Get matched with top toilet pros in Locust Fork, AL

There are several ways to save money on a bathroom remodel through proper planning and savvy design strategies. To reduce costs, consider the following:

• Purchase your own materials: Buy your own bathroom fixtures, hardware, and other materials to avoid contractor upcharges and delivery fees.

• Shop smart for big-ticket items: Save on pricey items like tiles and tubs by shopping sales and at discount stores.

• Avoid major layout changes: Keep plumbing in its current location. Opt to replace fixtures rather than moving them to avoid significant renovation work.

• Focus on high-impact, low-cost updates: Make affordable but impactful smaller changes, such as upgrading hardware, installing new lighting, and adding stylish but economical accessories.

• DIY where possible: Handle easier parts of the remodel yourself, like painting or installing light fixtures, to save on labor costs.

• Time your remodel strategically: Consider remodeling in the spring, which tends to be a lower-demand time of year and may result in lower costs.

Recaulk your toilet at least every five years. If you feel like your toilet is getting wobbly before that, it still might be time for a new caulking. Never directly place new caulk over existing caulk because that doesn’t produce lasting results. Also, caulking over existing moldy caulk does not kill out the mold by suffocating it, so if you have mold, be sure to get rid of it before recaulking.

If you experience the telltale sign of wax ring failure, which is leaking water, replacing the faulty ring takes one to three hours, depending on accessibility. This is an exacting and time-consuming job, as several components must be removed for the plumber to access the ring. Once replaced, however, wax rings require little to no maintenance and last 30 years or longer.

The most practical and common setup is a toilet that connects with the sewer line or a septic tank. However, it is possible to install a toilet without a sewer line, and this can be particularly helpful in basements with no or outdated plumbing. An increasingly popular option is an environmentally friendly composting toilet. Other waterless options include incinerating or dry flush toilets, which pull the waste into an airtight container.