Bathrooms and kitchens are usually targeted the most for a home remodel for a couple of reasons. They don’t disrupt the rest of the house where people sleep, rest and have privacy. Most homes have more than one bathroom, which allows flexibility, and these seem to be the easiest to change versus other rooms with furniture, carpeting etc.
However, a bathroom remodel can get a bit complicated quickly. It involves plumbing, fixtures, wall treatments, flooring, painting and even electrical work. It’s not surprising for a bathroom remodel to take weeks, even months to finish. However, where a fast remodel is needed both for function and for schedule, then it’s smart to bring in the right type of contractor for the job.
General Contractors and Experts
A bathroom remodel typically needs three types of work in it: general construction, plumbing and maybe electrical. The last two require a licensed technician, either a plumber or electrician, to do the work to code. The first can be a general contractor, but it helps to use someone with a good amount of experience. That’s because bathrooms tend to have a lot of nuances, even if they seem cookie-cutter at first glance.
Why be specific about skill versus just any contracting help? There’s a lot that goes into bathroom remodeling and construction. That includes the quality of the work, the safety of both the application and the use of the bathroom later for an ongoing period by the homeowner, changes needed for accessibility, convenience that matches a homeowner’s schedule, and trust the work will be done right the first time.
Planning a Speedy Project
The trick to a fast bathroom remodel contractor hiring starts with a lot of planning well ahead of time. Supplies and materials, skills, contracting help, expectations and details, challenges and any permitting all need to be taken care of ahead of time. Then, the schedule of time and dates need to be fully cleared to allow the process and project to happen efficiently. Probably one of the biggest causes of delays in a remodel project is running into an aspect where tooling, materials or the right approach are missing. That causes things to stop, and then time is lost waiting for the solution to arrive. With heavy planning on the front end, all contingencies are addressed and responded to ahead of time. This gives the contractor the ability to go right in, adjust as challenges come up, and get the job done timely.
The same planning should allow for enough time for the contractor to be ready, and for the homeowner to have the home prepped and ready for the work. That includes clearing out the room and any work area the contractor needs to do the job. Time can be lost as well just prepping the home, which a contractor will do, but it drives up the cost of the job. If a homeowner can clear the area on their own, it saves days of work that doesn’t need to be charged in the project.
Unexpected Surprises
No project is perfect. There are surprises all the time, and a homeowner should be prepared to deal with an unexpected situation. With bathrooms, probably the most likely unexpected delay will be the presence of a leak and mold. The leak has to be completely resolved, and the mold has to be cleaned out and mitigated before any work can be done. Because of the nature of toxic mold, the mitigation has to be treated correctly as well, and damaged material removed. This can add days and waiting to a project if found. There’s no way around it; treatment is required by code when the problem is found. So, a homeowner’s planning should account for this possibility too.
Again, planning makes a big difference in the speed of a bathroom remodel being done right. Don’t shirk from the details; it can make a big difference to the bathroom results your family lives with for years afterward.
