On renovating a bathroom - Consumer Reports Dos & Don'ts

OK. The timing was too coincidental for me to just let this pass by.  This week Consumer Reports sent out their latest Dos & Dont's with bathroom remodeling. (Uh oh, I am afraid to look.)

I thought it would be fun to do a quick recap of their Seven Good Ideas and Seven Costly Mistakes to see how we've already fared with our project. This should be interesting...

If you want to read the complete article, go to    http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/03/bathroom-remodeling-guide-dos-and-don-ts.html

The Seven Good Ideas

1. Budget for the unexpected

What they say: Given the prevalence of water, I guess this makes even greater sense with bathroom remodels.  CR suggests an extra 10-15%.

Where we are: We built in some extra padding, but I think CR should suggest more if you are dealing with an older house. There are so many other unknown factors that come into play when dealing with building techniques and materials used at the turn of the century - knob and tube wiring, out of code plumbing, poured cement floors used for reinforcement, etc. We're still in demolition phase and we've already surpassed the 10-15% mark. 

2. Hide the toilet

What they say: A toilet's placement should have a little privacy.

Where we are: Too late. No half walls or alcoves here. The space already has to work with an articulated ceiling due to a low roof line. We're trying to open it up verses closing it in. The toilet was open to the room before, it'll also stay that way. 

3. Do choose appropriate surfaces

What they say: Consider materials that stand up to abuse and consider larger tile sizes to ease upkeep (eg fewer grout lines to clean).

Where we are: Mixed bag. We are working with larger tiles so we are moving into the easier cleaning category. We are, however, using marble tiles, not CR recommended porcelain, for the walls and floor. In the master, we wanted a little more of an elegant, sophisticated look. We assumed the master bath wouldn't take as much "beating" as say a kids bath.

Our sinks are porcelain, again not CR recommended (for sinks in particular). Since we opted for marble on the walls, we needed a different surface for the sinks. There's too much variation in marble products, colors & finishes to try and match them. Sorry CR. Other variables in play here.

4. Splurge on the shower

What they say: Tubs are passe. Create a sensual experience with the shower.

Where we are: Nailed it! Our shower is getting a complete makeover. Larger size, rainhead, handheld, shower seat, marble surround. This was a primary focus for us. Glad CR approves. 

5. Consider water efficiency
What they say: Conservation is always a good thing.

Where we are: We knew our fixtures were dated and opted for them all to be replaced. (The toilet in the guest bath was 1920 original.) Swapping them out was not just the economical thing to do, but also the right thing to do.




6. Make room on the vanity

What they say: Consider vanity counter space. Possibly a vanity size large enough to handle 2 sinks, but housing only one to yield all that extra square footage.  

Where we are: We absolutely planned for extra counter space. Our original master space had only one sink for the two of us. We knew we needed more room to spread out. We differ from CR on how we approached the solution. We opted for 2 complete side-by-side freestanding sinks. While we considered double sinks on the same platform, we never found options that worked (The styles we liked were only available with marble tops and, as already mentioned above, our need was for for non-marble materials). There were some oversized single-basin porcelain units available, but we don't subscribe to what CR says  - "couples usually realize that the second source of water is less important than the additional countertop." Not in our household! There have been too many toothpaste spits on unsuspecting arms reaching across the basin. Yea. We'll spend the extra plumbing money. We need our own sinks...        


7. Provide adequate ventilation and light
What they say: Moisture not only breeds mold and mildew, it can take a toll on finishes and painted surfaces. Get a fan. Also plan for different layers of light. 

Where we are: Check. Check. Exhaust fan not original in 1920's house. It's now being put in (code factor, anyway). As for lighting, the room has been designed with lighting from several sources. Two cans will be placed lengthwise on the ceiling.  Sconces will be on either side of the two medicine cabinets. And two mini-cans will be inside the shower stall. All will be on dimmers.

Seven costly mistakes

 
1. Don’t rush the process

What they say: Poor planning is the leading cause of cost overruns on these projects. You should spend several weeks to a few months on the planning process.

Where we are: I'd say we're in the middle on this one. In terms of design, we've been gathering ideas, probing experts and formulating some planning guidelines for some time - on and off for a good couple of years. In terms of getting the project started, we probably jumped in a little too quickly and it's becoming obvious. As mentioned above, we're only in demolition and the scope of the project has already experienced some costly creep. (We'll get into this in later posts). I think there's merit in this warning...        

2. Don’t skimp on skilled labor

What they say: Be wary of DIY as a way to cut costs.

Where we are: Total agreement. We've seen too many homes where you don't need to ask "so, you did this yourselves?" Pay for the people who know what there are doing. Also get a credible contractor with customer recommendations. Realistically, I think it's tough to get three really thoughtful bids. Expect to get "ballparks" in the first round.  Then choose the one contractor you want to work with - eg not necessarily the lowest cost. Then go over the bid again with them to really make sure the numbers are, as they say, well scrubbed. 

3. Don’t cut corners on key materials

What they say: Don't cheap out on the materials that get the most use. 

Where we are: Agreed. We've been very sensible here. Looking for lasting quality. Maybe paying a little more for better design, but not breaking our bank.
                          

4. Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow

What they say: Consider how you will age with the space.

Where we are: Honestly, this never came up in our thought process. Our expanded walk-in shower, hand held spray and a built in seat coincidentally delivers on some of CR's stated future needs. (Um, sure, we planned that...) Zero thresholds, grab bars and comfort height toilets? Sorry, not planned in this scope. It's a two story home with all bedrooms upstairs - it already has much larger access issues that just the baths.

5. Don’t forget to factor in water use

What they say: Tricked out showers can drive water consumption. 

Where we are: While we have added some extras to our shower, we did not add features that would necessarily be used simultaneously. There are no body sprays, etc. We have a standard shower head, a rain shower head and a hand held. I guess we could use a couple at a time? I wouldn't expect to be an regular situation though...

6. Don’t buy products online without seeing them in person

What they say: Be wary. Materials and finishes aren't always as they appear on your computer screen. 

Where we are: Not sure how to answer this. We actually shopped both brick & mortar and online stores and bought about 50/50. We found much more competitive pricing online with the additional bonus of no sales tax and, in many cases, free shipping. I would absolutely agree there's more risk going online. Then again, there are so many buyer protection services out there on Amazon, EBay, PayPal that help provide some buyer assurances. If you are really needing something with an exact match, yea, go local to see and feel. We specifically went local for faucet fixtures to ensure design and quality. Dunno. I'd say both options should always be considered...


7. Don’t forget about storage

What they say: Think convenience

Where we are: We're actually adding a second medicine cabinet so in a sense we're adding space, right?  That being said, the original layout never had a closet or undersink cabinet and the new layout doesn't either. Hummm. Zero loss. Zero gain. The new configuration, however, does open up more room for us to consider a freestanding dresser or pharmacy cabinet. We've also seen in Waterworks the use of wicker baskets under the console sinks to store additional items. We'll be exploring all of those...  


So there you have it - the good and the bad.  I think we did pretty well. Phew. I honestly was expecting the worse. Stay tuned. 


Till the next time...


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On renovating a bathroom - and so it begins

Do we ever know where the inspiration to renovate really comes from? Is it boredom? Necessity? Pride? Curiosity? Stupidity? Can it ever be answered? Well, the "calling" came to us. We decided to bite the bullet and tackle the master bathroom. We're now going to share this experience, step by step over the next few months. We'll share all that we encounter  - the good, the bad and the ugly.

Why?

Our reasoning for doing this room, at this time, in this scale is a proverbial mixed bag. There is SOME necessity (no, I am not rationalizing things here.) The 1920's house was built with the bathroom located directly over a large front entry hall. Any water issues, from large to small, are literally front and center - to be seen by everyone, everyday. We've now had this minor seepage for a few years now. Plumbers confirmed it's not from the shower faucets. It's either coming from cracked wall & floor tiles and/or disintegrating window frames & sills. All of them original to the 1920 construction. Um...so where do we start?

And that's not all...

Compounding the issue is that there are no simple ways to fix and patch. Hyeah, I know. The shower subway tiles extend and wrap around the room so any window replacement or wall patch work will be noticeable. Attention! Work was done here! There is no way to match the patina of original 1920's tile with anything manufactured today. (I know, thanks.)

There's also no clean technique to remove either floor or wall tiles and leave the sub-layers intact. (Cue foreshadowing music - you see where the thinking is going.)  If we are going to remove the walls, floor and windows to create a clean slate, then why don't we revise the room layout to better meet our particular needs?  Makes "sense", right?  This means adding a double vanity which, by the way, requires a relocation of the toilet.  Ker-ching$.  Ker-ching$. Not to mention we need frame-less glass shower doors, heated floors, marble instead of tile... The madness only continues from here. (This is where the lines are blurred between necessity and stupidity...)

And now overkill

So, we thought, if we're going to be doing some work in the house anyway, why don't we take the opportunity to address the few issues in the guest bath. Makes sense, right? "We'll be saving money since the workers will already be here..." Yea, dot, dot, dot...

This bath needed some corrective work the day we moved in. The toilet and sink were original and required updating to align with code and water conservation guidelines. The wood floor area around the toilet was deteriorating from years of condensation with the old-style toilet design. Finally, with it's position under a roof eave, the claw foot tub could never accommodate an attached shower system. Guests were forced to to walk down the hall and shower in the master. Awkward.


So, this is really a "small" add-on job, right?  Replace/re-tile floor, swap out sink and toilet and reverse position of tub and install a vintage exposed shower system. Simple. Just a few hundred more?
The saga begins

So we'll pick up in the next post on the bidding process and the first shoe drop. After that we'll get into the demolition. You know writing about this, as it happens, may actually be therapeutic for me. For all that goes bad? It gives me more to write about!

As they say, hang onto your hats, it's going to be a wild ride...

Till the next time