Take the wall and tub out, and install a shower, update the toilet, tile, etc., and you will have a nice bathroom.

Your budget might not be much for all the work that needs to be done so keep it simple. If you can afford to change to walk in shower with curb, then do so and get rid of the tub.

I'd think kids sharing the same bathroom would benefit from the privacy door remaining.

If you tile the walls for water proofing, be sure to get a quote for that otherwise you will get merely decorative tile.

Keep the two sinks. They make sense in the space.

Is this the only tub in the home? If not then I agree a shower if it is then a tub/shower combo is great .A to scale floor plan does not require much talent get graph paper and a ruler , pencil and eraser and get one of the kids to do it So much better than what is here now. I use 12 x24 porcelain tile for both bathroom floors and shower walls keep the tile a nice neutral color no pattern .

Working with insurance is the worst, but you'll get there.

Love your visual of two St. Bernards shaking off.

Your wants are very reasonable.

What I'd do, were this my project:

- I'd start by ripping out the dividing wall. Kids never actually "share" the bathroom, and it's an obstacle that makes cleaning more difficult and keeps light from flowing into the vanity area.

- Your vanity is large but has few drawers -- drawers AT the sink should always be a priority, and drawers will allow your teens to keep the vanity top clear /clean.

- I'd 100% go with a single sink (again, kids never actually "share" the bathroom) so each teen can have a drawer stack. Moving the plumbing slightly to a single central sink will probably cost about the same as replacing a duplicate sink /the plumbing for that sink. Over-sinking is almost a religion on this site, but it's not a great idea.

- Since you have a large vanity area, I'd consider giving up a bit of it for a small linen closet or a linen tower -- I'd put it on the end by the toilet so towels would be convenient to the shower area. My linen closet is only 24" wide, and it holds an amazing amount. Even 18" would be enough.

- I like your existing wall-to-wall mirror, but you'd be amazed at how much nicer it would look if it were framed. Keep the large size -- maybe even re-use this one -- as it bounces light around in this small space.

- I'd consider a nice wallpaper on the wall opposite the vanity /something pretty to reflect in that nice large mirror.

- Unless your faucets are new, I'd replace them. That's not a significant cost in the grand scheme of things, and plumbing does wear out. If you're going to all this trouble, I'd rather have a NEW faucet. Since you want something easy to clean, I'd go with wall-mounted faucets, so you don't have to clean "around them" ... but if that's not in the cards, a single-stalk faucet is less work than a traditional 3-piece faucet. I'm all about EASY cleaning.

- I think you're absolutely right to go with a walk-in shower /but not curbless -- stay far away from curbless, as they often go wrong even in new construction /almost always in renovations. And it's not something your teens would need /not something a buyer would ever ask for.

- Your shower head will be on the right-hand wall -- but get your contractor to run a line /place the controllers on the left-hand wall. This'll allow you to reach in /turn on the water without submitting your body to the initial cold spray. The contractor won't do this unless you ask, but you'll be glad every single time you shower. Definitely go with a hand-held shower -- not only because they're easier to use but because they make cleaning the shower easier.

- Put in 2-3Xs the amount of in-shower storage (niches or corner shelves -- but, personally, I wishI had a ledge) that you think you need. I put in a cute little 12x12 niche, and now my big squirt-top bottles are all on the floor. Think, too, specifically about where your bar soap will sit.

- If you're doing a tile shower, go with large-scale tile on the walls (to minimize grout, which must be kept clean) but go with something small on the floor for "grippy-ness" and safety.

- I'd consider a shower curtain instead of difficult-to-keep-clean glass doors.

- Consider being able to reach the towels from the shower. We see a lot of bathrooms online where people have "blocked their access" to the towel bar with a glass door.

- I suspect you don't hate the window so much as the fact that it's IN the shower. If this isn't on the front of your house, consider replacing the window with glass blocks. It'll still allow in light, but you won't have water-damage concerns. Glass blocks come in pretty patterns and colors now.

Get the CONTRACTOR or hubby to make you an accurate drawing of the bath, on graph paper 1/4 inch. Use 2 squares, for ONE inch. Walls are either 4" or 6" thick . A window sits in a wall. How much wall before and after that window.

Every wall , window , the entry all of it has a dimension in inches.

Up Load it here as a drawing/jpeg. Not a screen shot. Mark the sink centers.

It will take about 30 minute to do this, Max

Thank you so much everyone! I will try again with the graph paper but even if I turn in an "F" assignment, please give me an "A" for participation. I'll work on that today and add to the comments.

Tell us more about how YOUR St. Bernards actually use this bathroom and build it to what would suit them and your actual family the best.

- Does one ever shower or use the toilet with the door closed while the other one is at the sink? If they only are ever in that bathroom alone, then sure, that they wall down. If they use it at the same time then keep it up.

- How do they keep the countertops? Clear of belongings? Would they use more drawers for storage? Would deep drawers on each side where things just get randomly pitched help keep the countertop cleaner?

- Indeed, a shower curtain is much easier to keep clean, but are your boys careful enough to make sure the shower liner is inside the curb so water doesn't go on the floor? I have a guest bathroom with a curtain on a curbed shower and it makes me a bit worries that guests will not be as careful as I am when using it.

- Wall mounted faucets fall into the category of more expense. They are more expensive at install and more expensive to trouble shoot if you have a problem. Instead of opening up the cabinet and looking at the plumbing, you have to open up the wall and it often involves a plumber. Again, KEEP IT SIMPLE. This is a bathroom for two boys and you want to keep costs down.

- For non-slippery tile, you want a DCOF greater than .42. People say that if you get a mosaic, there is enough grout for that to not matte. BS. We have a tiny mosaic that is an ice rink!

- Low VOC - I hear you on that one. I am extremely sensitive to VOCs in building materials. I have found that a lot of vanities have terrible smells and awful off gassing. Both custom made ones as well as stock vanities. Many of them are made with MDF that can sometimes be loaded with adhesives that off gas a lot. If you are sensitive, you will smell them. Most people are not sensitive and won't notice the difference. I do.

If you are really serious about low VOC, then I'd reuse your current vanity if it is not damaged. Get it repainted with low VOC paint.

- Paint the walls. One fewer contractor to deal with. Paint is cheaper than paper and it is easy to find low VOC paint. You can have fun with color if you want or simple wall art and spend much less than on wallpaper and you won't have to go down the road of researching low voc paper adhesives.

- I hate quartz but have been surprised to find that I like Corian. Smooth, simple, no offgassing. And a solid color looks less fake and plastic than quartz. Economical too.

I really appreciate the time it took to write out your ideas and I love so many of them.

Interesting option to remove the wall, which is 5 in thick if I recall. The privacy door sometimes gets in the way of the towel bar, (yes Theresa!) and if I use any kind of thicker bath rug (standard latex-backed throw in the washer plush ones) the doors will not close over them. The lower profile flat weaves would just slide all over the tile floor and get soaked. So that's another thing I need to figure out, but lowest priority.

That said, the kids have no choice but to share the space and that privacy door gets it's use then. Right now we've been living in a hotel since the flood and there's a lot of mom-referee time spent over, "I"M TAKING A SHOWER!" ---- "I DON'T CARE, I JUST NEED TO BRUSH MY TEETH! --- LET ME JUST GRAB MY HAIRDRYER!" They definitely could learn some respect for each other's needs to get into the space. The additional light into the space would be great though, I'll ask the contractor about the options for that.

The window in the shower is an exterior wall out to the street in front. When you are showering your head is clearly visible to the outside world. I am going to ask about something different there in terms of a privacy glass, but my HOA will block anything out of the ordinary like glass block.

Kendrah, could you please tell me what you mean by decorative vs waterproof re: shower tile?

As Patricia suggested, I am looking at large format porcelain unless budget dictates otherwise. I also saw many threads mentioning Corian, but couldn't get a sense of Corian vs tile, budget wise. I know tile runs the spectrum of price points but we've looked at fairly reasonable porcelains from Daltile and Marazzi so far ($7-14).

Kendrah our messages crossed each other, let me respond again with more info...

The kids are a girl who just started middle school and a boy who just started HS...they need their privacy and they take an inordinate amount of time to do pretty much everything, so I think the wall and door will probably need to stay unless I devise a reservation system, lol.

100% they have times where one is using the toilet/shower and the other is using the vanity/sink. I like the door into the hall to remain open for better ventilation, even with the exhaust fans, so the other door sometimes is needed for privacy. I hadn't thought of that until now.

They each have a funky old medicine chest right now but they are very shallow and their stuff spills out. Eager to rip those uglies out. My daughter has always and will always take all the drawer space, and they both clutter up the counters. I want a vanity that has an even number of drawers so I can say "these are yours, and these are yours". I hate the clutter on the top of surfaces but they learned that from their dad ;).

I agree the wall mounted plumbing I would skip, as our plumber tipped us off on that 2 years ago when he installed the faucets that are there now. They would adapt to one vs two sinks. but they do sometimes brush teeth and hair etc at the same time.

Also a no to a shower curtain as I see that in 30+ days of hotel use, they still haven't mastered the shower curtain liner and water is getting on the floor.

DCOF .42 check, I have that in my notes somewhere. I'm fine with a solid shower pan floor but if tiled, I need some help on good options.

Thanks on VOC concerns; I've seen you mention that on other threads, and I am very sensitive too. The vanity doors split from the remediation work and the contractor has concerns about the wall behind it. I'm hoping to get a wood vs MDF new one.

I looked once for a wallpaper installer and oddly couldn't find any. I am a paint nerd however so picking paint will probably be the only time I am happy during all this.

Draw/ measure the darn bath............................: )

Your best replies come via that.

Drawing to come, I promise! I'm at the hotel and notes/paper at the house. Prepare to be underwhelmed shortly!

@Theresa...

Exactly, in the grand scheme of things, the faucets are nothing. We never planned to remodel this bathroom for ourselves, just figured the next owner could make their own choices. We opted just to replace the faucets and the light over the mirror for a mini-facelift, but the sinks are so shallow that there wasn't much sense in doing anything single as they all had high spouts and it would have splashed all over. I'm happy to have more options now.

I've seen the large builder mirror frames they sell and it is a terrific option.

I appreciate your tips on the shower storage. I plan to use my son's huge Costco pump-top shampoo as the guide for height. Between the two kids they use a lot of products, so maybe two tall niches side by side plus a tub height shelf for a foot rest. Thanks for helping me vizualize all this.

So you now have a good needs list for others to use as guidelines for commenting:

- Keep the two rooms separate. It functions for your family.

- Keep two sinks. They are both used.

- Vanity with even number of drawers.

- Cannot do anything funky with shower window - faces front of house - HOA rules

- Walk in shower with curb, big niches, no curtain, glass doors.

- Will paint walls.

- Get new faucets.

- Open to keeping mirror and framing it.

- And, I presume not relocating fixtures, toilet and sinks stay where they are. Tub drain will need to be changed for walk in shower.

I am no building maven, I just know that when showers are installed, you need to waterproof the walls before tile is installed. The tile and grout themselves to not make for a waterproof wall.

You mentioned the room is damp - this is an opportunity to address ventiliation? Do you have a fan anywhere in here that vents to outside? If not, can you add one? If you have one and your vanity has off gassing, you can keep the door closed and turn on the vent 24/7 for a few weeks.

MDF is likely a much better product for a bathroom vanity because of all the humidity and ability to expand and contract. It will be much less expensive. And, I have had wood cabinets that smell too because of waterproofing finishes. My only way to certainly avoid off gassing at a bathroom sink is to use a console or pedestal and that isn't right for your application.

I was thinking Corian for the countertop. Tile for walls and floor.

^^

Something else will kill ya, before the off gassing of a vanity. Probably a bus.

No, not kidding lol

Lets face it, you can only allow so much hand wring in a given life.

Worry more on well ventilated, and waterproof.

hope this works.

I have no illusions about this being a zero VOC situation, but every migraine and asthma attack I can avoid due to my choices is a plus.

Yes, Jan and Kendrah - HVAC will be out next week to discuss the ventilation; there's two exhaust fans already so may be okay. Contractor will waterproof the wall prior to tiling. Is Corian not a good choice for the shower walls and/or floor?

Thank you for editing everything down to simple bullet points, Kendrah.

“Something else will kill ya, before the off gassing of a vanity. Probably a bus.

No, not kidding lol“

The concern - at least for me, has nothing to do with death or long term toxicity. It is an immune system response kicked off by certain voc’s that can make me really sick. Sick enough that I have to leave the house. Asthma,

severe soar throat, and neurological responses. This has nothing to do with hand wringing. May you never have to experience this @JAN MOYER

My life would be 1,000 times easier if I had the luxury of only considering waterproofing.

Yes, I get it: ) The WEED would send me to outer space and back. Can not bear the stench

I'm looking at this line from Daltile for the flooring and the shower walls (still like idea of Corian countertop).

https://www.daltile.com/products/stone-look/sand-and-stone

I like the idea of the terrazo being one surface and the plain one being another, but already coordinating. One less decision to make.

I have certainly seen Corian walls. You'll need to talk to a fabricator about making little niches Corian. I would not use it for a floor. Too slippery.

Your tub area is narrow. I considered making a walk in shower in a space that wide and decided against it. I didn't want my arms and elbows bumping against the glass door when I lifted them to wash my hair. With a shower curtain (on a tub shower) it gives a bit more leeway. However, you already have a glass door on a tub shower this narrow and if it hasn't bothered you yet, it might be fine for you.

I hope so, the sliding doors on the tub are such a pain to clean. Thanks for the info on the Corian.

Solution:

One part dynamite, two parts RULES

You're asking too much of the bath, not enough of the "residents"

The dynamite, take WHATEVER insurance$$ and fix the long term problem

Rules:

Each get a set of drawers

Each takes a turn. GET UP EARLIER!!!

( No hair drying in the bath - go to your ROOM)

ZERO junk on the counter, in the drawers or give them each a "grooming tote"

With ventilation a towel hung on a hook will dry beautifully . Give each a micro fiber HAIR towel.

GIVE HER a dressing table in her bedroom, take your beauty routine there.

There is no teen guy, who will take more than twenty minutes in there. If so? Go to your room.

As to the TUB? Mommy can bathe a baby in the primary, which most do anyway, and change the doody diaper in there as well.

I'd not worry about re sale.

I'm out lol

You have four more years of the battle to suffer,

Set the sharing rules, and don't let the inmates run the asylum. They don't need to be in there together, at all! Hard NO, if I am the mommy: )

How do I know? I had a dressing table, my sisters had a dressing table and all FIVE in the family shared ONE BATH. One. Smaller

@JAN MOYER - Why are you so anti the kids sharing the same bathroom with a door in between? Sounds like they have made it work well enough thus far.

It is not just the door in between, It's a tunnel of cramped.

Putting a toilet with the tub and closing off?

Why? Both bathing and potty time need some privacy. You have a pre teen girl and a boy entering HIGH school. Dorm life is better? With a bunk bed a nearly zero room for anything?

Call it good practice, get a BETTER bath,

And a house really needs NO more than one tub. Me, I'll take a bet....

Show it and ASK "the residents" if they can behave like grown ups,, as in share time slots, NOT the room.

I doubt they're sharing a bedroom,,,,,,,groom to your hearts content in YOURS.

Want me to set off screaming? They take turns CLEANING it! Watch two kids get neat as pins in warp speeeeeeed !

How do I know ? I was many moons ago a kid, and part of a family

Macy or Home Depot 247.00 for the young lady...

It's HER inches.... And they tell no lies.

.

"It is not just the door in between, It's a tunnel of cramped."

But it sounds like this remodel is mostly to fix problems due to a flood and isn't going to be moving fixture locations anyway and isn't going to be expanding beyond the walls of this room. It is going to be a tunnel of cramped with or without the door and they are making it work.

"And a house really needs NO more than one tub. Me, I'll take a bet...."

Their goal is to remove this tub and replace with a walk in.

^^

Thank you for making ALL my points: )

I did NOT expand the bath, not one single inch.

Moving a potty is very often not the ISSUE it is made to be, especially via a good contractor.

I always ask........how long will you be in the house, and are you going to do this bath again?

Dynamite and a dressing table. Bold choices, Jan! I appreciate your drawing and your enthusiasm.

I had a postage stamp shower growing up and learned to shimmy and shave on one leg like a flamingo. Also had a pocket door in the world's smallest bathroom. I hope to make this work even in a tiny space. There are 2 more toilets, another shower, and another tub in the house, and as you say, the kids can retreat to their seperate corners for much of their beautification if need be. I'll keep you all posted on the prison upgrades.

"... when you convert to a shower. It sounds rather involved to have the drain moved from the wall to the center, but that's what I'd be looking at, yes?"

When converting from a tub / shower to a standalone shower, it is better to install a linear drain in the same approximate location of the existing drain than to move it to the center of the shower. The drain opening will need to be increased from 1-1/2 inch diameter to 2-inch diameter for the shower.

The window can be changed to an awning window with tempered, obscure glass to keep it in the same general location.

awesome, thanks Coastal! I'll add it to my notes.

Simple changes make big impact. There are other toilets. They each have a bedroom, "Nobody takes a bath".....

I just want to brush my teeth, dry my hair!!, get my dryer!..

Were I concerned about water? The first thing I want is a window open, even an inch, for air circulation. The last thing I want? A window in a watering hole! It's to invite a leak that need not be a worry at all, and I care not you see it all over the internet!

This is a bath being used by kids......Good basics in a simple bath. Don't need to complicate it: ) Bath floor , repeat on shower walls. You need NO more than two tiles. Bigger means less grout. Porcelain is inexpensive, ( think Daltile, which is often in stock and saves you shipping$$$ to whatever your local source.

One big framed 42 d. inch mirror over a 54 vanity.

Great looks and tata. !!!

Won't lie btw

Were you to google layouts for your dimensions, essentially a 5' x 12' bath within 1/2 inches? You'd get every single one as a tub at the window end.

It need not be: ) that.

All of your layout is based on an idea best abandoned in design. The so called Buddy Bath

Nobody over two years of age, and under 24 years , really needs or wants a buddy in there.

The rest I will leave the rest to your imagination lol

We had plenty off "buddy time" during potty training; quite over that time in my life. Great points, and laughs are a luxury these days.

Off to rest the eyeballs from the bluelight. I appreciate you all.

^^^

You should invite @ Mark Bischak to the thread. He "loooooves" a Buddy Bath almost as much as I do....and nearly as much as he loves the Inlaw suite: )