Mainfloor Bathroom Renovation: hard at work!

Once all our shopping and demolition was done, we got to work rebuilding the bathroom. This took us, no joke, almost 5 months. We worked on it mainly on weekends and also during the Christmas holidays (on Christmas eve, day and new years eve and day we worked on the bathroom!).   


Regarding design and layout there were many changes. We removed a linen closet from the hallway and a bedroom closet to expand the bathroom. We installed a separate shower and bathtub, heated floors under the marble tiles, double pedestal sinks, and much more.


Here are some of the steps we took: 

Cement board was placed on the floor- better than plywood for a bathroom because it's mold resistant.
Click here for detailed installation instructions.

Then the gyprock (plasterboard- walls) was installed and the moldings followed by plaster work. In a bathroom use mold resistant gyp since there is a lot of moisture. Click here for gyp installation instructions and see this site for plastering tips.

Hard at work sanding the plaster. Notice the forced smile:)

We went with the Schluter Shower System, which was actually very easy for DIYers. Very important to properly prepare your shower since it is exposed to water.

Tiling the shower. If you are using natural stone you'll need to rent a wet saw. We rented it at Home Depot.

A thin coat of thinset should be placed over the heated floor wires.

Notice my pants-I'm just a tad bit messy when tiling the floor:)
The location of the inset is key. In our case, it needed to be lined up with the door and not the center of the room. It honestly took me almost two hours before I placed the first tile since the room isn't square and the inlay isn't centered in the room. Tony kept saying "Please, just lay the damn tile!" 
Tip: use thinset that is the same color as the grout that you intend to use. In case it seeps between the tile it won't show once grouted.

 

Here is a list of what we did:

Demolition, framing, soundproofing (Roxul and resilient channels) putting up gyp and concrete board, Schluder shower system, wall and crown moldings, installation of heated floor, tiling the floor and shower, painting, made the wallpaper art, sealed the tiles, and all the other little stuff! 

 What we didn't do was plumbing and electrical- these are best left to the professionals.

Next blog- the reveal!

Nancy

Part 2: project #​1 bathroom renovation

Yesterday's blog chronicled the demolition and rebuilding of our basement bathroom- our first renovation project. The work was done by my father, husband and myself. Our budget was very itty bitty- I was a PhD student at the time so just imagine the finances!


Once the necessary but not so pretty work was done (gyp rock, plumbing, etc.), the exciting part began (tiling, sink and toilet, yes the toilet is exciting!).

My father installing the shower base and tiles.When buying a pre-made shower base, make sure it is a solid fiberglass base. Otherwise it's bouncy and susceptible to cracking.

Boxes and boxes of tiles. Heavy, very heavy!

Tiling the shower in a brick pattern. We went with a classic 12x12 marble tile for the floor and shower. I really like the color variations in the tile: brown, gray, blue, red, etc.

Tip: when choosing tiles for your bathroom my suggestion is to pick something classic that will not look dated ten years from now. Some classics are 12x12 square tiles and subway tiles, classic colors such as whites, grays, creams, are great. You can always pick modern paint colors for the walls or hang some funky art, but tiles are difficult, expensive and messy to change. 



The Reveal:

Clean, classic and pretty. I love it!

The clear glass shower door allows the beauty of marble tile to shine. I love the simplicity.

Not much I can say about the toilet- it works! I have a small basket of toilet paper in the corner- a must. Also you can see that there's a bamboo rug in front of the shower. I don't know why but I have an aversion to actual rugs in bathrooms. There are many nice ones out there but it's not for me.

The mirror is a brushed nickle finish with a beaded trim. Above is the light fixture and it has a painted rose pattern on it. I believe it is original to the house. It's quirky but I like it. The only thing is that the metal plate is bronze so I need to spray it either black or a nickle finish.  

The pedestal sink was the perfect choice for this tight space. I'm a believer that the more storage you have, the more stuff you buy and keep. I did place a storage cabinet above the toilet (see first reveal image above) but the cabinet is practically empty. It's a second bathroom after all. The trash can and soap dispenser are made of travertine.

Total Cost: approximately $4000-  not bad, eh?




Smiles,
Nancy