Renovating the Kids Bathroom
Bathroom renovations are about as complicated as they come (with the possible exception of a kitchen renovation). In addition to all the usual suspects-- drywall, flooring, paint, etc-- you have the addition of plumbing. As soon as you cross that line, you enter a different world.
We've renovated three bathrooms in our time. The first was a complete gut and rebuild, replacing 50 year old tiles on the walls and ceiling with drywall and a laminate floor. Luckily, we only attempted to replace the toilet and sink, which are basically simple changes (unless you break the toilet flange...not that we know anything about that.)
The second bathroom was more extensive, changing the location of the toilet, reversing the bathtub plumbing (making the head the foot and vice versa), an entirely new sink location, etc.. That totally crossed the line into hard-core plumbing, and it helped to have professionals in the family to make the serious decisions regarding drain slopes and the like.
The third bathroom was actually the simplest, with mainly painting work and a replaced toilet.
So now we're starting to turn our attention to the kid's bathroom. For some inexplicable reason, we are faced with some odd design decisions. First off, we have a countertop that runs the length of one wall, and that includes going over the toilet tank. So you have the tank against the wall, and three inches above the tank is a counter that runs over to the sink area. As near as I can figure, no one has opened this toilet tank in 20 years. That's rather disgusting. Not to mention complicated. Now, in order to replace the toilet, I'm basically replacing the sink countertop as well. Fun!
The other issue we need to deal with is the tub plumbing. It appears that the plumbing was installed upside down. At least, the overflow drain is upside down. It also leaks and there is no access from the other side (which is the master bathroom). We're trying to avoid the pandora's box of one bathroom leading to renovating the entire second story plumbing system. What we'd like to do is at least paint, install flooring, and upgrade the toilet and sink countertop. We'll see how it goes.
Storage is also an issue in this bathroom, basically because it has none. No closets for towels, no medicine cabinet, nothing. So we'll need to work that in. This bathroom is an example of why we sometimes think we should have waited before buying this house. The design seems fundamentally flawed, with a toilet you can't maintain and no storage. It's easy to wonder just what were they thinking when they put the house together? But, hammer in hand and safety goggles on, we're ready to correct that thinking!
We've renovated three bathrooms in our time. The first was a complete gut and rebuild, replacing 50 year old tiles on the walls and ceiling with drywall and a laminate floor. Luckily, we only attempted to replace the toilet and sink, which are basically simple changes (unless you break the toilet flange...not that we know anything about that.)
The second bathroom was more extensive, changing the location of the toilet, reversing the bathtub plumbing (making the head the foot and vice versa), an entirely new sink location, etc.. That totally crossed the line into hard-core plumbing, and it helped to have professionals in the family to make the serious decisions regarding drain slopes and the like.
The third bathroom was actually the simplest, with mainly painting work and a replaced toilet.
So now we're starting to turn our attention to the kid's bathroom. For some inexplicable reason, we are faced with some odd design decisions. First off, we have a countertop that runs the length of one wall, and that includes going over the toilet tank. So you have the tank against the wall, and three inches above the tank is a counter that runs over to the sink area. As near as I can figure, no one has opened this toilet tank in 20 years. That's rather disgusting. Not to mention complicated. Now, in order to replace the toilet, I'm basically replacing the sink countertop as well. Fun!
The other issue we need to deal with is the tub plumbing. It appears that the plumbing was installed upside down. At least, the overflow drain is upside down. It also leaks and there is no access from the other side (which is the master bathroom). We're trying to avoid the pandora's box of one bathroom leading to renovating the entire second story plumbing system. What we'd like to do is at least paint, install flooring, and upgrade the toilet and sink countertop. We'll see how it goes.
Storage is also an issue in this bathroom, basically because it has none. No closets for towels, no medicine cabinet, nothing. So we'll need to work that in. This bathroom is an example of why we sometimes think we should have waited before buying this house. The design seems fundamentally flawed, with a toilet you can't maintain and no storage. It's easy to wonder just what were they thinking when they put the house together? But, hammer in hand and safety goggles on, we're ready to correct that thinking!
