Bathroom renovation design advice needed

13 years ago

I'll shortly be updating our single bathroom. The goals of this project are to make the house easy to sell, so I'm aiming for quick, inexpensive and visually impressive (I'm aware of the 2/3 rule applying here). The attached drawing shows the room and the "fixed" elements, although I'm open to removing the tub and shower. I (okay, my plumber) will also be replacing the 70+ year old cast iron drains and need to run new properly-sized supply lines, so there's a fair bit of freedom available in placement.

Other difficulties are the ~4 feet of tile on the lower part of the walls (the shower is obviously tiled on the entirety of the walls on the interior). The tile was previously painted and is now peeling. It's white with a pale-blue edge course.

My initial instinct is to maintain the existing layout and just replace the cabinet, sink, tub faucets, shower head/control and remove the existing tile and replace with drywall, except for the shower. I'm not entirely sure what to do about it. It's been suggested to turn it into a closet, but I'm not keen on that idea. I've been considering a complete tub/shower replacement (something like http://www.hytec.ca/onlinecatalog/product_details.jsp?item=2345812&prod_num=AC9377&groupItemId=909612, but I can't seem to find a US east coast distributor, and I'm not sure I want to take on that expense if I can avoid it).

Any suggestions welcome.

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Comments (4)

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sstarr93
13 years ago
I mostly agree with your instincts on this. The layout works, and it's an advantage to have a separate bath and shower. Bad tile is a real problem, and you have to replace it. You might not have to put in as MUCH tile as is there now, and removing all and sheetrocking on the sink side is a must.
If you can, use glass walls on the two interior walls of the shower, not tile. Keep the tile format large (12 x 24 on the floor).
An IKEA sink/vanity would be inexpensive and modern for your bath. If the tub and toilet are really old-school, replace them with updated versions, not expensive ones.
Below is a bath I drew today, included because of the shower type.
design4vikki
13 years ago
I just recently remodeled the baths in my investment house for rental. Value and visual impact were my goals too. Consider purchasing a double vanity from Costco--except for plumbing fixtures, the reasonably-priced piece came complete with sinks, cabinet hardware and granite countertop. While the integrated bath/shower unit you are eyeing could be an easy fix, it looks apartment cheap. I vote for re-tiling the shower walls and splash areas around the tub and removing the unnecessary tiles in the rest of the bathroom. You can get away with a store-bought shower pan -- this will eliminate the extra cost of hot-mopping. As sstarr93 suggests, use large-format tiles on the floors and even in the shower and tub areas. Bump up visual interest with a decorative band of mosaic tiles. Stay with neutral colors. Change out fixtures and lights, and your bathroom will look like new.
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tzromano
13 years ago
Keep the layout, including separate shower. Just update tiles and vanity. The tub could be reglazed....
colin_young
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks. I was already thinking IKEA for the vanity, but CostCo is a good idea also. I forgot about them, and we've got a surplus bulding supply place up the street. I do agree with the "apartment cheap" comment about the integrated shower/tub, although my parents have that unit in their house, and say it looks much better in person than on the web.

The tub is actually in really good shape, so I don't think I need to reglaze it. That's one reason I'm a bit reluctant to remove it (extra environmental waste, more work, etc.).

I'd love to do the glass walls as @sstarrr93 suggests, but since it isn't for me, I'll forgo the expense (although tile can get up there also, need to create a spreadsheet).