Does this work or did we make a mistake?
Thought this floor would work with the surrounding tile but had our doubts. Decided to just go for it and now we think we made a big mistake... What do you think?
Comments (31)
palimpsest
last year
Molly D. Zone4B
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Did we make a mistake by removing ductwork to bathrooms?
Comments (25)OK, now I'm a little more confused. HVAC guy used 50 sq. ft for both bathrooms which is pretty close and provided the following equation: The heaters have a capacity each of 1275 Btu's. The restrooms are an estimate of 50 sq ft. The manuel J calculation for second floor room with one side exposure to outside is approximately 18 Btu's a sq ft. 50 Sq. ft. x 18 btu's =900 Btu's per restroom. Using BTUs seems to make sense so I did a little more research on using BTUs as a basis. Here's my assumptions because I don't have the Manual J to refer to: Room square foot = 50' Room cubic feet = 400 (8' ceilings) Based on the fact that the nearest heating ducts are in bedrooms and we keep our doors closed and thermostat turned down to 65, I'm going to assume the starting temperature is 65 and we'd want something like 75 temp in the winter, so temperature rise would be 10 degrees. I'm just making assumptions here, so if they seem out of line, someone let me know. I know some calculators use desired temp minus minimum outside temp to calculate the temp rise, but the calculator I've linked to below seems better suited to our needs, as it appears to take into consideration the starting temp which will be set by the house furnace. At this point, I don't know if the primary purpose of these heaters will be to supplement the 2nd floor heating or if they will only be necessary for warming the bathrooms - if they were baseboard a/c units, I would have left them running at full blast this summer to provide some relief to the rest of the 2nd floor. If we're going to need them to supplement the heat, I'd assume they'd be left on most of the winter and the bathroom temperatures would remain fairly constant. But, if the current furnace and existing ducts are able to maintain the house at about 65 degrees, I see them as primarily being switched on in the mornings to heat the bathrooms before morning showers, then turned off before leaving the house. And in either case, I think it's important to take into consideration how long it will take the units to raise the temperature 10 degrees and will that time be different for a unit that's constantly running to assist with maintaining a 65 degree temperature vs. starting from cold to warm a room from 65 degrees to 75 degrees? The calculator below is giving me 3,675 BTUs and 1,077 Watts/hr, which is closer to the recommendations made by the folks here, but conflicts with Manual J calculations. I don't know that much about a Manual J, but it does appear to take into consideration things like 2nd floor room (I assume that also means room underneath is heated), 1 exterior wall. The online calculator does take into consideration factors like insulation type, but doesn't ask if it's 2nd floor. I don't think either wanted to know that the ceiling above is attic space with poor insulation (at this point, anyway) One other thing I discovered in doing more online research is that the thermostats that were installed on the baseboard heaters are single pole, which means they don't actually turn completely off, so does that mean that they will be generating at least some heat year round? Does that mean that they will continually draw electricity year round too? If so, would either of those factors concern you? Any thoughts? Here is a link that might be useful: The Heat Shop BTU calculator...See MoreDon't make the same mistake(s) I did thread.
Comments (88)Great thread. I've made many mistakes over the years. When I needed drapes for 5 very tall and wide windows, I thought I would save money by making them myself. I ended up buying 30+ yards of a synthetic moire on sale at a chain fabric store, along with drapery lining, and after making up one panel, found that even with lining, the light coming through the fabric made the color brighter and kind of gaudy. The bolt is still in an upstairs closet, and I found 96" crushed voile panels online that I like very much for about $20 each. Lesson: keep it simple. A couple of years ago, I hired a local designer mainly to help me choose paint colors and advise on accessories/tweaking. In the master bedroom, I had some custom green silk drapes that I never liked that much, and she talked me into spending the money to have them interlined and a printed fabric border added, along with custom shams with the same fabric. I had already spent $2000 on the drapes, and now I spent another $1000, and I still didn't like them. I took them down, and they and the matching euro shams are in the closet in the guest room. I put up natural linen-look semi sheers from target, and I like them better. Lesson: keep it simple, and don't throw good money after bad. We weren't using our formal dining room much, and the same designer suggested moving the dining furniture into one end of our large living room, and making the old dining room into a den and the old den into a home office, which was really needed. Since I wanted to replace the old LR sofa anyway, I moved the den furniture into the living room and had a custom ($$$)sofa made for the new den. It was not a huge space, and we tried to keep the sofa scaled down. When it arrived, the fabric was gorgeous, the style just what I wanted, but the seat depth was so shallow that it was not very comfortable. I had also slipcovered the old den chairs to go with the new sofa ($$). I ended up moving the new sofa to the living room, where it was more appropriate for perching ladies than lounging TV viewers, and now none of the colors I had chosen (with help paid for by the hour) for the LR and new den would work. Plus, the newly slipcovered den chairs (on swivel rocker bases, I love them) don't work that well with the old sofa color. Fortunately, I hadn't painted yet. Lessons: Don't buy furniture without sitting on it. Choose paint colors after you are certain of your fabrics. Don't let your designer talk you into stuff you don't really need. Keep your major pieces fairly neutral. The worst was the master bath update. I had chosen tile for the walls and floor, and the tile vendor gave me a couple of names for the installation. The guy with the higher quote was very highly recommended but I went with the other guy because he said he could also do some other work I needed done. Even though I had a gut feeling I was making a mistake. He did a horrible job on the tile, broke my toilet, and disappeared. I had to buy more wall tile and pay another contractor to replace it, and I'm still stuck with a bad job on the floor. Between the cost of doing the job, redoing the job, and buying a new toilet, I could have had the better contractor do the job, and replaced the vanity and sink as well, and upgraded to a better tile. Lessons: A jack of all trades might be a master of none. Go with your gut. Ask contractors for their license numbers and CHECK IT online with your state to see if it's in effect. I've made more, but these are the recent highlights, LOL. I feel better having confessed them here....See MoreWill This Work on This Wall or Did We Make a Mistake?
Comments (25)Well, thank you for all of your comments and advice! What I have decided to do is give the radiator a fresh coat of black paint and the thin trim around it will also be painted black. The gate will then be hung above it at a height to be determined. I also like the idea of some art above it or something natural hung from it. I will post some pictures when it done....See MoreDid we make a big mistake in our shower?
Comments (24)So a little more background. Hubby is a super hard worker but not so great of a researcher. So yes- he did the tile but nothing with the pipes. We went to a very upscale plumbing supply co here in s. texas and was told we couldn't get the dual handles. Hence the freak-out. I have since found this and is sorta matches our Moen faucets. http://www.homedepot.com/p/KOHLER-Revival-2-Handle-Shower-Faucet-in-Vibrant-Brushed-Nickel-K-16214-4A-BN/100094257?quantity=1 Steep price but I like the idea of buying from HD bc at least I can return it to the store if it doesn't work. Any idea why it MIGHT not work? I'm not too worried about the scalding issue. If we do need to access the plumbing, thankfully the wall backs up to my husbands closet so there is access. Thank you for all your thoughts!!! I appreciate it! And thanks for the compliments on the tile. I'll post back about what it is. All from Floor and Decor. The subway tile is marble and the niches and seat are porcelain. Here is a link that might be useful: Kohler 2-handle shower from home depot...See Morenickel_kg
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cpartist
last year
Silver Fox 88
last year
Little Bird
last yearstiley
last yearI agree that it can work. What vanity are you planning to use? It looks like your wall tile has some brown/tan veining that ties in with the brown of the floor. I think earthy colors for the vanity would look pretty along with unlacquered brass hardware as suggested above.
WestCoast Hopeful
last year
Alicia
last year
lynartist
last yearYou just haven’t taken the look far enough! Add a glamorous border! Black and gold vanity! Make that insert look intentional; like a beautiful rug!
lynartist
last yearIf the glam trim is too much for your taste you can do a plainer marble. This has some of the gray but also a bit of gold veining to tie the elements together. I feel black is the great equalizer and your gray marble is the predominant element here! Do go with the gold fixtures though! The trim separates the two tiles just enough visually creating a rug effect.
Aron thanked lynartist
niccidhg
last year( Hi, Lyn 🙋🏻♀️. Happy New Year ! ) —- Aron, along with gold/ brass fixtures, I think it could also work very nicely with the use of natural wood cabinetry.
lynartist
last year
PROKristina Lawrence Interior Design
last yearHello!
I like it! Unless your photo is skewing the grey-ness, I think it will work really well. You've had lots of comments above about adding brass fixtures which would be really great in here. And please be cautious that not all brass is the same. Go for a finish if possible (because already have your rough plumbing which will limit your choices, of course) that is a nice SOFT brassy color. You're trying to match the mosaic colors as much as you can here. I would suggest not adding an additional border around the mosaic. What you have going on already is plenty since it's not a large space. Use the same brassy color on the cabinet hardware. I love slightly darker stained walnut cabinet (a color that knocks down the yellow in the walnut) with grey tile and brass. Avoid any wood that has yellow or gold or any red in it. If you opt for a painted cabinet, maybe consider a dark warm grey. If possible, keep the vanity raised up on legs or floating since you don't want to chop off the mosaic by sitting a vanity right on top of it. Ignore these mirrors, but perhaps something like this:
Hope this helps! Reach out if you have any questions.Aron thanked Kristina Lawrence Interior Designlynartist
last yearIt’s a matter of personal preference and I would agree adding a border after the fact would be more difficult and messier than if done before! For myself, butting up two disparate types of tiles without a border looks somewhat unfinished. Imagine any of these without the border treatment.
Aron thanked lynartist
RedRyder
last yearmarylonn27
last year
joots07
last year
Barbara Almandarz
last yearAron
last yearlast modified: last yearAron
last yearSSeSee vanity my wife ordered it will interestedinteresting to see how ththey go together
PROJeffrey R. Grenz, General Contractor
last yearAron
last yearlast modified: last year@Jeffrey R. Grenz, General Contractor The tub is just an air tub with a hand shower. The shower is to the right outside the picture see new pics and will have a glass enclosure. Notice how the floor darkened even from the grout! smh even the the tiles were first sealed. After the lighting is put in it should look better. btw The herringboe sample in the attached pic is what my wife was thinking about replacing the honeycomb with but home she comes around to the way it is now as to rip it out would be a big pain in pocket.
Aron
last year
BP DIYer