Mini Project: Master Bathroom
Updated: Dec 18, 2020
When we moved in, our master bathroom had a single sink vanity, toilet, claw foot tub with two feet propped up on blocks, a shower, and a small storage area. Ideally, we would have demolished the entire bathroom and figured out a way to use the small storage area as a water closet, which would require shrinking the shower. Then, we could leave the tub where it was (figuratively, of course...we would put feet on it first), and put in a double vanity. Depending on the state of the bathroom underneath the walls and floors, this full remodel would cost about $12,000. we heavily considered this option before we bought the property.
Here are some before pictures from the listing (sorry they're blurry):
Because the bathroom had been redone at one point, we decided against a full remodel right away. We could just change out the vanity and toilet. Then, we realized the floor tiles were not put in properly. They were basically mortared to the subfloor, so some of them moved as you walked on them. Some were cracked. Thus, we added master bathroom floors to the list, and Aric demo'd the floors. We quickly discovered that the shower pan either did not exist or was leaking:
This moment marked our first major setback on the entire project, in which we'd have to do something to the house we had not planned on doing right away. Once again, we considered redoing the bathroom, but when ended up deciding to redo just the bottom of the shower to put in a proper shower pan and tile the floors. Off we went to the tile store to pick tile.
We had a heck of a time picking tile that would match what was there in the shower already. We grabbed some samples and headed home. The following day, the tile team was there to get the concrete in the shower so it could set before tiling. We were able to quickly make choices and off Aric went to the tile store to return the samples and pick up our selection.
On Day 2, the team worked tirelessly to tile the shower and the floors. Unfortunately, they told us halfway through the day we needed more materials. I had to go to the tile store at lunch, as it was my turn. We don't want to go back to a tile store for a long time.
As you can see, we decided to use the floor tile in the shower and up the sides with what they call "pencils" as a border. The floor tiles are huge 24x24 inch pieces that are distressed. We thought the distressed look worked for the 119-year-old house, and we like having the blue to add a bit of color.
Over the weekend, Aric installed the new toilet and vanity. The bathroom is not final because there is a bit of trim work and we need to re-install the tub, but it's close enough that I wanted to share it!
Updated 12/18/2020 with final pictures:
