Bathroom Build Out, plumbing already roughed in

[Gregory Pitts]

Hello All,

I just closed on my first property, a SFH in Rochester NY, and I am looking to put in some sweat equity during the 12-month primary residence period before I turn around and rent.

One reason I bought this home was that there is roughed in piping in the basement for a bathroom. A nice opportunity to improve the property. I'm very interested in doing this type of stuff myself, not really related to saving but because I am interested in learning.

I am generally handy and an engineer by profession but have never taken on a job of this magnitude.

1. What is your opinion of something like this as a starter project? Am I getting in over my head?
2. Are there any specific things that I should definitely have a professional look at before starting and/or have a professional help me out with?
3. Obviously I know how to Google around, but if anyone has a very trusted informational resource to help me out that would be great.

Thanks!

Greg

[Milind Shastri]

@Gregory Pitts if I were you I'd go for it. I'm a hands-on engineer too and that's how I started out my first flip, as a house hack. And learned so much. There's a book called Home Improvement 1-2-3 by Home Depot that is fantastic, saved me a lot of confusion. 

Also, a strategy I used was to 1st get my vocabulary right (by reading the book and youtube, google, etc) then call contractors and ask them what they think, and finally, if I thought it was fine for me to do, then I'd go ahead, else I'd just bite the bullet and give to the contractors. 

Now I say "go for it" because I now understand that every problem is solvable and hitting a few obstacles and solving them builds confidence. You certainly will make mistakes, but getting past the initial obstacles will open up a whole new avenue for income, meeting people, being motivated, thinking big, etc, etc...