We’ve received some great feedback from last week’s article where I discussed ideas on modernising your kitchen without spending a King’s ransom.

Today, I’ll share some ideas on bathroom renovations…

In the same way that we discussed how kitchens can be a trap where it’s easy to over-capitalise depending on the location and position, it’s also very easy to blow the budget on a bathroom renovation and not receive a return on your investment if you’re renovating to sell.

If you have shower screens that are mouldy or dirty, this can be one of the biggest turn-offs for buyers when purchasing a property so it’s a good idea to address this issue first and foremost.

These days, it’s very easy to install frameless or semi-frameless shower screens with an ‘open’ design so renovating can be reasonably inexpensive if you know what you’re doing and we’ve plenty of bathrooms completely transformed by doing nothing other than replacing an old shower screen with a brand new one.

Likewise, you can purchase a stylish 2-Pac vanity for a fairly minimal amount of money from retail outlets such as Bunnings or Ikea (and they look fabulous) so again, this is generally not an expensive item.

Tiling can be costly but a modern design that’s floor-to-ceiling can really set off a bathroom with style and may be worth investing some money into…but make sure you engage a quality tiler to complete the work as a dodgy looking tiling job can destroy a sale.

A significant cost in tiling a bathroom can be the cost of pulling up the existing tiles so one trick is to tile straight over the top of them providing that they are in excellent condition and were effectively laid when they were new.

Again, a good tiler will know how to do this.

It is very possible to spray paint if the structural integrity of the tiles is without flaw…and even those dated tiles from the 1980’s with the horrid ornate texture on them can look good if painted a neutral colour like white.

Many of the original bathrooms were not designed with any size and one of the biggest mistakes we see people make is that they renovate the bathroom and take out the bath tub without replacing it with a new one – they just make the shower a lot bigger and increase the size of the vanity.

If your home is situated in an area that’s well-suited to families, you could be eliminating the chance of a sale if there’s no bath in the main bathroom…and we’ve seen this plenty of times before.

Buyers will not want to purchase and re-design a brand-new bathroom, so our advice is to include a bath…even if it is only small and suited only to young children.

Some of the older tubs can easily be re-sprayed we’ve seen many sellers quite effectively leave the original tub and replace everything else in the bathroom.

It goes without saying that a free-standing tub is viewed as a ‘luxurious’ addition and they don’t have to be huge – in fact, we’ve sold a few homes in recent times with a gorgeous free-standing tub that’s actually quite small but looked fabulous.

Another mistake that renovators make when installing a new bathroom is that they don’t re-waterproof the area underneath…or they do it but aren’t able to provide a water-proofing certificate to show that it’s been done properly.

We’d recommend taking regular photos of any work you’ve done before laying tiles so that the buyers (and their building inspectors) can see exactly what’s been done before the tiles are laid.

A twin shower and/or ‘Monsoon’ shower head is also a luxury item and can be installed at a relatively cheap cost so this is another way to make your bathroom stand out from the crowd – just make sure that there isn’t excessive plumbing required as this is where you’ll likely incur the highest cost if you get this wrong.

Also, we’d recommend installation of a heat lamp unit as this adds ventilation and is viewed as a luxury item too.

Right now, Bunnings have basic heat lamp units advertised for as little as $105 so this is certainly affordable.

Bathrooms and ensuites can sell a home just as much as a kitchen so take the time to get them right but again, be careful that you don’t get carried away and spend too much as any costs incurred need to be proportional with the anticipated value of the property you’re renovating.

If you’re unsure how far you should go with a bathroom renovation (or any renovation for that matter), you’re always welcome to call us and we are happy to take the time to inspect your property and provide free advice without any obligation.

Next week, we’ll discuss the much trickier areas of flooring, window coverings and outdoor entertainment areas.

Until then, Happy Renovating, Happy Listing & Happy Selling.