Remodeling main bathroom....any cool ideas?

[thefed]

Here's some pics of the bathroom I did last winter in my basement:

Bathroom pictures by thefed17 - Photobucket


This year, I am doing our main bath, which measures about 66"x135" with a door at a short end.

Looking for cool ideas. I think we will do a drop-in tub perhaps with jets. Tile floors, backsplash to about 4 ft high behind a contemporary vanity, tile in the shower to ceiling, no glass doors per wife request, super-nice strong flushing commode, super powerful fan with built in heat lamp, heated toilet seat, 47" granite top for vanity.

I'd like some'cool' fatures...maybe a built in audio system for the shower? Thought about a tv, but we dont ever watch the big one!


any other cool ideas? we are trying to decide between a tumbled marble scheme or real marble....thinking tumbled is more our style

any pics or ideas are welcome!

 

[Moemg]

I agree with your wife on the shower doors so why not make the shower a walk in that does not need any doors or covering .Maybe with a wall half way up ?

 

[travelover]

When I remodeled my bath, one of the nicest features was to add a 14" tubular skylight over the sink. It just lights up that room and makes the mirror lighting very natural. I also added a 3 foot wide medicine cabinet with all mirrored doors to enhance and rebroadcast the natural light. The room used to seem kind of dreary but now it is a real upper to go in there.

 

[samclem]

When I remodeled my bath, one of the nicest features was to add a 14" tubular skylight over the sink.

The skylight looks nice, and I've thought about that. Do you have any problems with condensation in the winter (on either side of the glass in the bathroom?) I would think, with an uninsulated open tube leading up to the dome on the roof, that the glass would get very cold. If the sealing of the tube weren't perfect then there could be condensation dripping into the glass from above, and regardless the warm house air might reach dew point onthe inner surface. But that's all my guessing--what have you seen?

Other ideas:
- I've liked the heated floor idea for a bathroom, in concept, but the delay can be considerable so it is probably most practical if you know when you'll be in there and can set a timer. With the heat lamp the warmth is nearly instant, so that's the way I'd be temped to go. And, it is cheaper and easier to fix if something breaks.
- Go with an expensive quiet fan, and put it on either a timer or even a humidity-sensing switch. If it is noisy you won't use it, and all that moisture winds up in your house.
- When you paint the room, use Zinnser BIN primer. Yes, it stinks. It also sticks to the previous paint like nothing else, and that's important in a bathroom. Even better, it forms a vapor barrier (2 coats = approx 0.5 perm IIRC), which is very nice for reducing moisture flows into wall stud bays and the attic.
- Faucets: No great ideas, but go with ones that will have spare parts availabe for many years. The prices on the Home Depot brand often look appealing, but wonder if I'll be able to get replacement cartridges/etc in 20 years (that is, if you don't move to NC!).

 

[travelover]

The skylight looks nice, and I've thought about that. Do you have any problems with condensation in the winter (on either side of the glass in the bathroom?) I would think, with an uninsulated open tube leading up to the dome on the roof, that the glass would get very cold. If the sealing of the tube weren't perfect then there could be condensation dripping into the glass from above, and regardless the warm house air might reach dew point onthe inner surface. But that's all my guessing--what have you seen?...............

I was concerned that condensation might be an issue. I did insulate the tube with 6" fiberglass batting, but beyond that it I have done nothing special and it has not been an issue. The skylight lens is frosted so if there is some condensation, but not enough to drip, it is not noticeable. I have a second 10" tubular skylight in an adjoining bathroom and no issues there, either.

 

[Trek]

Matching wall mounted toilet & bidet. Wall mounted toilets are very popular in Europe and make mopping the floor a breeze. Not as common in the US and would definitely set your bathroom apart from the average bathroom.

 

[Leonidas]

Love the sound system in the shower thing, perhaps iPod based so she can have her tunes and you can have yours. When I remodeled our bathroom a few years ago, the Princess requested that a bench be included so she could sit and shave her legs or whatever. It turned out well and she loves it.

Thing number two would be to go with a radiant floor heating. That's something I should have done years ago when I remodeled it the first time, and I didn't redo the whole floor last time so it wasn't cost effective then. Next time though, I'm definitely adding that in.

 

[samclem]

Matching wall mounted toilet & bidet. Wall mounted toilets are very popular in Europe and make mopping the floor a breeze. Not as common in the US and would definitely set your bathroom apart from the average bathroom.

And a great spot for some hubby/wife conversation.

 

[Khan]

A urinal.

 

[kyounge1956]

I've thought about wall mounted toilet for a house I want to build after retirement. Have you seen any wall-mounts with extra-low water usage?

 

[bbbamI]

Not exactly a renovation idea, but I love the thought of a towel warmer...

btw, I have a skylight in both bathrooms and I love them.

 

[Trek]

I've thought about wall mounted toilet for a house I want to build after retirement. Have you seen any wall-mounts with extra-low water usage?

I don't know what's available in the US, but in Europe most modern toilets are low water usage. Many of the toilets here (wall mount and standard) have two flush buttons (or one two stage button). One for a super short flush if you're just flushing #1 and and the other for a full flush if you're flushing #2. But even the full flush is efficient.

 

[Gumby]

A urinal.

I really wanted one when we did the big remodel. But the young wife said "ewwwww . . .", so you can guess how that turned out.

 

[harley]

+1 on the towel warmer.

A suggestion on what NOT to do. Don't put in the multi jet shower system. We got them installed when we built the big fancy house with the big fancy shower, and have only turned them on once in two years.

We also installed a really big bathtub, with jets. I like it a lot, but it's so big our water heater goes cold before we get it filled up (I like REALLY hot baths). I'm considering an electric in-line water heater to help with the load.

I also like the heated floor concept. Wish we'd done that.

 

[calmloki]

.... Not as common in the US and would definitely set your bathroom apart from the average bathroom.

Trek - that sink next to the terlet looks pretty low - are Europeans all that short?

+ 3 on the towel warmer - try towel straight from the dryer to experience the joy. Did two separately controlled shower heads on my shower, one a handheld, its ok and handy now and again, but think the towel warmer would have given joy with every shower. Did an electric heater w/ electronic timer that I like. No doors on mine - its across the width of the bath at one end and there are no water escape issues.

Laundry chute? That's where lots of dirty laundry ends up -

 

[RunningBum]

I love my walk in shower, if you've got room to do it. I did mine with glass block. It looks a lot like Walk-In Shower Kit/Left Entry/Decora/White/ProVantage Installation - 162108 at The Home Depot with the straight edge up against the tub and two vertical strips of tile a foot wide (I think) for the plumbing to the shower heads.

I also really like the radiant heated floor. I toss the next day's clothes on the floor the night before so I can put on warm clothes in the winter. Might be a thing that only a bachelor could get away with.

I like the wall mounted toilet look, but how do you get at the tank in case of a problem?

Tile to the ceiling of a shower sounds like a cleaning issue. Maybe it would stay clean up that high, but I don't think I'd go with tile any higher than I could easily reach, like 6'.

Make sure the floor tile is non-slick, not like wall tile.

 

[calmloki]

RunningBum. Little scary to have you posting to a bathroom thread isn't it?

 

[WhoDaresWins]

Definitely heated floor and sound system...not that I have either at present.

 

[eridanus]

Yeah, radiant floor heating with a programmable thermostat would be very nice.

What about a ceiling "rain" system? It was in a rental house in Europe where I stayed...the water fell from the center of the shower stall. It might only be a novelty though and fall into disuse.

 

[Trek]

Trek - that sink next to the terlet looks pretty low - are Europeans all that short?

Europeans are heavy drinkers. That setup makes it easier to wash your mouth out right after you've vomited in the toilet while still on your knees.

 

[Khan]

Definitely programmable radiant heat, especially under tub/shower.

 

[samclem]

Okay, a towel warmer. But--if you just buy a run-of-the-mill electric towel warmer you are a shirker! Build something you'll be proud of and show off your green credentials!

Every time you'll need warm towels it will be after a warm shower or bath, right? So, run a zig-zag of copper hot water pipe leading to the bath/shower outside the wall as a place to warm your towels. It will only add about 8 feet of pipe, so the hot water will only take a few extra seconds to reach the tub. And, you'll never have to remember to turn it on or off--the towels will be toasty every time. Even if you take a long soak in the tub, those copper pipes will be keeping those towels warm when you get out.

And, if your water is heated with natural gas, this is cheaper than using electricity to heat the towels. If you heat the water with electricity, you won't save anything. But, either way you'll have a conversation piece, the only one on your block. "Look what my husband did for us . . ." You'll be Mr Popular.

How I'd do it: I'd use "hard copper" 1/2" pipe and make what looks like a ladder. I'd probably block off the flow inside the uprights on alternate sides (solder?), so the water really makes a zig-zag. Copper is not very strong, so I'd build a nice-looking teak/redwood frame to protect it on the sides and which had few wood cross-bar rails across the front to protect the copper from inadvertent bumps. The towels hang inside the rails right up against the copper.

If you want to get exotic, some people run a couple zig-zags of the hot water pipe in the wall directly behind the bathroom mirror. It stops the mirror from fogging up in that little spot--kinda neat.

 

[Purron]

DH and I have been working our rear ends off at the rental house. Our latest project is the master bath. We tore out the old tub and tile and tomorrow we are preparing to install new tile backboard. It had regular drywall behind the tile and it's in lousy shape. We bought a new tub today at Home Depot and hefted it upstairs. DH and I earned a few cold beers after today

I've been busy studying up on how to do ceramic tile in a bath/shower area. It's a bit more complicated that I thought. But hey, after tearing out and redoing all the tile in the kitchen/dining room floor area, I'm hoping we can figure it out! I can't offer any suggestions to you Fed since I'm a novice, but I'll be watching your thread for tips DH and I can use.

 

[thefed]

well, thanks for all the ideas! im still up in the air about the radiant floor heat...they do have electric mats that arent too expensive...we decided not to do that in our downstairs bath because it rarely gets used...but it may be nice upstairs....

cant do a walkin shower...need a tub for the little ones! thats part of the reason she didnt want shower doors...hard to lean over and bath a 2 yr old with the track there and only 1/2 of the tub open

if anyone has a link to a good mp3/ipod/sd based bathroom-ish radio system, let me know!

i really like the idea of the tubular skylight....i'm going to think hard about that one!

 

[Urchina]

Those tubular skylights are very popular here and give lovely, diffused light into what can be really dark spaces. I'd definitely go for one of those.

I'd steer clear of any sort of marble if you can -- it cannot handle acidic cleaners, which eat it up, and it's a pretty high-maintenance stone. If you like the look, see if you can find a nice ceramic that mimics marble.

And I think one of those rain showerheads would be just lovely. But they probably use a ton of water.