Bathroom renovation

[fluke1987]

Starting our master bathroom renovation at the end of this week...first time ever remodeling a bathroom. Any tips and tricks or words of wisdom from those who have done one?

I think I have measure twice and cut once down already just in case you were wondering

[1stindoor]

What do you plan on renovating? Vanities, sinks, fixtures, toilet, tub, flooring, etc? And what's the budget?...Currently going through a major kitchen renovation that includes the flooring through 3/4 of the downstairs. Making changes to the dining room, 1/2 bath, and breakfast area as well.

[Grizzly]

Strip it down to the studs and start from there.

[catjuggin]

Make sure the other bathroom is in good working order Lol

in all seriousness. Some things we wished we had done differently.
thermastatic heating elements for the floor. Wished we had spent a little extra on this.

we put in a whirlpool tub. Big waste of space and money. We never use it now. Wife keeps her indoor plants in it because they’re easy to water and get good light.

[1stindoor]

Make sure the other bathroom is in good working order

Probably the best advice you'll see today!

[Basscaster]

Get a high toilet and replace shower pipes that go up to showerhead.. those pipes are probably 10 to 40 years old. You don't need a leak a few years later after you tile the wall. A few more electric outlets, we only had 1 and went to 2 outlets..

[SoonerFan]

We did ours. House is 35 years old and it was the original shower and everything was in bad shape.

My wife and I did it all...tear out to studs and slab...replaced some rotten studs and plate caused by leaking shower...Hardie backer on the walls...poured new shower pan/curb and tiled everything....ripped off old wallpaper and textured and painted and added a beadboard wainscot....new ceramic wood plank tile floor and new chair height toilet...new shower door installed by Lowe's... we assembled and installed IKEA double bowl vanity with matching medicine cabinet, which we love....new lighting and hardware and Lutron dimmers and switches and plug.

We started working on it towards the end of summer, I skipped a couple of weekends to go fishing but we pretty much worked steadily on it until the holidays. At that time we decided we didn't want the mess and the added stress and work that Thanksgiving and Christmas brings. Finally made the finial push and got it finished the first week of June. When we started, I figured about five or six weekends. The whole thing was a lot more than what I had originally envisioned. We had tiled the hall bathtub surround and we also did the backsplash in the kitchen, so with the help of You Tube and Grout Scout, we felt we knew what we were doing pretty good.

Several boo boos.... The one that drives me most crazy is the little puddle about the size of my hand, right next to the drain that I have to squeegee every time I get out of the shower. Our wall tile is less than perfect...grout lines on bottom courses don't align with upper courses. The result of two people working together and not paying attention to what the other is doing. I got in a groove setting the wall tile and completely forgot to set the soap dish until too late.The Lowe's installer told me that if the wall had been another ¼" out of square he wouldn't have been able to install the glass shower door.Just as I was finishing up, I shot a nail baseboard nail and hit the water supply for the toilet...that took the plumber coming over and me pulling back glued and nailed wainscot paneling.

For two old Boomers in our late 60s, I think we did alright. I nearly cost me a divorce but we saved thousands.

17F80369-7553-498F-AB4D-0F5A4247CDC7.JPG23FB58D3-A53D-47D5-B2D1-788A7DDF80C9.JPG
I would be embarrassed to show the before pictures.

[Chiefsfan]

We had ours done by a contractor, decided on the solid surface shower walls and pan, which matched the vanity top. Turned out very cool.

[stevebrownfnr]

We did ours. House is 35 years old and it was the original shower and everything was in bad shape.

My wife and I did it all...tear out to studs and slab...replaced some rotten studs and plate caused by leaking shower...Hardie backer on the walls...poured new shower pan/curb and tiled everything....ripped off old wallpaper and textured and painted and added a beadboard wainscot....new ceramic wood plank tile floor and new chair height toilet...new shower door installed by Lowe's... we assembled and installed IKEA double bowl vanity with matching medicine cabinet, which we love....new lighting and hardware and Lutron dimmers and switches and plug.

We started working on it towards the end of summer, I skipped a couple of weekends to go fishing but we pretty much worked steadily on it until the holidays. At that time we decided we didn't want the mess and the added stress and work that Thanksgiving and Christmas brings. Finally made the finial push and got it finished the first week of June. When we started, I figured about five or six weekends. The whole thing was a lot more than what I had originally envisioned. We had tiled the hall bathtub surround and we also did the backsplash in the kitchen, so with the help of You Tube and Grout Scout, we felt we knew what we were doing pretty good.

Several boo boos.... The one that drives me most crazy is the little puddle about the size of my hand, right next to the drain that I have to squeegee every time I get out of the shower. Our wall tile is less than perfect...grout lines on bottom courses don't align with upper courses. The result of two people working together and not paying attention to what the other is doing. I got in a groove setting the wall tile and completely forgot to set the soap dish until too late.The Lowe's installer told me that if the wall had been another ¼" out of square he wouldn't have been able to install the glass shower door.Just as I was finishing up, I shot a nail baseboard nail and hit the water supply for the toilet...that took the plumber coming over and me pulling back glued and nailed wainscot paneling.

For two old Boomers in our late 60s, I think we did alright. I nearly cost me a divorce but we saved thousands.

17F80369-7553-498F-AB4D-0F5A4247CDC7.JPG23FB58D3-A53D-47D5-B2D1-788A7DDF80C9.JPG
I would be embarrassed to show the before pictures.

Very Nice Job!

[stevebrownfnr]

Go with my motto: "It needed fixing anyway, damn the torpedos, full steam ahead"

[fluke1987]

Probably the best advice you'll see today!

Haha, definitely. Luckily we have a second full bathroom on the second floor to use.

Basically we are gutting it so the toilet, shower, vanity, jet tub, floor and lights are either getting removed or rearranged. Were not putting another tub back in as we have no use for it since the second full bath has one. I'm "hoping" that it'll cost us under 10k. Way better than the 30-35k quote we got for the whole thing and the 12k quote we got for the shower alone

[fluke1987]

We had ours done by a contractor, decided on the solid surface shower walls and pan, which matched the vanity top. Turned out very cool.

any pictures?

[T. Hill]

The first 5% you do dictates how the other 95% turns out. From the get-go make sure your square and plumb.

[fluke1987]

We did ours. House is 35 years old and it was the original shower and everything was in bad shape.

My wife and I did it all...tear out to studs and slab...replaced some rotten studs and plate caused by leaking shower...Hardie backer on the walls...poured new shower pan/curb and tiled everything....ripped off old wallpaper and textured and painted and added a beadboard wainscot....new ceramic wood plank tile floor and new chair height toilet...new shower door installed by Lowe's... we assembled and installed IKEA double bowl vanity with matching medicine cabinet, which we love....new lighting and hardware and Lutron dimmers and switches and plug.

We started working on it towards the end of summer, I skipped a couple of weekends to go fishing but we pretty much worked steadily on it until the holidays. At that time we decided we didn't want the mess and the added stress and work that Thanksgiving and Christmas brings. Finally made the finial push and got it finished the first week of June. When we started, I figured about five or six weekends. The whole thing was a lot more than what I had originally envisioned. We had tiled the hall bathtub surround and we also did the backsplash in the kitchen, so with the help of You Tube and Grout Scout, we felt we knew what we were doing pretty good.

Several boo boos.... The one that drives me most crazy is the little puddle about the size of my hand, right next to the drain that I have to squeegee every time I get out of the shower. Our wall tile is less than perfect...grout lines on bottom courses don't align with upper courses. The result of two people working together and not paying attention to what the other is doing. I got in a groove setting the wall tile and completely forgot to set the soap dish until too late.The Lowe's installer told me that if the wall had been another ¼" out of square he wouldn't have been able to install the glass shower door.Just as I was finishing up, I shot a nail baseboard nail and hit the water supply for the toilet...that took the plumber coming over and me pulling back glued and nailed wainscot paneling.

For two old Boomers in our late 60s, I think we did alright. I nearly cost me a divorce but we saved thousands.

17F80369-7553-498F-AB4D-0F5A4247CDC7.JPG23FB58D3-A53D-47D5-B2D1-788A7DDF80C9.JPG
I would be embarrassed to show the before pictures.

that's pretty funny. My worst fear is getting the shower all done and it leaks...that is going to be the biggest pain in the a$$ out of everything in the bathroom

[1stindoor]

Very Nice Job!

Agreed. Did great work there; and looking at the vanity reminded me to make sure you measure not just between the walls for the top, but at the base too. If you looked at SoonerFan's pics, the feet to the vanity are right at the molding on the base board. We made that mistake upstairs in my daughter's bathroom years ago. The "first" vanity would have fit nicely...except at the base where I failed to take in account the baseboards. Don't forget to take into effect the tiled floors when putting your vanity in. In our 1/2 bath the original vanity I put in 15 years ago required me to widen the hole for the water lines to fit...and then I had to make adjustments for the sink plumbing. Original floor was linoleum, tile added about 3/4 to an inch if memory serves.

[1stindoor]

Basically we are gutting it so the toilet, shower, vanity, jet tub, floor and lights are either getting removed or rearranged. Were not putting another tub back in as we have no use for it since the second full bath has one. I'm "hoping" that it'll cost us under 10k. Way better than the 30-35k quote we got for the whole thing and the 12k quote we got for the shower alone

Start with a piece of graph paper and measure the entire room. For the kitchen we're working on, I used one square=6"...when I drew everything out it made it a lot easier to visualize as well as "see" the actual floor space left over after the cabinets and appliances went in. We're using a contractor for some things due to time constraints and work. But I've bought all the appliances myself to save money and we used our own painters. I was able to save a bunch by buying my appliances at Lowe's with my military discount and using their 12 month interest free program.

[BP in ME]

You can never have too much storage in a bathroom so if there's room for shelving or cabinets that would be my priority. If installing a new shower pan I always prefer it bedded in joint compound or similar. Call me anal, but I don't like showers to creak and flex underfoot.

[Matt20xd]

I own a tile installation business and the DIY's are my best customers. Three years after they are done I get the call asking why their shower curb is cracking or floor grout is coming out. Having to come in and re do people screw up feed my family well. I do wish you the best of luck but if you are trying to save money know your limitations and dont be scared to spend the money to have a pro do it. And dont hire someone based on price.
Bird baths in a shower pan and the lippage I see are complete fails and unacceptable.

[BasserJim]

My advice, after buying a real fixer upper and doing a ton of work to it myself over the last 5 years.......Hire a contractor. The savings isn't worth how much of a PITA it is.

[brushsjigs]

First time ever??? Call the guy. You will have it completed a month sooner than If you attempted it yourself. The wife will still like you upon completion.
Bathrooms and kitchens,, women don't take lightly.