House Remodeling Thread (long)

[khg]

ny biker, we did a remodel of a small bathroom a couple years ago. For a tub we went with one from Victoria and Albert Baths. They're made out of powdered limestone in resin--lighter than cast iron (though not feather-weight), but with good insulative properties, looks nice, and durable. If it scratches or chips, it can be sanded out (within reason). So far we haven't had to test this, so I'm just depending on the company info for that. At any rate, we've been happy with it. Here's the website: http://vandabaths.com/us/americas/ Since you don't want it for yourself to take baths, it may be more than you want to spend, but just thought I'd let you know about this other option.

I don't know your heat situation, but if you're doing a tile floor, especially in a smaller room, you should look into radiant floor heat. We got a system from SunTouch--it's basically an electric blanket-like web of wires that get laid down under the tile (and whose shape/density can be varied as you lay it down), and it wasn't nearly expensive as I expected--I hadn't thought that radiant floor heat would be something we could afford, even with the insane amount of money we were throwing at the remodel (some of the best money we ever spent, btw...) I can not even begin to express how wonderful it is to step onto a *warm* floor in the middle of winter. We got a programmable thermostat, and I have it set so that at peak times, the floor is deliciously warm, but even the rest of the day, it's never really cold. Tile retains heat well, so in a small bathroom, it doesn't use much energy at all. We don't use much electricity, since our heat is gas heat--even so, our power usage hasn't noticeably increased since installing the floor.

Good luck! Remodeling our full bath in a 1 1/2 bath house was a pretty miserable experience, but we went from a hideous and dysfunctional bathroom to one we absolutely love. I swear it's made me a better person, because I start each day with a happy experience... It was so worth the money and temporary misery!

[rebeccaC]

Here's the website: http://vandabaths.com/us/americas/

beautiful bathtubs!!! Their amiata looks like my french bateau cast iron tub….wonderful to soak and relax in!!!

[Crankin]

NY, that's why we hired a bath/kitchen designer from a small business that focused only on this. We went to their showroom and chose the things we needed to do, after we agreed on the initial design. If I had had to research all of the things I bought to be installed, I would have gone nuts. I hate, hate, hate anything to do with home stuff, but I do like nice things and enjoy my home. I know that's an oxymoron, but the way we did this was not more expensive and there was someone who could organize everything and actually knew about this stuff. DH is very knowledgable, but he knew there were some things he couldn't and didn't want to do. This is the most involved I've ever been in any home project and there's still a couple of things (one big) that I regret. I hate the way my bathroom cabinet is in the middle of the counter, up to the ceiling. It's beautiful wood, and when I looked on the blueprint I said "yeah, sure," but really, when I look at a blueprint, I don't really "see" what it's going to be. I was pissed. Besides the bath tub issue, we also kept the same footprint in our kitchen/eating area. It looks beautiful and works for 2 adults, but I think we should have gutted the space and made it more open. We decided not to, based on time and money, which was dumb, as we had the time and money.

[shootingstar]

Funny how there's bathtub soaker fans vs. shower only fans. I'm a shower only fan. I actually didn't shower /have a shower at home until I was in university. At parents' home, it was only 1 bathroom, with 1 bathtub and no shower...for 2 adults and 6 children. This is in Canada. Even as older teens, we were never allowed to have high bathtub water..for safety, clean-up and economic reasons.

At hotels, I'm still a shower person even if there's a lovely soaker /Jacuzzi bathtub.

I disliked the maintenance and clean-up of bathtub afterwards. That's why I became a shower only person. My parents NEVER showered their whole adult lives. And they had homes with bathtub and shower combined in 1 after all kids left home and they moved to newer home.

[ny biker]

I used to be an occasional bath person, years ago. I haven't even considered taking a bath since I moved into my current home, because I've never been able to get the tub to look really clean. Maybe with a new tub in a cheerful new bathroom I'll make time for a good soak now and then.

When I was in college I had a housemate who liked to take long baths on Sunday mornings while reading the NY Times. It's enough of a challenge to keep a newspaper or other paper reading material dry when you're in the bath, so I wouldn't dare try to read anything on a tablet or smartphone. I wonder how soakers like my college friend have adapted to changes in technology.

At any rate, I did call the contractor yesterday. He was on his way out of town for a 3-day weekend so we have an appointment for Tuesday morning. He's done enough bathroom remodels in my neighborhood that he can almost give the estimate sight-unseen, but he said he wanted to see if my apartment is one that has room to move one wall back a couple of inches. He also gave me the name of someone he works with for custom vanities and cabinets, and I have an appointment scheduled with her tomorrow afternoon. Following that appointment I'm going to Sherwin-Williams to get a can of sample paint (Lighthearted Pink -- I forget the number).

I also asked the contractor about bathtubs, and he said that for most of the remodels he does, he installs Bootz tubs, which are porcelain on steel. There are some mixed reviews for them on the Home Depot site, but the contractor says he's never had a complaint about them. From reading the reviews, it seems a fair number of the problems are with tubs that are damaged at the store or during installation, and one reason for hiring this contractor is that I know he would not install anything that was damaged at the store and he would replace it if his workers caused any damage while putting it in. I still have a concern though, since some reviews mention that the white tubs in this brand are more of an off-white color, and that might not look good with the bright white tiles I want for the walls. So I'm planning a visit to the store tonight to have a look.

So the wheels are in motion. I'm excited!

[Crankin]

Reading the whole Sunday NY Times in a bath? . I think you'd be freezing cold!
I have used the bathtub in our other bathroom 3-4 times in almost 10 years. One was after the one century I did, in 2006, and the others were after various metrics I have done.
I have not used the tub in the lower level bathroom, that is near our guest bedroom. I did use it for a shower once. So, I guess I have lived without soaking for pretty much for 10 years. We had a beautiful, albeit not huge, sunken tiled tub/shower with a shower seat in our last house in AZ. It was not tiled the way our step in shower with the bench we have now is, but I used it a lot, especially when I was pregnant. That seat helped me shave my legs when I couldn't reach over my belly!

[khg]

I really enjoy taking baths, but am very easily creeped out by a dirty tub, or a weird bathroom vibe, etc. Until our bathroom remodel I hadn't had a bath in years--it makes me so happy to be able to take baths again! If you like your new bathroom, you might well find yourself enjoying a good soak now and then