What Is The Difference Between A Renovation and a Remodel?
The words “renovation” and “remodel” seem to be used almost interchangeably.
Have you ever wondered if there is a difference between the two? What makes a project a renovation? What makes a project a remodel? What is the difference between a renovation and a remodel?
We recently completed two bathroom projects for a client in the New Hampshire seacoast. One of these projects was a remodel, and the other was a renovation. Comparing these two projects will give us a unique opportunity to illustrate the differences between a renovation and a remodel!
While we are at it, we will answer some other pressing questions, like:
How much does a bathroom renovation cost? How much does a bathroom remodel cost? How long does a bathroom remodel take? How long does a bathroom renovation take? What is the process for remodeling or renovating my bathroom?
Let’s get started by defining the difference between a renovation and a remodel:
What Is The Difference Between A Remodel And A Renovation?
In simple terms, a renovation is a minimally invasive facelift, while a remodel is a more extensive transformation.
A renovation project may include some light demolition and rebuilding but for the most part it will consist of replacing decorative elements.
A remodel, on the other hand, will often include heavy demolition and repair, replacement, and/or reconfiguring of structural, plumbing, heating, electrical, and other elements in the home.
To illustrate the difference, let’s compare a bathroom renovation and a bathroom remodel.
What Is A Bathroom Renovation?
A bathroom renovation will change the feel of your existing bathroom by making small changes, such as :
Replacing the vanity faucet
Replacing the shower faucet
Replacing the toilet
Replacing the vanity light
Replacing the vent fan
Replacing the mirror or medicine cabinet
Replacing the door and window trims
Adding new trim elements, like chair rail or crown molding
Repainting the walls, ceilings, & trim
Adding decorations to the space
None of these changes require extensive demolition or construction work.
What Is A Bathroom Remodel?
A bathroom remodel will change the feel and function of a bathroom by making more extensive changes, such as:
Replacing the bathtub or shower
Replacing the drywall
Moving the location of the plumbing fixtures
Adding, moving, or removing lights or electrical devices
Reworking walls, or making other extensive changes to the layout of the room
These changes do require extensive demolition and construction work.
What Is The Process For Renovating Or Remodeling My Bathroom?
On this project, our client started by giving us a call. She had two bathrooms in Durham, NH that needed to be updated. We asked her to share the needs and desires she had for her bathrooms, and we listened as she painted us a word picture of the life she wished to have in her newly remodeled bathrooms.
Through this conversation, we were able to get a good understanding of what she wished to have in her new bathroom. This allowed us to provide her with a budget expectation for her project without wasting her time with an unnecessary home visit.
The budget we provided was aligned with her budget for the project, so she asked to move forward with our project development services.
In the project development phase, we walked her through all of the design decisions and product selections she would need to make in order to create her new bathrooms. We helped her weigh the pros and cons of every product or material and helped her make informed decisions on what products would be the best choice for her needs.
Once she was done making these decisions, we created a detailed scope of work that would guide our trade partners and ourselves as we brought her vision to life. We provided her with a fixed-cost contract with all of these details.
Once she accepted the proposal, we were ready to get started!
Let’s take a look at what these two projects looked like:
What Does A Bathroom Remodel Include?
The first bathroom, which we will call Bathroom 1, required a remodel.
Our client needed a more spacious shower stall and a reconfiguration of her laundry area. She decided that she didn’t need a full, demo to the studs type of remodel, so we salvaged what we could in the space. This included replacing the drywall only as necessary and re-using the vanity cabinet.
Our scope of work for this bathroom remodel included:
Replacing the shower with a fiberglass/acrylic shower unit
Replacing the shower valve & shower head
Replacing the vanity top
Replacing the vanity faucet
Replacing the vent fan
Replacing the vanity light
Replacing the electrical outlets & switches
Replacing the mirror
Replacing the floor with porcelain tile flooring
Reconfiguring the washer/dryer hookup
Repainting the bathroom
How Much Does A Bathroom Remodel Cost?
Most bathroom remodels will include all of the elements above as well as additional elements like: replacing the drywall, replacing the vanity, adding switches and/or lights, installing a tile or solid surface shower surround, and/or installing a soaker tub.
A high-end bathroom remodel with all of these elements, utilizing top-of-the-line materials will generally cost somewhere between $120,000 and $90,000
An average bathroom remodel with a similar scope of work and quality-grade materials will cost somewhere between $70,000 and $50,000
This particular bathroom remodel had a smaller scope of work than most. Because of its simplicity, this project was relatively inexpensive. The total cost for this bathroom remodel was $36,000
How Long Does A Bathroom Remodel Take?
The project development phase of a bathroom remodel depends largely on the complexity of the project and the pace at which our client can comfortably make decisions. This project took about 4 weeks to plan. We find that this is a pretty typical timeline for a project of this size.
We completed the two bathrooms simultaneously, which allowed us to be more efficient. If we had completed this bathroom remodel as a stand-alone project, the construction phase for this bathroom would have been approximately 3 weeks long. As we said earlier, this project was simpler than most. 4 weeks is generally a better expectation for the building phase of a bathroom remodel. A high-end or complex project will take even longer.
What Does A Bathroom Renovation Include?
The second bathroom, which we will call Bathroom 2, required a renovation.
Our client was happy with the existing layout and she wished to leave the vanity cabinet, bathtub, and linen cabinet as they were. She wished to change the feeling of the space in a minimally invasive way. The most invasive change she asked for was new flooring.
Our scope of work for this bathroom renovation included:
Replacing the vanity top
Replacing the vanity faucet
Replacing the vent fan
Replacing the vanity light
Replacing the electrical outlets & switches
Replacing the mirror
Replacing the floor with porcelain tile flooring
Repainting the bathroom
How Much Does A Bathroom Renovation Cost?
Because the scope of work for renovations vary so greatly, it’s hard to describe a “standard” renovation, or provide a “typical” cost for a renovation.
The total cost for this renovation was $16,000. So, if your renovation was to include the same elements (and exclude the same elements), you can expect to invest a similar amount.
How Long Does A Bathroom Renovation Take?
As we mentioned before, we completed both the project development phase and the construction phase of both bathrooms simultaneously.
If we had completed this bathroom renovation as a stand-alone project, the project development phase would have taken 2-3 weeks, and the construction phase would have taken appxroximately 2 weeks.
What Can Go Wrong In A Bathroom Remodel Or Renovation?
Our project development services are designed to minimize surprises during the construction phase. However, there is always the potential that unforeseen issues will crop up in the middle of a project.
These projects are a great example of how this can play out.
While we were in the project development phase, we found that one of the floor joists under the shower in Bathroom 1 was compromised. We immediately brought this to our client’s attention. They were eager to have the problem corrected. So, we added this repair work to the project.
Unfortunately, at this stage, we couldn’t see that the floor joist under the toilet in Bathroom 2 had also been compromised. The damage was not visible from the basement, so we didn’t see it while we were in the project development phase. Once we removed the toilet and existing flooring during the demolition phase, we found the damage and we knew it had to be repaired before we could install the tile flooring.
Our process for dealing with this damage was the same, we immediately brought the issue to our client’s attention, and we proposed a solution. While it wasn’t ideal to find a problem like this in the middle of the project, our client agreed that it needed to be dealt with, and they approved the extra work.
The structural repair work for these two bathrooms totaled $13,500, a considerable addition to the project’s budget.
While it is not common to find such expensive unforeseen issues, there is always a risk that these types of issues will arise.
As contractors, we try to catch these issues and avoid surprises by doing extensive planning in advance, via our Project Development Services. But, as you can see, we can’t find every issue before demolition, so we can’t completely mitigate this risk. The best we can do is communicate clearly and quickly when these types of issues arise.
What Else Do I Need To Know About Bathroom Remodeling?
We described the difference between a renovation and a remodel by comparing two projects we completed recently. We described what we did for these clients, what they invested in these projects, and how long this took. We tried to keep this information condensed and we hope this was helpful.
We have some additional articles in our Learning Center, where we dig a little bit deeper into these questions:
How much does a bathroom remodel cost?
How long does a bathroom remodel take?
What is the process for remodeling my home?
If we can help you in any way, please fill out a form on our contact page, or give us a call. We would be happy to help you in any way we can!
