold the handle down to let all of the water out of the tank. Scoop out as much of the water in the bowl that is left behind. Remove the bolts on the bottom of the toilet. (they may have plastic caps over them so just pry them off. If you are reusing the toilet do this gently so as not to damage your toilet.) You can take the toilet apart or take it out in one piece.
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