Low-Budget Bathroom Makeovers:
Six fast fixes you can do for less than $25 each

You don't need megabucks for an effective bathroom makeover. In fact, it's surprising what you can do for $25 or less. The six low-cost, high-impact upgrades detailed here take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour or two each, and you can do them all yourself. Check 'em out—and see how many you'd like to tackle this weekend while you're waiting for the game to come on.

Upgrade Your Showerhead
How about stepping into the shower, dialing a massage setting into your showerhead, and de-stressing your body with pulsing jets of water? If your old showerhead can't provide this spa-like experience, it's time to upgrade. For under $10, you can buy a new showerhead with massage and regular spray settings. Or you can switch from a fixed showerhead to a hose-mounted head (with massage settings, of course) that can rest in a mounting bracket or be used freehand. A hose-mounted showerhead is great for rinsing out the tub-shower after you scrub it down, as well as for washing small stuff—including little kids and dogs.

The shower arm that comes out of the wall isn't always at the right height, especially if you're tall or small. A shower arm extender is a jointed add-on that can solve this problem. Extenders screw right onto the end of the existing pipe, and their joints allow you to bend them up or down. You can fit one of these with any kind of showerhead. Another solution is Water Pik's full-featured showerhead mounted at the end of a 15-inch-long flexible arm that you can bend any way you like.

For convenience and water conservation, look for a "trickle" setting on your next showerhead. This water-saving option lets you shut down the flow when you're soaping up or shaving. If you like the showerhead you have and want to add just this option, put in a volume control valve. It fits between the shower arm and showerhead, and costs only around $5 or $6.

No matter what valve, extender, or showerhead you buy, you'll need some Teflon tape and adjustable pliers to install it. Use a strip of scrap leather or a rag to prevent the plier jaws from marring the showerhead's installation nut.

The most common finishes are chrome and polished brass, but you'll also find faucets with handles finished in porcelain or wood. (If you replace sink fixtures, you may want to put new ones in the tub or shower, too, so everything will match.) Prices start at $25 or less. You can complete this upgrade in under an hour, and the only special tool you'll need is a Replacing a Faucet.

Upgrade Receptacles and Switches
The effect of new switches and receptacles is surprisingly dramatic. You can replace the entire units and cover plates or just the cover plates. Choose from crisp white (always looks good), ivory (a bit subtler), brown (good for darker walls or a country flavor, especially when combined with wood switch plates), chrome or brass (sophisticated, either way). "Decorator" switches and outlets are popular, with their Euro-style good looks. Their big panel-like switches make easy targets when you're less than sharp in the morning. Consider installing a dimmer switch, too. They're great for lighting a long soak in the tub—and can feel decidedly humane at those times when you'd rather not see too well.

On a serious note, upgrading your receptacles goes beyond simple cosmetics. There's a critical safety issue, too. If your bathroom doesn't have ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) receptacles, it should. The National Electric Code now requires them. So, while you're swapping out your old outlets, do the code upgrade, too. It's only prudent.

Replace the Toilet Seat
Only a few toilet parts wear out, but this is one of them. You might just need a new set of hinges and mounting bolts to make your seat operate smoothly. A plastic hinge assembly costs less than $5, and it's just the ticket for replacing a corroded metal assembly. New brass and chrome hinge sets are a traditional choice—and a bit sturdier. As for the seat itself, all-plastic versions are indestructible and inexpensive (under $10). Painted wood models cost a bit more. Models with integral padding are also an option. And a varnished oak seat is the perfect choice for any bathroom done up in Victorian or Craftsman style.

A surface-mount soap dish is easiest to install, no matter what kind of bathroom walls you have. Dishes come with installation hardware—typically a mounting plate with screws or adhesive, or both.

If you have to drill through tile to make screw holes for the soap dish or the bracket it hangs on, start by marking the locations where the screws will go. Then use a sharp awl or the tip of a carbide glass and tile drill bit or masonry bit to grind a slight impression into the tile's surface at the center of each mark. This will serve as a starting point for the bit and will help keep it from skating over the slick surface while you're drilling. Use a glass and tile drill bit to slowly drill the holes through the tile. Make the holes just a bit larger than the screws or anchors you're using. Insert plastic hollow-wall anchors into the screw holes and tap them in gently with a hammer. Use a screwdriver to drive the screws into the anchors.

A recessed soap dish is trickier to install because you'll need to make a hole in the wall. Of the recessed types, one of the easiest to install is the kind that takes the place of a standard 4-by-4 wall tile. The outside measurement of this kind of soap dish is more than 4 inches by 4 inches because the soap dish has a flange to cover the raw edges of the hole it fills.

If you have to take out a tile to put in a soap dish, start with the grout. (Goggles, please!) A grout saw is a great tool for removing grout quickly. Next, with a masonry bit and electric drill, bore an X-pattern of 1/4-inch-diameter holes in the tile. (As we mentioned a little earlier, it's always a good idea to make a starting point in tile for the drill bit with the tip of the bit or with a sharp awl.)

Tap the X sharply with a hammer to crack the tile. Then carefully extract the pieces and pry out the rest of the tile. A flexible putty knife works well for this job. Follow the manufacturer's instructions when you install the recessed soap dish.

Whether you put in a surface-mount dish or a recessed model, it's important to thoroughly seal all edges with silicone caulk so water can't get in behind the new dish.

You won't need a lot of paint, but what you use needs to be high-quality enamel that will stand up to bathroom moisture. To speed the work and ensure that paint stays off floors, trim, countertops, tub surrounds and other surfaces, use masking paper, painter's masking tape and a drop cloth.

Hire a Pro?
If any or all of these projects are jobs you'd like someone else to handle, check out our Services. Our service partners will help you find trustworthy, prescreened professionals in your area.

Tim Snyder, writer, photographer and carpenter, was a senior editor at Fine Homebuilding magazine and executive editor of American Woodworker magazine. With TV personality Norm Abram, Snyder coauthored two books in the best-selling New Yankee Workshop series. He's also written books on deck design and furniture making.