Conclusion & Lessons Learned - Master Bathroom Renovation Project

Master Bathroom Renovation Project - Conclusion & Lessons Learned

SCHEDULE:

Actual starting date of this project was 10/25/2013 and officially finished (including cleaning) on 1/3/2014, which is 70 full days total. My original plan was to finish the project in 30 days. My working time was limited because I had to work on this project after work (~after 5 pm) , and most of the time during demolition and framing, I could not work late at night because of the noise to the neighbor. (This is what I don't like about townhomes.) Most of the day, I only able to work ~3 hours or so. If I divide 70 days into 3, I can say I might have finished this project in ~23 days if I worked full-time. Anyway, I have failed to plan all the time restrictions I actually had.

BUDGET:

I have spent ~$4000 for the all the parts + tools for this project. It can be divided into ~$3487 of parts, $129 of sales tax, and ~$428 of the tools. Detailed breakdown is shown below table (Table 1). I have originally paid $15 for the shipping of the glass blocks from Homedepot. But it was refunded when they gave me credit for the damaged blocks.


Table 1. Detailed spending table.

	DECORATION	DISCOUNT	FRAMING	PLUMBING	SHIPPING	TAX	TILE	TOOL	Grand Total
amazon.com	$31.88		$887.44	$569.36				$244.56	$1,733.24
Home Depot	$5.77	-$76.33	$441.86	$85.63	$0.00	$116.59	$1,245.29	$181.21	$2,000.02
Lowes		-$34.22	$155.32			$12.41	$174.61	$1.97	$310.09
Grand Total	$37.65	-$110.55	$1,484.62	$654.99	$0.00	$129.00	$1,419.90	$427.74	$4,043.35

Below table (Table 2) summarizes the spending compared to the planned budget. I have spent 16% more (whole discount amounts are applied to the parts) on parts and 43% more on tools but saved 35% on the sales tax by using online orders such as amazon.com. Overall, I have spent 16% more which is acceptable (if not great) for me.

Table 2. Summary of actual spending compared with the original plans.

	Plan	Actual	Percentage
Parts	$3,000	$3,487	116%
Tools	$300	$428	143%
Tax	$198	$129	65%
Overall	$3,498	$4,043	116%

LESSONS LEARNED:

Project duration and budget planning looks like the main concern for almost everyone. But the quality of the outcome can sometimes be overlooked but the duration and budget is frequently affected by the final quality of workmanship. I had to redo some of the shower floor tiles and walls because it did not meet my expectation. I had to spend quite a time and effort to redo the work but if I did not spent time doing that, I might have encountered bigger problems at the next stage.

Amateur performance and workmanship can somewhat be overcome by better tools. If you do not know what tool to buy, ask the professionals and get tools what they use (if it is too much expensive, get one level below.). Do not buy cheap ones. It won't last long and you will end up spending more time and money to replace.

Spend lots of time to research. Before the first demolition day, I have spend lots of time (at least 3 months) to plan for the rough design and feasibility. I have searched and watched youtube and found one good guy (Thanks for the video, TilemasterGA!) with all the detailed instruction video.

Be careful about the scope creep. Scope creep is a term used in Project Management which means "uncontrolled changes or continuous growth in a project's scope". Try to focus on what you have planned. Try not to add more jobs as much as you can. For example, someone suggested me to add steps outside the tub. I was thinking about adding them but decided not to, because it will increase my budget and time to finish. I have to recalculate the number of tiles and materials for the frames and so on. My wife wanted to add the niche next to the sink. I accepted to add it and it cost me over $100 more in total and it impacted the project duration as well.

Fig 47. Mission accomplished!

REFERENCES:

TilemasterGA on youtube.com: All about the tricks and steps for the old bathroom demolition and the new tile installation.

Tiletools.com: Information about trowel size selection.

Autodesk Homestyler Floorplan design: Free online rough design of the floor plans.

Johnbridge.com: Shower floor deck mud calculator.

Tile estimator: Tile floor and wall planner.  Very nice tool to estimate number of tiles.  Estimated amount of thinset and grout is also calculated.  But you cannot save your creation.  Don't forget to print out.

Pittsburgh Corning: Glass block installation

Google Sketchup: Very detail 3D design tool.