Our Full Bathroom Remodel
After finishing our half-bath remodel project in the basement we eventually moved our way to the full bathroom remodel project upstairs.
As with the basement bathroom, the upstairs bathroom was very dated and needed lots of love.
Related: Outdated No More: Our First Bathroom Remodel Project
Bathroom Breakdown
All the things that we wanted to change.
Bathroom Vanity
There was an old oak corner vanity with a matching mirror/medicine cabinet.
Vinyl Flooring
The floors were vinyl wood planks that had started peeling up in the corners.
Bead-Board
The walls initially had uneven bead-board on them.
Shower Tile
The shower was tiled in a brown tile. Something about it just never felt clean no matter how often you cleaned it.
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Starting The Full Bathroom Remodel
We had to be inconvenienced for the time being. Though in the end, it was well worth it!
The first part of the remodeling project that we did was to gut the entire bathroom. This was the first in the order since we were replacing everything including the flooring, vanity, and lighting along with redoing the walls. We stripped everything down to the bare bones.
We had to do the project in pieces in a sense because this was the only full bathroom in the house and obviously we needed to be able to still use the shower.
Our plan was to do everything around the shower first so that we could still access the shower if necessary while everything else was being worked on. We used the half bath downstairs for everything else besides bathing.
Removing The Vinyl Flooring In Our Full Bathroom Remodel
Which turned out to be more than just vinyl wood floors.
When we started to take the vinyl wood planks off of the floor we realized that there were vinyl tiles underneath them adhered to the same tar-like adhesive that was in our office.
This was somewhat concerning because of the possibility that this was a type of asbestos due to the year the house was built.
Related: From Home Office To Baby Nursery
Safety First
I am definitely more of the safety and health-conscious person between the two of us. Just ask Kevin about hand washing!
After doing some research we found out it was only harmful when airborne. So we decided to remove what we needed to do as carefully as possible.
I joked that we looked like we were in hazmat suits with our masks and gloves on.
After getting everything we could off we then laid a new subfloor before we started the new floor tile. This was definitely lots of fun if you like lots of unexpected work!
Time To Remove The Bead-Board In The Full Bathroom Remodel
Which proved to be a bigger project than expected.
When we started taking off the bead-board we realized that whoever installed it used it to cover up the unfinished drywall behind it. It seemed like someone used it as an easy fix for the bathroom instead of actually completing it.
Because of this, we had to completely remove and replace all of the drywall in the bathroom. We had intended to replace the drywall in the shower area, regardless of this fact, with mold-resistant drywall before tiling. This discovery just added some more drywall work that we initially didn’t anticipate.
The nice thing about having to take all of the drywall off was it gave Kevin the chance to hardwire the kitchen light over my sink. Which he could now easily access without having the drywall in place.
The Bathroom Remodel Project Definitely Gave Light To A New Frequently Visited Locale
The County Garbage Dump. I went one time with Kevin and I could not believe the smell.
After removing all of the flooring, bead-board, drywall, shower tile, and so forth Kevin had become a frequent visitor of the dump. I can still picture him trying to carry the trash can full of bathroom tile and drywall downstairs to the garage.
He was definitely enjoying demolishing everything but it was a different story when trying to carry it all to the truck to be hauled away. After multiple trips, plus some we had everything cleared out and ready to be rebuilt and refreshed.
Time To Build The Bathroom Back Up
Literally, from the floors to the ceilings, everything was redone.
Kevin got to work fixing all of the drywall and finishing up the flooring. The flooring we used was a dark wood porcelain tile. It was longer planks than what we used in the basement bathroom.
Once finished the flooring turned out really nice in the room and the longer planks helped give the bathroom a “bigger” feeling if that was possible.
The walls were painted with an aqua/mint green color. Which I realized is quite similar to the color we painted the boy’s bathroom in our new house.
Related: From Beige To Aqua & Waves Bathroom Makeover
Time To Tile The Shower In Our Full Bathroom Remodel Project
The new tile was my favorite part of our bathroom remodel.
After he had the mold-resistant drywall installed around the shower it was time to tile. Which meant more prep work and shopping.
We went to The Tile Shop to pick out our tiles for the shower. The tile that we chose was a porcelain tile that resembled a white and gray marble.
Our Bathroom Tile Design Plan
The Shower Tile
We had decided on tiling the whole shower area to the ceiling. Which meant we needed a good amount of tiles. So the tiles we chose were larger rectangle tiles as well as a “shoe” of the same tile for the outside casing.
The Built-In Shelve Addition
For this, we decided on an actual marble tile to use on the back wall of the shelve which was more of a darker gray color.
There were two levels to the built-in separated by a glass shelve. We decided that for the sides of the built-in, we would use the same tiles that we used throughout the shower.
Kevin started with the shelving tiles and then moved on to tiling the top half of the shower from the ceiling down. Once that was completed he finished the bottom half and sides.
We did the tiling part of the project over a long weekend when it was “okay” if we didn’t shower every day. However, I will always remember having to take baths during this process if I indeed wanted to bath.
As well as the time Kevin wrapped the walls in plastic in a makeshift sort of shower. I guess those are the most memorable moments at least to me!
Tile In Progress
Prepping The Walls For Tile
Starting With The Built-In Shelve And Top Tile Section
Completed Shower Tiles
Installing All Of The Finishing Touches To The Bathroom
This was definitely a very exciting point in the remodel because, let me tell you, it is not fun living without a functioning shower or bath.
After all of the tiling work was done it was time to finish all the baseboards and to complete all the small little projects that were left. Then we installed all of the finishing touches. I call them the finishing touches. Kevin calls them my trinkets!
New Light Fixture
We installed a new oil-rubbed bronze three-sconce light fixture over the vanity. We found this at Lowes.
New Bathroom Vanity
We replaced the corner vanity with a standard smaller cream-colored vanity. We found this vanity at Lowes as well. We ended up changing the handles on the doors to match the rest of the bronze finishes in the bathroom.
New Mirror
We chose a new oval tilting mirror with an oil-rubbed bronze finish for the bathroom. This was also another Lowe’s purchase.
Sink, Shower, & Toilet Finishes
We replaced the shower head, faucet, drain, and knob with oil-rubbed bronze ones. As well as the toilet flush handle. The faucet we chose was a tall single handle oil rubbed bronze delta faucet.
Bathroom Accessories
Which tied everything together!
Shower Curtain – This came from Target.
Hand Towel and Shower Towel Hooks – We found this at Lowe’s.
Rugs, Picture, Shower Curtain Rod, And Hooks – These all came from Home Goods.
Wood Shelves – Kevin made these for me..
The Finished Full Bathroom Remodel
The bathroom turned out amazing. It was like night and day compared to what it started as. It is definitely something that we miss in our new house. Though the bathrooms are definitely on our list of projects to do for this house.
The Finished Shower Remodel
The Completed Vanity & Toilet Area Of The Bathroom Remodel
Before & After
