Spring is here, which means it’s time to get cracking on planning out your spring and summer home renovation or remodeling project if you haven’t already. Fleshing out and brainstorming ideas for a bathroom or kitchen remodel — the two most common areas of a home to be remodeled since this is where the most time is spent — can be an exciting time. However, if you’re not careful, you can easily blow your remodeling budget.
Sure, picking out paint colors, shopping for fixtures, and browsing interior design and decorating magazines or websites can be fun, however, it’s important to create — and stick to — a realistic and comfortable budget that allows you to create the look you want without overextending your finances. Therefore, it’s equally important to consider cost-effective alternatives that will still give you the results you want.
At first thought, bathtub replacement may seem like a good idea, however, replacing a bathtub involves a lot more labor — and therefore money — than you might expect. While an average new bathtub only costs a few hundred dollars, this price is by no means reflective of what bathtub replacement actually costs.
Between labor, disposal fees, and landfill fees, bathtub replacement can cost upwards of $1,000 or more, and that’s a conservative estimate. Often times, contractors discover faulty or outdated plumbing that also needs to be replaced which can drive costs up further.
On the other hand, tub refinishing, also known as tub resurfacing or bathtub repair, is an excellent and cost effective solution to replacing a bathtub. Not only will it yield similar — and sometimes better — results, the entire process, including labor, only costs as much as purchasing a new bathtub.
Refinishing a bathtub involves filling in any nicks or dents in the tub’s resurface and applying a top coat or enamel that will restore the tub to a like-new condition. The best part? The top coat can be any color of your choice, which makes decorating or sticking to a theme easier, than ever.