CUTTING CORNERS = SAVING MONEY.
TRUE or FALSE?

In my experience the answer is FALSE. Having said that, there are some exceptions.
When it comes to skimping on product and or time, it will always come back to bite you.

There is a big difference between spending a small amount of time and money making something look better, and cutting corners where you just shouldn't. A prime example is a bathroom renovation.

Most older bathrooms are generally beyond a quick makeover and need to be totally renovated. That means completely removing everything from the room and starting again.
In some cases, an old bathroom can still be in reasonably good condition, so it may not require total demolition, particularly if there are no leaks in the shower or bath area and vanity unit.

Here are some low cost solutions you can do to give your tired old bathroom a brand new look.

1. Remove the old grout from the wall and floor tiles and re-grout. While this is a tedious and time consuming job, it will be worth while. You must be very careful not to chip any tiles while doing this. There are various tools that you can use to do this.

2. Remove all existing mould and silicon sealant from around the shower or bath perimeter.
Clean and dry these areas thoroughly and apply new sealant. This must be done neatly or the finished job will look worse than what you had started with.

3. A new paint job will make a huge difference and this can usually be done without too much trouble or expense if you do it yourself. Most professional painters don't charge very much but finding one that will do the smaller jobs can prove to be difficult sometimes.

4. After the new paint job, it definitely pays to change any fixtures and fittings in the room such as power point and light switch covers, towel rails, shelving and alike. Once the room has a fresh coat of paint, it makes all of the old fittings stand out.

5. Change any tap ware that looks old or scratched. In a lot of cases, chrome plated tap ware and fittings only need to be cleaned. If the chrome plating is not chipped or peeling, just use some detergent and some steel wool to bring them back to life.

6. If you have a glass shower screen, then the glass will more than likely have a build up of scum on it. This is caused from the type of water and personal cleaning products that you are using. Soaps and conditioners can cause a build up that can actually eat into the glass itself and can be impossible to remove. Most standard framed shower screens aren't that expensive to replace should the old ones be beyond repair.

7. Sometimes vanity units are still in reasonable condition if they have not been subjected to constant water and if they were of a good quality when they were originally installed. If the top itself is still ok, but the doors and draws are in need of some attention, than there are a few ways to fix them. The first is to make a new set, but this can be a little expensive so most times they can be covered with a new material. There are many products that can be used for this and can be bought from most home improvement centres.

8. Finally, the addition of some plants, pictures or wall ornaments can really lift the room.
Vibrant towels and floor mats will definitely improve the look. These things can always be changed if and when you would like a new theme for your bathroom.

Just remember, smoking over your bathroom, as I like to call it, is only ever a good idea if there are no real water leak problems and is in a reasonable condition to start with.

Happy Renovating!