Often times there is a moisture issue that needs to be addressed which prompts the make over; like a leaking shower pan or toilet or  rotted cabinets or mold issues. Perhaps it’s a damaged sink, toilet or  floor tiles that require attention. It is not uncommon for one problem spot to effect another element of the room, opening the proverbial can of worms.  For example, the new cabinet that has a smaller ‘foot print’ than the old cabinet, exposing a huge gap in the floor. The point is, you may end up spending a little more  money than you originally anticipated for the job. That is why planning and foresight are so important.

In the case of the room pictured below, it was important to the home owners, to remove the giant back to back his and her vanities from the middle of the room. No problem. This requires relocating plumbing and electrical a new floor, some drywall work and painting, as well as new cabinetry and lighting. With all that, there was still a huge savings because the toilet, tub and shower where left as they were. In the end the home owners were able to have exactly what they were looking for, an open space  with a lot of light and fresh feeling.

If you are considering relocating plumbing and/or walls, of course you are looking at much more labor and expense. In a small bathroom these are not usually on the agenda unless you are thinking of expanding the bathroom into a neighboring room or closet. In some instances a person will want to remove (or add) soffits, rearrange the lighting and exhaust fans which will call for some minor drywall work.

In the case of the two jobs pictured below, bath tubs were removed and a shower put in their place. Obviously, this calls for the removal of the tub, relocating the drain in the floor and recapitulating the diverter plumbing. If this were the only tub in the home, I would advise against it because, the day will come when you will wish you had a tub to soak in.

Each of these jobs required new ceilings due to the changing of ceiling exhaust fans and removing soffits and new lighting arrangments. Aside from that, the only other drywall work was to the walls due to removing those gigantic wall  mirrors, relocating outlets and switches, relocating the plumbing to accommodate for the larger vanities and the removal of the side wall medicine cabinets. All the tile in the bathrooms were replaced including the floor tiles and the marble window sill. The photos were taken prior to the frame-less glass door installations.

A final note of caution. A lot of people are getting rid of those old wall to wall mirrors and medicine cabinets and replacing them with ornamental mirrors and larger vanities with lots of drawers in lieu of a medicine cabinet. I just want to point out that if you decide to remove these large mirrors by yourself , it can be done. I remove them on my own all the time. Just know that they are extremely heavy (you may want to enlist a helper). Also know that they are not safety glass, when broken they turn into shards and can cause serious damage to you and your property, ie. flooring, counter tops and tubs, etc.

Finally every inch of dry wall including ceilings had to be re-shmootzed. (shmootz is bill speak for dry wall compound, caulking and anything that is shmootzy) and then primed.

Next I replaced the floor. All of it. This house had four different flooring materials which along with the wall paper really gave it a boxed in feeling.

All the vanities in the bathrooms were completely replaced and granite tops were added along with new faucets,plumbing, of course, and toilets etc.

In the kitchen, the cabinet boxes were still good. I refaced them with maple wood veneer stained in cherry and new maple doors and hardware, plumbing fixtures and a microwave oven was added. The counter top was replaced with granite and the sink counter extended 12 in. beyond the half wall to create a short bar into the dining area.

The floor was replaced with 20 in. porcelain tile set on a bias throughout the house and is now the only flooring material. This adds to the over all flow of the homes layout, to have a continuous floor. It’s important to use a similar  grout color, like the tile, to prevent ending up with a checker board look. The paint also, is the same neutral color through out the house for the same reason. Ben Moore (OC2) “Pale Almond”

Here’s the result:

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