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Planning a full bathroom remodel

  • justincredible
    My wife is making me remodel our downstairs bathroom this year so I'm in the process of planning it now. Luckily it's small (tnwss) so it won't cost a ton of money. Dimensions for flooring is only 5'x5' and the tub takes up the entire side of the room. Other than the actual tub and possibly the toilet I'll be gutting it down to the studs and starting from scratch. This will be 100% DIY with possibly some help from the neighbor or father-in-law. Anyone have any experience remodeling a bathroom with any tips or pointers? Any good resources for either materials or how-to's I should check out?
  • LJ
    1. Gut bathroom
    2. Fuck up putting it back together
    3. Say "fuck it" and use bucket as shitter
    4. Get divorce
  • justincredible
    This is our general inspiration for the tub/shower:



    Probably not the same color but we want to do glass tile and we are leaning towards those actual fixtures right now.

    Anyone have any experience buying glass tile online? Probably a long shot but maybe someone on here has. There are a ton of online stores that sell just glass tile so I'd like to narrow that list down if possible.
  • justincredible
    LJ;706973 wrote:1. Gut bathroom
    2. Fuck up putting it back together
    3. Say "fuck it" and use bucket as shitter
    4. Get divorce

    Probably.
  • wes_mantooth
    Yeah, I agree with lj, just get a divorce.
  • se-alum
    Should be a fairly easy DIY project. The tile is relatively easy to install on cement board. Make sure you use galvanized screws. Over time the moisture will rust drywall screws and start to create waves in your tile work.
  • j_crazy
    That shower looks like the fucking matrix. Horrible horrible tastes.


    Good luck I'm not very handy so none of my advice would be any good.
  • justincredible
    j_crazy;707029 wrote:That shower looks like the fucking matrix. Horrible horrible tastes.


    Good luck I'm not very handy so none of my advice would be any good.

    Glass tile mosaics = GOAT
  • mcburg93
    Why are you taking down to the studs? Are you pulling out the tub?
  • THE4RINGZ
    It's a slippery slope. You do a good job on this, and you'll be re-roofing the house this summer. Fuck up the first DIY project, and she will never ask you to do another one, and this is, WIN-ING.
  • justincredible
    mcburg93;707043 wrote:Why are you taking down to the studs? Are you pulling out the tub?
    Because the current walls are all fuckered up. Whoever put in the bathroom (it isn't original to the house) did a piss-poor job. The tub is staying in.
    THE4RINGZ;707044 wrote:It's a slippery slope. You do a good job on this, and you'll be re-roofing the house this summer. Fuck up the first DIY project, and she will never ask you to do another one, and this is, WIN-ING.

    The roof was just replaced this summer by insurance. Winning.
  • justincredible
    The tub is old but it's cast iron with enamel and is still in great shape other than one small chip. The toilet is fine but I might end up replacing it because it's so old. It currently has a pedestal sink but we are going to put a wall mount sink to free up some of the limited floor space.
  • mcburg93
    Understand now the biggest thing is make sure you put in some backing boards for the wall mount sink. There will be directions as to the height to put it in at. If you dont put it it it makes for a rather hard job and a not so sturdy sink. Remember you have to allow for the flooring your putting in too for this also. The toilet you might just rebuild it cause older toilets flush better then the newer ones. Although they have better designs now and better flushing but the older toilets are still a little better. Also you might want to check all your outlets and if you want to add more it will be the time to do it. also the fault breaker outlets are code and I would highly recommend using them if it dont already have them.
  • justincredible
    The bathroom does have a GFCI outlet if that's what you mean. There is only one outlet in the bathroom, I think, but we don't use it for anything but showering and pooping so it doesn't really need any more. This toilet does flush well, I don't believe I've ever been able to clog it, but it takes down at least 100 gallons per flush (exaggerating, obviously). Are low-flow toilets not recommended?
  • se-alum
    justincredible;707060 wrote:The bathroom does have a GFCI outlet if that's what you mean. There is only one outlet in the bathroom, I think, but we don't use it for anything but showering and pooping so it doesn't really need any more. This toilet does flush well, I don't believe I've ever been able to clog it, but it takes down at least 100 gallons per flush (exaggerating, obviously). Are low-flow toilets not recommended?

    Low flow toilets are the devil.
  • justincredible
    The (not) awesome thing is I get to remodel the second floor bathroom after this. It is equally as small but I have no fuggin' idea what I am going to do with it. It currently has a claw foot tub that I'd like to remove and replace with a standing shower but I'm not 100% sure how I'm going to do that.
  • Apple
    Justin- Though a single electrical outlet may be fine for your needs, you might want to think about what the next people who own the house may find appealing (resale appeal). When you sell your house it will probably be purchased by a couple. More times than not, you will be trying to sell it to the wife and the bathroom is a huge factor in her purchasing plans.

    Though it was only me and my two kids living here, when I did the DIY on our bathroom, a possible woman who would eventually buy the house was a motivation on how I did the remodel. Took everything down to the studs, left the toilet and tub, replaced the plastic shower walls with tile and replaced the vanity sink counter and cabinet with a pedestal sink.

    Like you, there was just one outlet and there was also just a single ceiling light. I added a second GFCI outlet about 6 inches above a 1x6 shelf I installed that goes across the wall above the sink and toilet. The shelf is a nice place for interior decorations above the toilet. Above the sink the shelf is a great place to use getting ready in the morning (makeup, hairbrush, toiletries). The second outlet above the shelf is very convenient for hair dryer/flattener/razor etc. I also put in a new light/exhaust fan ceiling unit as well as a wall light fixture above the mirror and sink. All 3 fixtures can be turned on/off independently.

    Remodel projects like this are a prime time to make little changes that could really help with the resale of the house even if you don't necessarily need or want the extra amenities yourself.
  • gerb131
    justincredible;707073 wrote:The (not) awesome thing is I get to remodel the second floor bathroom after this. It is equally as small but I have no fuggin' idea what I am going to do with it. It currently has a claw foot tub that I'd like to remove and replace with a standing shower but I'm not 100% sure how I'm going to do that.

    I'd love to have a claw foot tub. Let me know what ya plan to do with it down the road.
  • Scarlet_Buckeye
    Replace the toilet while you can. They are not that expensive. Also, when you replace it, get a HIGH toilet = GOAT. Not a standard shorter one.
  • LJ
    justincredible;707048 wrote:The tub is old but it's cast iron with enamel and is still in great shape other than one small chip. The toilet is fine but I might end up replacing it because it's so old. It currently has a pedestal sink but we are going to put a wall mount sink to free up some of the limited floor space.

    A lot of times those tubs were installed before the house was finished. Goodluck ever getting it out
  • THE4RINGZ
    Just sawzall the tub up into manageable pieces and carry it out.
  • mcburg93
    I recommend holding on to the old toilet just cause the new ones dont flush as well. Old ones use three gallons and new ones uses 1.5 per flush. If your big on being green then i would get a new one. With the new one make sure you keep a plunger near at all times. The gfci is what i am talking about just couldnt remember what they were called at the time. The up stairs wont be as bad as you think just will have to build a wall once you get the tub outta there unless you go with a sixty inch shower base too. Most of the time the way we get the old tubs out are busting them up with a sledge hammer. to just take it out them things weight about three hundred pounds. Since its up stairs if someone wants it I would hire someone to take it out lol just cause the weight of the tub is so much. Old claw foot tubs used to sell pretty good but not sure if they still are havent sold one in a long time.
  • thavoice
    THE4RINGZ;707044 wrote:It's a slippery slope. You do a good job on this, and you'll be re-roofing the house this summer. Fuck up the first DIY project, and she will never ask you to do another one, and this is, WIN-ING.

    True, but this isnt like fucking up the laundry, or doing the dishes, so bad the wife takes over.
    Mess up a DIY think like the bathroom and then she takes over from there on out and you can expect future projects to cost double, or triple, than it would with some contractor doing it.

    At least DIY you can steer things in adirection that is a little bit cheaper.

    BTW......you are in a lose-lose situation here. Do it well and she will have you gutting each room on a rotating basis, but do it bad and she will have it professsionally done at twice the cost.
  • justincredible
    LJ;707237 wrote:A lot of times those tubs were installed before the house was finished. Goodluck ever getting it out

    I don't want to take it out.
  • justincredible
    What about the toilets that have two different flushes, one low-flow and one full-flow?