This is going to be a long one so grab a cup of coffee or your favorite beverage and buckle up because this bathroom renovation is about to go down!
First up was demo day! This entire bathroom needed to be redone and everything needed to go. I started by removing the vinyl flooring which may have been original to the house. It came up pretty easily since the glue was so old and luckily the subfloor underneath was in good shape! I removed the sink and vanity since it was not salvageable. The wood was pretty rotted out, the door hinge was broken and it was just gross in general. I’m all for up-cycling things, but this was not going to cut it.
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Here’s everything we used to demo the bathroom:
- Reciprocating Saw
- Drill
- Hammer
- Prybar
- Utility knife
- Trim puller
- Safety glasses
- Ear plugs or ear muffs
- Work gloves
- Work boots (Use code SELENE10 for $10 off)
- Respirator or dust mask
Damien was tasked with removing the tub surround which he made quick work with his new reciprocating saw. With the right tool, it’s actually pretty easy to do! You just need to be careful not to cut too deep and accidentally cut electrical, plumbing or framing behind the insert. He cut it into pieces so that it was easier to remove and preserved as much drywall as possible.
Once the bathroom was gutted, we had to do a bit of plumbing and electrical and then it was my time to shine! I’ve tiled several bathrooms now and feel pretty comfortable with the whole process.
We got the new tub installed first and made sure it wasn’t leaking by filling it with water overnight and checking underneath the house the next day. We did have a loose rubber gasket at first, but we were able to get it seated properly and then the tub was good to go.
Next was putting up the Schluter Kerdi-board which is a waterproofing system that is very lightweight and is covered with an orange waterproof membrane. It’s really easy to install and they have great instructions on their website and YouTube channel. We got the tub surround kit which comes with everything you need. The Kerdi-board is really easy to cut with a utility knife and it has a grid printed on it for easy measuring and tile layout. You attach it to the studs with the provided grommets and screws, making sure that the seams line up with the studs and the screws are every 12 inches vertically.
Once the Kerdi-board is up, you use the provided roll of waterproof membrane to waterproof the seams and all of the screws. You use the same Schluter thinset that you use for tiling, just thinned out a bit more. You want the thinnest possible layer underneath the membrane so that your tiles lay flat.
Here is a list of everything we used for the bathroom:
- Schluter Kerdi-Board Kit
- Schluter DITRA Uncoupling Membrane
- Schluter Thinset
- Bathtub
- Toilet
- Shower Tile: Bedrosian’s Chloe Ceramic Tile, Size: 2×5 x 8″, Color: Creme
- Shower Niche: 12 x 28 Pre Fab Niche
- Schluter Trim: For niche edges
- Floor Tile: Bedrosian’s Makoto Hexagon Tile, Color: Tatami Beige
- Bath/Shower Hardware: Delta “Nicoli” Tub Shower Faucet Set, Color: Champagne Bronze
- Vanity: Kamiaya 36” Single Bathroom Vanity with Ceramic Top and Mirror
- Light Fixture: Parlez 3 – Light Dimmable Vanity Light, Color: Brushed Gold
- Towel Accessories: 5 Piece Bathroom Hardware Set, Color: Brushed Gold
- Grout: PRISM Cement Grout, Color: Bone
- Wall Paint: Miller Paint, Color: “Bohemia”, Finish: Satin
The kit also comes with waterproof seals for the showerhead, tub spout and handle and you attach them the same way with the thinset. It also comes with a tube of Kerdi-fix which seals the edges where the tub meets the kerdi-board. After the waterproofing is fully dry and the tub is sealed, the shower is waterproofed and ready for tile!
Tiling Supplies:
- Wet Tile Saw
- Grout Float
- Notched Trowel (square notch for large floor tiles, V notch for small wall tiles)
- Buckets
- Grout Sponges
- Level
- Tape Measure
- Drill
- Drill Mixer Attachment
I chose this beautiful zellige style tile from Bedrosian’s but we purchased everything from Wayfair. The tile is called Chloe and is in the color “Creme”. It does come in different shapes and colors as well! The tiles are slightly irregular and give it that handmade look and they are beveled so that you do not need to use tile spacers. They naturally fit together with the bevel and provide enough space for grout.
The niche was definitely the most difficult and time consuming part to tile, but so worth the effort!
Once the shower tile was set, I moved on to start on the floor. First, you want to make sure your floor is nice and level. If it is not, you may need to use some self-leveling compound first. We were lucky that this floor was extremely level! Shocking, I know! Before tiling, I installed the Schluter DITRA uncoupling membrane using Schluter thinset. It looks like a waffle and is pretty rigid and creates a separation between the subfloor and the tile. This extra layer helps prevent tiles from cracking and is not a step you should skip!
Pro Tip: Schluter also makes a DITRA that has heating coils if you wanted heated tile floors. We were on a budget so we opted against the heated floors.
After the DITRA is down, the floor is ready for tile. I couldn’t find Y shaped spacers anywhere, so I ended up using the regular T spacers and just standing them up between the tiles to remove later. The floor tile installation went pretty quick compared to the shower tile. Working with a larger format definitely helps speed up the process but does make for some tricky cuts around the edges.
We’re getting close now! I used the same grout for both the shower and the floors since the colors were so similar. This was the first time I’d used this type of grout but I really liked it! The grout haze was easier to remove than with other grouts I had used in the past. The only thing I didn’t like, is that the color dried significantly lighter than when it was wet. It still looks really good, but I was expecting it to look like the color sample that I had picked out. It says this grout doesn’t need to be sealed, but maybe it would have been better to seal it anyway. We did not seal it, so I guess we’ll see how it holds up over time.
It is always such a shocking difference before and after grout. It looks so much better afterwards!
Here you can really see the color difference where it is still wet and lighter where it is dry.
Here it is all dry and the color is uniform and looks great!
After grout the wall tiles look really nice. I’ll seal the top seam between the tiles and the ceiling with silicone.
Last up is installing the shower and tub fixtures! I love the color paired with the tile.
We installed the new light fixture and the new vanity. Just need to hang up the mirror now.
Ready for the before and after photos? I can’t believe the transformation of this bathroom! I’m really happy with how it turned out.
Before…
After!
Bathroom Accessories:
- 5 Piece Bath Hardware (towel rack, hooks, toilet paper holder, hand towel ring)
- Shower Curtain Rod
- Shower Curtain
- Shower Curtain Liner
- Shower Curtain Rings with Dual Hooks
- Bath Towel
- Hand Towel
- Bath Mat
And there you have it! The bathroom renovation from start to finish! One bathroom down, one to go! The master bathroom is up next, so be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss it. I think it’s going to my favorite bathroom design so far!
Until next time, happy DIY-ing!