In with the new:

Bathroom Renovation

 Okay, full discloser; was is my sweetie’s, wife’s house.  I did much of the demo with Carol, as well as all the reframing, coordinating the finishes, plus of course all the design work.

     Good thing we opened the walls back to the studs.  I found some rot and mildew.  The house is +-80 years old and this Bathroom is the original exterior porch that was enclosed many, many years ago when a master bedroom was added onto the house.  The floor is a suspended slab, so the floor had to be core-drilled to accommodate the new fixture locations.  The space was just under 9’x9’ and I feel really good about all the function built into a small space along with how open it feels.  There is even room for another small vanity if desired.

      I made it look old, in keeping with the house, but the bathroom is modern with 1.5gpm water efficient shower and lavatory fixtures as well as having a dual flush Toto toilet.  She loves to take a meditative bath most nights so the tub drove the design along with leaving the bathroom door in place so the renovation wouldn’t migrate into other rooms.  The “extra” we included was the rain showerhead (2.5gpm) but to be honest, it hasn’t be used that often.

      The Bathroom is also electrically efficient with an Energy Star bath fan light combo with the fan being on a timer switch. Energy Star dimmable wall wash can lights are above the tub to highlight artwork but also to provide mood lighting while not blinding the bather as they soak.  But best of all, right in the middle, there is a Velux sun tunnel.  I spent the first 3 months trying to cut off a light that wasn’t on each time I left the bathroom.  She has also discovered that you don’t need a night light either, the ambient streetlights at night provides just enough glow through the sun tunnel to light your way.

      Thanks to Dave Wilder for the photos.