Ways to save money during a remodel (ORC: Week 2)

I'll be honest, deciding to tackle two bathrooms at once was not an easy decision...until one of the contractors I interviewed told me I'd end up saving about 20% by doing so. That's a hefty chunk of change, hence my decision to dive right in (without the contractor though, I decided to take on that role myself).

Today's post is a great time to share other ways we've pinched our pennies thus far.  First up, I found our bathtub at a salvage yard. Actually, I saw it on Craigslist, fell in love but wasn't ready to commit since I hadn't created the new layout at the time. But as luck would have it, months later it popped up again!! I was super excited since I hadn't been able to get this tub's unique shape out of my head. When I inquired, it turned out to be listed by the owner of a local salvage yard. Score! I was thrilled to add a new resource to my list of places to scour. 

This cast iron beauty has a 1938 date embossed on the bottom along with a LOT of rust and daisy non-slip pads on the inside that were enameled over numerous times but still peeking through.

One side of the tub appeared to be covered in paper that someone had painted blue along the way. Luckily, it peeled right off. I made my best attempt at refinishing it myself but ultimately decided to have it refinished by someone who knew what he was doing.

Oh, looky there...a tiny sneak peek at it in its shining glory! 

Next up on the money saving list, was taking on the demo ourselves. While tedious, it was completely doable and saved a ton of money in the long run. I was nervous about ALL those mirrors but they came down much easier than I anticipated. (We're only staring 21 years of bad luck in the face. ha!)

Another money saver is offering to help your trades. I was very upfront that I'm very willing and capable to help out. So when your plumber starts telling you costs are rising, what do you do?...grab a chip hammer and tell him you'll find those pipes for him!

Don't you love how I'm knee deep in our foundation? That's Frugal with a capital F, friends. I told my plumber I'd be available for hire when we're done with this project. ;)

I'm SO over dirt and rocks but when you're reconfiguring a majority of the space, this is par for the course. 

I stumbled upon my next money saver by accident, but it's the best one yet! Once I finally decided on tile for the guest shower, I went to purchase it and realized many of the area Lowes were marking this as a non-stock item. That meant they were ready to have it off their shelves fast so instead of $7/sq ft, I scored it for a mere $0.87 sq ft.!!!

The only bad part was I had to drive to 8 or 9 different locations to gather the quantity we needed. I even had my mother-in-law pick some up for us on her way up to visit one weekend. Saving money is a family affair!

Okay, last tip...if your tile needs sealing, do it yourself. I painted sealant on all 800 of our tiles since they're concrete and pourous. I bet my tile installer was secretly thrilled that I took this job off his hands.

I'll leave you with one last glimpse...herringbone!

Don't forget to stop byThe One Room Challenge  to see the progress of other participants!