DYI rehab vs. hiring a contractor

[Chris Gomes]

I am closing on a property in Denver this month that is completely rehabbed. It is a SFH with a basement mother-in-law unit. The top is a 3/1 and the bottom is a 2/1. I am planning to add in an additional bathroom on the top unit where the current laundry room is. There will be a decent amount of demo for the sq. footage since I will be breaking through the bedroom wall and closet. The laundry room already has plumbing and electrical for a W/D and there is a bedroom beneath so I won't have to break through the foundation for drainage. Should I attempt to perform this bathroom addition myself or just hire out a contractor? I have no previous rehab experience, but am willing to put in the effort to learn and take in a cool project. For those of you who have done DIY bathroom additions or other rehab, will I be biting off more than I can chew with this project?

**I will also be leaving a small amount of room for a stackable W/D since this will still serve as the laundry room

Details:

• Breaking through bedroom wall/closet into what is currently the laundry room

• Adding necessary plumbing/rerouting to current plumbing for sink, toilet, and shower (drainage plumbing is what is most unknown to me)

• Installing all bathroom appliances

• Putting up an additional wall and door frame leading from bedroom into new bathroom

• Installing other bathroom necessities (lights, ventilation, etc.)

• Approximate bathroom sq. footage: 25-36 sq. ft. (Just bathroom area)

Unknowns/concerns:

• Sealing to prevent future leakage

• Preventing future mold problems

• Possible future electrical issues

• Ensuring that it is okay to take out the current wall

• Permitting

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Steve K.]

Originally posted by @Chris Gomes:

I am closing on a property in Denver this month that is completely rehabbed. It is a SFH with a basement mother-in-law unit. The top is a 3/1 and the bottom is a 2/1. I am planning to add in an additional bathroom on the top unit where the current laundry room is. There will be a decent amount of demo for the sq. footage since I will be breaking through the bedroom wall and closet. The laundry room already has plumbing and electrical for a W/D and there is a bedroom beneath so I won't have to break through the foundation for drainage. Should I attempt to perform this bathroom addition myself or just hire out a contractor? I have no previous rehab experience, but am willing to put in the effort to learn and take in a cool project. For those of you who have done DIY bathroom additions or other rehab, will I be biting off more than I can chew with this project?

**I will also be leaving a small amount of room for a stackable W/D since this will still serve as the laundry room

Details:

• Breaking through bedroom wall/closet into what is currently the laundry room

• Adding necessary plumbing/rerouting to current plumbing for sink, toilet, and shower (drainage plumbing is what is most unknown to me)

• Installing all bathroom appliances

• Putting up an additional wall and door frame leading from bedroom into new bathroom

• Installing other bathroom necessities (lights, ventilation, etc.)

• Approximate bathroom sq. footage: 25-36 sq. ft. (Just bathroom area)

Unknowns/concerns:

• Sealing to prevent future leakage

• Preventing future mold problems

• Possible future electrical issues

• Ensuring that it is okay to take out the current wall

• Permitting

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated!

You've got some major hurdles that will be quite challenging as a 1st time DIY project, and you will need licensed professionals to sign off on some things for permits: 

Structural (determining whether or not the wall you want to remove is load bearing and if so engineering a header and determining the framing layout for the new wall/door) 

Plumbing work will require a licensed plumber to pull the permit

Any electrical alterations should be done by a licensed professional, a master electrician will be needed to pull a permit

There may be certain steps that you can DIY, such as GCing the project, demo, framing (following an engineer's drawings), sheet rock, tile, installing new fixtures/appliances, finishes, etc. but for the 3 big ones above you will need to bring in licensed pros if you're going to pull permits (which you definitely should). Also if you don't already have all the tools and experience it will probably be more cost effective and take a lot less time to just hire it all out.