<p>DH and I are embarking on an update of our aging bathroom. He is a shower person and I am a bath person so we are a little at odds about what we are most concerned about. My agenda is to get more closet space out of the footprint of master bath and attached closets, and to abolish the mildew!!! I’m less concerned about how things look than utility and cleanability. He is concerned about light (it is dark, no windows) and resale.
Any thoughts about materials and cleanability? Any particular brands of fixtures, faucets that you have had good success with.
We definitely don’t seek out the most expensive or cutting edge, but we will pay more for higher quality than what we have - that’s why we are doing the remodel, the faucets and fixtures were the lowest of builder’s grade, and too many things in the room have just had it!</p>
<p>Here is a link to a bath remodel we really like, although there is no tub in this particular house, we like this color scheme, and that is roughly the quality that we will need to go for, and it would harmonize with the rest of our house.
[Introducing</a> the New Bath - Pics - Bathrooms Forum - GardenWeb](<a href=“http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/bath/msg040125461602.html]Introducing”>Introducing the New Bath - Pics)</p>
<p>I have a great bathtub, you can actually fill it deep enough to soak up to your neck in wonderful hot water. It’s not a whirlpool, it’s easy to clean, it was lightweight (acrylic) so it didn’t require a lot of foundation work for the surround (although water is heavy)… and it cost $600 and still looks great after 6 years of almost daily baths. [url=<a href=“http://www.maax.com/en/]MAAX[/url”>MAAX Bathware USA - Sharing Experiences Since 1969]MAAX[/url</a>]</p>
<p>I couldn’t believe the example in the link - it is sooo close to what we have just done - still finishing actually! the tile lady had us use the large gold tiles in shower as they aren’t as expensive as some others, but we also used a stripe in the shower and around the tub of more expensive decorative tiles - by using a “brick” joint pattern you get more interest than using the tiles squared off.</p>
<p>we did the opposite with the vanity - the builder had us raise the sinks higher - but I wanted my vanity lower as I have been sitting to do my make-up for a few years now…</p>
<p>I have a large shower but that one is really big and lots of glass - don’t know how glass vs. more tile walls works out in price…</p>
<p>We just did our master bathroom last year. H did everything himself so it took…close to a year. I definitely do not reccomend starting now, wait till it gets warmer, than work will go faster. Keeping your bedroom clean in the process will be a challenge - we did move into our library for a while
The bathroom we re-did is very, very small. It used to have only one sink, shower stall and a toilet. We do however have a big window there overlooking our backyard/trees.
We decided to put two sinks, since this was our issue every morning and there was room. Replacing the shower was a huge, huge undertaking since H discovered mildew there and he needed to replace some posts. Took forever.
We used travertine, H even did some mosaic for the shower wall, round stones for shower floor (feels great when you are standing on them!), travertine for the entire floor and backsplash. Glass sinks, wicker baskets instead of drawers - I did not care about storage space since I store everything in my hallway bathroom. Radiant heating in the floor, toto toilet seat (worth every penny).</p>
<p>Thanks guys, keep them coming.
kelowna, we live so far south, it is much better to do things now in the dryer cooler season than in the summer when it rains every day, and you can’t live without air con.
It would be great if DH felt that handy!</p>
<p>The first thing I suggest is visiting some high end tile sellers. You’ll find that they give you a wealth of information for free. They will help you lay out and design your bathroom, then you can get their pricing and compare to Home Depot’s!</p>
<p>If your space is limited, you may be able to achieve what you want in a closet without using too much of your square footage by looking at systems like those of California Closets. So I would look at this before deciding how much space to give up to the closet.</p>
<p>I love baths too. In a bathroom I recently redid that was too small for a great big Jacuzzi, I got a deep Japanese soaking tub that I’m happy with.</p>
<p>As far as tile goes, I love limestone or honed marble if I’m feeling flush, but have done beautiful bathrooms with simple white tiles with accents. 12 X 12 marble tiles can achieve a similar look to slabs at a fraction of the price.</p>
<p>Toto toilets are worth the investment, for everything else just go with what you like.</p>
<p>For light in a dark bathroom look into putting in a solartube. They are amazing. We have an internal bathroom that when we were building our house was pitch black during the day. Now there are days when I look down the hall and think someone left a light on and it is just the light from the solartube.</p>
<p>I love to take a bath every night. It is my sanity time. When we did our bathroom I spent many a day visiting different supply places trying to find the perfect soaking tub. The tub I found was not a jetted tub. They were able to order the whirlpool portion from one company and had the tub I liked drilled out to turn it into a whirlpool tub. If that makes any sense.</p>
<p>We did two BR remodels two years ago.
If you are sure of your measurements, you can save a lot of money by ordering tile online. We found what we liked in local tile and flooring stores.
We cut the grids of the same line’s small tiles into strips to use as an accent stripe on the shower wall. In that way each grid (cost under $10) covered 3 or 4 linear feet. The accent pieces were $16-20 per linear foot.
We mixed and matched the plumbing fixtures from Kohler, Grohe and Hansgrohe to get certain features in the finish we wanted. Again, found in a showroom but ordered online.
Our contractor charged us for labor and basic building supplies, we supplied the finish materials.
The satin or brushed nickel is easily 30% more than the same item in chrome or brushed stainless.</p>
<p>I just needed to replace a toilet when ours decided to break in the middle of the night. My W did NOT want one with the exposed trapway molded into it - the ones where you can see the trapway in the back half of the toilet. In addition to considering them unsightly, she was more concerned about how they make cleaning more difficult. After trips to Home Depot, Lowes, and Dixieline I discovered that almost all toilets have the exposed trapway molding now. However a few don’t. There’s a Toto one but it has a non-standard rough-in making it more difficult to install. I found one by American Standard though that was pretty good and has the standard 12" rough-in (found at Home Depot). It didn’t have the exposed trapway molding and it was dual-flush which saves water and even nets a rebate from the utility. It’s also an ADA compliant model with the higher seating position that some people like. I can’t vouch for reliability because we haven’t had it that long.</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“404”>404]American</a> Standard - Product Details - FloWise</p>
<p>I agree solartube or skylight would be the best way to get light into a bathroom without window. You also need a good quiet fan. You can get one with a romote motor if you don’t like the noise (though they also make pretty quiet ones these days.) If you want to save money there are lots of ceramic tiles out there that look like stone. Plain tiles with a really nice border are an easy way to save money. Personally I think you only need one bathroom with a bathtub in the house. I prefer a nice soaking tub that’s really deep to one with all the jets and whistles.</p>
<p>Fine Homebuiliding has regular articles that explain the difference between pricey and less pricey plumbing fixtures. Sometimes you are paying for better fixtures, but often you are just paying for the look.</p>
<p>We were considering a solar tube - glad to hear people are pleased with that! we are also thinking about putting a clerestory window or glass block into the one outer wall. DH is very concerned about the neighbors’ view - there are no windows on that side of the house for a reason - but I’m thinking, that glass or sandblasted windows might work.</p>
<p>We did a big kitchen remodel a few years ago, and I had great experience with ordering on the internet - the guy doing the bath doesn’t really want us to do that, he has had bad experiences, but he isn’t trying to sell us the fixtures either.</p>
<p>If you add light and ventilation, you won’t have to worry so much about the mildew.</p>
<p>One thing that I’m adding to my bath this year is a vent/fan/light that isn’t UGLY. They’ve come out with some really pretty ones with decorator details instead of that white, flat, plastic thing that is in just about everyone’s bath! They also claim to be quieter. If I fix that and put in a new shower door, I can declare the bathroom finished. </p>
<p>If you are going really upscale, electric in-floor heat is very nice. I also second the suggestion to invest in the most efficient, quietest ventilation system.</p>
<p>Recently I replaced the bathroom fan in one of our bathrooms. At the suggestion of a contractor friend, I upgraded to a 6 inch outlet - what a difference. It is far quieter and really pulls the air out quickly. I plan to do the other two bathrooms next summer.</p>
<p>LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my grohe faucets with tricorn handles. When we built the house 10 years ago, that was one of our very few splurges. We got the basic faucets with the tricorn handles (the cheapest choice) and they were not very expensive. I’m thinking about $60 or $70 each - with ceramic disks inside and great quality finish. After 10 years they are still smooth moving, sculptural faucets that feel solid in your hand and turn smoothly. Just love them! [Grohe</a> Product Catalog](<a href=“http://www.grohecatalog.com/line/Classic/Bath/?plname=Classic]Grohe”>http://www.grohecatalog.com/line/Classic/Bath/?plname=Classic). [Grohe</a> Product Catalog](<a href=“http://www.grohecatalog.com/product/21175/]Grohe”>http://www.grohecatalog.com/product/21175/) I also recommend getting a cast iron tub. We used cheap fiberglass in all bathrooms and ended up having to replace one, and should replace a second. It wasn’t fun for the plumbers carrying that new cast iron tub up the stairs!
has anyone here ever put glass blocks in their shower? We’d like more light in our shower …</p>
<p>Anyone have thoughts on shower curtain vs. shower door. I’d always had shower curtains, and the only inconvenience was that the kids sometimes weren’t careful about closing them when they were little.</p>
<p>For the last 10 yrs. we’ve had a glass sliding shower door. I HATE IT! It’s so hard to clean all the little corners and crevices. I could just throw the shower curtain into the washing machine. I would take the whole thing out and replace it with a curtain, if it weren’t for the holes.</p>
<p>our bath sink grohe faucets have the finish worn off, ~20 yo.</p>
<p>Saw a one unit bath and separate shower stall at Habitat today. Linear, maybe 10 ft long. New.
Also cornor jacuzzi, regular jacuzzi. New. </p>
<p>Think about a tankless water heater. Energy Star. Tax Credit available in OR.
Urinal and a washlet biget.
Telephone/Television/Internet.
Ice water dispenser.
Heated floor and towel warmer.
Bath rails when you get older</p>
<p>
I normally close my eyes. W does same. We both know where everything is located and have never lost anything yet. :)</p>
