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It is done! To see the bathroom from the beginning, head here! Catch up here, more progress here, and with the laundry plan here. We have finished our most expensive single room to date in our bungalow, and I am beyond excited to have this as far as we have come. The only remaining thing in this area is adding laundry machines next year. A second bathroom in our neighborhood not only gives our house a tremendous boost in equity, but it gives us a huge boost in functionality of our home. There have been more than a few days where the line for the bathroom here has been more than one person deep, and the walk upstairs from the family room or the basement bedrooms has gotten a little annoying - both for the bathroom and just for a drink of water. The only downside is another toilet to clean.  Even though this isn't my dream bathroom, I am so excited about having this one! The process to get this far was a huge undertaking, both financially and physically. In small space designs, there are a lot of challenges that larger rooms just don't have. While we needed less material for things like wallboard and flooring, we somehow had to get them inside the room without destroying them. Sheetrock was really my biggest challenge. We also had to completely redo our storage, since the space that is now the bathroom and laundry was our storage room. Luckily, most of what we had in the room is okay to freeze, so it can go in the attic. Anything that I need more frequently or needs to stay at a reasonable temperature is going in the new storage spots under the stairs and in the HVAC room. Unlike a lot of people working on construction projects in the last few years, I didn't have issues with sourcing my materials. I tend to collect hoard materials for years while preparing to do a project. Once I have all the necessary items, I hit the ground running. For the most part, this bathroom was no different. The toilet and paint I had from another project, the sink I got on the side of the road, and when we knew we could it this year I ordered the shower surround (I already found a new home for the tile backer board that I'm not going to need since we shifted directions... That was also leftover from another project.). FinancialsThe numbers for the bathroom really shake out how they do because we installed a bathroom where one previously had never existed. When we renovated our main floor bathroom, we were able to skirt in at just under $2K. This one is coming in at a little over $14K. The majority of the cost for this bathroom went to the contractors we hired to add the necessary components. The cost for the plumbers was a little over $10K, including concrete work, disconnecting old supply lines, adding new ones, and completely overhauling the drain system for the bathroom, laundry, and floor drain. The next biggest single expense was for the electricians. They did about $2500 worth of work adding all new wiring for the bathroom and the laundry including several new circuits, removing old conduit that ran through the ceilings, and moving the electrical for the upstairs bathroom to keep its branch circuit accessible in the family room ceiling. The rest came down to fixtures, finishes, and equipment. I got lucky that a lot of the equipment was cheap or free for this particular job, and that I had the ability to store things over time. ChallengesLike every project, this one had a few challenges. But I am so lucky to have had fantastic plumbers to work with who helped troubleshoot any potential issues before they had a chance to become big problems. The biggest issue we really faced was fitting everything in the plumbing wall for the shower and the laundry. That resulted in moving both parts of the electrical and the framing. Then when we were hooking up the vent to the existing vent system, we found that we had to lose about 2 1/2 inches of head clearance. So, the ceiling came down a little to make all the plumbing fit inside the ceiling. Since it is all still higher than the low ductwork in the hallway, it doesn't feel cramped. Painting the ceiling and walls the same color helped that too. I also shifted partway through the project and went with my third choice for flooring. There is a sheet vinyl marble-look hexagon that I really like, but I just couldn't justify buying a 12' wide bolt of it for such a small space. I only really needed 30 or so square feet. So, I planned to shift to vinyl tiles, but with the way the old subfloor met the new subfloor it just didn't work. I landed on a different sheet vinyl option, that I really like in the room. It all worked out! Luckily, everything else was really smooth despite being a long project that bookended a lot of other major projects over the year. My biggest advice for anyone looking to add a bathroom from scratch would definitely be to start with your plumber. Find one who is able to walk through your preliminary design and explain their needs. That will determine all the other pieces, and it will lead to a much more successful process and finished room. I don't do projects with much brand loyalty, so there is a lot of variety in where I get my materials. I mostly work through what I need or want for the space, and I use what I know works well. Although I do have a favorite toilet, and I am loving using the bidet attachment now in both of my bathrooms.  Sources
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Katie SwansonI am a parent, creative spirit, and old house lover. My big passions are sustainable design and preservation. Bringing these together is key to moving existing homes into the future. * By subscribing to the monthly newsletter, you consent to receive links this month's blog posts and other relevant blog updates, a round up of things I love, and as a throwback to my DIY days, I may toss in an exclusive knit or crochet pattern of mine. Archives
January 2025
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