bathroom [tile]

Inching closer to the finish as tile begins...

First the shower tile:






Then the Nuheat mat goes down directly on the subfloor:


Schluter DITRA over that:


And finally, the floor tile:

bathroom [planning & material selection]

As you can see by looking at the Redux List on the sidebar, a complete bathroom remodel had been in the works since we purchased the house in 2008. And we had been saving links and pictures of ideas and inspiration along the way. Nonetheless, we still viewed the start date as a year or two away. However, there were two issues that drove this project to the forefront.

We believe the previous owners renovated the bathroom in the early-90s. That meant by the time we moved in, the toilet was approximately 16 years old. Almost from the start, it was apparent that the closet flange had rusted and the toilet was not securely fastened to the waste pipe. Two years later, the tank developed a leak. Although I could have replaced the gaskets and tank bolts, with a remodel down the road, I decided just to order another Toto Aquia. When I pulled the old toilet, the cast iron flange was completely toasted and I couldn't get a replacement ring fastened down because the subfloor did not hug the waste pipe -- so there was nothing solid to fasten it to. I tried my best with some blocking, and it held for a week (or two), but soon loosened again. Plus there were issues with the unique Toto flange adapter and the levelness of our floor such that I was honestly afraid that we would crack the porcelain on the toilet every time we gingerly sat down on it. When the plumber was there to finish the kitchen, he gave me an $800 quote to fix it. No way were we throwing that kind of money into a temporary fix when we knew we were close to a complete gut remodel.

The second issue involved the shower's water valve. It was approximately 16 years old as well and within the last 6 months, had become very temperamental in fully shutting off the water. And I'm not talking a drip (or even a fast drip). I'm talking a low flow stream of water coming from the spout when in the OFF position such that you'd have to turn it back on and off a few times in order to catch it just right. I feared that at any moment, we'd using the angle stop valve (accessible from a small access door in a bedroom closet) to turn the water on and off. Although I didn't get a quote on this repair, I assumed it would be a substantial undertaking and again, we didn't want to dump money into a short-term fix.

So as soon as the lower living room project wrapped up the end of November, we dove head first into planning the main bathroom. It was an intense time to plan a complete bathroom redux. A bullet list will make it easier to digest:

-Went through all our links -- kept the good ones, got rid of the bad ones
-Viewed our inspiration photos and jotted down our favorite ideas in a Word document
-Decided on a contractor (a process I explained in more detail here) and ensured that he was available and could complete the project on our tight timeline
-Visited R.F. Fager & Company, a local bathroom showroom/distributor our contractor works with and started building a materials quote list. Although I had already sourced many of our materials/fixtures, there were still some holes to fill, and I found that working with folks who do this for a living has advantages to simply researching and ordering everything online. In the end, I had a great experience working with Fager's.
-Visited every tile store within 10 miles of our home -- pulled samples from different ones and got prices while we were there
-Visited Fagers, Home Depot, Lowes and Just Cabinets to look at various cabinet options. Every store had something a little different to offer at different price ranges. Obviously some places (Fagers and Just Cabinets) were a bit more knowledgeable than others. Did layouts, got pricing and lead times (so important when you're on a tight timeline) at Home Depot, Fagers and Just Cabinets. Went through a number of redesigns at Fagers and Just Cabinets after meeting with our contractor.
-Visited nearly every countertop fabricator within 30 miles to hunt down a quartz remnant -- ultimately failed at this and ended up deciding on a new slab from Lesher Marble -- the fabricator that installed our kitchen quartz (and the first place we visited)
-Developed a specification list in Word that covered our desired materials, demo, rebuild and design choices. This spec list was heavily edited during the entire planning process and it was used as the main document when I did the walk-through with our contractor so he could develop a quote.
-Finalize material selections (cabinets, fixtures, tile, countertops) and get firm quotes to contractor.
-Review contractor's quote, let the initial shock wear off(!), get back with your contractor on questions/issues/possible cost cutting areas and then sign the contract and cough-up the down payment

Again, this is a bullet list. We hope to discuss more of these in detail in future posts. As we mentioned, the process started in late-November and we signed the contract in mid-January. Ideally, we would have loved to have taken three months to flesh out the details of this project, but the issues above and our second child due in early-March dictated otherwise.

If you've read along this far, we believe you deserve a peek at our final material selections. Shower tile on left. Countertop on left. Floor tile on right. Cabinet (Java Stain on Cherry wood) in back. Along with the various paint options.

bathroom [paint]

Sherwin-Williams 7506 Loggia on the roller.
Dubstep on the Pandora.
And we're good to go for a one-man painting party!

My "sword"


Zinsser Smart Prime


Third (and final) topcoat

bathroom [drywall & kerdi]

Progress on the bathroom remains on schedule. Drywall was hanged and taped on the final day of the first week. The KERDI-BOARD went up the first day of the second week, as did the first coat of drywall mud. Here's what it looks like:





Little foreman on the job (note the OSHA-approved footwear):




Cool to see the shower niche take shape:


KERDI sealed (middle of second week):




True Confession: I miss the open walls. I know drywall = progress (and gets us closer to having a shower again!), but there's nothing to look at anymore. With the open walls, I would go in there when I got home from work and just take it all in. Making mental notes that I hope will come in handy someday.

bathroom [demo & rebuilding]

After nearly two months of intense planning and material selection, the main bathroom renovation is underway! Although we've had a major hand in selecting every last detail down to the angle stop valve, this renovation is being handled by a general contractor, William Kenny, Inc, who I can't recommend highly enough.

With our second child due at the beginning of March, combined with the fact that this is our only full bathroom in the house, there was no way for us to undertake a full (or even partial) DIY renovation. As it is, we are going to be without a shower for all but three weeks, so we figured it would have taken us at least twice that long to complete, probably longer.

Choosing the contractor was actually the easiest part of the entire process. Will had originally been recommended to us by a guy who works for my Dad. Will's crew replaced both our front and back enterance doors (a project I've yet to post about) and did a great job -- they are excellent craftsmen, not simply just contractors. So it just made sense not to waste time going around with two or three contractors to get quotes -- the peace of mind that comes from knowing a job will be done right the first time outweighs a couple thousand bucks in the greater scheme of home ownership.

I'll be back (hopefully soon) with a post summarizing our planning and material selections. And with that, a few pics to document our progress...

Medicine cab mock-up


Plumbing rough-in at vanity


New tub installed


Electrical rough-in


Shower niche framing


Recessed lights installed


Medicine cab framing

(plus) 2

the newest additon to the half bath

cut and sandblasted wine bottle

by plastolux [etsy]

Half Bath [Redux]

We honestly didn't mean to keep you waiting so long for the reveal.  We actually finished at some point in early-December, but have struggled to find time to pull this post together in the weeks that followed.  It feels great to have completed this project! As we've said before, it took a lot longer than we expected, but thus is the story of any DIY remodeling effort. Of opening up what another created in order to make it your own. A transformation. A redux.

Before you begin, take a second to remind yourself what we started with (i.e. the before shots).

Here's a quick rundown of the elements that make up the new half bath...if we forgot to address something, please drop us an email or a comment.

Toto Aquia II from National Builder Supply
Not only do we think it's the best looking toilet around, it has a great water-saving feature with the dual flush design. We found that most online retailers claim free shipping; but exclude freight items (such as toilets). National Builder Supply actually ships this toilet for free, making it $50-70 cheaper than other online retailers. This is the first toilet that I ever installed, so the process was slow, but completely manageable, as long as you follow the instructions carefully. For instance, when they tell you to turn each tank bolt equally, they actually mean equally -- as in a full turn on the left, followed by a full turn on the right...and repeat. As for the function and performance of the toilet -- we love it, especially the soft-close seat.

The sink and sink cabinet are both from Ikea's LILLÅNGEN bathroom system. 

The faucet is the Ikea DALSKÄR.

Since the faucet is chrome, we wanted to go with chrome accessories. Picked up the towel ring (not yet installed) and TP holder from Smedbo.

The lights are the ET2 Flash from All Modern. The medicine cabinet is also from Ikea's LILLÅNGEN bathroom system.  During demo we framed out the cabinet and countersunk it to keep the profile as clean as possible.

Finally, you'll notice we used drywall around the majority of the window frame, instead of using wood to trim it out. Since it is such a small space, we wanted to keep the lines as simple and clean as possible. The large window provides great light to the space and keeps it from feeling claustrophobic. At the same time, privacy is of utmost concern. Again, not wanting to add additional materials (such as blinds/shades/curtains), we opted for the Gila Privacy Frosted film. We think it adds a finished, modern look to the room.

Also, don't be afraid to use spray paint on your existing metal window frames and hardware that feature that oh-so-late-80s factory bronze finish.  For legal reasons I must point out here that the use of paint on a window frame may cause you to void your warranty.  So if that's something that concerns you, take head!

The Forbo Marmoleum Click flooring was covered in a previous post; as was the wall tile. 

So...our first major renovation project is behind us! We learned so much and hope to carry a lot of that into our next project...the kitchen.

Stay tuned...

So close...

Forbo Marmoleum Click has been installed. We purchased it locally at M&Z Carpets. If you're local, we highly recommend M&Z. The subfloor is concrete, so we used a trial-on leveling compound to even out some spots here and there. I should add here that we neglected to order any Marmoleum trim when we placed our floor order, and the freight charges made it cost-prohibitive to order our needed T-Mold as a stand-alone from M& Z.  So...we found this great online store, CoolGreenStuf, that carried the exact T-Mold we needed at a reasonable price. We went with Floor Muffler as the underlay/vapor barrier -- found a great deal on it on ebay where a guy was selling a complete roll and some left-over from his project, which was just enough to cover our kitchen and this bathroom.

The Marmoleum install went fairly well, although it was some tight quarters in there as you can see. There are only nine full-size squares in the floor (out of approx. 20) -- so cutting and fitting was essentially all we did. Like any project, it will go a lot smoother the next time.

Just need my plumber-uncle to attach the cast-iron flange to the drain pipe (pouring molten lead into a half-inch gap is not exactly a DIY project) and we're ready for the toilet and sink install.

The long-awaited reveal will follow.

Half Bath Update v3

FYI: Pic taken after the bottom half of the wall was grouted. I never got a pic of the finished wall before covering it with plastic to protect it from painting and an unexpected plumbing project (which is currently in progress).

Our first venture into tiling is complete and was, in our humble opinion, a success. Prep work is extremely important when it comes to tiling -- use the wrong adhesive for your tile and substrate, or the wrong sealer, or the wrong procedure (especially as to timing of steps) and your entire project could be jeopardized. We're not big into thoughtlessly throwing money around, so I did a bunch of reading, and searching, and more reading over at the John Bridge Forums. I can't thank all the pros and experienced DIYers over there enough. Their archives are so extensive that I didn't even have to start my own thread -- all of my questions had been previously asked and answered. And I learned a ton along the way about general techniques, procedures and various products.

We chose a tumbled marble stone that had a stacked-stone look to it. The long and narrow stones came pre-glued onto 12"x12" mesh sheets. We first found the tile online at the Natural Stone Outlet and were literally shocked to walk into our local tile store a few days later and find that they had just recently started selling it. The local price was about $3 per sheet higher than the Internet price (even with shipping), but given the economy and this paradigm shift in my mind that I don't have to absolutely get the lowest price on every single item I purchase and that service really does matter to me, I was happy to give the guys at Gipe Flooring & Wall Covering our business. And they were great in answering my questions, letting me test some things and generally helping me out with some miscellaneous materials along the way.

Unless you drop a comment asking about something specific, I won't bore you with the step-by-step on hanging, grouting and sealing our stone. I wouldn't even know where to begin. I will say that it takes a ton of time and patience. I'm short on the latter, so much gratitude goes to my extremely patient wife for helping and putting up with my little rants during the process.

One recommendation I will share is that you consider purchasing your own tile saw for a job like this. I actually got a great deal on a mid-level clearance model at Home Depot, and would highly recommend the Husky THD 750L to a DIYer -- they are practically giving them away right now!! It's just that the job will take more time than you expect, and you can't rent a saw very much longer than a day or two before the costs start to equal out. And the last thing you want to be doing is rushing around making cuts with a tile saw. Plus, we plan on using tile in our kitchen and main bathroom renovations, so at that point, the costs of buying outweigh that of multiple rentals.

We're on to an unexpected plumbing job -- replacing the toilet flange -- and then need to finish up the electrical, install the flooring, get the new fixtures in there and then finish up all the little details. I'd love to say that the next time we check in, we'll have the reveal, but I thought that when I posted a month ago -- so we'll make no promises. Hopefully sooner than later.

Half Bath Update v2

Sorry for neglecting you, but we've been busy. It's amazing how much time a small half-bath can take when you only get a few hours of work done one or two nights during the week. I've been putting in some major weekend hours (between mowing and other household chores), but it's still a slow process.

As you can see, we finally closed up the hole between the half-bath and the mudroom. We're excited! Our cats, not so much. I should be able to finish the drywall this week. Our tile has been ordered and should be here in about two weeks. Need to order the flooring this week, as well as some accessories. Stay tuned...

Half Bath Update

It goes without saying that the half bath is not yet complete.

Material choices, however, are complete. Next on the list is framing out the medicine cabinet, doing a bit of re-wiring and venturing into the realm of minor plumbing work -- moving the water line for the new toilet and tapping into the existing water lines and drain for a utility sink to be placed in the mudroom.

BTW: For those "keeping score" -- this picture is taken from the mudroom looking into the half-bath.

Half Bath Demo

After completing most of the outside projects, its time to turn our attention back to the interior of the house. Half Bath demo is underway. Always good to remember where you started:


The wall "treatment" you see here is not wallpaper; it's a thin wood paneling. Now you would think that after having cleared the space of its existing lavatory contents, I'd simply be able to set a few nails and pop the paneling right off. Of course you'd be wrong. The paneling was actually glued (i.e. liquid nailed) to the studs and furring strips set midway between each stud. And not just spot glued here and there -- we're talking full length thick beads. Needless to say, it turned what should have been an hour job into more.

Most of the final material decisions will be made here in the next week or so -- still trying to decide between glass, ceramic or a stacked natural stone tile for that back wall and waiting for some samples. That decision will effect the floor color choice, so its a bit of a waiting game. In the meantime, we'll do as much drywall as we can and we'll be opening up the wall on the other side of the bathroom in order to put in a drain for a utility sink to be installed in the mudroom.

Special thanks to my Uncle Bruce, a plumber by trade, who stopped by the house yesterday and got us set with some great insight on all of the plumbing and A/C in the house. His expert advice will go a long way in making our mid-century house as efficient as it can be without replacing every major component in the house. A few tweeks here and there, installing an electric water heater to save the oil furnace from running year-round, and moving a thermostat for improved heating performance, among others.

State of the Remodel

Alright...

So I'm dubbing this post as our State of the Remodel address. It's not gonna be as formal as a speech, but it will bring you up to date on what's going on around our place.

As you've probably already noticed, I added the ReduxList to the sidebar. That kinda gives you an idea of where we've been and where we're going. You should know up-front that the last three items on the list fall into the long-term catagory -- so don't be checking back here every week hoping to catch pics of me putting up Hardie panels or anything!

The winter (and its accompanying darkness) put a major hamper on the remodeling efforts and our motivation. That and the fact that we made the big push over the summer to get the major grunt work completed -- just kinda felt like we needed to take a break of sorts.

But as the Pennsylvania weather begins to accept the rites of Spring and the light of the day continues to push back the bully of Winter, our spirits are feeling refreshed, renewed and ready to (continue the) remodel.

We're in the middle of replacing the majority of the base and door trim in the house. The kitchen and half-bath await on the horizon. We've got tons of ideas for both and really just need to sit down, consider them all, make some initial decisions and start getting some quotes on various materials.

We did pull the trigger the other week at IKEA (we need less violence-related figures of speech, don't we?). As I've mentioned before, it's not exactly right down the street, so when we go, we go prepared. We picked up a small table and two chairs for the kitchen. I had combed the website and discovered the new LILLÅNGEN bathroom system (after getting the heads-up from Creede over at GrassrootsModern). Luckily I had written down the names and prices of everything we wanted, b/c they didn't even have it displayed in the store yet; but I was able to find a knowledgable associate at the self-order computer desk who located everything we needed (after another associate told us they didn't have the new stuff yet!!).

Here's kinda what we're thinking for the half-bath:

We really like the tile shown with the sink for the small wall that is directly behind the sink and toilet. The other walls will simply be painted, so we'd like to do something creative, material-wise, on that wall. I've considered a mid-gloss floor or floor tile from IKEA, a sheet of Formica, rubber tile, poly-coated OSB panels and corrugated sheet metal (maybe sprayed w/ a high-gloss automotive paint)...just to name a few.

Any thoughts? Ideas?

More on all of this as it happens...