<p>This is the guest bathroom, where my (grown and now guest) sons have a habit of getting into the shower and staying until they wake up, often without the benefit of the fan. There is a vanity and sink in the front half of the bathroom that gets most of that use. The sink in the back is generally just used for quick hand washing.</p>
<p>We also put in a soaking tub, which I rarely use and I think DH has never entered. If I were to forego the tub in the Dream House, I would probably have room for a doorless walk-in shower. That is something to look into.</p>
<p>Silpat, I think we bought our Toto Ultramax on Terry Love’s recommendation.</p>
<p>My H picked up our Toto toilet in Terry’s garage. No kidding! I am so impressed with the toilet! Never thought it could be so efficient and easy to clean. </p>
<p>2 more recommendations to make the bathroom more functional and easy to maintain:</p>
<ol>
<li>Epoxy grout. </li>
<li>Electric mirror. Google the company - the mirrors are gorgeous and eliminate the need for light fixtures above. Some come with a built in TV. Mirror, light fuxture and a TV on one easy to clean combo! </li>
</ol>
<p>Something about running electricity and water through my toilet seat makes my skin crawl… DIY electric chair, anyone? Just kidding. You are safe. </p>
<p>I had a business trip to one of those countries that rank near the bottom of Transparency International’s Corruption Index list. Most of its citizens are poor peasants. The hotel VIP wing I stayed in was normally reserved for gov’t officials. The bathroom was entirely outfitted w high-end Toto fixtures. Only the best…</p>
<p>If I was doing a complete redo of a guest bathroom, I would seriously consider making it more handicapped friendly with things like an entry door wide enough for a wheelchair, a proper toilet with grab bars, a shower stall without a curb, maybe switches and other stuff designed for blind, etc. No one in our household needs any of that now, but it would be nice for guests and us too if needed in future.</p>
<p>We love our remodeled master bath. We have a large walk in shower with no doors/curtain to worry about cleaning. It also has a built in niches,seat/bench and a handheld shower head. It is great to sit and shave my legs without worrying about my hair! Also good for bathing pets! I have a separate soaking tub that I use all of the time even though we have a hot tub outside. Most of the bathroom is done in travertine and tumbled marble with granite counters. We raised the cabinet heights as H is tall and also the toilet is higher. The stone and grout used is virtually maintenance free. I even added a chandelier just because I liked it! </p>
<p>Coloradomom, we have toilets that overflow regularly (hence the plumber is going to come out before we start this project). The other concern is that DH walks out of the shower, stands on a mat (or not) and THEN begins to dry himself off. He manages to get the entire floor wet. I would hate to pay for radiant heating, have it break down, and then the only way to repair it is to tear out the tile. Others who actually have it are welcome to chime in – to me, it’s not worth the cost and trouble in a small bathroom.</p>
<p>We are getting the frameless shower doors, and a few folks on the sites I’ve trolled have suggested a small hand grip on the wall where one exits the shower, since there will be no frame to hold onto as I climb out.</p>
<p>DH as always dreamed of a soaking tub. Reality: 1) he would seldom use it 2) it would splash everywhere. I have seen this happen at hotels where we have stayed.</p>
<p>My BIL has a heater/fan that runs on a multi-option timer. Loves it. Sound on a fan is measured in sones. The lower the number, the better. </p>
<p>We are thinking of a Toto toilet with one of the separate bidet seats. It’s much cheaper than the integrated model and enables us to replace if the seat dies or gets waterlogged and shorted out. (Sense a theme here? DH is somewhat of a bull in a china shop.)</p>
<p>In a delightful bit of irony – I was at a doctor’s appt on Tues. and the restroom facility on that floor had just been remodeled. They used the tile I’ve chosen and the paint I want! I took pictures. </p>
<p>Okay, folks–tell me about the best way to make our shower floor less slippery–is there any kind of tile that is more or less slippery than other types? And I also was told by a friend not to use any glass tiles in the shower, even as accents, because of various problems associated with them (this I had never heard before)?</p>
<p>So far we know that we want 1) much bigger than the current shower footprint
2) probably two shower heads (H and I are 16" different in height) as well as a handheld
3) either a frameless glass surround, or maybe glass block. We would like to avoid a shower door if possible, and no lip or a very low lip.</p>
<p>Tiles are rated by slip resistance (COF) though that’s mostly for commercial work, but basically, when you are picking out tiles ask the people selling it if it’s appropriate for a wet floor. Small mosaic size tiles are often used in the shower even if people use a bigger tile in the rest of the bathroom.</p>
<p>CD - I can understand not wanting to mess with radiant heat. We are on the fence ourselves for master batj/ (Ruled it out quickly for guest bath based on cost.) But I was picturing it enclosed in plastic tubing. Didn’t realize there was risk from water. </p>
<p>For floor tiles, it’s not just their slip-friction rating but size. Smaller tiles = more changes of plane = less slippery. Rats, my dream shower was huge tiles. Unfortunately 2" to 4" is a really good size for shower floors. </p>
<p>We have a cultured granite shower base - not slippery and no grout lines to clean. It is beautiful and matches our sink countertop and the top of the tile wall where the heavy glass sits. I would think again about not having a shower door- it can get drafty in there after you turn the water off if there is nothing to keep the steam in while you towel off. A best choice for us was to have a shower door with towel bar on outside and inside of it - inside you hang your washcloth etc, outside you hang your towels. Shower door swings in and out, so after your shower, you just pull the door into the shower, grab your towel, door swings shut again and you dry off in the shower stall in the warmth of the shower stall without drafts, and any drips go down the drain instead of on the bathroom floor.
Another cool thing we did was to reset our towel bars into the stud frame wall to save space in a narrow area - in essence framing in and tiling a very large niche, so that the towel bars don’t stick out into the corridor area.</p>
<p>I’d like to put in a niche with an outlet for my toothbrush near my sink so that I didn’t have to look at the toothbrush and cord. I like to keep my countertops (bath and kitchen) uncluttered.</p>
<p>I will post a quick comment… you do not need a bathtub in the master bathroom as long as there is a bathtub in another bathroom. This comment is purely about resale value. Families buying a home need a bathtub for the kids, but 90% of the buying public want a luxury shower in the master bathroom, not a bathtub.</p>
Just kidding. You are safe. </p>
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