# Master bathroom remodel - at a crossroad now



## GregsBarn (Apr 29, 2013)

So this is what we started with. A tub surrounded by horrid pink tile and carpet. Carpet in the bathroom too. 









Tearing out the tile and installing the new bath fixtures tore out the side of drywall, so I ordered the lapidus granite to cover it. 









We went with Home Depot on the granite because they were having a 10% off sale and the granite was about $8 cheaper than Lowes. They wanted me to remove the tub, because they said the corners of tub weren't square and would show a triangular hole that would be filled and other people complained about the install. I wasn't about to remove the tub and told them I'd deal with it. I figured I'd have to make 4 pieces to fit and I could deal with it later, but the install guys did a perfect job. It took them all day to cut the pieces to fit. 

My wife wanted a light above each sink so I tore out the center of the wall and added a support for them. Note the electrical boxes on each side weren't there originally. All they did when it was built was cut a hole in the drywall and feed the Romex through it, so I added them.










We decided to go with 18 inch travertine from Lowes (about 2.08 a square foot). Once the hardibacker was down I measured the center of the tub vs. the center of door. 

Your eye is a better gauge of what's straight than assuming the room is perfectly square. Standing back from the hall the board wasn't straight, so I moved the end closest to the door until it was. Note the center mark for the entryway is about an inch to the left. This was my centerline. 









When I decided on travertine, I started collecting pieces with the most abstract patterns. About once a month I'd look through the stack and pull some pieces out. Two of them were a perfect match. When I was laying them out this is what I was going to go with (note the matching pieces in the front). 










I showed it to my friend and he joked about what those two pieces looked like. I agreed, because they didn't look random, so I switched gears. 

I sealed it with a gloss sealer and didn't like how shiny it was. Time to grout (necessary evil as I really don't like grouting). I picked a grout color that matched the lighter pieces. 

After the grout was done I used 511 impregnator that wasn't gloss. I really liked the sheen when it was done. 










The faucets were about $250 from Lightinthebox.com. One of them (out of six) didn't seem to push enough water, so they sent me two more. I like the way these faucets flow, and even when you just barely turn them on, all the water goes in the sink. Note they didn't fit in the center, so we had them offset the faucet and controls on either side. 









The mirrors came from American furniture on clearance for $119 each. The lights are inexpensive Lowes units. 










What's left to do now is the shower. This is the glass/rock tile I'll use. It was on clearance for $3.28 each at Home Depot. I asked them to order me 160 square feet of it. They called back and said since other stores didn't have in on clearance, it would be $10 each. I went to the other Home Depot and asked them if they would price match... they said no, they won't honor another Home Depot clearance. I went back to the first Home Depot because we were ordering some carpet, and asked the nighttime manager if he had any more of it in stock. He said no, but he could order it. I explained I already went that route and it would cost $10 each. He said if it was his store, he'd match any other Home Depot price and that if I paid for it first, he'd get it for $3.28 each, so I paid for it and he ordered it... score. I pick it up today.










So now I'm wondering what to do to get light in the shower and bathroom. I think I'll eventually install skylights, but I don't want to deal with that now. 

I'm toying with the idea of installing glass blocks on either side of the tub. Half standard glass and half special order yellow. Do you think it would be too much? I'll have to use an abstract pattern because of the plumbing in the shower, but it would be different.


----------



## GregsBarn (Apr 29, 2013)

Picture of the tub.


----------



## Amateuralex (Mar 17, 2012)

Very nice. I love travertine.


----------



## forcedreno2012 (Nov 9, 2012)

Very nice. The colors go real well together and I like the way you took the time to figure out the tile spacing and lines.

Robyn


----------



## GregsBarn (Apr 29, 2013)

forcedreno2012 said:


> Very nice. The colors go real well together and I like the way you took the time to figure out the tile spacing and lines.
> 
> Robyn


Thanks. The tiles are staggered in the main bathroom, but lined up in the toilet. I had to do this to make the triangular pieces on either side of the tub line up. With the bathroom door closed, you don't know what pattern it has inside of it. 


















Note the baseboards are in and I'm ready to install the toilet. I bought two toilets off eBay and a black one for this bathroom. It's a one piece and has no bolts to clean on the base.

This was the price on Amazon...










This is what I bought it for on Ebay...










I bought two of them, so I got a price break on shipping. When you go to Home Depot or Lowes, there really isn't much difference between the $100 toilet and the $275. This toilet is different (note the other one is white), as it's one piece. I'll get it tomorrow and the bathroom is ready for it.


----------



## GregsBarn (Apr 29, 2013)

Planning the shower now. I bought a second mosaic off ebay for $50... including shipping. The work is so intricate I feel I have to use it. I bought some shower sprays off eBay just to try them out. There's a half inch threaded coupling to mount them, so I wanted to see what the difference was between a $400 spray and a cheap one (note I paid about $60 for the $400 version). Here's the mosaic with two of the spray heads I bought off eBay. Note the one on the right is supposed to be a "face" head, which is pointed at your face when taking a shower. The one on the left has a cool feature which is it turns off. I don't have to mount valves to turn it off, which is huge. The transition from the tile I'll use looks matched to me.










This is the current shower config. 









I can get to it by tearing out the drywall from this side.









One of the shower heads I bought covers the round part of the mosaic... I'm ok with that.









By the way, the toilet is ready to be installed. I'm working with the vendor on parts that I didn't receive, but it's really cool. It has two flush buttons, a big flush and a small flush... brilliant.


----------



## csmonte (Apr 25, 2013)

nice taste, black toilette, and I really like that facet. jealous


----------



## GregsBarn (Apr 29, 2013)

csmonte said:


> nice taste, black toilette, and I really like that facet. jealous


Thanks, the faucets work well and we love them. The black toilet (*SEVERUS - One Piece Dual Flush Toilet *
*Model # BA3908G) *on the other hand, is a pain. After receiving the mounting hardware, it doesn't fit. The side holes in the toilet are oblong... not round (note there's no holes to mount like a standard toilet). 








The caps that cover the holes were white so I had to make them black with a Sharpie. The caps are 17.6mm round.









The holes on either side of the toilet are 16.08mm X 12.9mm on one side and 15.8mm X 13.4mm on the other. Neither hole will fit the caps. Now I have to make custom plastic supports to install it. I'm wondering if it's worth it at this point? Working with the vendor now...


----------

