Bathroom Remodel Please Help

amother

Sun, Jul 26 2020, 10:54 pm

I'd like to redo my master bathroom and the one off my kitchen. I don't need to move any plumbing; just want to change the look of the rooms. I have no clue where to even start; they've been in the house since before we bought it, I never redid a bathroom before and have no clue what prices I'm looking at or even what I like, since bathrooms are not really something I've paid attention to in other homes. Please help me out here... what are the price ranges? What's worth spending on? What are things that you did / didn't do that you like / regret? Any pictures for inspiration? Tips? Thanks!

PS. The one off the kitchen is a half bath, small. Just toilet and sink. The master is not huge but it has a full tub. Shower is in the tub, not separate. Tub is cracked and gross, would love to replace.

All input appreciated! Thank you!

amother

Aquamarine

Sun, Jul 26 2020, 11:29 pm

I had a pretty bad experience.

I went to a frum owned place in the BP area (not Sentile) who gave me a price for the tiles, and it ended up being way more than I wanted to spend, plus she very much underestimated the amount of tiles I needed, leaving me short of tiles. I ended up not having enough for the job and she had to go begging from other people who were using the identical tile. Of course I had to pay more for more tiles.

The woman gave me floor tiles that she said were the match to the wall tiles. They were not. When I was missing one tile a year later, and the boss gave me 1 matching floor tile, I found out what she gave me was NOT the matching tile.

I did another bathroom with Weismans liquidator tiles and things went smoothly, and the tile is more durable.

asmileaday

Sun, Jul 26 2020, 11:43 pm

Never go to a store blindly. Unless you're the type that will just follow what a designer says and that's it.
I had an idea of what colors I wanted, what pattern and tile shape I liked. And then I went around to probably every tile store in my neighborhood. Including Home Depot and Lowes.
I ultimately went where I found the best price in the colors and styles I liked. I did 3 bathrooms and the tiles were from different stores, I didn't get them all in the same place.
Lowes had beautiful accent tiles for half the price of the Jewish stores, so even for the bathrooms that I got my tiles in the Jewish store, I bought the designed ones in Lowes.
If you're working with a budget you have to be willing to do a bit of the legwork and run around.

amother

Honeydew

Mon, Jul 27 2020, 7:01 am

amother [ Plum ] wrote:

When we redid our bathrooms , the toilet was very important to me.
I insisted on getting toilets that did not have indentations where the pipes are at the bottom.
So much dust and misfired pee collects there. The new toilets are straight sides all the way to the bottom. It's a bit more expensive but so worth it. I kept repeating: "She who cleans the toilet, picks the toilet."

Yes this!
Op in order to get idea of prices, start going around to stores. In the first few you'll have no clue what you're even looking at. But the more you see the smarter you'll get.
Toilets can be gotten for cheap under $200 but those aren't the straight ones (it's called skirted). People swear by the Toto one piece which can be at least $600. Personally I didn't find any of the designs appealing. And the price point was hard to swallow.
We ended up with Icera Cadence. It's skirted. Even though it's a 2 piece, the seam where the bowl and tank meet is higher up, not by the fold. So it washes like a 1 piece and doesn't collect pee in the crack like a regular 2 piece. Also price wise it was a better fit, it was under $400. We got it from WorldWide Plumbing on 15th Ave in Bp.

asmileaday

Mon, Jul 27 2020, 7:08 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Oh that’s a great point about the toilet! Thank you! Please keep them coming! Can anyone give me price ranges?

For tiles, first take the measurements of the width and height of the areas you'll be tiling. Figure out the square footage and add 10%. Once you have that number, any tile you look at, you'll multiply the price by that number and you'll have an estimate of what the tiles would cost you. Then there's also the cost of installation. But you'll have a starting idea of what this may cost you.
There's such a vast price range when it comes to tiles, it's hard to tell you what it'll cost until you go and see what you want.
Some of my tiles were a dollar and change per sq foot, other were nearly $5/sq ft. In my smaller bathrooms I was able to get a bit more expensive tiles (if that's the design I liked) because the sum total wasn't as much as if it would've been in a bigger bathroom.

tweety1

Mon, Jul 27 2020, 7:42 am

amother [ Aquamarine ] wrote:

I think the fact that you wrote it's in bp I can almost guess which store it is. I'm saying my experience abt sentile because I had an amazing experience. Sentile has one thing over the other stores, and that is she's an interior designer as well. I know somebody who called her to design a specific room in her house not necessarily tiles.
I chose tiles in one store, and I didn't order right away cuz we weren't ready. I ended deciding that I want very comfortable with the choices I made, that's when I was recommended sentile where I ultimately ended buying from.
Op, talk to ppl, not only here, but irl. Go look at ppls bathrooms, I also found that looking bathrooms or anything is not the same irl than online.

amother

Honeydew

Mon, Jul 27 2020, 8:48 am

amother [ Orchid ] wrote:

Ballpark figure of 10k to renovate a bathroom.
Installation of tiles can cost more than the tiles themselves, especially if you choose a plainer tile.
For plumbing - tub, vanity, toilet, go check out each of these yourself, sit on/in it and test the design to see if it works for you. We ordered our tub without seeing it and I still regret it 4 years later.

I think 10k is to the higher end especially if you're talking about Brooklyn size bathrooms (op put this in Ny inquiries so I'm assuming her bathroom isn't that large).
We chose an acrylic (I think that was the material?) tub rather than cast iron and it was a fraction of the cost. Doesn't bother me.
We also did an IKEA vanity which is gorgeous in its simplistic and clean design as well as very convenient because of the drawers instead of cabinet doors.
I love the way our bathroom looks. It was nowhere near 10k. Can't figure out an exact cost as it was a couple of years ago and the install was part of a bigger renovation project.
I know that some easily spend 3k on a vanity, 2k on a tub 1k on a toilet so I guess with those numbers it can add up quickly. But it doesn't have to and can still look breathtakingly gorgeous.

amother

Dodgerblue

Mon, Jul 27 2020, 12:33 pm

A bathroom is the most expensive room to renovate - size really is irrelevant to a great extent because the major cost is the plumbing and electrical work.

The cost of materials - unless one has an extremely large bathroom - is not the major factor. It is the cost of skilled labor. And I stress SKILLED labor because there is so much that can go wrong when someone doesn't have the skill set to properly waterproof, set tiles, do electrical work. If you don't believe me, go on houzz.com and read threads about people who had the misfortune to hire a GC who didn't do work properly.

As others have posted, before you do a thing, google bathrooms and look at those for inspiration. Save whatever pictures you find attractive and don't think too much about it. You will find yourself drawn to certain bathrooms and you can analyze what you like about those bathrooms.

The cost of a bathroom will depend on what you want the end result to look like.

Do you want a tiled shower or an prefab bath/shower type of installation? A tiled shower is more beautiful but more expensive because of increased labor as well as cost of materials.

I recently remodeled my bathrooms down to the studs and am very pleased by the result

I took out bath/shower tub and installed large tiled shower. Installed a bench at one end with a hand held shower head by the bench. Love the bench and don't miss the tub at all since no one took baths.

Install grab bars for safety even if you think you are limber. Anyone can slip in the bath or shower with horrendous results

Think about storage and maximize storage in your vanity. FWIW, I got rid of the second sink in my master bath because I got increased storage as well as increased counter. I don't spend that much time where I need to stand directly above a bathroom sink.

Electrical work will have to be brought up to Code if your bathroom is older.

There are lots of things that need to be purchased and installed in a bathroom - the plumbing fixtures - even less expensive but reliable brands like Delta or Moen add up. The towel holders; toilet paper holders; knobs and pulls; lighting; mirrors.

Do you want a frameless shower door - that's more expensive? Do you want glass that is treated so that hard water and soap scum so it's lower maintenance - that costs money

A nice toilet by a reliable brand like Toto costs money

Cheap tiles can be problematic because they aren't made well so you will most probably have lippage problems when they are installed.

Construction costs in New York City are typically higher because the cost of skilled labor is higher. And if you live in a condo, labor costs are even higher because the building will have restrictions which drive up labor costs. Even in single family homes, delivery and parking might make it more difficult and drive up labor costs.

Obviously there is a range of costs for a bathroom but based on my experience, the cost of a small to medium master bathroom renovation for a down to the studs remodel would be closer to $25,000. A "luxury" bathroom could be even higher.