We’re working on another great tiled shower project in Mechanicsville. This one will have a custom arched top niche with glass shelving, several different sizes and styles of tile in a unique pattern and a nice thick frameless glass door and two handled shower spa system. You’ll have to wait to see how ours turns out but below is a bunch of great ideas about how to use frameless shower doors in your bathroom project.
Who’s job is it to set the expectations for a remodeling project. Is it the contractor or the homeowner? The answer is yes. It actually it falls on both parties.
For the contractor we need to let the customer know what we will be doing and when. we are in their homes tearing up their kitchens and bathrooms and disrupting their schedules. We do tend to forget sometimes that some things we think of as just part of the job aren’t things the homeowner would automatically think of. Simple things like the need to park somewhere close to the project or removing pictures from the wall on the room next to the project room. I can tell you it’s a sinking feeling to start tearing drywall off a wall and hear a crash in the next room as something falls off the wall.
What time will we be starting and finishing? Do we work on Saturdays? Who are these people we’re sending to their house? And after the excitement of starting the remodel wears off, when will we be finished and out of their lives? These are all things we need to communicate early so that our customers can adjust their schedules and have some clarity during what can be a time of turmoil in their home.
For the homeowner, make sure you understand the contract and what you are getting. You did get a written contract didn’t you? Does it describe the products you’ll be receiving and the level of fit and finish you were expecting? If you wanted stained hardwood trim and the contract calls for painted MDF you need to clarify that now before it’s all hung and painted. It’s always best to ask questions early and often to be sure you’re getting what you want from the start.
Does your homeowner’s association have certain restrictions or requirements that your remodeling contractor needs to know about? What will you do with your pet or children during the project? Something as simple as which door you would prefer we use to get to the work area can make you feel more comfortable during the process but you need to make it known to your contractor.
Some requests are over the top but for the most part if work together to keep both sides clear on what is expected throughout the project it will be a much smoother process. In the end communication is the key to a successful and relatively painless remodel. If both sides keep that in mind it can make all the difference.
Herb Coulter, The Remodeling Company LLC – 804-266-3776
As I sit here in the office this rainy day trying to rework my schedule for the next several weeks I thought it would be a good subject to talk about.
I try to keep a tight schedule on all of our remodeling jobs but sometimes things don’t work out that way. This week we had two days of rain that caused one job to run over. That change caused a domino affect. Some things just needed to be moved a day but for others it meant being moved by several days or even a week.
It all depends on the job at hand. Some parts of the project we want to start and finish in successive days rather than tearing it up on Friday and leaving it over the weekend. So a one day delay could move that job into the next week and then affect other jobs down the line.
Especially on larger projects there may be delays in our sub-contractors schedules that need to be addressed in ours. Key people being sick or supplies being back ordered are just a couple more reasons for delays. We can usually move some things around to keep jobs going but sometimes the order is fixed and we have to wait.
This is just one of the many things you’ll need to consider when starting a remodeling project but it is important. I try to bring this up early on in the planning stages just to let our customers know that it is possible. Understanding that there could be delays from the start may not make them any easier to take but it’s always best to be informed from the start.
Herb Coulter, The Remodeling Company, LLC
I’ve worked on a lot of bathrooms. Some very small and some very large. Our latest bathroom remodel here in Henrico was very small and had it’s own unique problems that needed addressed. Measuring only 7’4″ wide x 3’6″ deep just getting a full shower, vanity and toilet in the room along with storage cabinets and heat would be a challenge. Even fitting a towel bar became a tight squeeze. The room was so small I needed to use the panoramic funtion on my camera just to get the full height of the shower in the picture so please excuse the poor photography.
With the toilet offset too far to the outside wall there was no room for a vanity.
The homeowner wanted to be rid of the pedestal sink and awkwardly installed fiberglass shower stall from a previous remodel. The shower wasn’t going to be a problem but installing a vanity would leave no room for sitting on the toilet. Using 3-D drafting software we were able to move the toilet around and determine exactly what size vanity we could fit in the space.
12" deep Euro style vanity gains storage while allowing leg room.
Moving the toilet towards the inside wall and installing a 12″ deep Euro style vanity with overhanging sink would allow us to leave some legroom in front of the toilet. Though small the vanity still allows for some under sink storage and with the matching medicine cabinet and wall cabinet we were able to gain a bit more storage.
New tiled shower with glass accent and niche
The shower area was opened back up to full width of the room and a Carrara Marble style tile was installed over the Schluter System membrane for a totally water tite install. For an accent a glass band was added along with a two shelf niche for in-shower storage. The tile was grouted using an epoxy type grout for years of easy cleaning. The tile was also carried over onto the floor of the room to tie it all together.
There were some challenges and a couple sacrifices along the way do to size and space available but overall this turned out to be a great bathroom remodel. The homeowners were some of the best we’ve ever worked with and we are truly grateful to them for allowing us to help with this project.
Thinking of remodeling your bathroom? Give us a call at 804-266-3776. We’ll be happy to help.
Herb Coulter, The Remodeling Company, LLC