Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Bathroom Reno's

We have been long delayed in this next post due to busy work schedules, visitors and a trip to the Rockies.

In the middle of May we commenced the renovation of the smaller of the two bathrooms in our home. It had been poorly renovated by the previous owners of the house and included some damaged granite counters and awful dark green tile throughout. The work was brought forward by the breaking of the shower which would have resulted in having to retile if were to repair it. We decided to simply rip the whole lot out and start again.

Of course, small jobs always turn into big ones and so we also decided 'while we had the contractor here' to replace the tile in the entry and basement hallways as we didn't like that either !

So this is the ugly old bathroom we had.....

There was no bathtub, only a shower

Which was also dark with the green tile

The ugly old vanity

The next day the contractor arrived and quickly set to work demolishing. Gone was the vanity, and a hole in the wall was discovered behind the old mirror.

The shower is now gone

We had the bulkhead above the shower raised to almost ceiling height to give much more feeling of space both in the bathroom and when standing in the new shower.

Looking up into the attic we see in typical Canadian style - virtually no insulation - which explains the gas bills in the winter !

Our contractor also sets about removing the tile in the entry and basement halls

When trying to remove the entryway tile our contractor managed to shatter the glass in one of the entry doors. These doors were custom made 8' doors with lead and coloured inserts that we had designed ourselves. Thankfully it was only the plain internal section of the sealed unit that had smashed and the personalised external piece remained intact. However, this unit still needed to be removed and a new sealed unit created using the original external piece of glass.

The hole behind the mirror is filled

Now the new bathtub is in

Our front door remained boarded up for a couple of weeks as two initial attempts to replace the sealed unit were unsuccessful as the glazing company failed to meet the original specifications of the door.....imperitive given it is adjacent to another matching glazed door and has to be identical.

Eventually however, the work was done and we are extremely pleased with the result.

We have new potlights in the ceiling, new extractor fan and the old 'heat lamp' has gone.

New height adjustable (rare in Canada) shower over the bathtub

Shower controls

New taps on the lovely large vessel sink

New dual-flush (yes, they've JUST discovered those here although they're 'imported from Europe'!) toilet and storage unit

Close-up of the decorative inserts which are a mix of clear glass, opaque glass and marble

The new tub which looks better, will be easier to keep clean and while we probably won't use it as a tub much will be advantageous to the re-sale of the house when we decide to move on.

We also managed to decorate the entry hall upstairs and the glass was eventually replaced to our satisfaction.

We are delighted with the finished bathroom. The only downside is it makes the en-suite look very rundown.......

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