Talk to me about minor bathroom reno

[2curlydogs]

So, I think I want to tackle our master bath over break. 

When we first moved in, H picked out what ended up being this bright purple color. I believe it's "Grape Arbor" by Olympic - it looked a lot more muted on the chip and is really vibrant on the wall.

Anyway, I'd like to go a bit (a lot) more subdued. More grey with purple undertones. The bedroom will also eventually be repainted to a lighter color (right now it's Castille by Olympic). These are my two inspiration palettes for overall:

  

In addition, we have a standard shower-tub combo that could use some re-doing. Specifically, I'd like to explore tiling the wall above it (just a basic white) because H and I are stupid tall (my head is even with the top of the shower stall, he is 5" taller than I am) and get the wall all covered in shampoo and water when we shower. Which leads to mildew and crap. Which has led to the caulk along the tub starting to peel up and crack.

So I'm looking at repainting the bathroom, re-caulking the bath tub, and possibly tiling a wall. 

How long would something like this take? The bathroom is not large - maybe 8' deep x 4' wide, not including the tub/shower niche. I have off all next week and the week after and the kids will be in daycare, so I have the house to myself.

ETA: If you have any how-tos on tiling walls and what prep work I would need to do, it would be appreciated. 

[mrs.jacinthe]

Painting will probably take you around 1-1.5 hours, max, although you'll want to do two coats, most likely.

Caulking is a PITA but not too difficult once you get going. Invest in a caulking gun if you don't already have one. The squeeze tubes are next-to-impossible to use an lay down an even bead. Work wet. I'd guess removing the old caulk and putting down new will take around 2 hours (based on how long it takes R to do it), plus however long the dry time on the caulk you choose is.

I know nothing about tiling a wall. Hopefully someone else will chime in on that.

[Deleted]

I can warn you one thing about recaulking: imho, the 100% silicone is more pain than its worth! We had to recaulk three times because the first time, the people at the hardware store who assured us it was the one to use, failed to tell us we had to be insane OCD about prepping the surface: as in, not just clean it but wipe with alcohol to remove the tiniest molecule of anything. I'm still not happy with it. We're not skilled, I don't know how skilled you are, but it took around 2 hours just remove the caulking and another 2 hours to put the new stuff down including pre-taping, smoothing, etc.

[wawa]

I'd assume a day for caulk. Which sounds ridiculous, but removing old caulk is a BITCH.
2 days for paint with 2 coats and dry time.

Which leaves plenty of time for tile. So timeline is doable.

I'm assuming when you say tiling the wall we're talking about just the portion above the fiberglass surround? Or would you take out the shower surround and tile down to the tub?

Either way, given that this is a wet area for you, I'd recommend ripping out the existing drywall and hanging cement board as your tile substrate. Then you'll need to essentially skim coat the cement board (you tape and use thinset like drywall mud on all the seams, but I found it's easier to get an even surface if you just skimcoat the whole damn thing once you get the fiberglass tape up. Waterproofing needs I think change depending on if you're replacing the surround or just extending it. FoxInFiji can direct you better there. From there you just get your tile up, grout, caulk at the transition between tile and tub/surround and go on with your merry self. You'll probably have to do some drywall mud work at the transition between tile/cement board and drywall. My suggestion (as in, this is what I did) is to extend the cement board to the next adjacent stud, tile to wherever you want to tile, and then tape and drywall mud over the exposed cement board/drywall transition to get a smooth surface for paint. That part takes some practice, but it's a small area, so just do your best and expect lots of sanding if you aren't used to mudding. Messy but not problematic.

Obviously tile first, then caulk then paint.

For the actual tiling - Mix up your thinset relatively thick (think peanut butter) so it sticks. Use spacers. Use spacers. Definitely use spacers. Stop and step back and check your lines often to be sure that you aren't wandering off kilter. I drew pencil lines all over my walls so I had something to use as a guide for level and plumb. Oh...figure out your layout ahead of time. Like, actually measure out your area, and then pretend layout your tiles on the floor to those measurements so you know that you aren't going to end up with a weird sliver at one end or the other. Expect that your ceiling is NOT level. It might be...but it probably isn't. Don't assume that you can just extrapolate one measurement from one end to the other, it probably changes. Use a tile saw. Mix thinset in small batches and stay within the recommended working time on the bag.

Uhhhh, I think that's about it?

[2curlydogs]

Dec 18, 2014 10:06:26 GMT -5 wawa said:

I'm assuming when you say tiling the wall we're talking about just the portion above the fiberglass surround? Or would you take out the shower surround and tile down to the tub?

Either way, given that this is a wet area for you, I'd recommend ripping out the existing drywall and hanging cement board as your tile substrate.

Ok, so....

Yes. Tiling above the fiberglass surround. But what you're describing sounds like a lot more work/effort than I want to put in at this time. So I'm thinking maybe I'll just scrub the walls, prime everything with Killz, and then just re-caulk and re-paint. 

[2curlydogs]

Dec 18, 2014 15:37:13 GMT -5 FormerlyRR said:

Dec 18, 2014 14:49:22 GMT -5 2curlydogs said:

Ok, so....

Yes. Tiling above the fiberglass surround. But what you're describing sounds like a lot more work/effort than I want to put in at this time. So I'm thinking maybe I'll just scrub the walls, prime everything with Killz, and then just re-caulk and re-paint. 

Or you could put up FRP above the tub surround. Its that pebbled wall surface you have probably seen in commercial bathrooms. 

I have not heard of this!

And google tells me there's something called tileboard that looks like tile but is not.

www.homedepot.com/p/Aquatile-1-8-in-Toned-White-Tileboard-709108/202090197?N=5yc1vZbqo9

EEEEEEEEEEEEEENTeresting.

[wawa]

Dec 18, 2014 14:49:22 GMT -5 2curlydogs said:

Dec 18, 2014 10:06:26 GMT -5 wawa said:

I'm assuming when you say tiling the wall we're talking about just the portion above the fiberglass surround? Or would you take out the shower surround and tile down to the tub?

Either way, given that this is a wet area for you, I'd recommend ripping out the existing drywall and hanging cement board as your tile substrate.

Ok, so....

Yes. Tiling above the fiberglass surround. But what you're describing sounds like a lot more work/effort than I want to put in at this time. So I'm thinking maybe I'll just scrub the walls, prime everything with Killz, and then just re-caulk and re-paint. 

Tile is one of those things that can be done quickly but...not "right". You'll still have wetness/mildew issues, theyll just be behind the tile. It would be better than nothing, but if you're going to go with a slapdash thing (which I totally get) then I'd lean toward the other options.

[FoxInFiji]

Yes sorry Wawa is right. Ideally there would be a cement board substrate in a wet area. People often get away with tiling on drywall in places like kitchen backsplashes but a wet area should be cement board so there is no paper for mold to grow on. What a lot of people don't realize is that grout is porous and not waterproof. Unless you use something like epoxy grout but even that is not completely waterproof if there are any small gaps.

That said for a temporary job you could look at getting a paint on waterproofing like Hyrdroban or Red Guard and tile over that. It wouldn't be ideal but it could work for a short term solution if you're going to be renovating in a few years.

The seam between the drywall and your shower surround is going to be your weakest point. If that is truely getting wet multiple times a day I'd be worried about mold growth in the wall as there is not likely any waterproofing/plastic sheeting/tar paper behind a shower surround like there would be in a tiled shower. There really isn't anything you can do there but use 100% silicon which as a pp noted can be hard to apply and seal completely.