Bathroom Remodel

A year ago I started researching and getting bids for a bathroom remodel.  After New Year's this year I really committed to figuring out what we wanted, and how much we were going to pay.  Before our remodel our bathroom looked like this (note the carpet! And what you can't see is the shower grout that was very old and very, very gross):

After hours of research, I settled on porcelain tile for the floor and new shower tile.  I also decided to replace the bath tub surround with the same tile as the shower tile (to bring it all together).  And I wanted to add a listello band in the shower that I could then pull out and use as the backsplash on the counters.

While finding what I really wanted, I was working on finding a contractor to help me out.  I had contact with 7 different contractors before we finally settled on one.  It was a long, and very frustrating process.  But I finally got what I wanted.

Demolition started on Monday April 18th, and our project should have taken 4-5 days.  In reality, we ended up living in limbo for two weeks (it was finished the Friday after the initial Friday that it should have been done).  And by that point our new glass shower door was almost done.  We had the plumber come back to install fixtures and then our new shower door was installed on Friday May 6th and we were finally able to shower again in our bathroom on the 7th.  The hardest part was the week or so that we were down to just one toilet on the main level, but other than that it wasn't too bad.  I was glad that tile installers were conscious of our need to keep the toilet in for as long as possible and to get in as soon as possible.  And we were able to use our closet and sinks most every day.  I wasn't a fan of sweeping and mopping the floor from where they tracked in tile dust every day, but in the end it is worth it.

We have not finished our remodel, as we still want to paint the cabinetry, replace the counter top, and then add in the backsplash (we purchased the tile for it, but did not install it as we wanted to get new counters first).  But the biggest/hardest part is done.  Hopefully in the next year or so we will get the rest of the bathroom done.

We were gone during demolition (Finn had music class) and when we got home the shower looked like this.  The tile worker said there was black mold from floor to ceiling (which I had suspected).  When I mentioned Finn's CF to him, he decided to pull the plastic sheet that all of the rest of the mold was on (what you see in this picture) and then he pulled the bench for me, too.  (He was originally going to leave it to cover the insulation until they were ready to install, but he was nice enough to understand I wanted it GONE.)

I don't have any more demo picture, but this was the half way or so point.  The tile was laid and some was grouted but there was still a few more days to go.

We removed the 6 inch bench from our shower as it was just a place to breed mold.  That opened the shower up a bit and so we had to have the plumbing re-centered.  We also had them build us a little corner shelf and a mud pan for the floor.

Nice new design for the tub surround

The floor all done.  We even used the tile as the baseboard so that we don't have to worry about the wood in the bathroom.

The new tub surround all done

Shower all done

I don't have any pictures with our new oil rubbed bronze fixtures or shower door, but they look nice and we've been enjoying the bathroom.  I should get it all cleaned up and take some picture similar to our before shots so you can compare the bathroom as a whole.  It wasn't a dramatic transformation, but it does feel very nice and I'm not worried about mold and dirty carpet anymore.  A huge plus!