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mtnfever

Finished budget guest bath

We decided to put a jetted tub in the guest bath to help DH with his arthritis. Then the dominos fell: redo tub wall to allow 66" tub, remove tub tile surround, tile wainscot, tile floor, replace vanity top, faucets, lights, fan, heating, and oh yeah add a tv so he can watch football highlights in the morning while he soaks. And plaster the walls.

Here're the before pics. It was and is a small bath so pics were difficult.



Caveats: I started out going for transitional contemporary (thanks again to Palimpsest for my house style!) and halfway through (DIY + retired = 8 months! Luckily master bath and powder rooms were available) realized it should be more rustic contemporary given the house's fireplace, beams, etc. If I end up doing a backsplash (haven't missed it so far), it may be a stone veneer to help with the rustic. The vanity is in really good shape and there are somewhere around 40-50 other golden oak cabs in the house so it stayed as is.

Here's the afters:









and here're enough details to put everyone to sleep:

Tub: Hydromassage acrylic (Mystique? maybe is the model) made in Denver and ordered /shipped free from WI dealer. At the last minute DH had to have air in the addition to the jets, and those are the only thing I've had trouble keeping clean.

Surround: Onyx Collection Cappuchino--found due to people on this forum so thank you!! Very easy to clean. Heavy panels so DH needed a couple friends for the large back panel.

Train rack from Amazon for $15--again thanks to this forum! Fits the space and is nice though I would get a wider one if I had the space.

Shower set w/valve and sink faucet: Kohler Fairfax in chrome from FaucetDirect who provided great service. Handshower is Price Pfister (again with the budget!) A Kensington Brass diverter to switch between and Delta retrofit 6' hose to rinse the whole shower.

Vanity top/sink: Sesame gold (I'm sure it's an alias) granite with white undermount sink from Denver Granite Tile --both for $200! I sure didn't expect to get a solid surface and sink for that. They were cool too about doing a cut to fit our offset sink requirement for $10.

Vanity light: Progress Lynzie 3-light from FaucetDirect/ LightingDirect. Hard to install but you only do that once, right?

Walls: American Clay plaster in Sulfer Springs (behind door) and Nantucket Sand on other walls. The natural clay plaster helps absorb humidity and provides great texture and depth.

Floor: Trafficmaster Allure Ultra vinyl click flooring, $3sqft and waterproof-love it!

Underfloor heat: Carbonic heat mat--super thin and works great! *Love* it!! Thanks to stacyneil for her timely bath remodels, though we ended up not needing to do SLC.

Toilet: swapped white toilet from powder room to match white tub and sink --free! (Powder room now has matching Mexican Sand toilet and cultured marble sink, sigh)

Mirror frame: Moulding from Lowe's, stained by us and mounted with double-sided tape. More thanks to this forum. This frame made a much bigger impact than we ever thought it would, we were very surprised.

Fan: Broan ultra quiet with humidity sensor--another forum recommendation! It *is* very quiet. We wanted to be able to turn the fan on manually so needed to separately order a two-button switch.

Soap dispenser: Simplehuman works well and I like being able to use the soap color. Cleaning takes a bit to get used to without getting spit at.

Shower rod: Moen adjustable 66". I hadn't wanted adjustable since someone said that the curtain rings get caught in the middle and it's true argh. But a very small argh.

Towel holder: I hate clanking towel rings. The towel can just slip off of the Moen paper holder as needed.

Shower curtain: DH wanted to be able to sit on the tub edge so no tracks and I really didn't want to deal with any glass, or doors in such a small bath.

TV: Visio. There's a vent pipe smack between the two outlets above the toilet, or the whole thing would've been inset into the wall. I even had the granite piece from the vanity top trimming to use as the back of it :(. Bummer.

Everything has worked out very well. One regret is staying with 1/2'' plumbing instead of splurging for the 3/4'', but the valve was so much more for the larger size.

Many thanks to you contributors on the forum and those who perserved reading to the end!

cheers

Comments (15)

  • rufinorox
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Love the transformation. Does the vanity light come in a brushed nickel? Also I see that you flipped it from other images I've seen online. As for your shower and bath shower head was this a set or did you purchase separately ? Also does this come in brushed nickel?

  • mtnfever (9b AZ/HZ 11)
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you for your kind comment, rufinorox!

    The vanity light's only made in chrome, unfortunately for brushed nickel lovers, and as you already noticed it can be installed pointing up or down and is ok for damp locations like a bath.

    The Kohler Fairfax tub and shower set are available in BN as well as ORB. The particular Price Pfister handshower model is only chrome but there are similar models in BN.

    thanks again and cheers!

  • mtnfever (9b AZ/HZ 11)
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    in case anyone is thinking about a 66'' tub with a shower curtain *and* a curved curtain rod, you should get a wider than 72'' shower curtain. The 72'' curtain is supposed to be fine for a 66'' tub, and there's alot more selection at that width too, but the curved rod makes that curtain not meet the ends of the tub walls.

    So, I'm off to find a wider curtain, liner, and more curtain rings. Annoying but still better than dealing with glass doors like we had at our previous house.

    HTH

  • mtnfever (9b AZ/HZ 11)
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    well, to follow up from my last post, anyone who complains about their ill-fitting 72" shower curtain should actually *measure* it first. The Hotel Fabric liner, which I had gotten at BBB, I thought was more upscale than the cheapie clear vinyl liners but was only 69" wide when I measured it. Duh.

    I found a liner at Pottery Barn that's smell free and bad-plastic free and is really 72" wide. Fits on the existing curtain rings and works great, yay! And it was only $12, cheaper than the one from BBB!

    Previous to my PB visit (strolled through on a whim, since I was in town from 2.5 hrs away), I had given up finding a 72" wide curtain. Lots of 70", and then either 54" shower-only width or huge 144" standalone tub width. Thank you PB!

    ok, this reno thread can now sink into obivilon unless someone does a search for a weird size shower curtain liner lol.

    cheers

  • andreadeg
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Lovely makeover and it sounds like it suits your needs very well! Congrats!

  • hosenemesis
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Nice job!

  • mtnfever (9b AZ/HZ 11)
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    andreadeg and hosenemesis, thank you!

    I know non-tile (and my other choices :) ) are not popular but I couldn't make myself deal with grout.

    thanks again for looking!

  • rufinorox
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Question on our light fixture - do you like that it faces down? I was able to located a similar one in nickel, before I install I would like to know if the lighting is enough coming down. We also have 3 Recessed lights on a dimmer.

  • mtnfever (9b AZ/HZ 11)
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Sorry for the delay in responding, we were gone all day and got home too late. Maybe you've already put up the fixture, since you posted at noon (EST at any rate) and your reno is all done! If that's the case, then more pics in your "5 day reno" thread, pretty please!

    I like that the light faces down in our bath. For a variety of reasons we decided to keep the fixture (and electrical box) above the mirror. There are two recessed lights over the shower and no window at all. To be able to see yourself with any (too much?) detail in the mirror, the light had to be pointed down. Better to have unflattering light than not enough light.

    You do have a window over your tub (and a separate shower so no curtain blocking the window light). Your old mirror did have side sconces, which I've read is far preferred to top lighting, but now you're putting in only one light above the mirror?? Two nice new side sconces would be better but if you can't do those for some reason (since you obviously already bought one for the top), then up or down is the question. I'm sure one who understands limitations in options :/ .

    If one or two of your recessed lights is over the vanity (light shining between the person and the mirror), I would think you could install pointing up. But, from your pics, it looks like one light over the tub, one over the toilet, and one over the shower (lucky you with that separate shower!), and the vanity corner looks dark in the pic but maybe it's ok IRL. If you stand there with the recessed lights on and can't see well enough for someone to be able to put on makeup or shave, then it probably needs to be pointed down.

    I was careful to buy a light that said it could be mounted up or down and that was ok for damp locations. Hopefully your light has the same qualities!

    Good luck and HTH

  • andreadeg
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I totally understand not dealing with tile and grout. I'm in the process of refreshing my upstairs bath (after doing a full remodel on the master bathroom) and I decided to keep the acrylic tub and shower. It functions perfectly well, it's easy to clean and I frankly didn't want to go through the whole remodel process again. It may not be the most of modern choices but it "works" well. Lifestyle and upkeep are important choices in remodeling decisions and you've taken those factors in to account! I like your bathroom and can imagine lying in the tub watching TV!

  • rufinorox
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Mtnfever - we are not finished yet. We had a few days off so we're now waiting to finish the walls, paint and than electrical. The pictures will be up in a few days. I think there Is enough lighting in the bath once the vanity light is installed. I don't want a spot light on me if we decide to face down with the light fixture, however someone on anther post says this can only be placed upwards so there's my solution.

  • Linda
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Very nice!

  • mtnfever (9b AZ/HZ 11)
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    andreadeg, lol! DH *loves* soaking in that tub while watching NFL rehash on TV! The other morning it was -7 and 10" of snow when we got up, and it was really nice to warm up in the tub after shovelling and plowing.

    rufinorox, I looked at your new pics in your thread and can't believe how I thought you had a separate shower and tub--d'oh guess I don't know what pre-fixture plumbing looks like! I like the look of your vanity with the sink covering the whole top--easier to clean!

    legallin, thank you and thank you for looking!

  • colorfast
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    mtnfever, I'm really intrigued by your Onyx tub surround. Wow! It's actually really pretty. I was hoping not to replace our current tub surround but it may depend on the plumbing and also if we need to replace our tub (hope not).

    I went to the company website--it appears they are sold at Lowe's. Did you special order there? Do they come in different sizes, or did your contractor have to cut it down to size?

    Thanks!
    Colorfast

  • mtnfever (9b AZ/HZ 11)
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    hi Colorfast, yes, we special ordered the Onyx Collection from Lowe's. It was *very* nice to see and touch the product at the Lowe's in their mock-up shower complete with pan, niches, and grab bar. Your Onyx is custom made and cut to your order.

    We measured extremely carefully and worked with the most experienced Onyx Lowe's person (waited for him to come into work) to order the pieces. We didn't want any mismeasurements leading to finger pointing.

    The pieces arrived in excellent (and heavy) packaging that we picked up at Lowe's. Every sheet was a little big, maybe a 1/4", on at least one edge, which was aggravating but then they could be fit closely on site. And it was helpful to order the corner trim pieces--they can cover alot of issues if needed! It was easy for DH to trim the pieces on a couple sawhorses with a jigsaw. He also used the jigsaw to cut out the holes needed for the plumbing, niche, and included (free) bar soap holder.

    I did order sample colors directly from the Onyx website though, as Lowe's samples were lacking and I wanted to see a gazillion colors. And I'm keeping those since we have the master shower to do (shhh, don't tell DH...who actually knows it has to be done but is currently in denial).

    thanks for reading and hope you're spared having to replace your tub and surround!

    HTH