Bathroom Renovation: Part 1

It has begun!

Each year we try to take on a home project. Last year we painted the entire outside of the house and the year before that we replaced our heater/ac units. This year we decided to tackle the bathrooms. Starting with our master. My master bathroom is aged. The wood is peeling and the tub was about 14 inches deep and brown. The tile was bowing strangely and the MOLD!

To address these issues we decided to figure out what we could tackle on our own and then hire professionals for the rest.  We decided the moldy tub was something outside out our abilities and would be way to time consuming to do on our own. More on the rest of the bathroom today is about the tub and tub surround.

Yes that is pink tile.

This is what it looked like before.

Pink tile with a lovely black boarder.

This tub was shallow. Only 14 inches deep.

 When you are picking out what to do with your tub there are many options. You can go with a cover which goes over what you have already and "hids" the old. This was not a good option for us due to the mold issue and look wise we did not like the plastic look.  You can re-glaze your tub which to me was scary as my pets and I would have to leave for a long time. Plus that does not address the tiny tub or mold. That left us with the option of a complete removal and replacement. We liked the materials that Tundraland offered. In hindsight they are way too expensive. I will walk you thru what was done though so you can understand what they do as well as some pro's and con's.

They showed up at 7:30am sharp to start the project. They removed the tub and tile as well as the old hardware. The tub area was stripped to the studs.

Fun story: Ryan was working from home the whole time and said that they were pounding on the wall so hard that my giant wooden butterfly in the kitchen fell off the wall.

In progress.

After stripping the old and removing it all they put in marine board pictured below in green. Inserted the tub and the surround with new fixtures. They were done by lunch time. It now needs to dry till tomorrow morning.

PRO's:
They were quick and professional the whole time.
All removal of debris was taken care of by them leaving very little mess in my house.
The product is good quality and is beautiful to look at.
The master plumber found an illegal plumbing issue and was able to fix it for us. When the drop ceiling was put in our basement they put together incorrect plumbing for the tub area. This was fixed with correct plumbing put in.

CON's:
Extremely expensive. I am usually really good at comparing prices and getting a good deal. We had a miscommunication with the sales guy and got locked into a contract. Ryan did a good job talking them down in price but it was still more than we would have liked to end up spending.
Lack of communication. They need to assign a person to you that sticks with you through the whole process much like a contractor would. We changed what we wanted throughout the process and it was hard to get them to really confirm they understood what we now wanted. I was concerned I was going to come home and the wrong bathroom worked on at one point. This also caused issues it scheduling a day for the project. Ryan ended up calling them after not hearing from them and they were like "oh sure when would you like us to come and do it?"

The final project is breath-taking gorgeous though. The surround is my favorite part by far. I also am excited that Ryan will be able to hopefully take baths in the super deep tub.

This tub is 20 inches deep.

Love the color of the surround.

We had two shelves and a pull bar added.

Side by side comparison.

 Ryan and I have a big job the next couple weeks picking out flooring and everything else in the bathroom. The end project should be lovely.

Until next time~
XoXo Emily