bathroom hell (blue tub, pink tiles), redo help needed

12 years ago

Hi all,

I bought a small lake cottage that has a small hideous bathroom that needs to be totally redone. This is the only bathroom in the house.

The previous owner had a tub with a handheld shower attachment but not a true shower.

Beautiful blue tub with pink tiles that are falling off:

storage space adjacent to tub... is as deep as the tub so it's impossible to reach things in the back of these shelves:

space under the sink has room only for the plumbing.

Under the counter that is behind the tub in this photo is the area that houses the well pump. so the piece of counter

has to be removable to get to the pump. That is also why the "doors" that were in front of the plumbing is also removable.

the open space is problematic.... it needs to be walled in somehow so I can have a shower but we also need to retain access to the well pump.

the toilet doesn't sit flush with the floor but sits higher by an inch or so and I have no idea why there are no tiles around the toilet base:

This is what makes the bathroom worth redoing:

The ceiling has water damage and tiles falling down so that needs to be replaced and the light fixture needs to be recentered over the open area rather than sitting closer to the shower area so I can install a small ceiling fan.

I have had the roof replaced so the leaks should be done with. the little window over the sink is new.

Darn, forgot to take a picture of the storage cabinet that is above the tub and runs the entire length of the wall.

there is very little storage space in the house so while it would be nice to keep it but it sits so low that at 5'4" tall my head is almost touching the ceiling (bottom of the cabinets) over the tub. First things first, these cabinets have to be removed.

I can't afford to gut everything and put in the bathroom I"d like because other parts of the house (particularly the kitchen) also needs major work.

any suggestions for me?

how to wall in that open area?

tile or shower surround?

since the toilet doesn't sit flush with floor what has to be done to correct/repostion that?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

I've never had to do anything like this so even the most obvious may not be obvious to me.

Susan

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Comments (6)

palimpsest
12 years ago
I think the tile is falling off because the wall was constructed out of waterproof substrate behind the tiles. It also looks like some times were mounted directly on plywood.

Since there was no shower, they may not have thought this necessary at the time.

At the least you are going to have to get all of that out of there, make sure there is no rot, and put up a new tub surround. If you have a small budget and want to get it functional, you could put up a to-the-studs interlocking plastic or fiberglass surround.

I would keep the tub and sink. Kohler still makes a similar color, they are probably very high quality and if they are not damaged, well, a replacement of the same caliber would be expensive.

These are off-the cuff suggestions re: tub only. Without knowing your budget or what you can DIY etc., its hard to give a lot of advice.
avadoone
12 years ago
I agree with the above post. I would keep the tub and sink and pull it together with a cool white tile and blue accessories.

You can get away with the blue in a cottage. It's charming.
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Why don't you do the labor yourself of removing the tile? It's not hard to do. You just punch a hole in the wall and pull the tile and the drywall off. It might take you several weeks to throw it all away in the trash if you have just one can. Then you can see what's up behind your tile. If I was in your shoes I'd call around to a few drywallers and see how much they would charge to drywall your bathroom if you demo the tile. I got my drywaller to put up Wonderboard around the shower- ask them how much to do that too. Then you can put any tile you want around your tub and on the floor, and get a new vanity counter top from Home Depot. Tiling a tub surround and a floor is not hard. It's like building things with Legos. Otherwise, you could just remove the stained wallpaper and find one in blue and red- stripes, florals, cherries or strawberries. Renee
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You must be in my neighborhood! Seriously, your baths are SO similar to ours in our 1964 house. Here's what we have done: Master bath--was Pepto Bismol pink. We had it reglazed in white and it's holding up well. We had the tiny tile floor ripped up and redone. Upstairs hall bath--was baby boy blue. DH tackled this one (very unusual!) by ripping out the floor and taking down the tile. He installed white beadboard and a new floor. The tub is the same exact style you have, which really is a high quality cast-iron tub. I hate the cliche that they "don't make things like they used to", but in this case, I really think it's true. This tub holds the heat like no other. It's worth saving, either as is, or having it professionally reglazed. First floor half-bath--DH painted the tiles with a latex paint in a beige and we then had the floor redone by a professional. We added another full bath in the basement area and used a one-unit tub/wall combo (not nearly as good at holding heat as the cast iron tub upstairs). We did tile on the walls and floors. Check out professional tile reglazing in your Yellow Pages. It will tide you over until you can tackle a reno. My advise is this: keep the cast iron tubs, but change out the faucets to a "mixer valve", which is fairly inexpensive. Good luck. I did all I could do to live w/ the pink and blue. No matter what I did it screamed "60's"!
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Zaz and Beth, I finally have some samples on my floor to look at (from the Tile Shop) and that's helpful, but it's a pain in the b*** to figure out what samples to order and from whom to order them - and expensive too! I could probably order an equal number of interesting samples from Merola/Home Depot, not to mention the additional ideas you've both now given me, but at some point I need to stop. Even though I feel I've 'narrowed' my focus to something with blue and/or patterned-moroccan-style, there are still so many options and resources to look at. I do like all the additional examples you gave me, Beth. Is EliteTile considered a good quality resource? I have felt comfortable having a retail face to consult with (Tile Shop and Home Depot) but if you and Zaz and others with more experience feel it can be ok to order from a place like Wayfair and this brand of tile, then I feel more confident about that. Both Tile Shop and HD have nice options too, but I've been a bit frustrated that I haven't been able to see an actual sample of a large-size cobalt option .... and the nice on sale lantern blue one is beautiful. What a price, too!! Weirdly, as I look more closely at the Wayfair/EliteTile Moroccan tiles, I'm seeing several that are the exact same patterns that Merola/HomeDepot offer. Do either of you know anything about this? I'd kind of like to add pictures of the samples I have from Tile Shop to see what you both think, but it might need to wait until tomorrow since this day is over and I'm beat. (Also, have other things in addition to tile shopping which I'm sure you both can relate to.) I am grateful to have both of you to converse with on this. Feel more comfortable.
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palimpsest
12 years ago
I meant to say "not contructed out of waterproof substrate"
Fori
12 years ago
What a bathroom! What a neat tub and sink! Is this a vacation home or permanent? I'm not sure it matters but it would work better for a vacation home (psychologically anyway), but what about doing the tub/shower plumbing like an old clawfoot with shower added? Full surround shower curtain (or just two sides if you want to redo the tile nice and watertight I guess) with the showerhead piped openly from the lower plumbing and attached to the curtain rod? Wrong terms, I know, but maybe you know what I mean. LIke the one linked below (cheaper versions and different configurations are available--this was just a quick google.)

I'd guess there used to be a thicker floor that was removed and nobody bothered to tell the toilet.

If you're really being cheap, you could maybe get away with a lot of paint on the cabinets and curtains over the missing doors, but the cabinets would have to be sturdy enough to keep for that to work.

Crisp white tile is inexpensive and you CAN put tile on a piece of plywood for the removable countertop. It'll be heavy enough you won't need to anchor it.

Maybe you can DIY drywalling the ceiling. It's not a fun job, but it's a good bonding experience with whatever friends you can get to help. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: example of ceiling mount shower curtain/tub-to-shower conversion
susiemw
Original Author
12 years ago
Palimpsest, I knew what you meant! Thanks.

Thanks Avadoone, You're right...blue and white do look good together. I was thinking white for the walls and and any new cabinetry anyway. You're probably right that the blue will look much better once the pink is gone! What a ghastly combo.

Fori, it's sort of in between a permanent & vacation home. But once I get the bathroom renovated it'll be more full time than vacation home.

I"m thinking dry walling or any ceiling job will get hired out. There are some things it's worth paying others to do. and I don't know enough people around here to get them to help!

Thanks for the idea of the surround shower curtain/rod that you mentioned. That might let me get away with a little less intervention in the bathroom. I"ll have to give that one some thought.

Thanks everyone.

Susan
frydmice
12 years ago
I am not a plumber but my guess is that the toilet leaked, rotted out the underfloor and that is why the tiles are missing and the toilet is elevated now. They probably did a quick fix to seal the toilet and you may have issues with your subfloor there. Hope I am wrong with that guess.

bathroom hell (blue tub, pink tiles), redo help needed

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bathroom hell (blue tub, pink tiles), redo help needed

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palimpsest

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