Master Bath Remodel

[Darren Wright]

Well, the time has come, my wife is ready to start the master bath remodel and I've sketched up a few ideas.

Here is what it looks like today.



There's also an additional vanity outside the bath next to the master closet, which we do not use (these were the realtor pics).


We plan to remove that vanity, remove the wall going into the current closet, and close off the opening to the area with a new door...expanding the size of the master closet.

My wife is wanting to remove the shower and put in a soaking tub. Our last house had one the size of an olympic swimming pool and it was hardly ever used due to the amount of water it took, so she just wants a standard 60" x 32" tub (whirl pool maybe). However the room is 6' wide, so I've been throwing around the idea of how I can still utilize that 12" x 36" space that has to be built out to accommodate the shorter tub.

My first thought is to do some built in shelving...like this. Maybe only the upper one or two shelves though.


The shelves would have a slight pitch to help with drain off and use the ditra membrane under it to prevent water leakage, but wondering if it's just a bad idea....Thoughts?

[Steve Southwood]

Question:

Is you house one or two levels?

The reason I ask, is that I too am facing the dreaded bath remodel. Our bath on the main level will be ripped out and replaced with a 60" shower. No tub what so ever. As the wife and I are becoming more towards the old side, I figure it will be easier to shower walking in, than crawl over the tub sides and take bath or shower.

I only want to remodel this bath room once before I croak.

[Darren Wright]

It's a two level house (three really...front/back split). The second bath is under this one and will probably get remodeled eventually. I don't plan to have this house as my final home though I too will be looking at a single level house down the road.

At first you may not notice the problem with the downstairs bath. Overall they did a nice job decorating it, but I can't for the life of me figure why they put the toilet opposite of the vanity other than the vanity was too long, which still doesn't make sense. Probably just didn't want to jackhammer the floor and move the flange.

[Steve Southwood]

Cool.

[Darren Wright]

Steve, you got me to thinking (dangerous I know) about re-sell. The wall between the master bath and second vanity as well as the wall between the second vanity and master closet are both non-load supporting. This gives me quite a bit of room to do some rearranging. We've thought that an addition of a guest bath would make sense for resell. I think I can fit it all in with some re-arranging of the space. I think I can do it all without having to do without a bath long term as well, may just have to displace the master closet for a bit. More drawings to come though.

I think I'll still have to utilize the shelving idea in the bath tub area. Would love to hear some feedback on what others think of that...Thanks!

[Steve Southwood]

Yep, going to have to see more pics now.

Basement or crawl space?

[Rob Keeble]

Darren if this aint your long term home then think ROI and of the most likely future buyers potential need. I am suprised you taking the shower out. I say roi because from sounds of things this could get out of hand pretty quickly.

[Darren Wright]

Yep, going to have to see more pics now.

Basement or crawl space?

I'll get some pics this week. The downstairs bath is basement level, the upstairs is adjoining the garage and attic area. I'll most likely remove the ceiling in the downstairs bath and replace with a drop ceiling, same for the laundry room, which is under the master closet. I've been planning to tear down the laundry room ceiling anyway as it's too low and there are some mechanical issues I need to correct on the ducts and wiring above there.

Darren if this aint your long term home then think ROI and of the most likely future buyers potential need. I am suprised you taking the shower out. I say roi because from sounds of things this could get out of hand pretty quickly.

Well, it's all going to get updated anyway and it's a shower/tub combo going back in. The half bath would be a bonus as well and make the master bath a true on-suite bath. We're still planning to be here at least another 8 years, so we'll be suiting our needs too. There's been a dozen times we'd rather have another bath and it will still add value to the house. My wife and I talked about it last night and she was excited about the extra space we could gain my taking out and moving the non-load bearing walls. I just have to see where the drain stacks are and route accordingly This idea should allow me to build most of the new bath without affecting the existing much until we have another functioning bath, would just displace our closet for the time.

[Steve Southwood]

Good to see you have a plan. Just doing my part, to spend your money

[Art Mulder]

I think I'll still have to utilize the shelving idea in the bath tub area. Would love to hear some feedback on what others think of that...Thanks!

They look fine if you use it as a tub.
If you use the shower, then I'd think that those shelves would be constantly damp from the spray?

What about a freestanding tub? Or have the shelving turned 90degrees to face into the room instead of the shower enclosure? (I know, you'd have to make them shallower for realistic use.)
I dunno, Darren...