Your house is one of the important assets you have, even with the current real estate situation. You will definitely want to make sure that before you do shower remodeling, you’ll take time to research, do your homework and find out the things you should know in hiring a contractor to renovate your bathroom.

You might be tempted to remodel your bathroom by yourself since there are a lot of shower kits and pre fabricated walk in showers, bathtubs and other fixtures you need in your bathroom. But think again. Making a mistake during your shower remodeling is a costly one. I suggest hire a contractor to do the job.

Before hiring a contractor, you need to do your homework first. You need to decide:

1. How much is the budget you will allocate in the shower remodeling?

It is important that you have some idea how much you can afford to spend so that you and your contractor can work within your budget.

2. What kind of design you would like your walk in showers be?

You don’t have to know exactly what you like but look at some magazines, search the internet or brochures to have some idea what kind of design you will prefer. It is better if you have some pictures you can show your contractor rather than telling the contractor what you want since your idea of high end fixtures might not be the same with your contractor.

3. Decide whether you prefer bathtubs, bathtubs with shower combo or just plain walk in showers.

Knowing beforehand what you want will help you and your contractor to plan out the configuration of your bathroom, the fixtures and materials you will need for your shower remodeling.

Things you need to do before hiring a contractor.

1. As for several quotations from at least 3 contractors.

Bathroom contractors are more than happy to give you free quotation. Ask for detailed quotations, list of the materials and brand they will use so that you can compare all the quotations well.

2. Ask for reference and check it out.

It is best to ask for reference and talk to their former customers so that you will know if they are satisfied with the work they have done.

3. Ask if they have license

For building and remodeling contractor, they should have a license and surety bond to protect you in case of damages and disputes.

4. Ask how long the warranty is and what are included in the warranty and who provides the warranty, is it the contractor or the company who manufacture the materials they use?

5. Ask for the contract.

Before paying anything, you should ask for the contract which should state the details of the shower remodeling project. What are the fixture, tiles, enclosures, shower head, color and even the brand names? How long will it be finish, the total price of the job but there is also a provision for allowance, just in case there are some unexpected delay occurs. And the payment schedule.

Important Tip!

Don’t pay the full amount before it is finish. Of course the contractor will require a down payment which is reasonable, but pay the remaining balance upon completion of stage by stage.

Ask for a fix cost rather than total cost of materials plus percentage of the cost. Most of the time, you will end up paying more if the contractor charge you by percentage of the cost.

When remodeling your bathroom, keep in mind if you will be planning to sell your house in the near future. If so, a house without a bathtub many diminish its resale value unless you are selling to the senior citizens.

Don’t automatically accept the cheapest quotation. The contractor might give you cheaper materials which in the long run will cost you more money in repairs.