House Remodeling Thread (long)

[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

[ny biker]

So, I'm making lots of progress.

Met with the cabinet person about custom vanity, matching medicine cabinet and wall cabinet. We'll meet again later in the week, will probably see an estimate then. After I faint from sticker shock, I will make decisions on lowering the cost, such as no drawers in the vanity or a beveled glass medicine cabinet instead of one with wood trim.

Managed to compare the wall tile to the Bootzcast tub to confirm compatible shades of white. This was not easy, since Home Depot displays the tubs high on a shelf. Visited three stores before I found one that I could reach to lean the tile next to it. It's hard to tell with their atrocious lighting, but I think the tub color is okay. I might go with the American Olean 9x12 tile instead of the Tile Shop 10x14, because the former is slightly less bright. It's also less expensive.

Confirmed that both the A.O. and Tile Shop tiles have matching towel bars, soap dishes, etc.

Picked out faucets and matching accessories (towel bars and ring, tp holder). Visited Home Depot and Lowe's, took photos, then spent lots of time online. Thought I'd decided on Pfister Pasadena, then Moen Darcy, then chose Delta Lahara. One requirement is that the sink faucet and shower head be low flow/Water Sense. But I also want a handheld shower head. As near as I can tell, I will have to buy a combo tub faucet, on/off handle and stationary shower head, then get a separate handheld and use that instead of the shower head that comes in the combo -- I can't get the tub faucet and handle a la carte. I will confirm this with the contractor, then will buy it all this week while it's on sale. As a bonus, Progress Lighting makes (and Home Depot sells) a light fixture that matches the faucet. Also I prefer a handheld shower head made by Moen rather than Delta -- need to confirm that won't be an issue. Btw, I originally planned to go with brushed nickel for the fixtures, but have decided that chrome looks better with all the white and light colors. This will save me a few dollars, too.

Today I've been researching shower niches, deciding if I want a separate soap dish in addition to a niche. Have decided no on the soap dish. Am hoping I can do a shower niche that's tall enough to divide with a shelf. Also decided on a basic look for the niche -- I want one that blends in, with no frame or contrasting tile to make it stand out.

Next I think I need to choose a top for the vanity. I might end up using the same material for the niche bottom and shelf, not sure yet.

I'm pretty sure this will all cost way more than I'd anticipated. We'll find out more on that this week.

Oh I also got the sample paint from Sherwin Williams.

Having a bad cold that keeps me off the bike is actually helping with this -- giving me the chance to focus on all these decisions and the research necessary to make them. The weather has been great today so I've been out on the balcony with my Kindle, a pen and TE post-it notepad.

I'm going to set up a spreadsheet to list all the materials I need, with their costs, sources, etc.

[ny biker]

Still trying to find the right paint color. The one I bought the other day (Sherwin Williams Lighthearted Pink) is too deep -- too far away from the hint of pink I was going for. On the positive side, it's not too purple or too warm.

I'm thinking of yet another trip to the paint store and yet another sample can. The next one would be a lighter shade -- x% of Lighthearted Pink and y% of white. The question is -- what should x and y be? 50/50? 75/25? 25/75?

I don't think Sherwin Williams has color consultants in their stores. Kinda stuck here, since I don't want to have to waste money on 3 or 4 more samples.

Here are some photos. Lighthearted Pink on the left, Glidden Heirloom Pink on the right. The Heirloom Pink is too purple in artificial light, but it's the right depth, though it looks whiter in the photo than on the wall. The second photo includes the shower curtain.