Upstairs Bathroom: Before and After

The upstairs bathroom (which was the only bathroom) was in pretty good shape for being fully original.  While we chose to redo the bathroom, we ended up going with a similar look and colour scheme. 

Before:

After:

 

We tiled the walls in the shower area with white ceramic subway tiles with a 3” insert of grey glass mosaic tiles.  On the floor, we used 2” hexagon white carrara marble.

We kept the original cast iron tub and had it refinished.  We replaced the toilet with a Toto Aquia dual flush toilet, painted the walls with Benjamin Moore’s Sweet Innocence, and added a new vanity and mirror.

Shower Glass

We were finally able to check another thing off our to-do list today, with the installation of the shower glass in our basement bathroom. 

As you may remember, we tiled the basement shower with travertine tiles and installed a matching beige marble threshold.  We decided to go with full glass walls and door, to keep the bathroom looking open and bright.  We selected a simple chrome handle and hinges to match the chrome faucets.

 

Next, we’ll finish up the baseboards and trim.  Then we’ll be ready for the final reveal.  The best part will be having a fully functioning second bathroom in the house!

Basement Bathroom Progress

Once the tiling was finished in the basement bathroom, we shifted our focus to getting the rest of the house ready for us to move in. 

This week, we were able to spend some time working in the basement again.  We managed to complete the plumbing for the shower and install the vanity.

Originally, we thought we wanted a granite countertop for the vanity.  But, after spotting a glass counter and sink at Rona, we changed our minds.

It turns out that the colour of the glass looks great with the walls, which we painted with Benjamin Moore’s Shaker Beige.  So far, we’re really happy with everything we selected for the bathroom.

Now, all that’s left is to install the baseboards and order the glass for the shower walls and door.

Basement Bathroom Tiling

Our new basement bathroom is really coming along.  Since the main bathroom upstairs is pretty tiny, we decided to include a nice large shower in our basement bathroom.

Like upstairs, we used Schluter Kerdi waterproofing on the shower walls.  We used Schluter Ditra on the floor.

The tiling was finished last week and it looks great.  We’re really happy with our choice of travertine tiles.

Next , we’ll install glass walls and a glass door on the front of the shower. 

Upstairs Bathroom Tiling

Tiling is complete in the upstairs bathroom and we’re really happy with the results.

We chose to use the Schluter Kerdi waterproofing system on the shower walls.

Once the waterproof membrane was in place, it was time to start tiling.  We were really excited to see how our tile selections would turn out.  The tile installer we hired worked very quickly and did a great job.  Here’s how it looks now:

The next step is to give it a good clean and then we’ll seal the marble floor. 

Basement Bathroom Plans

With tiling almost finished upstairs, we’ve made our final selections for the basement bathroom finishes.

The house only had one bathroom when we bought it, so we decided to add a second bathroom in the basement.  The basement bathroom will have a toilet, sink and shower.

In terms of finishes, we selected travertine tiles for the floor and shower walls.  We’ll use 2” square tiles on the floor (both in and out of the shower) and 4” squares on the shower walls.

We haven’t chosen the vanity yet, but we plan to get a 36” dark wood vanity with a beige granite top.  The toilet, as you may remember, was Dave’s selection: The Champion.

Shiny Old Tub

When we started to demolish our bathroom back in the spring, we made the decision to save the original cast iron bathtub.  It was in pretty rough shape, but we really liked the size and style of it. 

A friend recommended a company called Toronto Tub & Tile Refinishing. They came on Friday refinish the tub, which took about three hours.  We’re really happy with the result.

Before:

After:

Upstairs Bathroom Plans

We’ve chosen all our finishes for the upstairs bathroom and work will be starting this week. In the shower, we replaced the octagon window and built a shelf into the wall. We decided to keep the original cast iron tub, so we’re having it refinished.

We both really like glass mosaic tiles, so we wanted to incorporate them into this bathroom. Here is the glass tile we chose:

Our plan is to tile the three walls surrounding the tub with 3x6” white subway tiles, with an accent strip of the glass mosaic tiles midway up the wall. The remaining walls will be painted gray. For the floors, we selected 2” hexagons in white carrara marble. Here is a rough idea of what we’re planning for the tiles:

The bathroom is pretty tiny and there wasn’t any way to change the layout to give us more space. To maximize our space, we searched for a small vanity that would give us a bit of counter space and storage, without sticking out too far into the middle of the bathroom. We finally found one we love from TUBS. It will allow us to avoid walking into a sharp corner when we enter the bathroom.

Bathroom Faucets

We took a little break from working on the house this weekend to attend a couple of weddings. Congratulations Liane & Jesse and Sharon & Dave!

However, since the plumber is coming this week to install the shower valves, we had to choose our faucets. We decided to go with chrome for the upstairs bathroom, since we think it will look best with our planned white and gray colour scheme. For the downstairs bathroom, we've selected brushed nickel.

Upstairs Bathroom: Delta

We chose a single lever Delta sink faucet that will fit well in the small vanity that we need for our tiny bathroom. We went with a matching tub and shower faucet.

Downstairs Bathroom: Kohler

We really like the look of Kohler's Archer Suite. We bought the bath and shower faucet, but will wait until we've chosen a vanity before we decide whether we can get the 4" or 8" centre sink faucet.

Bye Bye Bathroom

Today we said goodbye to the upstairs bathroom. It was quite the challenge because all the old wall tiles were set in thick mortar with wire mesh. After a couple of swings with the sledge hammer, Dave decided that renting a demolition hammer was the only way to get the job done. Sadly, our bathroom is just as small without the tiles as it was before!



Good thing we have our shiny new basement bathroom, equipped with the Champion!

The Champion

Before we begin ripping out the old bathroom upstairs, we wanted to install a toilet in the new basement bathroom. Once the basement plumbing was ready, we went toilet shopping.

One would assume that choosing a toilet would be a fairly simple task. A toilet is a toilet, right? Well, as it turns out, men and women have very different preferences.

Lucky for us, we need two. So, we decided that Dave gets to pick the basement toilet and Jen gets to pick the upstairs toilet.

This week we installed Dave's choice - the Champion 4 by American Standard. According to a press release, it's "a tower of power" and the box says it can flush a bucket of golf balls. It is pretty obvious why this toilet appeals to men!

Stay tuned for Jen's choice...

Basement Bathroom Plumbing

We plan to add a second bathroom in the basement. It will be located where the original laundry room was - right behind the stairs. Here are some shots of the plumbing work that's been done so far. The basement framing will start this week.

Before: Bathroom

There's only one bathroom right now, but we plan to add a second in the basement.