Advice on how much to renovate

12 years ago

Like most people, as I've considered remodeling the master bath, I find myself staring at scope creep. It's very hard to decide where to stop, or what's good enough. So I'd like some advice/tips from those of you who are more experienced in this than I am.

So, here's some background. Single family home built around 1987. Highlights of the master bath:

- original oak cabinetry in the 80s style with cathedral doors. structurally they look just fine, but I don't like the dated look.

- beige/light yellow cultured/faux marble countertop with 2 sinks (original): structurally sound, but looks dated.

- 2 medicine cabinets with oak trims (original); very dated, and narrow.

- ceiling has a covered recess with tube-lights. also has oak trims (original): don't like this at all

- bath tub and backsplash in the same faux marble. (original): structurally sound, but appears dated

- ceramic tiles on the floor put in about 5 years ago: okay, but not terribly impressive

- brass faucets and cabinet hardware (original): getting old, and some not working

- a large mirror (with no trims) over the countertop

- your regular Home Depot toilet that was put in about 8 years ago: this is fine.

The original idea was to do the following:

- paint the cabinets in an espresso color. I've chosen Benjamin Moore's bittersweet chocolate color, but the paint is actually Behr Ultra. Anybody think using Behr is a lousy idea (it's a lot cheaper than BM)?

- replace the medicine cabinets with something more modern and bigger

- get rid of the tube-lights and oak trims in the ceiling recess; re-texture the recess and replace the lighting with something more contemporary

- replace all the faucets with newer chrome ones. I realize there are a lot of faucet styles out there and I need to pick the style I like, but I have a question about makes, which I'll ask in a separate thread.

- redo the caulking in the bath-tub since it's become colored and dirty over time.

- replace the one big mirror with 2 individual mirrors, preferably with storage since we now have stuff lying all over the counter. What are some good places to shop online for mirrors, or in person in the San Francisco Bay area?

This sounds simple enough. However, the scope creep happens since I'm wondering if I should take the plunge and replace the counter top and sinks as well with a more lighter/whiter color stone to provide good contrast with the cabinets. But if I did that, I'd have to replace the bath-tub (in white) as well as the backsplash (potentially with glass). This would cause me to replace the flooring as well since replacing the tub would result in the floor being not entirely covered and I don't have any more of the original tiles to fill in. Now, if we did all of that, wouldn't it make sense to replace the cabinet as well since they are getting there in age?

As you can see, this then becomes a full-fledged demolish-and-rebuild operation. Money is a secondary consideration. The primary being, I hate to throw things away just because I'm tired of how they look. So the fundamental question here is: what's the typical lifetime of the big ticket bathroom stuff like cabinetry and tub? If I have to replace them within the next 5-10 years, I could consider replacing them now. But if these things will last for another 15-20 years, I'd hate to add to the already full landfills. Another way of asking the question is: is 24 years too young for a bathroom to be completely replaced?

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Comments (7)

birdgardner
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
There's no reason why a decent quality cabinet and tub won't last decades...and decades with care...my mother's and my grandmother's houses were built around 1950 and have the originals in good condition.

My other grandmother's apartment had original fixtures from the 1920's.

A cultured marble tub though, may not last as long as porcelain on cast iron...I've never seen a cultured marble tub, only sinks.
weedyacres
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
You don't have to put a single thing in the landfill. If it's in good condition, someone else with a much smaller budget will be willing to buy it. We've gutted baths and kitchen (and everything else in our early-90's vintage house), and found happy buyers for nearly everything: cabinets, tubs, shower surrounds, appliances, faucets, windows.

And the stuff that's truly of no "value" we freecycled. Tile offcuts, scrap lumber, partial bags of thinset, carpet, you name it. About the only thing that went to the dump was partial pieces of drywall.

One man's trash is truly another man's treasure. Don't let the waste argument keep you from updating if you've got the money. It doesn't need to go to waste.
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User
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
If saving money isn't the primary drive here, then plan a gut redo. Donate the fixtures to Habitat for Humanite Restore or put them on Freecycle. You can do all that you've outlined, but in 5-6 years, you'll end up having to redo the cultured marble stuff anyway and that leads down that slippery slope. Might as well ski down it now, before something fails and you have to try to manage a project with structure damage included.
writersblock (9b/10a)
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
No particular suggestions to the OP, but as for this:

A cultured marble tub though, may not last as long as porcelain on cast iron...I've never seen a cultured marble tub, only sinks.

Oddly enough, real cultured marble (I know that's an oxymoron, but I mean as opposed to the hard plastic that looks like cultured marble) does last quite well. I recently looked at some late 70s vintage townhouses with cultured marble tubs and they looked practically brand new.

Cultured marble does polish up very well, even after a lot of neglect, so the real issue is whether or not you want it in your bathroom, not how long it lasts.
bakaroni
Original Author
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thanks, all, for your responses. Will look into the freecycle and Habitat for Humanity. Lots to think about.
gmp3
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Pictures?
MongoCT
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Skin and bones.

If the bones are good, sometimes a simple facelift will suffice.

Sounds like your bones are good.

If you like the cabinets but not the color, then yes to the following; prep, prime and paint. Behr is fine.

If the cathedral doors bug you, you can just replace the doors. There are door resellers online, the prices are not outlandish and you could then get the style of door you like and if you want to paint, the color you like too.

I don't think it's too far out of line to replace the countertop, sinks, and faucets. Changing that will bring the vanity into your design world.

As far as having to change the tub because you changed the vanity top...really think about it. Can't they be independent of one another? Or are they truly tied together, as a pair? It's certainly your choice.

The typical lifetime of cabinetry? As has been mentioned, if it's of decent quality it can last longer than you. Style-wise it might become outdated. Taste-wise you might not prefer it. If you listen to the designers out there who's job it is to come up with the latest and greatest trend, it'll "last" 4-6 months!

But tasteful doors in an easy-on-the-eye design can actually be "in style" pretty much forever. Good stuff doesn't go out of style, whether it be modern or traditional. It's appreciated generation after generation, much to the chagrin of the trend-setters.

If you did replace the tub, is there any way you could add a border of completely different tile up against the tub and keep your existing tile? It could act as an accent stripe, etc.

Just sayin'...there are ways and there are ways.

Sometimes you can tinker.

If you plan on staying in this house for a while, then the more the current design grates at you, the more I'd encourage you to really go for what you want. Putting your imprint on something and being happy with it can brighten up your day a bit, starting each and every morning.

Advice on how much to renovate

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birdgardner

weedyacres

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Advice on how much to renovate

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birdgardner

weedyacres

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writersblock (9b/10a)

bakaroniOriginal Author

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bakaroni
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