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Bathroom renovating may not be for the faint of heart. By its very nature, it can lead to great expense. There are, however, ways to curtail that expense.

When starting your project, keep extra money in the budget for those unseen areas that may have incurred water damage over the years from a dripping pipe or leaky toilet. This could happen inside walls or in the flooring around the toilet area. This can save expense by not having to borrow extra money once you are into the project, and ending up paying interest on it. If, in the end, you've found that there was no unseen damage, then you still have that little extra something in your pocket when the project is through.

In deciding what you need to spend for your renovation project, check your local hardware stores and chain retailers. These places will often carry bathtub surrounds, sinks, faucets, and toilets that are being discontinued for one reason or another (which can be as simple as because of the color), or that may have nearly unnoticeable damage, at a greatly reduced price. If you don't see something on the floor, ask a representative if they have any on hand. They sometimes will leave these kinds of things in a storage area. I have found these types of "discontinued" items to work fine and be just as good as any other. Things to check for would be issues in functionality, you don't want to have to repair something if you don't know enough about it. Again, it has been my experience that these items are only kept on hand if they are in good working order.

If you are looking to put new floorcovering down, look to your local manufactured home retailer. Many times, when someone buys a pre-fabricated or mobile home, they will want a different color scheme, so all the brand new flooring that was installed in the home is taken out and replaced. The leftover pieces of carpet and linoleum are often sold then, as they cannot be reused by the manufacturer. They will come in the size of the room that they were removed from, and may occasionally have odd shapes to match the room they were taken out of, so you will want to find a piece that is larger than the room you are installing it in, then trim it to size. This gives you a virtually brand new piece of flooring, at a greatly discounted price.

For sub-flooring, check your local lumber store to see if they carry factory seconds. These are most often just as functional as the "good stuff", and may only have minor flaws that will be unnoticed in the end, and will not affect the project. A few moments spent looking through what's available for "seconds" can save a good amount of money.

All-in-all, with a little planning, and some time spent looking around, your bathroom renovation project doesn't have to be expensive, yet it can be just as beautiful in the end as it would be with all the expense.

Learn more about this author, Jennifer L. Thompson.
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