The Great Bathroom Remodel of 2016.....Part 3

So let's talk a bit before I show more Reno Porn photos.

Our first choice of flooring was this.......

It's a tile product that looks like weathered wood.  We chose the whitewashed pecan board look as it is in gray tones.
This tile comes in long planks like wooden board flooring.

Our contractor gave us a look when we showed him what he had picked out.
Seems this type of tile has a problem.

First they don't always come perfect from the factory.  Contractor has had experience with laying this flooring and has found that the boxes of tile contain many planks that have factory flaws-they come bowed and are not straight.  What happens when you walk on tile planks that aren't straight?  Over time and stress they crack and break, meaning floor repairs over the life of the tile.

Also, even if the tiles are true your sub floor needs to be perfectly plumb.  A square tile(even a 12 inch one)can be laid on a less than perfect sub floor and be ok.  A long plank tile laid on the same less than perfect sub floor will cause problems and you end up with buckling tiles and/or cracked/broken tiles over time.
Contractor has had complaints about these plank tile floors he has put in once the floors are walked on and has had to redo them.  He does not like to put these in anymore(and who can blame him?).

So since we are flexible and not ultra-picky and want what we want no matter what! people, we chose a second tile in the same tones as the original.
It's called Chilo Grey.

Bonus was that this gray tone square tile was ONE THIRD the price of our first choice....score!

Day 2 the walls were mostly back up, except for this one segment under/next to the window.
I would be ok with leaving the drywall unpainted(PURPLE!)but there is the little issue of taping and spackling the seams.
Oh well.....

After the weekend(they don't work the weekends), Day 3 of the job, the walls were all up and the first round of tape and spackle was also done.....

The new bathtub and walls were also in.
So white and shiny and new!
Knobs, faucet and shower head still to be installed.

We went for a tub surround/shower wall system as opposed to retiling the bath area.
The cost was less(tiling is slow and tedious work and costs much more in labor)and the maintenance/upkeep is easier.  No grout to clean constantly.
We chose a wall system with built in ledges for soap and bottles of 'poo.  Hopefully Hubs won't fill them all up with stuff.

On Day 4 there was another round of sanding and spackle and then the mortar went down on the floor and the tile got laid.

Things are beginning to look like something now.

Day 5 was a short workday with  another round of sand and spackle and then the white primer went up on the walls.  This is the "boring" part of the process as spackle has to dry in between coats so it doesn't look like any progress is being made.

Day 6 another round of primer and then the first coat of paint went up before they left.
We chose a warm gray called "Tempered Gray" for the wall color.

Knowing that the small little paint chip you choose your colors from sometimes can be too dark or overwhelming once it's on your walls, even though this was what most would call a pale tint, I was still reticent about the color until it went up and dried.


Here is someone else's room painted with this color.....

I wanted a warm gray but not something that was too brown or muddy.  This tint seemed not as cool as some grays can be, but still clean looking.
My fears were assuaged once I saw the dried walls.

I didn't get a photo of the walls in the bathroom with the paint up until after they were done.

Day 7 was more coats of paint and some trim work and grouting the tile floor.  Trim going back up is white as is the closet door. Grout is a darker shade of the tile so it recedes into the background.

This photo below is where we left off for the weekend when Day 7 was done.  The job couldn't be finished on last Friday as expected.

Due to a manufacturing flaw with the sink top which wasn't uncovered until Friday when they took it out of the box, the trim couldn't be finished since they couldn't install the vanity cabinet/sink first....which needed to be done first.
Ugh.

So this is where we where at the end of Day 7.
Walls done, floor done, tub and surround and tub/shower fixtures done.

Not a great shot of the grouted floor and the wall heater is still propped up in the corner and not put back into place.

Luckily for us another Lowe's nearby had the same sink top we ordered in stock so it would be available by Monday to be put in and the job wouldn't be held up weeks and weeks waiting on another identical sink top to arrive.  Had another sink top not been available locally we'd have had to go find one at another Lowe's elsewhere in the state or wait for another one to be ordered and arrive from the manufacturer.  Or, since I am not ultra-picky I might have gone with another sink top that WAS available now.  I wanted the plain white one but could have talked myself into something else if push came to shove.

The sink flaw was small(a pinpoint sized spot/hole where the glaze hadn't taken on the right front corner of the unit but why accept and put in a flawed product when we didn't have to?  Having spent this amount of money(!!!)I wanted it right.  Plus being on the front I would have noticed it every time I used that sink.   I guess I do have a level of picky-ness if I am paying for it. lolz

But everything came together on Day 8 of the job, which was this past Monday, with just a few little issues to correct/address.

I'll share the final photos in the next Update Post.


Sluggy

The Great Bathroom Renovation of 2016.... Part 1

So I took these BEFORE Photos of our Master Bathroom last Wednesday, the day before I began living in a Construction Zone.
It's a basic bathroom really.

Here is the toilet.  The "thing" between the toilet and the sink/vanity cabinet is a tile covered surface that I suppose was to be used as a vanity table with a chair.  We just throw our toiletries on top of it and put a waste basket underneath.
Notice that there is a halfway/kneewall behind the tiled surface and the sink top adjoining it, in front of the mirror.

Here is the tub area.  This is the same tile used on that tiled vanity across the room.

Well, except that this whirlpool tub was replaced before we moved in(as they didn't think the old whirlpool tub worked-it did work but the previous owners had the power to the jets shut off-a whole other kettle of stinky fish that was!). The plumber who replaced the tub had to take out the bottom row of tiles and replaced them with a half row(this tub was taller than the old tub)of plain ivory colored tiles, which didn't match the white tiles with diagonal pastel colored stripes that are the old tiles.
But what was worse was that the plumber(or whoever he hired to do the retiling work)also removed a hunk of the backerboard behind the tiles and never replaced or repaired that before putting new tiles on!
So we have been living with nothing behind the bottom row of tiles for 15 years and being as it's a shower/tub area-which gets a lot of moisture obviously-it's been nearly impossible to keep clean as you can't put any pressure on the caulk/tiles there.  Yes, there is no grout between those tiles in that row, just caulk....lots and lots of caulk over the years.

We finally gave up cleaning and using this tub/shower about a year ago when we decided to redo this bathroom.
I won't show you a close-up of this photo as it's gross.

This is the bathroom closet door.  It too is broken and has never closed properly.  It was cut down from a larger door blank and never hung correctly.

Notice too that all the room trim and door(also the bathroom door)is this faux wood color.  I suppose that was the "in" color for doors/trim when this palace was built in the 1980's....or plastic wood-look trim was cheaper and easier to finish off than real wood trim(no sealing or painting required).

This is the toilet and a good shot of the floor in the room.
The toilet is NOT white or off-white or ivory.
It is the palest tint of GREEN known to man.
See the roll of tp on the right to compare white to the green of this toilet.

Now the green in the tiles in the room are about 3 shades deeper.  To add to this cachophony of color notice that the floor vinyl tiles are another 10 shades darker than the tile so we have 3 shades of green in a very small room that aren't even in the SAME COLOR PALETTE!

Needless to say my color sense is assaulted every time I have to go into this room!

Now let's add the vanity/sink in.  The cabinet is a builder's grade oak color with crappy door handles.
The sink/counter top is an ivory colored faux marbling item with a styleless chrome faucet.
Doesn't the ivory counter top look just spiffy next to the white tiles with pastel strips?
Bonus-you can see the moldy caulk over the tub in the mirror!!
Living the dream folks, living the dream.....

Here's a better shot of the tiles.....they are textured too boot!
Pastel pink, green and blue dashes of color on a white background.  I guess the builder was covering lots of bases in case you wanted to change the color scheme/decor in here. lolz

And here is the wall with the bathroom door, next to the sink/counter top and the mirror.
You'll notice that the towel ring is a deluxe $10 model and that the mirror is just a huge sheet (4x4.5 feet?) of mirror glued to the drywall with a thin metal strip nailed to the wall to frame it.
Classy......

"Who needs a mirror THIS BIG??", I ask as I wave to y'all! lol

And over the mirror is a soffit housing two spotlights potlights.
There is also a soffit over the tub area.  It's a strange design choice at best which we will explore more fully in a later post.

So that was the State of the Bathroom last week.

On Thursday that all changed however......and not a moment too soon!

Sluggy