Bathroom Remodel-Early 1900′s Home Houston, Tx
 
The old bathroom in this 1900′s home had the top of the line look for it’s time. The bathtub enclosure  featured an architectural arch right above the original 1900′s iron  tub, the  original soap dish, and towel bar, 4″ x 4″ porcelain tile, mud cap trim,  over 2,000 lbs of concrete wall,   a custom made pipe for the shower head, cultured marble sink, dated cabinet doors with exposed hinges, old style plumbing fixtures and lead pipe plumbing.

 

Well needless to say this classic bathroom had to go!

The homeowners wanted a more uptodate look with a low maintenance solution.  Their concerns were mold and mildew, cleanliness with the tile, issues with discoloring grout, shower door that is sturdy, a water tight tub enclosure  and  quality fixtures.  That is where we came and addressed  all these concerns.

 

Job Description: 2nd Floor Guest  Bathroom Remodel

The plumbing pipes  are now  now  up to buiding  code, archless walls are now tiled up to the ceiling 8 feet for more spacious look, the walls and floor substrates are  waterproofed,  tiling  is a porcelain tile that replicates travertine stone, the bathub  door is frameless with coordinating satin nickle hardware, a  beveled  vanity mirror,  all updated American Standard  plumbing fixtures that are satin nickle, new electric outlet, custom made cabinet doors, new satin nickle cabinet hardware,Sherwin Williams Acrylic Paint Coating , and tiling  grout is an epoxy that has   microban  ingredient   that is chemical and stain resistant.

Remodeling a bathroom is a complicated job. Since most bathrooms are in a confined area it is  impossible to have more than one trade at a time working. Each trade must complete their task before scheduling other trades.  Every job must be done in logical order.

Down below are steps taken with all the work that went into this remodeled bathroom.

Preparing for Demolition:

Tape down 2 layers  craft paper over the hardwood flooring in the hallway, stair treads, landing and front entry.  We want to protect the hardwood  flooring from the traffic, dust and debris.

-Remove bathroom door,  lavatory, vanity cabinet doors, cabinet hinges,  toilet,  shower curtain, window blinds, metal towel bar, metal toilet paper holder, and metal robe hook.

-Hang heavy plastic sheeting to the front entry of the bathroom to prevent dust from escaping.

-Cover the airvents to prevent any potential dust .

-Fill 5 gallon pump sprayers with freshwater.  Using this technique minimizes escaping dust.  We clean as we go. Our Jobsite must remain clean at all times! No Exceptions!

Demolition

-Demolish the existing tile, wooden arch over bathtub,  concrete wall and flooring  substrate. Precautions were taken with the removal. Every square inch of material removed  was sprayed with water to minimize dust.

The concrete walls were 2 inches thick embedded with a wire mesh and the arch was made from 2″ x 4″ lumber, and covered with sheetroock.   Only sections at a time could  be removed. There was  over 2500 lbs. of debris we removed from this bathroom.   All the debris taken from the bathroom was put in heavy duty plastic bags to prevent dust.

 

Plumbing

Our plumbing servicemen are very knowledgeable, insured and have what it takes to get the job done right.   We have worked with them for many years. 

The 400 lb. 6 foot tub was removed.  All the plumbing pipes were removed and replaced with new PVC from the drain to the fixtures.   It is very important that the contractor and plumber  communicate. We discuss how the new tub should be installed, positioning of the new shower head, location of the new diverter valve, location of the fixtures for the granite countertop.  We scheduled the plumber before all the new material was installed.   We eliminate the wait time!

 

Insulation, Plywood Sub Flooring,Hardbacker Installation, Waterproofing Membrane
Install  insulation for ceiling and walls,  3/4″ Sub-flooring  screwed into the joists with 2  1/2″ decking screw fasteners. Hang 1/2″ cement hardiebacker board(replaces the cement substrate walls), and green drywall for ceiling. Once the walls are in place we use Schluter Kerdi waterproofing membrane to make the walls water tight. This procedure prevents moisture from gathering behind the walls which can cause mold, fungus, and mildew. 

The new plywood sub-floor is covered with Schluter Ditraan anti fracture, waterproofing membrane. This product is an uncoupling system that gives the tile its own surface. Plywood subfloors have movement, and flexibiliry the ditra prevents cracks that can travel upto the tile. 

Tile Installation Walls, and Floor

The wall tile is a 8″ x 14″ porcelain tile, and coordinating trim pieces manufactured by American Olean Style: Alysse  Series. The tiled floor is size 13″ x 13″ coordinating with the walls.  Porcelain tile is a low maintenance material, its character is just as good as stone, it does very well in wet areas and is a non porus material.   Stone has to be sealed 2-3 times a year, while porcelain requires none at all.  

 

Grouting

 

Grout is a very important component to any tile job.  Nothing looks worse than grout that has been discolored,  loose or missing. We use a non porus stable  epoxy grout that never has to be sealed, and has micro-ban mixed in that prevents mold, mildew and fungus, chemical, stain resistant  and will maintain its new look  for many years to come.   The entire  wall  and floor grout  joints  has this grout system. 

 

Painting Schedule:

We only use the best quality paint on the market. Sherwin Williams manufactures an acrylic paint.  Acrylic provides a coating that makes it easier to clean. Especially for a bathroom that may need sanitizing.   Sheetrock can now be wiped with a damp towel for cleanliness.  

Our painters are meticulous, neat and clean.  Nothing looks worse than a sloppy paint job. 

The walls and ceiling are textured with a light orange peel texture.  The walls  now look smooth and clean.

 

Actual Remodeling Parts List:

Bathtub:

 - American Standard Princeton Bath Tub with Integral Apron

 - Color: White

 - Size: 5′ x 30″ x 14″

 - Link: http://www.americanstandard-us.com/bathtubs/princeton-recess-bath/

Sink:

 - American Standard Ovalyn Undercounter Sink

 - Size: Bowl size 382 mm (15-1/6”) wide; 306 mm (12-1/6”) front to back; 140 mm (5-1/2”)deep

 - Model numbers for this size: Unglazed rim – 0495.221; Glazed underside – 0495.300

 - Color: White

 - Link: http://www.americanstandard-us.com/bathroom-sinks/ovalyn-undercounter-sink/

Bath faucet for vanity:

 - American Standard Tropic Widespread Bathroom Faucet

 - Color: Satin nickel (295)

 - Link: http://www.americanstandard-us.com/bathroom-faucets/tropic-widespread-bathroom-faucet/

Bathtub/shower fixtures:

 - American Standard Tropic Bath/Shower Trim Kit

 - Color: Satin nickel (295)

 - Link: http://www.americanstandard-us.com/shower-faucets/tropic-bath-shower-trim-kits/

Toilet Paper holder:

 - American Standard Serin Toilet Paper Holder

 - Color: Satin nickel (295)

 - Link: http://www.americanstandard-us.com/bathroom-accessories/one-toilet-paper-holder/

Towel rack OUTSIDE of shower (on north wall of bathroom):

 - American Standard Serin 24-inch towel bar

 - Color: Satin nickel (295)

 - Link: http://www.americanstandard-us.com/bathroom-accessories/one-24-inch-towel-bar/

Robe Hook for inside door:

 - American Standard Serin Robe Hook

 - Color: Satin nickel (295)

 - http://www.americanstandard-us.com/bathroom-accessories/one-robe-hook/

Accessories INSIDE shower – Towel rack, soap dish, and built-in/recessed shower caddies:

 - For accessories INSIDE the shower, we would like to use accessories in the resin, travertine-type material of which you gave us a sample soap dish.

 - For inside-shower accessories, we would like a soap dish, towel rack, and built-in shower caddies.

Paint color for non-tile part of bathroom walls:

 - Sherwin Williams Steamed Milk

Grout:

 - Laticrete Marble Beige (17)

Tile:

-       Floor tiles – American Olean Alysse Blanc AY50; 13×13 for floor

-       Wall tiles – American Olean Alysse Blanc AY50; 10×14 for walls/shower (with longer side running vertically); Bullnose trim at top; for band on walls, we would like to do a band of 2×2 Mosaic Tile in Blanc AY50 (all tile same color – no contrast color for band); quarter round set-off on band; mud cap on edges (NOTE: We would like to do the 2×2 Mosaic Tile band in Blanc instead of the diagonal band in auburn, which we had discussed at showroom; even if better to do a diagonal band for some reason, we would like 45-degree-turned tiles to be Blanc color also so that all tile same color – no contrast color for band)

Granite:

-  Countertop with backsplash – Ubatuba Green granite for vanity

Mirror:

-  Custom Made 2″ Beveled Edge  27″ x 36″

Shower Door:

-   Frameless Shower Door with satin nickle finish

-     Cabinet doors:

New doors for all cabinets

-  For cabinet doors under vanity – Armstrong catalog p. 4 – Maple Serenity 052 – Pearl – PE (or color to match) (Satin nickel pulls if have cabinet pulls)

- Custom cabinet doors for cabinets on east wall (with style as similar as possible to the Armstrong cabinet doors under vanity) – we want to remove small pull-down door for hamper and replace with regular side-swing cabinet door (As discussed, it would probably work best to have two large doors on that set of cabinets instead of current set-up with two larger doors and one small door. Please let us know what you think are our best options for these custom cabinets.)

Our Customer now has a durable, watertight, and  long lasting application.

This is an actual email from our customer corresponding all the necessary accessories and details. We like to be on the same page as the customer at all times to halt problems that could  arise.  Our ultimate goal is to satisfy our customer’s way beyond expectations.