Bathroom reno 4 times more expensive than expected

Well, shit. Hoping to continue my fall buying spree, I set up an appointment to design and get a quote for the bathroom renovation that I've been wanting since we moved in here 5 years ago.

The remodelling would include demolishing the current bathroom, reworking the plumbing and electrical for a totally different layout, constructing two partitions, installating a built-in shower and toilet, a bath tub, radiator and new sink/cabinet as well as tiling the floor and walls. My naivete estimated this should cost no more than 5000 euros.

Ha. Haha. Haha.

So we worked out a list of all the hardware that design would include. The estimate for this alone was more than 12,000 euros. Ouch. And that wasn't even including installation costs, which apparently would be another 8000 on top of that, bringing the estimated total to just over 20,000 euros.

Only 4 times what I thought it would cost.

How did this enormous price difference come about?

I think it was partly because I was not looking at top quality hardware like that offered at the store I went to. I was looking at what are likely 'budget' versions of the items sold at the store I went to today. It was also partly that I was sort of thinking about doing it myself. It might also have something to do with me not really having any idea how long a professional would take to do it or how much they earn per hour.

Anyway. Changing a few items to cheaper versions and arranging my own contractor would apparently bring the price down to a mere 12,000 euros total. I told the salesman I'd have to discuss it with my husband (no.1 reason to never go with your spouse when you expect a sales pitch). Whew. Got out of there unscathed - though it did take almost a whole freaking day to investigate.

Will I pay 12,000 euros for the bathroom I designed today?

No.

Was my estimate of 5000 euros realistic?

Probably not.

I hope I win the lottery this month.

But even if that doesn't happen, I think we need to rethink this bathroom reno. I really want a bath tub and The Little Ninja is quickly growing out of his baby bath. He doesn't like showers. That might force the issue again in a couple of months. But even if we can bring it down to about 8000 euros, which is pretty possible, I think, considering the dead housing and reno market at the moment and the fact that I don't care if I have designer hardware in my bathroom as long as it fits in with the bathroom style and layout I have in mind. But even that's a lot of money. Especially if you've just recently bought 2 computers and a car.

And yet. Despite the money I've been handing out left and right in the last month, this is really something completely separate. If we just bite the bullet and do the bathroom reno, it'll be done and we'll be able to use and enjoy it every day. Like with the car. It's just coincidence that I'm bankrupting us all at once, right? After this I'll stop the spree. At least until we go to Canada at Christmas, of course.