Bathroom Remodel Part 1

We have started the big bathroom remodel(s) that need to be done before the baby comes. We decided to start with the guest bathroom which will then become home base while we re-do our master bathroom. The reason for focusing on the guest first is because we are going to take out the fiberglass bath/shower combo and build a walk in stone shower in our bathroom. Because the guest bathroom has no shower, we need a shower while our bathroom has no shower so we will complete the guest bathroom first, then move on to our bathroom. 

OK, the guest bathroom. Our guest bathroom is the most awkward space EVER. The bathtub is behind the door, the toilet is in front of the door (um, have you ever used a toilet at someones house that is right in front of the door? Hope you locked it!) and then the sink is a tiny pedestal. No storage. The lighting is a nightmare. The fan is on one switch, a one light bulb light is on another switch. There was one light above the sink with a twist on switch underneath that didn't work. Nice. So we will be rewiring the whole bathroom, moving the toilet (fun!), adding a vanity with storage and doing something with the tub...more on that in a moment. 

The bathroom the way it began. 

 Mostly the same view. 

 Looking from the corner back to the tub and door. 

 Nick protects the wood floors

 Nick moves toilet to see if this is the right spot (yep!) Now we have to move all the plumbing. Fun!

 Nick removes toilet and sink (to be sold on craigslist) and begins tearing up the flooring to the sub floor. 

Flooring torn off to sub floor.  

 Same as above, different angle. Dry-rot was found on some of the subfloor by the tub faucet because someone (ehem, previous owners) didn't install the clawfoot right and it leaked. Niiiice. So we will be tearing up some of the subfloor too, yeay! (that is sarcasm in case you weren't sure)

And another view. There is the old toilet spot that were (Nick) will have to move. Lucky him. Oh and Demo is not done. The sheetrock will all be coming off. More fun! With the re-wiring, this has to come down. Plus, we are going to encase the bathroom in cement hardy board which is much better than wood plywood in a wet space. Plus, you can affix tile to hardy board. More on that in a moment. 

And here is Mr. Helpful who was not a fan of the demolition noise. 

Alright. Here is where we get into remodeling and the "what you were going to do" versus "what is going to be done." You always start with, lets get this done cheap and fast. Lets make things work. So, we were going to buy a new faucet for the clawfoot tub, put up a shower curtain, buy a new toilet and move it, build a vanity and tile the floor. Voila. Done. 

Not so much. We don't really like the clawfoot in there because it is not the nicest one ever, because the idea of leaning over the high walls to bathe kids sounds like a backache and because it is not right for the space it is in. But we figured it was HEAVY cast iron and so 1-it was cheap to use what we had and 2-it was going to suck to remove it. To pull up the floor, we had to slide it. Much to our surprise, it was relatively light (not cast iron, acrylic). It was at this moment that I realized I should be saying a little uh oh. Now that I knew it could be moved, I started getting ideas. Take out the clawfoot and put in a soaking tub with tile surround and shower. Move the toilet. Put in tile. Build vanity. 

What are yours, the readers thoughts on the clawfoot. They are so nice in theory but in practical life, they are less than ideal. Would you keep the clawfoot or go for the soaking tub/tile surround/tile combo? Decisions decisions. Nick gave me a week to have things finalized with ordering and decisions. Tick tock.

While this is not exactly what we would do, this is kind of an idea for what the soaking tub/shower would look like.

Note copyrights on picture as noted.