Master Bath Remodel Project

[ChrisGold]



Thanks. So all fixtures and materials were included in that 36K? Just trying to see where my budget should be for remodel.

Correct. That's everything including tear out of the old bath, reframing the doorway to a single door and every single fixture and material used. I did nothing on my own outside of that budget.

Take away the door framing and new door needed, two large heated towel bars, and lower the material specs a notch and 30K is very easily hit. I've had neighbors spend in the 25K range but I wasn't thrilled with the results. Like anything else, YMMV. I chose this contractor on a few recommendations and he gave me great starting points in my selections. Some other contractors dumped mounds of catalogs on me and told me to start looking. I don't have time for that.

 

[alan]

Wow thats an expensive job. Had no idea it was this expensive in the US. Can you give more of a breakdown of the price in terms of labour and material and components? That glass looks great. I feel the wood closet and cabinets couldve been done way better in terms of design and how the toilet fits in. thats my only gripe with this.

 

[ChrisGold]



Wow thats an expensive job. Had no idea it was this expensive in the US. Can you give more of a breakdown of the price in terms of labour and material and components? That glass looks great. I feel the wood closet and cabinets couldve been done way better in terms of design and how the toilet fits in. thats my only gripe with this.

Yes, it was a challenge to try to gain more storage space inside of the bathroom without even more extensive remodeling, and having to really move around lots of plumbing. The problem with a bathroom is that everything needs to be on a wall, so it leaves you with no wall space to add storage, even in a good size bathroom. The only other option would have been to get rid of the tub, but there are those times when you're sore and you just want to soak. This was the best we could come up with and even that involved removing a door. It's hard to photograph it but in person (at least in my opinion) it doesn't look as bad as it does on here. Most of our neighbors have loved it and are considering making the same type of modifications. It certainly will serve its purpose but all design is subjective and I can see the everyone's point about it. The toilet is actually not as claustrophobic as it looks, it may show better in the picture below:

In terms of cost, I don't have things broken down, but I'll give you as much as I can in terms of estimates of where some of the dollars go.

Good quality faucets are in the the $400 - $450 range x 2. Tub is around $1500, toilet $500, under mount sinks $200 x 2, shower faucet system $1250 - $1500, quartz counters, shower seat and shower threshold $2000, tiles for floor / shower $2000, lighting $900, towel warmers $1600. glass work $2500, shower substrate system $800. The biggest item however is the cabinetry, and can vary greatly based upon the level of trim. It's hard to give you an accurate estimate, but to put it in perspective, the decorative END PANEL ONLY on the big cabinet (which is basically like one cabinet door) is $760. Extrapolate that out and I would guess that the cabinets are in the $8000 range. Add the new door, trim work, paint, misc. plumbing, electrical parts, grout, etc... and you're in the $25,000 range. 2 men at 7 full days, overhead such as insurance, plus profit.

Could it be done for less? Yes, obviously, you could find a contractor who will take it at a low margin, or you could reduce the level of materials used on the job. $400 solid brass faucets can go down to $125 Home Depot faucets, cheaper shower construction, cabinets, etc...

I think one of the very important factors in any modeling project is the overall value of the home. I wouldn't spend $35K on a bathroom in a $300K house, as that's probably not a good investment. It's about what's proportional to the value of a home, unless you've decided that you're going to be carried out when you die someday.

Anyway, hope that helps. The decorative panel is installed tomorrow and probably another week or two until the replacement glass goes in, but that will be a small change, so tomorrow is basically it.

 

[alan]

^ thank you that helps a lot. All the items were priced reasonably, many less than i expected.

The difference comes down to the cabinets and labour which are a whole lot cheaper here.

 

[Joffrey]

Out of curiousity, why do you need so much storage in your bathroom?

 

[ChrisGold]



Out of curiousity, why do you need so much storage in your bathroom?

Good question. 5 bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths but only one small linen closet in the upstairs hallway. Our master bedroom closet is a bit lacking as well, so storage space is at a premium in the house. Even the basement, which is very nicely finished, is actually finished too much and doesn't have a storage room. This allows us to put all of our linens and other supplies in one place and my kids' stuff can occupy the other linen closet.

 

[ChrisGold]

Missing panels installed on big cabinet. Project is complete until the replacement, thicker glass arrives. I'm happy with the color of the cabinets, I wanted them dark but still showing grain. Thus a dark stain instead of painted finish. (Cherry wood / espresso stain)

 

[alan]

Those panels actually make a big difference. I realised that what was bothering me isnt the fact that the toilet was enclosed there, but the actual design of the cabinets. Before the panels it all looked blocky and with each cavinet doors facing a different direction it felt like they were just moved here from another room.
Its much better now. Is it common to have the too of the cabinets designed as such even when they dont touch the ceiling?

 

[ChrisGold]



Those panels actually make a big difference. I realised that what was bothering me isnt the fact that the toilet was enclosed there, but the actual design of the cabinets. Before the panels it all looked blocky and with each cavinet doors facing a different direction it felt like they were just moved here from another room.
Its much better now. Is it common to have the too of the cabinets designed as such even when they dont touch the ceiling?

I agree and perhaps my knowing what it was eventually going to look like colored my view of it even before the panels were added. Originally the panels were not in the quote, but I kept visualizing this big dark brown plain cabinet end and I knew that wouldn't look good. Added the panels and I'm very glad I did. By breaking up that end panel with something matching the other side of the cabinet, it actually makes the cabinet look much smaller.

As I said earlier, it's really hard to photograph a bathroom, I should probably pull out a wide angle lens. Things look crowded and claustrophobic but that's not the case in person. It's a good sized bathroom and there is still a lot of open space in the room.

As for as the cabinet tops, yes, in kitchens it's pretty standard now to finish with crown molding even though they don't go all the way to the ceiling. My kitchen has a 9' ceiling and the cabinet tops are at the 8" level or so and have molding around the top. The bathroom ceiling is 12' on that side, and the molding makes the tops of the cabinets larger and fills in some space, as well as their decorative addition.

 

[louise-j]

Greate job, ChrisGold! Thanks for share!

 

[SimCl]

That's really good case of wardrobe made, but why could do it even better with built-in technique, for example as here. I found good examples on this site.