The Bathroom Reno Experience & Lessons Learned
In May 2023, we suddenly found ourselves needing a new home, to find an accessible, or at least adaptable home. Only a couple of months before, my husband’s mobility rapidly declined. From using a cane for distance walking of over 1km, to needing a rollator at all times, and within a year, he relied on a wheelchair.
Through chance, we met a specialized realtor who happened to specialize in house hunting for elderly and disabled people. She has a background as a nurse and home care provider. With her help, guidance and valuable advice we narrowed down the types of homes available to us in our budget and target areas, finally landing on the 1950s war time bungalow we call home.
The first big renovation that we focused on saving for and executing was a major one - combining two bedrooms into a large primary bedroom with a roll-through closet and wheelchair accessible bathroom. We thought out the space and our budget, but we didn’t realize the stress having contractors entering the home would bring. While we’re happy with the design, some issues in execution have caused us stress.
A few of the things we learned the hard way:
Contractors don’t necessarily understand how their odd working hours can, and do, affect disabled clients health. Frequently working late, arriving early or not showing up when planned due to other projects interfering.
Communication is key to reduce the strain and frustration caused. If you’re in really rough shape, tell them. Ask for rescheduling, put time limits on your days if you need.
Unforeseen things come up when renovating older homes, they have unknown histories, unknown maintenance, and can even have unpermitted renovations.
Asbestos was discovered in our home, in a small section of the attic, and it required remediation for the electricians to run new circuits.
Asbestos remediation can be very expensive!
We were able to work with the remediation specialists to reduce the impact on our home. We chose to open up an exterior wall face to execute the work entirely from outside the home. This reduced the impact on us, the time taken, overall costs by more than half, and risk to everyone.
Ask questions, if something catches your attention - bring it up!
The key here is to advocate for your project, build a relationship, to learn. This way, hopefully, the contractor is more open to have a conversation with you to rectify any issues that may arise.
Regular check-ins with the GC for work completed against the design, remember to document your questions and the answers. This is important for both parties, client & contractor.
Budget for support services such as cleaning, lawn care, dog poop pick-up, meal and grocery delivery. These can make a MASSIVE difference on stress levels!
Take breaks away, a stay-cation, weekend trips, time away from the construction will benefit you, and your construction team.
Remember, the work done is as important as the design - if they’re not checking and following the design, there will be problems.
A good design is only as good as the people bringing it to life!
