OT: Master Bath Remodel

We are in the preliminary planning stages for a master bath remodel which hopfully will begin in early 2014. I think we have most of the major features decided like radiant heat floors, knocking out a wall to enlarge the shower, new fixtures, and vanity, improved exhausting system, etc..
Are there any "must haves" that we may have overlooked, especially small features that make a big difference?

BP

Don't forget the his and hers toilet seat: one stays down, the other stays up!

[Robin Garr]

'winger, Mary is just finishing up a guest-bath remodel in our urban bungalow (100 years old this year!), and about all I've got is that it seemed very easy after a kitchen remodel.

We took out an old, non-historic tub with the idea of putting in a standalone shower later, but for now we've left it a half-bath with lots of room. Kept the (relatively modern) toilet, put in a pedestal sink and an IKEA wall cabinet picked up as a tag-along on the kitchen order, and went with solidly middle-of-the-road towel racks and fixtures from Home Despot. Basically boring.

To me the highlights that give it a "wow" look don't have to do with fancy fixtures or new carpentry but just good choice of colors ... light leafy green walls, sky-blue ceiling and a white crown molding that I thought looked too big for a small room but worked out perfectly; black-and-white checkerboard flooring. No radiant floor heat ... I'm not even going to tell Mary you said that or she'll want some.

Bottom line, though, it looks great, wasn't horribly expensive, and was much less intrusive to daily life than the summer-long kitchen redo, which I am grateful occurred (by plan) during a work assignment that had me out of the house most of the time.

We did both bathrooms one year ago. Two must halves for us were the toilet seats that only need a nudge and they lower themselves.
Drawback....when you go to other places that do not have them....BANG! You forget!
Second was, we put stainless grab bars in both showers. Thinking as we aged, they might come in handy....they have already come in handy.....I use them all the time.
Great to hang onto when shaving legs. Oh, and put a seat in those showers. Ours is a corner seat and small but large enough to sit on and put a leg on to shave. Very handy! I put all drawers under counters. Mine are tall enough for hair spray and shampoo bottles, and deep enough to hold two sets of towels on one side.
Drawers are divided. We put peer cabinets on each of our sides. Small counter to ceiling cabinets that neatly hold electric tooth brushes, water piks, and your everyday personal products within easy reach. Shower heads are on sliding bars and are can be hand held when desired, and making it easy to clean and rinse the shower. I used a counter tile in my bathroom that looks like slate and put the same material in 1 1/2 inch tiles on my shower floor, making it non slippery. I love the new glass tiles, we put a lot in our master shower and they are just awewsome.

...radiant heat floors...

We briefly considered this for our bathroom remodel after experiencing it in a small hotel during a North Carolina vacation. In the end we didn't do it, but you will be patting yourself on the back every time you walk in the bathroom between December and March. You'll love it.

Only thing I'll offer is if you're doing tile, find a good craftsman. We had a very bad tile person on remodel one and lived with the results for 20 years. On the recent re-remodel we had an excellent tile person (Fritz) and the difference is striking.

[Robin Garr]

we had an excellent tile person (Fritz) and the difference is striking.

Mary may want to talk with you, Jay. We laid down vinyl for the short term, but will want tile if/when we put a shower in. Would you PM me? Or feel free to post here if you want to give him a little Google love?

I'd also like to add that the frameless shower glass doors are beautiful, and no messy metal on the bottom to collect mold and dust. We also put in a wall niche to put shampoo, or what every you use in your shower. Another slick addition was putting the bathroom fan and light (one unit) into the shower. It is great. The new fans are barely audible, and the light is an unexpected bonus. We always work with a professional decorator who was also our contractor. Main reason is that she is aware of the latest innovations and what works and what does not. Plus, she uses the best subs available, and knows their work ethic. We get her discounts on all products, use her knowledge and expertise when choosing products, and she handles all issues, which have always been minimal. Projects are always done on schedule or ahead of time. And there is no living with bad projects for years...it just does not happen.

Good recommendations and a couple that we had overlooked. Thanks.
One more question. Anyone have experience with cultureded marble for vaniety tops, shower surrounds and/or matching shower pans. We have a local manufacturer/fabricator that we visited today and I was impressed with what I saw, plus his small shop provides employment for about 12 people in the operation. I'd like to keep my $$ local, but really have no experience with cultured marble.

We placed electrical outlets inside the closet and mirror cabinets for charging the electrical dental appliances AND the lighted magnifying mirror....essential for aging eyes. I don't like to have those things out on the counters
Also had the luxury of space to have separate his/hers vanities with different sinks and stands on opposite sides of the room. No jockeying for elbow room.
Lots of towel and robe hooks especially one right next to shower door.
Ditto on the frameless glass shower door. I hate things that collect schmutz and mold in the bathroom.
Ditto on radiant heat. We have marble floors and walls and keep the heat at 62 at night so it was necessary.

Have fun !

Today, I went to see a new home a friend of ours built. She has beautiful tiles on the bathroom floors and in her showers. Lots of glass tiles too. She had the tile guy use an epoxy grouting for everything that needs grout. No mold in the showers, stains, or having to seal the grout against anything. She loves it. I had not heard of it and even though it is a great product the tile guys do not tell you about it because it is more difficult to work with, she says.

Whatever you do, go with a single sink. Have never seen the need for doubles. We never seem the need to use our single at the same time. What we stay places with doubles we still only use one.

Whatever you do, go with a single sink. Have never seen the need for doubles. We never seem the need to use our single at the same time. What we stay places with doubles we still only use one.

I agree. We were going to do double sinks, but after talking about it, we are never in the bathroom at the same time anyway. If it becomes necessary, Gene uses the second bath. We saved lots of room just doing one sink and I love the peer cabinets on each side of the counter. Very handy.

I hear ya on the double sinks. We considered going to a double, if only for resale purposes. We've learned through our various home sales that some people consider double sinks a very big deal. Since I don't ever plan on selling this place, I see no pressing need to double up. Probably changes your perspective on bathroom necessities having grown up in a house that had one bath and up to 8 people.

We bought a house last year with cultured marble in both of the full baths. It is attractive, easy to clean as there is only caulking around the edges and NO grout. Ours is an ivory color and fairly pale. We have the product on the counter tops, tub surrounds and in the showers. It is also on the floors of the showers and a non-slip product was applied on the surface. It remains attractive, though it is over 10 years old. I have only two small issues. One - there is one small stain, perfectly round, on the vanity. It is in the product, something at some time was absorbed. I did try a poultice of baking soda, but it made no difference. I am sorry I don't know what caused it, but wanted you to know such things can happen. The second thing is the window sill in the shower that gets the most sun (we are in southern California where it gets well over 100 degrees regularly in the summer) is beginning to show signs of degrading. Still not bad for its age and conditions. In summary, I am pleased with the product and it has likely been improved in the last decade.

As for double sinks - I am very surprised at the comments above. We have had double sinks, though not always side by side, since we were married. I would not want to go back to one sink. It was of paramount importance when were both working and is efficient to have now, even though it is one more sink to clean. Only when the shower is enclosed separately is one sink functional for us.

Happy remodeling.

Good input, Susan. Thanks.
BP

Lots of good ideas here.

I just finished our master bath and the change that pleases me the most is replacing a water-saver shower head with one that is definitely not. The difference makes you feel like you're standing underneath a (warm/hot) Niagara Falls. Real luxury.

[Jenise]

As for double sinks - I am very surprised at the comments above. We have had double sinks, though not always side by side, since we were married. I would not want to go back to one sink. It was of paramount importance when were both working and is efficient to have now, even though it is one more sink to clean.

Same here. When we travel, the single-sink hotel rooms are always a bit of a dance when we both need to get ready at the same time, but can't. Would never consider that an acceptable situation at home.

Thought I'd give an update on this project for those not following along on the Facey thing:

The demo has been completed and walls moved/removed. Most have been re-framed.

Since 'Winger is getting a bit long in the tooth, we decided to go with double/french door to the bath and enlarged to door to the master closet to easily handle the walker that surely lies in my future.

We will have a couple of grab bars in the shower and actually had them block all the framing for ease of adding grabbies in the future.

Vanity top will be cultured granite (similar to marble) with a single bowl under mount sink.

Shower and surrounds will be matching cultured granite.

Radiant heat in the floors. If anyone is doing this in the future my contractor had a great idea. He mentioned that since the temperature sensors do very rarely "shit the bed" after years of use, it would be a good idea to add second sensor that could easily be connected to the thermostat if the first one fails. For an additional $20, I thought that made more sense that tearing up the tile work.

Today is essentially a day for the electricians. They'll do the rough in for the floor heat, move some duct work and move some outlets and switches as well. Install new recessed light fixtures and put in a new exhaust fan with light and heater.

So far the guys doing the work are great. They show up, they clean up, and if they have any doubts about the specs, they ask. The only hold up I foresee is the cabinet maker who is doing the vanity and some built-ins. He does excellent work but considers himself and artiste and can't be rushed. That's OK as we have two other full baths.

While we wait, the guys can keep busy putting hardwood treads on the basement steps and replacing some carpeting in my basement "office".

Thanks for listening.

BP

I almost forgot the best part of any renovation...so far, no "surprisies" lurking in the walls or under the flooring. Did I mention how much I hate the words, "OH BOY"

That second sensor for the floor is a good idea. We haven't had ours fail, but I hate to think of what would happen if it did.

Does anyone who has heated floors have dogs? I know a couple who built a house with all tile floors heated. Their two dogs hate them, hence they are never used. Was just visiting her last week and she said it was a total waste of money for them. Funny! When we remodeled our bathrooms, we discussed the heated floors and our decorator lead us to some very good looking floor mats instead. Our bathrooms are small because the house is about 37 years old. They are very functional, and the space is adequate for us. Now I prefer the feel of the mats under my feet and we like the looks of them in the bathrooms.

Redwinger: great idea about the second sensor. Our contractor did the same thing for us with the kitchen disposal. I like the idea of a sunken push button near the faucet. Since it was installed in the granite, he suggested a second flip switch along with the switch for the light above the sink. Lucky us for having a contractor who has the homeowners best interests in mind.

No inside dogs here. They think the garage is quite balmy even in the zero degree weather we're having. I'm sure if they had access, they'd love the heated floors.

Does anyone who has heated floors have dogs? I know a couple who built a house with all tile floors heated. Their two dogs hate them, hence they are never used. Was just visiting her last week and she said it was a total waste of money for them. Funny!

We don't have dogs but we have two cats who absolutely love the heated floor.

[Robin Garr]

There are no heated floors, and this renovation was pretty basic compared with 'winger's, but Mary enjoyed having a '70s-style gueest bathroom ripped back to the studs and replaced with a clean, new and pretty space, now actually suitable for guests.

It's tight quarters, the original bath space in a 101-year-old house, so I can't get it all in to the picture, but this gives the sense of it. The checkerboard floor tile may eventually revert back to the original hexagonal tiles or something like them, and we may look into a walk-in shower to make it a full rather than half-bath, although with two other full baths in a household of two people, that might be excessive.

[Jenise]

Robin, what a fun room. Of course, one doesn't go there for fun, but one might as well be entertained. Love the floor and contrasting wall/ceiling paint--wouldn't change it!