How much should I budget?

[Generic]

I would rethink if it's worth sinking (pun intended) all that money into a bathroom that's in a guest room which already has a high occupancy rate. Unless you're going to make it into a spa bathroom or add on sq ft. the return on your investment will take many years to recover. Personally, I would do an update, but keep it within just a few thousand dollars. If it's not going to put more heads in beds I would just do a refresh rather than a redo.
Will this reno make the room rent more often? Do you have pictures of bathrooms on your website?.

I would rethink if it's worth sinking (pun intended) all that money into a bathroom that's in a guest room which already has a high occupancy rate. Unless you're going to make it into a spa bathroom or add on sq ft. the return on your investment will take many years to recover. Personally, I would do an update, but keep it within just a few thousand dollars. If it's not going to put more heads in beds I would just do a refresh rather than a redo.
Will this reno make the room rent more often? Do you have pictures of bathrooms on your website?

good advice. we've had comments that the shower in this room is 'claustrophobic.' And it is. We decided to replace it with one that isn't so close and dark. What we don't HAVE to do, is move the toilet. But it is in such a stupid place. It offends my design sensibility.
But again, your point is well made. Maybe the toilet can sit where it is and we just do the shower and sink upgrade.
(We have already replaced 4 of the 6 sinks in the house. They were all so old and tired that they made the rooms look dirty. Of the two left, one is a full on antique (marble) and will stay and the other is this one. Our most expensive room.)
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I would estimate $5K also for someone else to do the work. Demo work is usually costly (we found...because no one wants to do it). :-( You'll have to put concrete board on the shower wall, of course. Also, a tiled shower will cost more than one of the pre-fab units, especially since you also have to have a custom glass door installed and the cost on that varies depending on the quality of that part of the project. Since the shower is on the top floor be sure that the shower pan is installed correctly so you don't have any leaks. It's worth the extra money to install a quality shower floor membrane if you're putting in a tile floor. You can save some coin if you find a nice sink and toilet on sale.
Good luck!!
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Doors on a shower are much better protection for water on the floor. I had one separate shower in my second house(others with glass doors) with just a liner & curtain & had more problems with water. People just aren't always the best with making sure that a curtain is in the right place. No problem with doors.
And, I definitely preferred cleaning the doors (which had little build-up because you're cleaning them every day in a well maintained B&B) to changing out the curtain liner between each guest (even with the easiest of shower curtain hooks).
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I hate changing the shower curtain in my own bathroom once/week! We had to remove the glass door because it was installed wrong and there was mold under the frame. Otherwise I wouldn't have gone to the curtain.
And, yes, Gomez cleans the guest showers everyday so there's little chance for any buildup. When it's less busy he gets into the track with a toothbrush. Otherwise, he wipes it out with a cloth.
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New door designs are much easier to clean. This is what I learned from looking at new home construction recently! Wish I'd spent a few bucks more on my glass enclosure when we did our own master bath here. It's always worth thinking through.
But I totally get it that you have to deal with your own budget! We renovated (and installed) 5 bathrooms after we bought this house. Yikes!
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The frameless doors are beautiful!
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We built a doorless shower for ourselves. They are great. I'm a great believer in glass shower doors. Coat them with Rain-X or other material. Try not to allow bar soap, though, because the talc that makes the bar is what causes soap scum, without it, it's just a wipe down with some of the blue stuff to clean the door.

 

[Samster]

I would rethink if it's worth sinking (pun intended) all that money into a bathroom that's in a guest room which already has a high occupancy rate. Unless you're going to make it into a spa bathroom or add on sq ft. the return on your investment will take many years to recover. Personally, I would do an update, but keep it within just a few thousand dollars. If it's not going to put more heads in beds I would just do a refresh rather than a redo.
Will this reno make the room rent more often? Do you have pictures of bathrooms on your website?.

I would rethink if it's worth sinking (pun intended) all that money into a bathroom that's in a guest room which already has a high occupancy rate. Unless you're going to make it into a spa bathroom or add on sq ft. the return on your investment will take many years to recover. Personally, I would do an update, but keep it within just a few thousand dollars. If it's not going to put more heads in beds I would just do a refresh rather than a redo.
Will this reno make the room rent more often? Do you have pictures of bathrooms on your website?

good advice. we've had comments that the shower in this room is 'claustrophobic.' And it is. We decided to replace it with one that isn't so close and dark. What we don't HAVE to do, is move the toilet. But it is in such a stupid place. It offends my design sensibility.
But again, your point is well made. Maybe the toilet can sit where it is and we just do the shower and sink upgrade.
(We have already replaced 4 of the 6 sinks in the house. They were all so old and tired that they made the rooms look dirty. Of the two left, one is a full on antique (marble) and will stay and the other is this one. Our most expensive room.)
.

I would estimate $5K also for someone else to do the work. Demo work is usually costly (we found...because no one wants to do it). :-( You'll have to put concrete board on the shower wall, of course. Also, a tiled shower will cost more than one of the pre-fab units, especially since you also have to have a custom glass door installed and the cost on that varies depending on the quality of that part of the project. Since the shower is on the top floor be sure that the shower pan is installed correctly so you don't have any leaks. It's worth the extra money to install a quality shower floor membrane if you're putting in a tile floor. You can save some coin if you find a nice sink and toilet on sale.
Good luck!!
.

Doors on a shower are much better protection for water on the floor. I had one separate shower in my second house(others with glass doors) with just a liner & curtain & had more problems with water. People just aren't always the best with making sure that a curtain is in the right place. No problem with doors.
And, I definitely preferred cleaning the doors (which had little build-up because you're cleaning them every day in a well maintained B&B) to changing out the curtain liner between each guest (even with the easiest of shower curtain hooks).
.

I hate changing the shower curtain in my own bathroom once/week! We had to remove the glass door because it was installed wrong and there was mold under the frame. Otherwise I wouldn't have gone to the curtain.
And, yes, Gomez cleans the guest showers everyday so there's little chance for any buildup. When it's less busy he gets into the track with a toothbrush. Otherwise, he wipes it out with a cloth.
.

New door designs are much easier to clean. This is what I learned from looking at new home construction recently! Wish I'd spent a few bucks more on my glass enclosure when we did our own master bath here. It's always worth thinking through.
But I totally get it that you have to deal with your own budget! We renovated (and installed) 5 bathrooms after we bought this house. Yikes!
.

The frameless doors are beautiful!
.

We built a doorless shower for ourselves. They are great. I'm a great believer in glass shower doors. Coat them with Rain-X or other material. Try not to allow bar soap, though, because the talc that makes the bar is what causes soap scum, without it, it's just a wipe down with some of the blue stuff to clean the door.
.

Rain-X is a GREAT tip! We've used that on all of our shower doors and it really does work. Forgot that dh had done that until you mentioned it. Thx!

 

[Lee2014]

I would rethink if it's worth sinking (pun intended) all that money into a bathroom that's in a guest room which already has a high occupancy rate. Unless you're going to make it into a spa bathroom or add on sq ft. the return on your investment will take many years to recover. Personally, I would do an update, but keep it within just a few thousand dollars. If it's not going to put more heads in beds I would just do a refresh rather than a redo.
Will this reno make the room rent more often? Do you have pictures of bathrooms on your website?.

I would rethink if it's worth sinking (pun intended) all that money into a bathroom that's in a guest room which already has a high occupancy rate. Unless you're going to make it into a spa bathroom or add on sq ft. the return on your investment will take many years to recover. Personally, I would do an update, but keep it within just a few thousand dollars. If it's not going to put more heads in beds I would just do a refresh rather than a redo.
Will this reno make the room rent more often? Do you have pictures of bathrooms on your website?

good advice. we've had comments that the shower in this room is 'claustrophobic.' And it is. We decided to replace it with one that isn't so close and dark. What we don't HAVE to do, is move the toilet. But it is in such a stupid place. It offends my design sensibility.
But again, your point is well made. Maybe the toilet can sit where it is and we just do the shower and sink upgrade.
(We have already replaced 4 of the 6 sinks in the house. They were all so old and tired that they made the rooms look dirty. Of the two left, one is a full on antique (marble) and will stay and the other is this one. Our most expensive room.)
.

I would estimate $5K also for someone else to do the work. Demo work is usually costly (we found...because no one wants to do it). :-( You'll have to put concrete board on the shower wall, of course. Also, a tiled shower will cost more than one of the pre-fab units, especially since you also have to have a custom glass door installed and the cost on that varies depending on the quality of that part of the project. Since the shower is on the top floor be sure that the shower pan is installed correctly so you don't have any leaks. It's worth the extra money to install a quality shower floor membrane if you're putting in a tile floor. You can save some coin if you find a nice sink and toilet on sale.
Good luck!!
.

I did not put in glass shower doors - or any shower doors. I put up shower rods with a nylon liner inside and a vinyl curtain outside. I change the liner with each guest. It makes it so much easier to get in and out of the shower AND for cleaning, I have a 60 inch shower as well as a 48 inch. Both have a personal shower head as well as the regular shower head. Cleaning is easier because I spray the cleaner, scrub, and hose down with the personal shower.
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Glass doors may look nicer than a shower curtain but it ten times easier to clean and maintain than a door!
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I have to disagree about the shower curtains vs glass doors. I bet it takes all of 30 seconds to wash the door. It takes a lot longer to take the curtains down and replace after every guest.
I've seen enough 'pink' or 'orange' curtains at nice B&B's to know that they are rarely cleaned or replaced.
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That is why I use the nylon liner on the side that touches the guest. IT gets changed and washed. To each his own. I can replace liners for $10 any time, and do fairly often if needed or if i find a pretty one I like. The liner goers in the wash with sheets or towels. It works for me and that is the only one it has to work for - was also a lot cheaper than trying to put glass doors on a 60 inch shower.
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We do the plastic liner on the inside and cloth shower curtain on the outside. To clean the shower or tub, move the cloth curtain to the middle and outside of the tub/shower to work around them. That's way the cleaning stuff doesn't get on them as it does when they are up against the shower walls.
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I hate the feel of the "plastic" on me and that is why the nylon liner is on the inside. The vinyl curtain is just to catch any water that may spray through the nylon. I take the liner off the hooks as I take down the curtain and set it aside to clean the shower. Then I attach the clean liner to the hooks as I hang it back up. Takes 15 seconds to take down and maybe a minute to hang back up (mainly because I usually try to start from the wrong end of the liner). This is what I have been doing since 2006 when I got shower curtains. Prior to that, it was a hand-held shower in the claw-foot tub and no shower curtain.
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What kind of shower curtain's hooks do you use? We have a wide variety of them of all different styles and shapes.
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Just regular hooks that go over the shower rod. I have the vinyl hooked on first and then the nylon so as I remove the hook from the rod, I take off the nylon and leave the vinyl. One set (Gillum) are gold-looking fans I think and the ones in the shared bath are a heavy chrome with a white knob that looks nice (at least I think it does). Both have been in use for a long time.
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Don't buy the metal ones! They leave rust marks on the curtains holes.

 

[OmegaGeorge]

Updating or adding a bathroom to your home improvement project adds value. If your budget is $1,000 or less, you should stick to cosmetic changes, such as new fixtures or a new sink, and new paint. If you have more to spend, you can focus on larger changes, such as adding tile, a bigger shower, or a window.
It all depends on your budget and you should also view services before you remodel your bathroom.