As a top producing Realtor for almost a decade, I have participated in countless home inspections. Throughout the years and across home inspections, many of the same items get called out by inspectors. Here are the 4 most common bathroom remodel mistakes that tend to be caught when homeowners sell their home.
- Fans/Venting:
Fans are important in bathrooms to remove moisture. Water in or around your house tends to be your enemy and bathrooms are no different. Excess moisture in bathrooms creates prime breeding grounds for mold and mildew and can damage your walls. Often, homeowners install a fan, but they don’t vent it properly. I can’t tell you how many times my home inspector has said the vent terminates in the attic! This just moves the problem of mold to the attic where you can’t see it, thus making it worse than not installing a fan at all. Venting should terminate through the roof. A bathroom does not need a vent if there is a window, but it’s still a good idea!
- Ignoring Dry Rot:
Usually when a homeowner decides to remodel a bathroom, it is in an older home. Once a home is older than about 30 years, there’s a good chance there’s been some sort of leak in the bathroom- from the sink, toilet or shower/tub. Again, sitting water is not your friend! Water on wood causes an environment for fungi to grow which then causes the wood to rot. If left untreated, the rot will spread. The most common place for dry rot in a bathroom is in the subfloor, or the plywood that is found under the tile. Many homeowners will just replace the flooring that is seen in a bathroom and not spend the extra money to replaced rotted subfloors. Then, we find the issue during home inspections. It is a much better idea and more efficient to replace any dry rot when the subfloor is already exposed and contractors are already working on other elements in the bathroom!
- GFCI
Just like in kitchen remodels, people often forget, or don’t know, they need to install a GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) or GFI outlet. These types of outlets are fast-acting circuit breakers designed to shut off power in the event of a ground fault. In other words, they prevent dangerous electrical shock. They are necessary in kitchens, bathrooms, garages and any place within 6 feet of a water source.
- Plumbing
The most common plumbing issue I see in bathrooms is found underneath the sink. The presence of a flexible or accordion style drain pipe tends to be a sure sign the installation was NOT done by a professional. The problem with these corrugated pipes is they collect hair, dirt and grime and cause the line to back up and drain slowly. Many people use these flexible lines to make the plumbing fit under the sink or because they don’t have the proper pipe pieces on hand. My home inspector says flexible pipe is a sure sign the work was not done by a licensed plumber!
The best way to avoid all these problems is to always hire a professional. A licensed electrician should do electrical work; a licensed plumber should do plumbing and an experienced Realtor should ALWAYS SELL YOUR HOME!
-Katie Butler, Your Experienced Realtor 😉