Master Bathroom Dilemmas...
Going back to a previous project - remodeling my master bathroom for this post. For a home from the 70's, I am fortunate that although small, I do have a bathroom off my master bedroom and a walk-in-closet. Although neither are up to today's standards, they are nice features of the home and work wonderfully for me.
The dilemma I had with this project was with regards to the vanity that I ordered on-line. It was exactly what I wanted as far as the look but the marble sink top came pre-installed to the base. I had to man-handle the unit (over 300 lbs) up the stairs to the second floor and then came to realize that it wouldn't fit through the narrow 23" doorway into the bathroom. I took off the door, but still no luck. Finally removed the door frame and managed to get the beast into the bathroom. I ended up not replacing the door after the remodel. The bathroom space is so small that having the door was just a nuisance. I originally thought I would get a sliding barn-style door but just have never gotten to this project and I've come to like the space without a door. I did have to use wood filler to fix the area where the hinges had been installed but after filling, sanding and painting, you can't even tell that a door was ever there.
Second issue once I started to install the new sink unit was that the previous base unit was installed to the wall and this unit was a free-standing piece of furniture. The flooring and molding ended where the old unit was installed and now these areas were exposed.
The flooring ended up not being a big deal because thankfully the new piece was wider. The floor isn't finished under the unit but you can't see it so I was okay. Keep this in mind though because if my piece hadn't been wider, I would have been forced to replace the floors. Could have been a big $ error. Many of the units available to purchase are this type of free-standing unit. Many floors are installed after the base cabinets and so the flooring isn't continuous under your cabinet.
As for the molding, it was okay in the back but you could see on the left side where the molding just ended (and not a clean end either). This wouldn't have been a big issue except I had already installed the piece before realizing I had to do something so I had to work with the unit already in place. I took a sample to the hardware store and found similar sized molding. I then managed to match and install the new pieces in behind the original molding. I had to cut the end of the new piece to match as closely as possible to the old piece. It was a bit tricky with trial and error using a Dremel hand saw that has become a must-have for my tool box. It has various attachments that allow you to get into tight or awkward spaces.
After getting the molding installed, I used wood filler to fill in the seam between the old and the new. Once painted, you could barely see the transition.
Third issue I had with the vanity is that it came with a deeper than normal sink. Seemed like a great attribute when I bought it but this became another issue when I tried to install the new drain. The faucet set came with an 'easy install' drain feature but the closing mechanism was designed for a standard depth sink. I contacted the manufacturer and they sent me an extender but I never was able to get it to work correctly so the drain mechanism still doesn't work in my sink.
Finished up the bathroom by installing a new mirror, light fixture and cabinet over the toilet. Left the ugly tub/shower combo until I was able to recently have it refinished by Miracle Method. The cost to replace my unit was just more than I wanted to spend and having both tub/showers in my bathrooms resurfaced worked great for my budget. They both look clean and new again at a fraction of the cost of replacing.
Just goes to show you though that it is the unforeseen issues that arise during a remodel that you need to figure out how to deal with. No matter how small the project, something always isn't just the way you expected and you have to overcome these issues. This is particularly true when you are working on an older home with older materials. One of my most frustrating issues was replacing my kitchen sink. Seems easy enough but getting the old sink out and connecting the old plumbing to the new was no easy task. I spent hours under my kitchen sink until I was able to finish that 'simple Saturday project'.
I've come to expect the unexpected in my projects and try not to set time frames for myself. I work on them when I can and try to enjoy the process. I've yet to come across something I can't handle in all the projects I've tackled. Just takes some patience, the internet (which has saved me so many times - Thank You YouTubers!) and utilizing all the tools and know-how I've gathered along the way.
When I tackled my second bathroom in this house, I elected to just refinish the existing bathroom cabinet rather than replace it with a new unit. I would highly recommend this over what I did in my master. I ordered a new one piece counter/sink top (old counter had two sinks but I opted to convert to a single sink to give more counter space), replaced the faucet, repainted the entire cabinet and replaced the cabinet hardware. Much easier and less costly project and it came out looking fairly nice. As long as your cabinet is functional, this is a great alternative.
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| New Master Cabinet/Sink |
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| Narrow doorway into Master Bath |
The flooring ended up not being a big deal because thankfully the new piece was wider. The floor isn't finished under the unit but you can't see it so I was okay. Keep this in mind though because if my piece hadn't been wider, I would have been forced to replace the floors. Could have been a big $ error. Many of the units available to purchase are this type of free-standing unit. Many floors are installed after the base cabinets and so the flooring isn't continuous under your cabinet.
As for the molding, it was okay in the back but you could see on the left side where the molding just ended (and not a clean end either). This wouldn't have been a big issue except I had already installed the piece before realizing I had to do something so I had to work with the unit already in place. I took a sample to the hardware store and found similar sized molding. I then managed to match and install the new pieces in behind the original molding. I had to cut the end of the new piece to match as closely as possible to the old piece. It was a bit tricky with trial and error using a Dremel hand saw that has become a must-have for my tool box. It has various attachments that allow you to get into tight or awkward spaces.
Third issue I had with the vanity is that it came with a deeper than normal sink. Seemed like a great attribute when I bought it but this became another issue when I tried to install the new drain. The faucet set came with an 'easy install' drain feature but the closing mechanism was designed for a standard depth sink. I contacted the manufacturer and they sent me an extender but I never was able to get it to work correctly so the drain mechanism still doesn't work in my sink.
Finished up the bathroom by installing a new mirror, light fixture and cabinet over the toilet. Left the ugly tub/shower combo until I was able to recently have it refinished by Miracle Method. The cost to replace my unit was just more than I wanted to spend and having both tub/showers in my bathrooms resurfaced worked great for my budget. They both look clean and new again at a fraction of the cost of replacing.
Just goes to show you though that it is the unforeseen issues that arise during a remodel that you need to figure out how to deal with. No matter how small the project, something always isn't just the way you expected and you have to overcome these issues. This is particularly true when you are working on an older home with older materials. One of my most frustrating issues was replacing my kitchen sink. Seems easy enough but getting the old sink out and connecting the old plumbing to the new was no easy task. I spent hours under my kitchen sink until I was able to finish that 'simple Saturday project'.
I've come to expect the unexpected in my projects and try not to set time frames for myself. I work on them when I can and try to enjoy the process. I've yet to come across something I can't handle in all the projects I've tackled. Just takes some patience, the internet (which has saved me so many times - Thank You YouTubers!) and utilizing all the tools and know-how I've gathered along the way.
When I tackled my second bathroom in this house, I elected to just refinish the existing bathroom cabinet rather than replace it with a new unit. I would highly recommend this over what I did in my master. I ordered a new one piece counter/sink top (old counter had two sinks but I opted to convert to a single sink to give more counter space), replaced the faucet, repainted the entire cabinet and replaced the cabinet hardware. Much easier and less costly project and it came out looking fairly nice. As long as your cabinet is functional, this is a great alternative.
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| Cabinet refinished in second bathroom |
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