Bathroom Remodel tips or things . . .

[stumpy]

you would have done differently?

We have two baths to remodel and we keep putting it off. Well, no longer!!! We are going to redo the master (shower) and the second full bath which has a tub.
What would you have done differently? Any major regrets or helpful hints?

DH and I won't be installing anything . . . we aren't handy. We have been thru a kitchen remodel but a two bathrooms are a totally different story! We will do one bathroom and then the other.

[FoxInFiji]

What type of remodel are you talking about? A total gut? Moving any plumbing fixtures or is it just cosmetic? Pictures? Floorplans?

We're on the tail end of remodeling both our main and master bathrooms that we started in July 2011. It ended up affecting all three of our bedrooms, a hallway, the living room, and parts of the basement too. We did everything ourselves except some of the major plumbing and we expanded both bathrooms so everything had to be moved...hence why it's taking so long.

[stumpy]

Total gut. Well, we plan on keeping the toilets b/c we love our Toto toilets.
The bathrooms are pretty small . . . so we don't have a lot of room to change much. So, it's a gut with everything being replaced in the same place.

[circa1978]

Well, we started a master bath project in Feb that will end up being almost exactly a year in the making for a variety of reasons. My tip is boring and you probably already know this but get several estimates, particularly if you are acting as your own general contractor. The difference between the bid we went with on our plumbing and the high bid was about $5,000. There was a more than $8,000 difference between high and low tile quotes. We got an Angie's List membership, too and that was helpful but even when we were working with two contractors with the same sorts of rankings and reviews, the quotes were all over the place.

[FoxInFiji]

A floorplan or pictures would be very helpful. Do you have some you could post? I've been meaning to get back to all of these bathroom posts so here are my cliff notes:

Epoxy grout - Costs more but doesn't stain and never needs to be sealed. Amazing stuff. I will never install regular cementious grout again! It does take longer to install so if hiring out you will get charged more for the labor as well. Epoxy grout is also waterproof unlike cementious grout.

Natural stone/tile - Beautiful but keep it out of the wet areas if possible. Only pH neutral cleaner should be used on natural stone (very limiting) and if you have hard water or minerals in your water stay away! Cleaning off hard water and mineral stains requires non-pH neutral cleaners so you either live with lots of stains or you ruin your tile. Also all natural stone should be sealed on a regular basis. Every 6 months is the average because water and cleaning wears this off. There are very good looking porcelain tiles that mimic the look of any natural stone you like so check those out. Man made quartz is another great alternative for slabs like vanity countertops or shower benches.

Porcelain - Is the hardest tile and best to use on the floor vs. ceramic. It can be used everywhere and is waterproof unlike natural stone.

Waterproofing - Be anal about this if you want your bathroom to last. Per code the contractor has to do only a minimal amount of this. The best type of shower waterproofing goes on top of the cement board and covers the entire area not just the seams. Paint on (Hydroban or Redguard) or thinset on membrane (Kerdi) are the most common. Construction and waterproofing of a tiled shower floor is super important...they are the number one thing to leak and cause damage so if you have one of those ask me and I'll go into more details.

Exhaust fans - Install them if you don't currently have any. Inline remote fans that sit in an attic or unfinished space not at the ceiling are my favorite. The lighted grills look great and because the fan is not in the room they are quite (see Fan Tech). We have an awesome switch for our fan/light combo that looks like a standard switch but you flip it up the light and fan turn on, all the way down the light turns off and the fan stays on for a preset amount of time (adjustable under the switch plate), or in the center it turns both off. It provides a nice light while showering and insures the fan is always on when the shower is in use.

I <3 our Toto toilets as well! For shower and faucet fixtures we used Grohe and Hansgrohe. They are nice high quality fixtures like Toto. See this post: pandce.proboards.com/thread/126059/tub-shower-trim-etc

Tile floor - How well you prep the floor will determine if your tile or grout cracks. If you have wood joists below you need a minimum of two layers of plywood glued and screwed. One layer being 3/4" thick. Depending on the layers you use you may also need cement board. We used Ditra on all of our floors which is a decoupling membrane allowing the wood to expand and contract without cracking the tile and grout. It is also a waterproof membrane if you seal the seams. We used electric floor mats in both bathrooms on programmable thermostats as well. They are a nice extra to have in the winter. We installed the tile all the way under where our vanities go so that if we ever replace the vanity in the future we won't have to redo the floor.

Tile accents and trims - How you finish off the edges of the tile and the details you use in your pattern determine how good the tile job looks. You can use a cheap tile and still get a great look if you pay attention to all of the details. Similarly expensive tile can look like crap if the edges aren't finished to a similar standard. Compared to field tile trim pieces are very expensive so find ways to use them sparingly but don't go without. The same goes with accent tiles. You can use them sparingly and still get a high impact if you put them in the right spot.

Tubs - Jetted tubs are out. They are hard to clean and not popular anymore. Air tubs are preferred instead (no black mold flakes when you turn them on). Both are pricey so if you don't use a tub often stick with a soaker and get a similar look for a lot less. Or remove the tub all together and make the shower bigger in the master if you have one elsewhere in the house. Cast iron is awesome but heavy and pricey. Higher quality brands of acrylic fiberglass are good. We love our MTI tub a lot more than our Kohler tub but it also cost more. Neither are bad.

Shower niches - Awesome! Have them and don't be afraid to design your own (vs. the premade kits) to fit the products you want where they make sense. I spent a lot of time laying out and designing all of ours and they are one of our favorite features now.

Other things I could talk about if you have them or are interested: glass shower surrounds, custom cabinetry vanities/storage towers, shower designs and fixture picking, tile brands/selections.

HTH

[downtoearth]

I've done a bathroom remodel, but all on our own, so most of my info is about doing it yourself.

As for design and other info...get bids from several contractors - don't just hire a buddy, family, or friend. I agree that jetted tubs suck - mostly to clean. Use quality paint - not big-box store stuff. Don't overthink every detail. Getting a cheaper faucet now or hooks for the wall or light is okay b/c those are easy to change out...tile and major items like the tub/shower are much harder. Oh and lastly, storage in the bathroom is my friend.

[stumpy]

Thanks so much for all the suggestions. I have been crazy busy looking at websites and stores. I am really wondering about hiring a contractor . . . finding a good one can be HARD! We have a couple of leads but we are kinda going in blind b/c only one of them is "known" to us. (this contractor totally redid a friends house after a tree fell during a hurricane. My friend loved his work. My sis had her bathrooms remodeled and hated her contractor . . . so we know one perosn not to use!)

I will try and come back and post some more info and/or design things we are looking at.