Bathrooms

Ready to renovate your bathroom? We make it easy to love your bathroom again!

We take pride in our responsiveness and ability to carry out bathroom renovation jobs the right way, with a no-hassle approach that our customers appreciate. Our skilled contractors are adept at handling every aspect of the remodeling process. When you’re ready to get your project underway, let us know. We sit down with you to discuss your ideas and options and help you make smart design decisions. Design renderings are also available for your project!

Remodeling a bathroom can be an exciting task! Our clients often spend hours looking at photos on Pinterest and Houzz, walking the isles of the big box stores and tile distributor showrooms locally for days, making notes and dreaming about the day they can get rid of their pink bathtub and matching toilet and replace that floral wallpaper from the 90s.

But before making any big decisions or large purchases on materials, here are some less exciting things to consider so your project turns out the way you are dreaming about it and so it will be functional for years to come. Here is our Pre-Bathroom Remodel Checklist to ensure your project stays on track, on budget and on time.

Budget

How much do you want to spend on your bathroom renovation? This is one of the first questions you need to consider before doing any “window shopping”. Setting a budget will help guide you as you make decisions about what to include or exclude in the remodel. Once you have figured out your total spend budget you can get a clearer sense of what type of tile, fixtures, and extras (like radiant floor heat) you can afford. View your chosen contractor as your personal guide to getting exactly what you want. With a clear budget in mind your contractor should be able to show you all your options.

Planning & Time

Far too often people assume that if they are remodeling a small bathroom it will only take a few days, or that there will be a significant time reduction between a small bathroom and a large master bathroom. This is not the case. Whether you are remodeling a large or small bathroom all the same steps are needed to complete the process. The extra 25-50 square feet savings is miniscule and in our experience the smaller the space does not equal lesser time. With a small space comes unique challenges, like the obvious cramped work environment, often forcing the contractor to keep tools in a separate room, etc.

Planning for time also needs to include not just the duration of the actual labor but also the design phase, choosing, purchasing and ordering tiles, fixtures, custom-built vanity or cabinets, etc.

Sequence of work

When it comes to renovating a bathroom there is a proper procedure and sequence of tasks that needs to be adhered to. Far too often we see people demolish their old bathroom without ever calling a contractor to schedule the finish work, shopping for tile or even planning their budget, this typically leads to a non-functional bathroom for months and in some cases more than a year. So before you pick up the hammer STOP and make sure you have thought it through. When it comes to the actual work, once all materials are on site and accounted for, we also recommend a certain sequence of work. Start from the top down when it comes to demolishing as well as remodeling. Working this way you are protecting your new components as well as saving time doing unnecessary cleanup or repairs.

What's inside the walls?

Don’t be fooled by a contractor who says you can simply update what you see without examining what is unseen. There are companies out there who’s claim to fame is remodeling your shower in a day or your whole bathroom in a couple days. Well there's a saying that applies to this type of contractor, what they are offering is often like “Putting lipstick on a Pig.” Yes when they leave, your bathroom (or “pig”) might look a lot better but ultimately it’s still the same bathroom that still has underlying issues (still a pig). If your shower or tub surround is unsightly due to mildew for instance, that's a visible sign of an underlying issue. If the proposed solution is to just cover over the ugly, how long do you really expect it to last before you start to see that pig again? When remodeling a bathroom most contractors agree and recommend opening up the walls around plumbing and electrical to ensure they are up to code, updated and functioning properly.

Design style and functionality

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by all the choices? There are many factors to consider like paint color, tile choices, tubs, faucets, cabinets and vanities, etc. We recommend starting with a theme, or an overall “look and feel” description before ever looking at the above mentioned finishes. You may want to work with a designer, or at the very least shop locally and take advantage of the designers working in the local tile, paint or plumbing warehouses. Design needs to work hand in hand with functionality so consider who will be using the bathroom – kids, adults, an elderly parent. Take note of the things in your current bathroom that are functional as well as the things you do not want to repeat in your new bathroom.

Showers

Tiled showers are one of our specialties. When it comes to installing tile in your shower one of the most important aspects of the shower is never even seen. The work done before the tile installation needs to be precise and effective to ensure any water that makes it past the tile and grout goes down the drain and not into your walls and subfloor. This can cause major damage to your home! Most people and sadly even some contractors believe that tile and grout are waterproof, however, that is not the case. If steps are skipped during the preparation of the shower and waterproofing, you could find yourself with a leaking shower.

Unfortunately, many of our clients call us after they start to notice excessive mildew growing on their grout joints or see damage to the sheetrock or baseboard directly next to their new shower. This is often the result of a shower not properly prepared for tile installation. Unfortunately, if you can see water damage from a leaking shower, in most cases the only fix is a complete remodel. It can sometimes take years for a leaky shower to show itself on the surface, meanwhile, the damage is taking place inside the walls.

There are multiple acceptable and TCNA (Tile Council of N. America) approved ways to prepare a shower for tile installation. We are familiar with all of them and depending on your tile choice, location, and budget we will always use one of the approved and time tested methods for shower tile installation and waterproofing. Many of the materials manufacturers offer great warranties when using their complete product line and we are happy to help you register for the warranty.

When considering a large investment like a tiled shower, we urge you to take your time when choosing both the tile itself and the contractor you will hire. Take into consideration these 5 points.