Budget bathroom

[SusanBAnthony]

We are tearing out our original 1952 basement half bath, and enlarging it to a 3/4 bath with a shower. It will be taken down to the studs with nothing saved (it's in rough shape).

Our house is a 1952 ranch with mostly original everything. It isn't really modern but the house itself and our decor is very mid century and we want to keep it that way.

We have two motivations: 1, add a shower for the kids as we only have one other bathroom. 2, adding a sprayer on a hose to make bathing our large dog easier (the main bathroom cannot be modified to add a sprayer because of the original plumbing and tile).

Things I know for sure:
-The shower will be a fiberglass surround and probably about 4' long
-I want the toilet to be easy to clean
-The floor will be tile
-Overall I want fairly cheap and durable, not fancy.


We have a contractor and we are close to needing to pick out everything. Our contractor does not do any design.

Any suggestions?

[melmo1122]

I just did my basement bath and picked out large format floor tile. The least amount of grout to clean the better

I picked this toilet for the smooth bottom section making it easy to clean. not sure if this style has a name but here’s the link.

www.lowes.com/pd/American-Standard-Clean-White-WaterSense-Elongated-Chair-Height-2-Piece-Toilet-12-in-Rough-In-Size/1000247233

[SusanBAnthony]

Sept 2, 2021 5:58:43 GMT -5 melmo1122 said:

I just did my basement bath and picked out large format floor tile. The least amount of grout to clean the better

I picked this toilet for the smooth bottom section making it easy to clean. not sure if this style has a name but here’s the link.

www.lowes.com/pd/American-Standard-Clean-White-WaterSense-Elongated-Chair-Height-2-Piece-Toilet-12-in-Rough-In-Size/1000247233

Yes, that is the style of toilet I was thinking about! And very reasonably priced too.

[aspentosh]

I highly recommend seeing if you have a Floor and Decor nearby for tile, grout, etc. HD and Lowes have pretty decent prices too, but I find F&D has a better selection.

[purplinsky]

Sept 2, 2021 7:23:11 GMT -5 SusanBAnthony said:

Sept 2, 2021 5:58:43 GMT -5 melmo1122 said:

I just did my basement bath and picked out large format floor tile. The least amount of grout to clean the better

I picked this toilet for the smooth bottom section making it easy to clean. not sure if this style has a name but here’s the link.

www.lowes.com/pd/American-Standard-Clean-White-WaterSense-Elongated-Chair-Height-2-Piece-Toilet-12-in-Rough-In-Size/1000247233

Yes, that is the style of toilet I was thinking about! And very reasonably priced too.

Two of the toilets in my house are this style and I think they look nice, but I had an issue with the float mechanism and had to replace it; it was so much harder to reach and disconnect the water line and the screws that hold the tank in place. Maybe I wasn't doing it right, but I have since sworn off this style of toilet due to how hard it is to access things to perform a repair. Whenever these toilets need replacement I'll be choosing a more practical design. That's just been my experience.

[SusanBAnthony]

Sept 2, 2021 10:27:36 GMT -5 purplinsky said:

Sept 2, 2021 7:23:11 GMT -5 SusanBAnthony said:

Yes, that is the style of toilet I was thinking about! And very reasonably priced too.

Two of the toilets in my house are this style and I think they look nice, but I had an issue with the float mechanism and had to replace it; it was so much harder to reach and disconnect the water line and the screws that hold the tank in place. Maybe I wasn't doing it right, but I have since sworn off this style of toilet due to how hard it is to access things to perform a repair. Whenever these toilets need replacement I'll be choosing a more practical design. That's just been my experience.

Oh good points....

Is there anything in the middle that looks a little more modern but is also practical? Honestly my toilet isn't a hill I'm going to die on haha, so when push cones to shove I'll spend more on tile or vanity and buy a basic toilet.

[majesty318]

Sept 2, 2021 8:55:18 GMT -5 aspentosh said:

I highly recommend seeing if you have a Floor and Decor nearby for tile, grout, etc. HD and Lowes have pretty decent prices too, but I find F&D has a better selection.

Yes we did our kitchen, basement, and 2nd bath floors with tile from Floor & Decor. Huge selection and cheaper for what we wanted.

[SusanBAnthony]

Sept 2, 2021 8:55:18 GMT -5 aspentosh said:

I highly recommend seeing if you have a Floor and Decor nearby for tile, grout, etc. HD and Lowes have pretty decent prices too, but I find F&D has a better selection.

Unfortunately the closest one is about a 6 hour drive! Oh well.

[SusanBAnthony]

Update: our contractor is running behind and now we are looking at January. So we have a little more time.