So you want to remodel your bathroom? Then congratulations and a fair warning are both in order. Because whether you’re simply upgrading your sink or ripping out every last tile, it takes tons of research to get a successful bathroom renovation right.

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Before you obsess over faucets, the first step is to ask yourself some basic questions, to assess your wants and needs. Here’s a guide to help in your decisions.

1. How much can you spend?

The average bathroom remodel will cost $20,420, but that will vary widely, based on what you do. Even a simple toilet can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars. “On average, you should budget $10,000 to $30,000,” says Paloma Contreras, a Houston-based interior designer behind La Dolce Vita.

“Learning how much you have to spend also eliminates falling in love with items that don’t fit your budget,” says Rick Johnson of STL Remodeling and General Contracting in Groton, MA. And don’t worry, having a minuscule budget doesn’t mean limiting your options that much, there are great deals out there in every price range.

2. Who will be using the bathroom?

Consider who will be using the bathroom to help you whittle down your choices. For instance, if kids will be using the bathroom, you’ll definitely want a tub, or tub/shower combo. A tub is also key feature when it comes time to resell—at least for buyers with families.

However, if it is mainly adults who will be using the bathroom, and if you already have a tub elsewhere, “I always recommend installing a walk-in shower in one,” says Harder. The reason: Showers generally get more use than tubs, and open shower designs are a hot trend right now. They also take up less room, at 12 square feet, whereas a standard tub takes up 15 square feet.

You also need to consider who will be using the bathroom when you’re choosing the flooring. “While a polished floor may look amazing, it can be an incredibly dangerous slip hazard,” says Jennifer Harder, founder and CEO of Jennifer Harder Mortgage Brokers, who has worked on numerous bathroom remodels. Slippery floors are particularly dangerous for the old and for the young. Then, it’s best to avoid carpeting and wood, which can develop mold or warp. The sensible choice is usually between tile and laminate, so you might want to limit your search to those materials.

3. Do you want a bigger bathroom or one the same size?

The average bathroom is 40 square feet, which may be cramped if you dream of an expansive oasis. If you want to expand, you probably can. But it will mean moving walls, downsizing adjoining rooms, or carving out space from closets.

The upside of expanding is obvious: more room to relax! Additionally, fantastic bathrooms do help sell homes. The downside? Such renovations are pricy and will extend the time you’ll need. An upscale remodel, meanwhile, won’t bring the same return on investment as a low to mid-range one.

Stucco is an extremely popular home siding because it’s handsome and durable, offers texture, and is less costly than other high-end exteriors. According to Fixr.com, stucco typically costs $6 to $9 per square foot, compared with $11 to $15 for stone veneer (which has a similar look).

While it’s not a load-bearing material like cement or concrete, stucco can last for hundreds of years. But if you live in an older home with stucco, at some point you’ll need to know how to repair this mixture of Portland cement, sand, and hydrated lime.

Generally, here’s how damage creeps in: Water seeps beneath the surface, causing chips and soft spots. Once the barrier has been breached, the walls can deteriorate, hairline cracks can appear—and then stucco repair becomes a must.

A stucco professional (yes, they exist) will charge $400 to $750 to repair the exterior of a 1,500-square-foot house. And if you seldom have to repair stucco or masonry or work with cement, it’s worth the price because “the homeowner would have to buy all the supplies for a one-time job,” says Sharon Slade of D.L. Boyd, a Hyattsville, MD–based company that specializes in this type of repair. “A professional has all the supplies and know-how to get the repairs done.”

But if you have an older home that needs frequent exterior repair, you can do the work yourself with a little practice for a fraction of that price.

Stucco repair project overview

• Difficulty: Easy
• Timing: Less than an hour per patch
• Warnings: Wear gloves and eye protection when mixing or chipping

Things you need to repair stucco

• Work gloves
• Eye protection
• Ladder
• Mason’s chisel
• Hammer
• Premixed stucco or a patching compound
• Notched trowel
• Plaster finishing trowel
• “Finishing” tool (e.g., whisk, sponge, piece of board)

It’s been a big year for Drew and Jonathan Scott. They premiered their new HGTV show, “Celebrity IOU,” starred in Season 3 of their hit show “The Property Brothers: Forever Home,” and even have a new season of “Brother vs. Brother”—coming soon!

And while the brothers are always taking risks and trying out new styles, it’s clear that they have some go-to renovation tricks and style choices that give their projects that signature “Property Brothers” style.

Read on to find out which looks the brothers love best, and maybe you’ll be inspired to bring some of these designs into your home.

1. They install two-tone kitchen cabinets

Drew and Jonathan love tying bold colors into their kitchen renovations—but they’re careful not to go overboard with too much of a good thing. That’s why they often choose two-tone cabinets.

Light-toned cabinets allow a kitchen to look fresh, while cabinets with bolder tones allow for some contrast and personality.

Sometimes Drew and Jonathan choose to put the accent cabinets on the kitchen island, other times they go with white uppers and dark lowers. Either way, this colorful style always look incredible.

What is a tankless water heater? Also called “demand-type” or “instantaneous water heaters,” these devices deliver warm water only when you want it. Conventional water heaters, on the other hand, perpetually heat water whether you need it or not.

Traditional hot water tanks use electricity or gas to heat and store hot water until that magic moment you decide to take a shower or wash your dishes. As faucets dispense hot water, cold water refills the tank, and the heating process begins again.

If you use hot water faster than your tank can warm the water, you’ll find yourself feeling the side effects, in the form of a cold shower.

Tankless devices, on the other hand, heat water on the way to your faucet; as the name implies, there is no the storage tank. When you turn on the hot water tap, cold water flows into your tankless unit, which uses a much more intense electric current (or blast of gas) to quickly heat water on the way out your tap. Theoretically, the supply of hot water is unlimited.

Tankless water heaters, which can be as small as a suitcase, can produce hot water at the rate of 2 to 5 gallons per minute. If only one person is taking a shower, which requires a flow rate of about 1 to 2 GPM, then you’ll have a lovely, long-lasting hot spray.

Granted, a traditional hot water tank could also deliver the necessary 1 to 2 GPM for a long hot shower… but suppose you are taking a shower while someone is washing dishes (3 to 7 GPM), or your washer is cleaning a load of clothes (1.5 to 3 GPM). Add up all those GPM figures, and a regular heater falls short of your total hot water demand.

The solution is to either stagger hot water usage, install more than one hot water tank, or install a tankless water heater.

How much do tankless water heaters cost—and how much will they save you?

The U.S. Department of Energy says that if you use 41 gallons or less of hot water each day, tankless water heaters can be 24% to 34% more energy-efficient than conventional hot water storage tanks. If you use 86 gallons a day, the efficiency drops to 8% to 14%. The energy ratings institution Energy Star estimates a typical family can save $100 or more a year with a tankless water heater.

But here’s the rub: Tankless water heaters cost up to three times more than conventional heaters to buy and install. A whole-house tankless water heater costs $800 to $3,000, and installation—including upgrading electrical and gas pipe systems— can add $1,000 to $3,000 to those costs. As a result, it might take decades to recoup the cost of your energy-saving appliance.

On top of that, tankless water heaters can be expensive to maintain.

“I’m not a big fan,” says Tom Bigley, a Pittsburgh plumber for 36 years and director of plumbing services for the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry. “They are maintenance-intense and expensive to repair. With parts and a basic service call, you’re at $300 to $400. Is the money you’re saving on energy bills worth that?”

Bottom line: As is the case with most energy-saving appliances, you should carefully weigh the costs of a tankless water heater against the long-term savings to determine whether one’s right for you. If your current setup gives you enough hot water, you’re probably fine as is; but if you’re cringing every morning at the prospect of a cold shower, a tankless water heater could be worth its weight in gold.

Overview of the process of how they were made. They came out looking real good.