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Hello, My husband and I do tub and tiles. Give us a call at 646-573-0497. Also you can pass this number on to other people that may need it.
Our Companies name is Unique Tub Reglazing call us and we'll come see your bathroom and give you a reasonable quote to do the job.

I've never renovated a bathroom, so I don't have any resources to recommend, but I've used many bathrooms and i can tell you some of the things that I think are important:

1. storage storage storage. I think this is the most important aspect of the bathroom.

2. In light of point no. 1, I would reconsider the pedestal sink. Get a sleek cabinet with a basin that sits on top. that way you will have plenty of storage underneath and counter space for your stuff on top. I have had both - pedestal and cabinet - and the latter is much more convenient.

3. have your contractor install recessed shelves into the wall of the bathroom - saves space and gives you more storage. My bathroom has a tall recessed cabinet with about 8 shelves in it that is hidden behind a full length mirror-door. It holds tons of stuff and is multipurpose (because of the mirror).

4. Recess some shelves into the bathtub wall area itself to hold shampoo, conditioner etc.

5. Hang a crystal chandelier instead of a traditional bathroom light fixture - it's very glamourous.

6. Going back to the sink, if you go with my suggestion and get a sink with a cabinet and countertop, extend a shelf in the same material as the countertop out from the right side, all the way to the right hand wall (if it runs behind/above the toilet, that's okay). This will increase your counterspace.

7. Get a bigger medicine cabinet.

8. I like light, off-white, creamy colors in the bathroom.

Uh, two years ago I got a quote on a gut rehab of my bathroom and it was $12K. And this was for nothing exotic--new tub, sink and toilet. Installation of a fan. Vinyl floor. Moving a light switch. Granted there's lots of bad tile to get rid of. But this is in Cleveland.

So I think my question is a) are you nuts? and b) am I nuts? and c) would your guy like a visit out here?

Normally I would keep my nose out of this, but you seem to have the same bathroom that I have...and I did an *almost* gut reno, trying to keep what I could.

First word of advice: tear it ALL out. You need to have a good, perfect foundation from floor to ceiling on which to apply your tiles, cabinets, etc;

I also see that you have the common drain tube. That will need to come out. And your bathtub, if you don't want it you may have to have it smashed with a sledgehammer to get it out. Those old cast iron tubs weigh a ton and it is the only way. Pay someone to gut it in a day or two and haul it all away. You will be so happy you did.

You can 'upgrade' to a flush toilet, but if your building still uses a flushometer and has high-pressure on the water, you may want to rethink this. Tank toilets get clogged more often and require more servicing, even thought they use less water.

You also want to hire someone to redo all of your plumbing right from the water risers and make sure that you have good shut-offs. You will be happy and feel much better knowing that you won't have to tear through your new tiles to get at a leak.

I know these comments were more about tearing out and structure - as for your finishing touches, I wish you luck. The better idea yo uhave about what you will install, the easier it can make things for you in the end. I had not planned out some simple aspects, like towel holders, etc; and ended up having to drill my tile, which took forever.

I had thought about putting in a vessel sink, but decided on a tiny Kohler (Purist, maybe?) pedestal sink that gave a great amount of room. Vessel sinks take a lot of forethought on the side of plumbing and wall anchors.

Also, if you end up wanting to put in a whirlpool tub, think long and hard about that, too. You need a dedicated electrical line for that (or you SHOULD, anyways) which normally means you will have to run another line from your fusebox to the bathroom.

So can we see 'after' shots once you have taken this project on? Good luck!

Hey -

Sorry I should have read your post more closely. I think that $2500 may be a little too cheap. I hope that the person who gave you that quote does a decent job. That sounds like a dream of a price if it is true.

Honestly, if you redo the structure and the tiles, but not the plumbing, you may really be doing yourself a disservice. The drains and pipes, if they have not been replaced since installed, could be as old as 50-60 years.

Despite what you say about your budget, you need to get a new tub-- reglazing never lasts long, and this is the only time (when you are putting in new tiles anyway) that you can do it. Cut back wherever else you have to, but retiling without replacing the tub would be a colossal waste of money. Its also much easier to install a new sink first, then tile around it, then to have to redo the floor tiles in the future when you choose a new sink. Speaking from hard-won experience, tackling things piecemeal always costs more in the long run.

Would you feel comfortable financing this with a home equity loan? It will increase the value of your apartment considerably, so if you budget carefully its not empty consumer debt.

You can cut some costs on tiling by using very inexpensive home depot / lowes tiles on the floor and shower but using flashier tiles for some detail work on the tub wall. We just finished ours and did all but the plumbing work ourselves --our total was just over $3k, and we kept the toilet and bathtub. Good luck!

everything matt said. do it once and do it right.

I am thinking about re-doing my bathroom as well. What do people think about getting rid of the tub altogether- I am thinking about just getting a nice tiled shower stall instead of a tub, with glass door- I think it might make my tiny bathroom look a bit more spacious.

Also, I also have a white painted piped running from floor to ceiling. Is that the common drain pipe? I thought it was for heating (my old apartment had one that gets realy hot)- but the one in my current bathroom doesn't seem to heat up at all. Can I just get it removed?

Rita

$2,500 is way too low. You're going to get shoddy work. If you are actually gutting, try thinking more along the lines of $8,000 and up. Honestly, I'd try and live with it as is until I could save up the cash to do it right. This would involve ripping everything down to the studs for a full plumbing rehab, new fixtures, new tile, the works.

I am thinking about remodeling my bathroom as well... have a look at the Kohler site for ideas, they had a couple nice photos:
http://www.us.kohler.com/ideas/showcase/showcase.jsp?section=2&aid=686

http://www.us.kohler.com/ideas/showcase/showcase.jsp?section=2&aid=689

Maybe you can get some ideas about color, shape, etc. for your space?

Good luck!

I also got a $2500 estimate to gut and retile. I live in the Bronx. Many times you can find someone looking to do this on the side. And they may give you a very reasonable price, but you may not get the best work. These guys can really crank out a bathroom, but do not expect any frills, extra nooks or expert carpentry for your new, bigger medicine cabinet. This bathroom may also be full of surprises. If the last person popped off the old tiles and put these up on the old walls, you are in for a real treat.

This style of bathroom was made by putting up wire mesh as a foundation and then putting dollops of concrete and then tiles. You may find a wall of 1" thick concrete dollops in the shape of the old tiles right behind the current ones. These may or may not be in great shape. If they have to be ripped out and replaced with Wonderboard, etc; they create tons of construction garbage.

If the person gave you an estimate based on just popping off the tiles, they may be unpleasantly surprised by what is behind.

Listen up you half-wits:

I am renovating my second bathroom right now in my townhouse and if you think you can refurbish that hell hole for $2,500 you are PROFOUNDLY RETARDED.

BEST CASE, if you have the luck of the leprochauns pouring out of your ass, you will spend $10K...assuming you are in New York. If you're outside the city, best case $7500.

If you want minimalist, ignore everyone else and listen to me:
Get 12x12 indian summer autumn slate. It costs about $3.50 per square foot. Do your entire bathroom in slate. THEN get on ebay and get a vintage crystal chandelier. The contrast will be stunning. THEN get on ebay and buy a wooden-slat bath mat. It is spa like and gorgeous. THEN tear out those horrible lights from above the vanity and get two sconces to flank the mirror.

Find a contractor, negotiate the labor and buy the materials plus grout yourself.

LOL. Jonathan cracks me up. I'm waiting for the haters to come on in now.

But he's right -- $2500 is waaay too low for a good job. If that really is your budget, and you don't mind redoing everything in 5 years, buy some new tiles and DIY. Otherwise I think $8-10k in NYC (even the Bronx) is on par.

In the local pennysaver/ coupon book thing out here there seem to be several companies that'll do you a no-frills/no choices new bathroom for $5K, but even that looks bait and switchy to me.

I re-did my 5X7 bathroom this summer for $8400, includng materials and replacing everything but the tub, and everyone said I got a great price. My contractor did a great job, if you need a name. His price allowed $3/sq foot for the tile, and I discovered lots of nice tile for that price. I stuck to a white and black color scheme, making it easier to choose and stay within budget.

My advice: get rid of the pedestal sink, it's not that attractive and you'll get a lot more storage with a vanity (which isn't all that expensive). Get a single lever faucet to save space, and don't feel like you need to spend an arm and a leg on fixtures. My faucet was Kohler, $185, and everyone always compliments it(in other words, avoid Waterworks, despite gorgeous bathroom porn, you will only feel inadequate). If you want to save money don't tile the walls, you can pick a nice paint color instead. Upgrade to high quality towel bars, door hardware, etc, and you'll have a luxurious looking bathroom without spending a fortune on Ann Sacks tile.
If you hate cleaning grout, get big floor tiles, mine are 10x10 and I think the make the bathroom look bigger. I also got Cambria quartz counter despite having heart set on marble because it was cheaper and much lower maintenance. And again, everyone compliments it. Nice lighting will make a world of difference too.

My main advice--hire good contractor and do it right, nothing worse than a half-assed tile job. High quality workmanship more important than high quality tile.

vanity - that's the word I was looking for - yes, get rid of the pedestal and get a vanity.

And Jonathan cracks me up too. I always have the silliest grin on my face when I read his posts. I can't help it.

$2,500 sounds like the cost of tiling alone. I rennovated my bathroom 3 years ago-- glad I didn't cut corners. Don't skimp on your bathroom renovation-- water is more destructive than fire. If you have bad pipes covered by pretty tiles, you will be very sorry because you are liable for leaks.

Someone before me had done a trashy 80s renovation and I had to put in a new tub and copper drain to replace the garbage they had replaced the original 1927 drain with. I say this because: if you live in a between-the-wars apartment, chances are that you have good copper drains that will not corrode and leak, and it's worth refinishing your cast iron tub, getting a BONDED plumber to check if your shut-off valves need replacing, and then retiling. (Although I love a tub that has only ever bathed me and people I know...) However, if someone did a lousy recent reno, you really have to think about the conditon of your drainpipes.

My reno cost about 10 grand, including demo, new deep kohler tub, new valves, dornbracht hand shower, same pedestal sink and toilet, wonderboard installation (waterproof drywall behind the tiles) and classic NY tiling (black and white mosaic on floor, white subway halfway up the wall, and to the ceiling in the shower enclosure.) I sourced it all myself at Nemo Tile, the plumbing store on 1st and 1st, and the bath supply on 9th between B and C. It looks like the bathroom in the art deco building I grew up in, which, incidentally, still has the original tubs, which never had leaks because no one has ever messed with 'em. Good luck!

Bathroom vanities are roach condos. Stick with a pedestal sink. In a small bathroom, the more floor space you see, the better. $2,500 for a gut renovation is a barefaced lie.

I'd get triangular corner wire baskets for shower storage, and the tallest medicine cabinet I could afford. I mean, what do you think you're gonna store in an itty-bitty city bathroom, anyway?

Echoing the "$2500 is way too low" theme: I think I spent that much on a similarly-sized bathroom doing all the work myself and not being particularly extravagent on materials and fixture. Those nice glass tiles at Bisazza seem to start at around $20/sf. Tiling just the bath area looks to be about 55sf. So that'd be $1100+ in tile alone.
The slate recommendation is a good one -- nice natural stone can be had for $3/sf in 12x12 tiles. Hakatai has good and cheaper (but not cheap) glass tiles starting at around $6/sf. Decent tile can be had for $3-$5/sf, but that's still $200-300, without factoring in costs for other materials and labor. Add a decent toilet ($300+labor) sink/faucet/vanity ($200+ labor for Ikea or basic Home Depot). And ripping out and getting rid of the old stuff definitely costs something, too. So, basically, for $2500 you *might* be able to do the most basic cosmetic rehab, but it isn't a good idea.

So the recommendations of having someone do a real gut are probably good ones. From the looks of that tiling job on the outside, they probably made a mess of it on the inside, too. You want to make sure whatever is underneath isn't going to be leaking water into your downstairs neighbor's place. I can't tell whether the tub is worth keeping, but if you're renovating to the bare walls, it might as well go -- it'll be easier, and perhaps cheaper, to start afresh. And that's probably true with a lot of the plumbing and electrical -- the tradepeople in those areas will be much happier, and work more quickly (and therefore cheaply) if the place is stripped to the studs and they can have ready access to everything.

That said, if you have to wait awhile to save up for a bigger project, you could
(a) You could clean up the aesthetics of the existing tile/grout. Get some solvent from the tile section of HD or your local hardware store for removing dried grout. And a nylon scouring pad. And a lot of elbow grease. And some grout sealer for when you're finished.
(b) You could replace the pedestal sink with a vanity. That's something you can reuse when you do the big reno, so you could get a nicer one now, but Ikea makes some nice sinks too. And this is also the kind of project you *could* do on your own (although I have no idea what you local bldg codes or condo/coop boardw would say).

Your first priority should be to make sure there are no leaks in the floor or walls or plumbing and to find out if you have any you will probably have to tear it all out.

Here comes the hater..

Jonathan,

From your past experiences and constant whining for advice, you shouldn't be telling anyone what to do.

And while I'm at it, your insults and generally nasty posts are kinda like when you're standing on the corner on beautiful summer day taking everything in....then a garbage truck rolls by and fouls the air.

-Bobby Jones

Most of the people above are right, 2500 isn't much money to spend on a bathroom, but if you are intent on pulling this project now, I'd suggest you to go with the cheaper materials. Nothing with a big brand name or something extra lavish. But reading your post you said you wanted to keep some your tub and sink. Keeping the tub though sounds odd, it seems to take up too much room. If I were in your shoes I'd just rip out the tub idea and put in a built in shower, it doesn't have to be a glass stall , but maybe just a new tile wall, with a curtain as a divider. Also, above someone mentioned Ikea, though as a New Yorker, it isn't my favorite store, they do have some cheaper solutions. For the color sceme, I'd use small dark blue tiles to make the space look larger and mix in some other shades of blues here and there to give it some color. Silver faucets and handles would put everything in good place and white and tan accesories to throw keep it earthy, but remeber zen isn't so much about the color schemes, but more about space movement and the flow of the room, only you can really decide if it is comfortable to you. But if I were you, I'd wait and save some money to be able to pull of a satisfying job.

Jonathan-
I work for a wholesale distro of building (mostly plumbing) supplies: Ferguson Enterprises. You most certainly rennovate a bathroom for $2500, if you are thrifty and creative. If you need a place to vent your rage (read:compensate), I would suggest opening a post-goth suicide blog over on myspace. They appreciate angst and detatchment there.


Biba-
I looked at the finalist from last year you said you enjoyed, and its very modern. You could possibly have a modern bathroom on the cheap, if you went for an abstract Salvador Dali meets Joe Plumber motif. Leave the tiles as they are, with a good scrubbing, and add some eccentricities in bright color (think of a bright red metal sculpture clock... cause who puts a clock int he bathroom?). If you are dead set on changing the walls, perhaps you could paper the outside and use inexpensive tile in the bathroom. This would save alot of money. You could even continue the bathroom tile pattern with a stripe of tile around the outside of the bathroom for continuity.
Just some thoughts-
Guy

Good luck with your bathroom it looks like a real project. Amazing to read how such a small
space can be such a large project.Yikes.

I am going to have to tackle a bathroom renovation at some point, although mine is really just cosmetic. However, I assumed Biba was in a NYC co-op (though I could be totally wrong). In that case, the interior pipes are not her issue, right? Maybe I'm just a total novice and don't get it. My dad retiled our bathrooms at home, and did a good job, so what do I know?

Obviously, seeing the correct backing for the tiles would be something she'd have to do. My friend did all white tiles (not subway, but the square ones) with larger white tiles on the floor, and painted the top half of the wall a gorgeous Farrow and Ball blue. It is really much prettier than I'd ever imagine just seeing the plain white tile.

I would hit a happy medium. Don't do this til you can do a good quality job, but unless you are planning to be here for a long time, just make it nice and functional. I mean this in the nicest way, but almost anything would be an improvement on the state of those tiles, so you really can't go wrong.

Brooklyn, Would love the name of your contractor, particularly since your handle is "Brooklyn" and I'm in Park Slope.

Hi, This is way to cheap and beware like someone else has said, you just don't know whats behind those tiles. I am currently 3/4 of the way through a bathroom reno. New sink dual basins, toilet, bathtub, new shower/bath breach, floor and wall tiles and fittlings. I am doing the whole job all bar toilet installation and and installing shower/bath breach this will cost me about $6000 (Australian)$4,200 (American)and this is pretty much cost price no labour. I too have older tiles that were pressed into concrete render. I decided to villa board (wonderboard??)the whole lot (glued and screwed) and left old tiles on the wall. It has worked out pretty well. So maybe consider this. Cheers from downunder - Paul;

I've been helping a friend in renovating their bathroom and no one had a clue to co-op rules and how anal they are. Well, we pretty much gutted the place down to the studs and did a pretty good job in the finish with no complaints. My buddy asked the superintendent if they can change the shutoff valves for the bathroom since they've been leaking for the past 10 years; which the board never fixed after 10 years of complaining. But now they are requesting that we pay for their plumber because the handles of the old valves are sticking out into the bathroom and only plumbing behind the walls are the building's responsibility. Who's responsibility is it for the valves? I know once they change the valves, its gonna be behind the wall with an access panel.

Hi I did something not so bright. I mortared the entire wall with speedset and only got half way up the wall before it dried and would not adhere the slate tiles to the wall. Since I've built a shower pan, tested it for leaks, finished the base mortar layer so water flow is great and put hardibacker on all the walls, does anyone have a suggestion on how to fix this without having to tear everything apart and start over?

Do I have to replace my tub if I am gutting the rest of the bathroom?

Warning:
I made an appointment with Sita , who commented on this site . Never showed up. Never called. I don't recommend.

This was her posting: " Hello, My husband and I do tub and tiles. Give us a call at >>> Also you can pass this number on to other people that may need it.
Our Companies name is Unique Tub Reglazing call us and we'll come see your bathroom and give you a reasonable quote to do the job."
Don't use.