Rate our 130+ year old home’s bathroom remodel?

Submitted by csbarbourv t3_11dqv60 in DIY

My wife and I just finished our bathroom. We started a couple days before Christmas and wrapped everything up about 7 weeks later.

Our house was built in 1890 as a barn. Sometime in the 50’s they moved it 1/4 mile to its current location, set it on a concrete block foundation and converted it to a house. Nothing here is plumb, square, or level.

We gutted it down to the studs for the 2nd time. We did the first reno about 25 years ago when we were poor, stupid, and didn’t know what we were doing. (Thank god for Reddit and YouTube!!!)

We did all the work ourselves with the exception of having the shower glass installed.

How’d we do?

(Ignore the door color. We’re currently negotiating with each other about whether to paint it or not.)

https://imgur.com/a/GstR9SB

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Comments

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audulutch t1_jaa9nwg wrote

The ceiling fan in the bathroom was definitely an interesting choice, you usually don't want that air to circulate around the house

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csbarbourv OP t1_jaa9wmb wrote

We have a really large exhaust fan which removes all the moisture. A ceiling fan is really nice if you get out of the shower and are overheated.

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audulutch t1_jaaaan9 wrote

It definitely looks very nice! When I see people post about renovations in a 100+ year old house I'm always worried I'll see someone tearing out original character to replace it with bland choices. It was good to see you add some style back to the house.

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csbarbourv OP t1_jaaak3v wrote

Unfortunately the “character” that was present in this house when we bought it 30 years ago was best described as confusion and neglect.

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lollroller t1_jaeafzc wrote

We have ceiling fans in several bathrooms, they keep the air moving and help the showers dry faster. I don’t see why they would circulate air around the rest of the house

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mncyclone84 t1_jaae2l1 wrote

Doesn’t look a day over 129. Well done!!

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shopper2200 t1_jaabvys wrote

I initially thought i would get to see 130 year old victorian vintage bathroom before and after. Your old bathroom wasnt bad its much better than many bathrooms i have seen. But the remodel is exceptional great.

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trogloherb t1_jaadkzj wrote

Looks awesome! The bj bench in the shower appears much more functional than the previous one!

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surfeat t1_jaajaj0 wrote

What is a Bj bench? I'm in construction and I've never heard that term used before. Or are you just talking about a fellatio fixture?

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trogloherb t1_jaam31k wrote

Ah, likewise I have never heard of “fellatio fixture,” must be regional colloquialisms; its that thing in the shower that us married guys believe is intended to be for the receiving of a beej. Unfortunately, when I make the suggestion that that is the intended purpose, all I hear is a chuckle and “nope.”

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Immediate-Soup6340 t1_jac5csf wrote

You did a good job, but herringbone and grey wood tile? This will be as dated as the bathroom you started with in five years time. Glad you like it tho.

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csbarbourv OP t1_jacx2u6 wrote

Besides white subway tile, what tile hasn't been dated in 5-10 years?

Regardless I'm the labor, not the designer! ;)

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[deleted] t1_jaa8xn3 wrote

Looks relaxing! Good job👍

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ru4rael t1_jaacdu2 wrote

Good job! Really love the style. Don't forget to seal the sink joint facing towards the wall, the tub too. Really good job on the tiling! Hope you add some mirrors

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___nananananana____ t1_jaafd6r wrote

That is a very nice-looking bathroom! I’m just curious why the two different wall tiles in the shower area?

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csbarbourv OP t1_jaaft9y wrote

My wife saw an inspiration picture and liked the way it looked. And we damn sure couldn’t have done 2 more herringbone walls and had them wrap around the corners correctly!

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___nananananana____ t1_jaag7x2 wrote

You could have also continued the herringbone tile down to the floor for that waterfall effect but i guess its too much to do haha. But anyway, it still turned out great! I love everything especially the plants.

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csbarbourv OP t1_jaaggvg wrote

My wife loves plants. She chose ones that love high humidity.

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surfeat t1_jaahz31 wrote

I give it a 12

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LOPinABQ t1_jabf221 wrote

whoa! awesome!

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Superliten t1_jabufny wrote

I like it. But a large shower like that really deserves a ceiling mounted rain shower.

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csbarbourv OP t1_jacxoh8 wrote

We discussed it. Ultimately we wanted to be able to have the shower spraying on us without our head getting soaked. I want to shower, not be waterboarded.

Our compromise was mounting the shower head about 6 1/2 feet off the floor.

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crumblynut t1_jaex25a wrote

I hate overhead showers. They're at every damn resort. My brother's guest bath too. You have to hunch over like you're crying out some trauma. I'm also tall and the standard shower height is far too low. I like your compromise.

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essaitchthrowaway3 t1_jaclykj wrote

Looks awesome.

The lack of color is the only issue I have, the bright green from the plants, notwithstanding. I think I would have gone with a more modern wood vanity, but it all look great.

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csbarbourv OP t1_jacsahz wrote

We’re still picking accent colors and adding bits of them in. That’s design. I’m labor!

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cats_and_cars t1_jad54sa wrote

Looks great! I never would have thought of mixing those tiles together on the shower walls but somehow it works. How much of a pain was it to do the herringbone? I love the look but as a somewhat amateur tiler, not sure if it would be too much to tackle.

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Sh36fjk374fjc t1_jaefy8b wrote

This is going to sound bad perhaps but the devil is in the details and there’s not enough up close detail in the photos. The overall look is great, very modern. But what I can’t tell is are all the edges neat and clean. Is the quality of the grout good. Is everything plumb and level. When I was in the market for a new home I’d see these photos on Zillow which looked nice and then I’d get there in person and it looked like a 12 year old slapped some tile on the wall. Point is, I’d need to be there in person to saying anything more than “looks nice.”

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csbarbourv OP t1_jaek7r6 wrote

Nope. Doesn't sound bad at all. There are a few devils here and there! (Mainly behind the drywall.)I can honestly say that while pros would have done a much better job, it's all really good. Especially given that there are huge issues with things being un-level and out of square. As an example, the room floor actually slopes down from the shower to the door. It drops about 1" over 8'.

I could have either raised the low side up (then there would have been a step going into the room) or dropped the shower side down (which would have required cutting down the joists).

Or we could do what we did which was make sure the floor was as flat as possible even if it wasn't level. Compromises stink but are often required.

Almost all of the grout lines are straight and consistent. The exception being the herringbone wall in the shower. That was our first herringbone ever and was a huge learning experience. The backsplash wall went great and looks much better. There is almost no tile lippage anywhere. (Used leveling clips on the wood tile in the shower and on the floor.)

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