No home renovation or home improvement project is free, but some are less costly than others.
The addition of a half-bathroom is a popular project among homeowners, and it won’t necessarily break the bank. If converting existing floor space into a half-bathroom, such a renovation can cost as little as a few thousand dollars, making the addition of a powder room one of the few home improvement projects where the value added to the home exceeds the cost of the renovation.
Before deciding to add a half-bathroom, it helps to consider some of the pros and cons of the project.
Pros
• A half-bathroom is often added on the home’s main floor or in the basement or attic. This makes it more convenient for guests to use the restroom during a social.
• Half-bathrooms are smaller because they don’t have a shower or bathtub. That means common bathroom problems, such as mould and mildew, are not as big a concern as they are for full bathrooms.
• Because mould and mildew aren’t likely to present a problem in a half-bathroom, homeowners have more options at their disposal when choosing floors and countertops.
Cons
• As their name implies, half-bathrooms are much smaller than full bathrooms. As a result, they tend to feel cramped.
• Although an inexpensive half-bathroom addition might recoup its value and then some at resale, the project won’t add as much resale value to a home as a full bathroom addition might.
• If storage around the house is sparse, homeowners might be better off keeping the area designated for the half-bathroom as a storage closet instead of a bathroom.
Homeowners who want to go forward with the project should check with their local municipality to ensure the codes and requirements wouldn’t restrict their project. Size or window restrictions might curtail the project or limit what homeowners can do.
