Mike C's "second" bathroom remodel w/ pics!

[Mike Clark]

Well since I have put on the final touches in my other bathroom, I figured it was time to take on our main bathroom. The problem with this bathroom is that my wife needs to be able to use the bath while I am remodeling it, so I had to attack it fast, and not spend 9 months like my last one.
Here's what it looked like(I know, I cringe as well, look at that floor!):





I started the tear out Friday evening. Ripped out the toilet and vanity, and then started with that horrid floor!




I was on a roll that evening, so I thought, what the heck, let's get down the Hardi! I had exactly one hour to try to get it done before I had to be somewhere, so I was rushing!




After finishing that, I was exhausted. I got some much needed sleep and at 9 in the morning I was ready to start tiling! I set my Felker TM-75 up in the tub with a quickly made brace and hooked up my new hot dog blade(well worth it, like butter!) The tiles are some cheap tiles from Lowe's($1.59 sqft)




I wanted something to break up the simpleness of the floor, so I opted for these three listellos placed side by side in the center. I think it turned out great, and worked out faster than I expected.




I finished tiling by 2:30 pm and let the tiles set up the rest of the day.

The next day(today, Sunday), I woke up around 10 am and began with the grout. I chose "mocha", which looks like chocolate. These pics are dark, but you get the idea:



My new Toto Drake toilet will be here Monday morning, and my father just finished my Cherry vanity that he built for me(this is now my nicest piece of furniture I have). For all you cabinet gurus out there, this is some quick pics of it sitting in my kitchen. Cherry with raised panels and a laminated top, and has a nice Kohler sink for it. The deep drawers and dove tailed and have nice little partitions in them for all the wife's "stuff". It is 61" long and 22" deep, and 37 1'2" tall. The price was even better, I just had to cover the materials and wait a month for my dad to get it done







I plan on finishing up the drywall touch up and painting the walls maybe Monday evening. Hopefully by Tuesday I can have the vanity installed, but that might be pushing it. I'll update this thread soon with more pictures!

Mike C.

[ddmoit]

Dang, that's fast! I really feel like a slouch now.

I put a Toto in my bathroom downstairs. It's truly a superior toilet.

[Mike Clark]

Thanks, I learned a lot with my first 9 month long bath remodel, but learned it all here. I installed an American Standard in that bathroom, unfortunately. It's a junk toilet with many flaws, I just didn't research it before buying The Toto has great reviews so I am anxious to see how it works out!

Mike C

[dcousins]

great job. what cheap tile is that? it looks pretty good for $1.59.

Tell me about the TOTO toilet.TMI, but are they hard to clog? i need
at least 1 super toilet in the next house, lol

[ddmoit]

Deborah,

I learned about the TOTO toilets on Terry Love's plumbing forum. I've had mine in use for 2 months now, and it hasn't clogged once. I have two kids that can really challenge a toilet too.

[Mike Clark]

Dcousins,

I can't remember what tile it is, but will look at the box I had left over when I get back home. It is a porcelain tile and it cut so smoothly with that Hot Dog blade.

The Toto toilet search began after I started looking up toilets because my American Standard one that I just put in has a major design flaw with the gasket sealing. I realized the horror stories with them and leaks, so I started researching what toilet I wanted for this bathroom. Toto was the name that came up most often and was really recomended(Also from the Terry Love forum). This particular one is supposed to have one of the best 1.6 GPF flushes out there. Quiet yet strong, so I read. We'll see how it works out when it is installed.

A question on that, does anyone know since my toilet flange is now flush with the tile, will I need a spacer to raise it up a little before the wax ring is installed? Or should I just get a thick wax ring and not worry?

[ddmoit]

I've heard that you can make a flush flange work, but I think I would raise it with an extender if it wasn't too much trouble. I didn't use one, but Terry Love says those waxless Fluidmaster seals work well with the TOTO.

[pitterpat]

Those waxless FluidMasters do work well, however you should still add a flange extender (screw it into the floor) and then the waxless FluidMaster. The FluidMaster is also great in case you ever have toremove the toilet youcan re-use the waxless FluidMaster. I use the waxless FluidMaster on every job I do that involves taking out the toilet; I don't have to worry about messing with the wax ring or anything.

[muskymike]

Hi Mike, nice job on the floor. Ya aint gonna leave them walls pink are ya?

[dcousins]

I also use that fluidmaster waxless all the time except for my master bath. I had a problem. I can't really describe what was different about my sewer line but when I looked down into it, there was space between my flange and the 3" pipe. The space was not nothingness, but pvc. So it wasnt' leaking, but my waxless seal would have to have been longer to reach the 3" sewer line. Arrgghh. hard to explain. long story, short, I had to use a darn wax seal. so far so good. I guess I did it correctly. first time it didn't work.

[Andrew21]

Mike,
Is that a bathfitter in there?

Andy

[Mike Clark]

To answer some questions. NO we are NOT going to keep that color in there. It was a quick pick that the wife picked out last year when we moved in. And yes, now she is officially not allowed to pick paint color I am going to paint it a chocolate color, the exact paint as in my other bathroom. Here it is above the tile in the earlier stages of the first bathroom:


Andrew21,

I don't know what a bathfitter is? Are you talking about the tub/shower surround? If so, I don't really know. It's been in there since the house was built.

Anyways, here is what I did today. I have never put in a recessed light, so here is my first attempt at it. Getting it installed was cake, running the wire from the attic through the studs between the drywall and into the back of the existing electrical box, was, well.....next to impossible.


And I also figured out where the new vanity light will have to go, so I went ahead and made the hole. Tomorrow I am going to try to get it re-wired in the new location(to get it centered up with the larger vanity)



Mike C

[dcousins]

don't be so hard on wifey, picking out colors is hard. I have to use those paint shop programs and upload a pic and color the room. I also have used that benjamin moore cd. i am the kind of person that looks for the name of paints that I see in magazines and use those colors.

[Guinness56]

Mike - looks like you installed that recessed light over the tub, right? If so, make sure that fixture is rated for a wet location. Also you'll want to ensure that the breaker that feeds that electrical run is a GFCI breaker. If you spliced it off an existing light switch then it probably ain't...

[Andrew21]

Mike,

Beautiful tile work!

Andy