Which Bathroom Jobs You Can DIY and Which to Hire Out
Which bathroom jobs a handy homeowner can take on and which are better left to a pro, plus where homemade showers usually go wrong.
A simple test
Some bathroom work you see and redo. Some hides behind tile, where a mistake becomes a stain on the ceiling below.
If it goes wrong, will you notice right away? Could you undo it on a weekend? Two yeses, and it's yours to take on.
Jobs you can probably handle
Paint. Use bathroom paint, satin or semi-gloss, and keep the fan running while it dries.
Towel bars and pulls. Find a stud, or a weight-rated anchor, or it comes out of the wall when someone leans on it.
A faucet swap, if it's like for like: same holes, same supply connections, shutoffs that close fully. If they're seized, call a plumber.
A vanity light in the same box, where allowed. Breaker off, wires checked with a tester. Cloth-covered or aluminum wiring means hand it off.
Jobs worth hiring out
Shower waterproofing. The membrane has to be continuous through every seam, corner, niche and pipe. See the waterproofing guide.
Moving a drain. It needs the right slope, a trap and a vent. Skip it and drains run slow, gurgle, or let sewer gas in. Usually needs a permit too, which the permits guide covers.
New circuits and anything electrical near the shower. A mistake there is a risk you might not see coming.
Anything that ends up behind tile. Once tile is set, the backer board, valve and blocking are locked in, and changing them means tearing tile out.
Where homemade showers fail
Most first-time showers look fine the day the grout goes in. Problems show up later.
- Green board or regular drywall inside the shower
- A floor or curb pitched wrong, so water pools in corners or runs out
- Grout in the inside corners, which cracks as the house moves
- A valve set too deep or shallow for the trim once tile's on
Signs a shower already has a problem
Grout that stays dark long after the last shower. Tiles that sound hollow when tapped, especially near the floor or curb. Caulk that keeps failing in one spot.
Outside it: peeling paint nearby, a ceiling stain below, or a musty smell the fan won't clear.
Splitting the work
Doing part yourself can make sense, paint and hardware at the end, once the wet work and tile are done. Bring it up early so everyone knows where your part starts.
Time is the cost people miss. Every step runs slower the first time, and if it's the only bathroom in the house, everybody feels it.
