There are many upgrades you can do to your home. They can be as extreme as adding on a new addition or can be as small as putting new handles on your drawers and cabinets. Every upgrade you do to your home should benefit you and your family with more comfort and a home that you all enjoy more. Every upgrade you do should also yield a return on your investment when it comes to the value of your home. Some upgrades add a lot of value to your home, while other upgrades won’t return very much of the money invested when you go to appraise your home.
For example, if you were to add a home office statistically you would recoup less than half of your money invested on the project when you went to sell. If you were to add a garage onto your home, you can expect a little higher return on investment. Check out this article for regional information on what kind of return you can expect on a garage addition.
Kitchens and bathrooms on the other hand, are considered some of the best remodeling investments. When someone is looking to buy a house, the first things they look at are the kitchen and the bathrooms, especially the master bathroom. We can’t promise you’ll get all of the money you put into your kitchen or bath remodel back out when you sell, but new kitchens and baths always help home values. Remember home styles seem to change about every 5 years, so if you plan on selling in 10, your remodel will most likely already be out of date by then. Also, if you don’t include the features home buyers are looking for, the remodel won’t help your final selling price much. In bathrooms consider adding 2 sinks in the master, custom showers and a lot of tile. For more information about how remodeling a bathroom can add value to your home, read this article from This Old House about remodeling ideas that have a good return on investment.
If you are looking at remodeling your bathroom, consider using tile for the floor and shower and possibly even the backsplash for the sink. Tile adds a significant amount of value to a bathroom over linoleum or even wood. Tile will keep your bathroom looking great for years to come and if you choose neutral colors your new tile floor may be able to be around for multiple updates of fixtures and vanities and still look stylish.
Tiling a bathroom may not be as expensive or complicated as you think. Using a few simple tips can make the whole job much easier. Like with any home project, the preparation is the key. First, start by making sure the surface you’re going to tile is structurally sound, flat and free of grease, soap or anything else that would cause your mortar not to stick to the floor it is applied to. Lastly check for clearance around doorways to make sure you will have enough room to slide the tile under trim. You will need the thickness of the tile and about 1/8” for the mortar underneath.
The next most important tip we can give you is to layout your tile before you start. It can be tempting to start with whole tiles along the closest wall and work your way out from there. But, this may leave you with tiny pieces of tile along the opposite wall, or if your wall is not straight with odd looking grout lines or misaligned tiles on the other side of the room. Start by thinking about where you want the tiles to look the best. Most likely, this will be at the doorway looking in. Start with a whole tile in the middle of the doorway and work out towards the walls from there. Also, measure your tiles and ensure you won’t have a tiny piece of tile on the other side of the room. If that is the case, start with a half piece of tile at the doorway threshold and work from there. Using a chalk line in this step can ensure your lines are straight and don’t wander. As you are setting the perpendicular tile lines remember to make sure they line up at a right angles. You can always use a 3-4-5 triangle to ensure you have a right angle. To see how to use a 3-4-5 tringle, check out this article on how to use the 3-4-5 triangle to get square corners.
Lastly, make sure you use the right materials. There are a variety of tile setting compounds and grouts available today and many of them are only good for specific uses. For your bathroom floor you want a strong setting mortar that can handle wet or moist environments. For this, thin-set mortar is the best setting mortar to use as it does not come loose if it gets wet and forms a chemical bond for your tiles ensuring even the middle of large tiles is bonded to the subfloor. When choosing grout, make sure it matches the tile spacing you used. If you used 1/8 inch or large tile spacers use sanded grout. For smaller tile spacers, use non-sanded grout.
For helping choosing and purchasing the tile for your bathroom floor, in the Charleston area stop by Carolina Flooring Services show room at 3830 Dorchester Dr. in North Charleston. Our tile experts can help you choose the perfect color and material for your bathroom project that will give you timeless beauty and functionality. We offer free measuring to help you get the right amount of material and our cash and carry program allows you to get the job done yourself and save money. For an appointment call us today at 843-225-0700 or visit our website to learn more about tile flooring.
Pictures provided by:
Bathroom Floor Tile – “Bathroom with bathtube” by Gürkan Sengün – Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons – Original Link
Chalk Line- “Chalk Line Wheel” by Wolliball – Own Work Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons – Original Link
